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Eucalyptus identification

Justine OHaraJustine OHara Posts: 35
in Problem solving
Hello there!

I was hoping for some help in identifying my eucalyptus tree...I'm thinking about chopping ot down altogether...any advice would be great please.

Posts

  • Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
    I think you will find that all eucalyptus develop the long sickle shaped leaves  once mature so it is almost impossible to name. It is probably gunni which most people buy as a baby, with the circular leaves. The only way to keep the round leaves is to coppice the tree every year, keeping it as a bush, to encourage new growth.
    I was in your situation in a previous garden. When I eventually plucked up the courage to get a tree surgeon in to cut mine down he was almost in tears as he was a real tree man and hated cutting any healthy tree down but it had to go. My tree had reached around 20ft and was leaching everything out of the soil for several feet around its base so nothing would grow.
    A great shame, but a typical case of wrong plant in the wrong place.

  • Justine OHaraJustine OHara Posts: 35
    Thankyou Joyce
    I was hoping it would be the small Bush type eucalyptus like the blue azure but unfortunately not so yes the tree will definitely have to go unfortunately.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Justine OHara There are lots of different ones not all are hardy in the UK. Yours looks to be fast growing but not sure which one it is, the one you see the most in the UK is E gunnii  very fast growing. A friend had one, the next door neighbours garage had subsidence as a result. They can be coppiced or pollarded to keep them under control.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    I had an E. gunii like that which started off as a tiny plant sold amongst the plants for containers in a local GC!  I pollarded it to restrict its growth but it continued to out compete the neighbouring plants so I removed it after another couple of years.  In the right space it can be successfully controlled by coppicing or pollarding but I don't think the resulting tree looks very natural.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • Justine OHaraJustine OHara Posts: 35
    Yes this one I bought at a market, it was in a 9cm pot!!! I honestly cannot believe how big its got. I've got another one which is more bushy and has several stems which is easier to maintain but there's just no stopping this one. I do feel disappointed to have to chop it down though as its so pretty but I just don't want it getting out of hand.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Why not try pollarding it and see how it goes?  You'll encourage those round juvenile leaves which are also attractive.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    edited March 2023
    I have several which I coppice every year. They grow about 4-6 foot in a year, and have lovely blue juvenile foliage. They look lovely as a mid sized shrub.
    You could cut yours to about 2 foot and it would soon sprout.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Justine OHaraJustine OHara Posts: 35
    @punkdoc thanks, do you have any photos? I was hoping I could do this but tbh I'm not even sure how to coppice myself!
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I have just cut mine back, so they are just short stumps at the moment.
    With yours, You would literally cut through the trunk, about 2 foot from the soil.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I used to have a few large eucalyptus of various species and they do grow very fast. One was supposed to be the dwarf gunnii variety but it headed for the sky so got coppiced. It's easy to do as mentioned above, just cut it down to the height you want it to start and then every year you can either trim it back again or thin it out (March is a good time to do it). I only cut mine down to the ground every couple of years and left some stems to mature a bit in between. They are nice for foliage but not a tree I'd knowingly plant now.
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