Herbaceous Plants in the Landscape

Eucalyptus gunnii, cider gum

Family: Myrtacaea

Description

This is a small to mid-sized evergreen tree that is native to Australia. It is notable for its silvery-blue foliage with recognizable fragrance typical of Eucalyptus. Juvenile leaves are opposite and round, without petioles. As trees mature, leaves transitions to a lanceolate shape with alternate arrangement and petioles. This is fast growing species, growing up to two meters a year.

Growing conditions:

As the hardiest of all Eucalypus species, Eucalyptus gunnii grows well in the Vancouver region. It is realitively low maintenance and tolerant of drought. It is difficult to transplant, and new plants should be small.

Suitable uses:

While this tree can reach 12 m in height, regular pruning can keep it shrub-like in size, and can even be kept in a container. This tree offers variety of sensory additions to the landscape including aromatic interest and movement.  Due to difficulty transplanting when large, it can be hard to find commercially.

CC Image courtesy of shirokazan on Flickr

CC Image courtesy of Jukka Heinonen on Flickr