My Favourite Grafted Dwarf Eucalyptus ficifolia

It is summer and we have had a lot of rain so the Grafted Eucalyptus ficifolias are in full swing, everywhere I look they are putting on a wonderful show. I have been slowly trying to collect decent photos of all the different colours and was planning to wait until I had them all covered, but they keep bringing out new colours and heights so I have decided to just share some information about some of my favourites.
This beautiful deep, deep pink flower is Eucalyptus ‘Summer Glory’, it is one of the older varieties and has lovely large leaves tat almost weep.

Below is a photo of it in my firens front garden, please ignore the rubbish bin and metal fence, it is so hard to get good photo of a trees habit! Summer Glory gets to about 6 metres tall and makes a great shade tree.

The Eucalyptus ‘Dwarf Orange’ below, it one of the 3 metre varieties; which is really a tall shrub, however it is great for small gardens, growing in a tub or as a street tree. The flowers really are almost fluorescent, you would have seen them around, there is a 2 metre form (really?!) called Eucalyptus ‘Mini Orange; and a 6-7 metre version called ‘Orange Splendour’.

I use grafted Dwarf Eucalypts in my garden design a lot, I find they make wonderful screening plants that you can under plant under and around. They sometimes need to be shaped into a tree habit (or I think they do), by pruning off the lower branches to accentuate the trunk.

This is Eucalyptus ‘Summer Red’ which has been my favourite for sometime now, largely because of the look of the leaves, they are giant and almost a glossy green, and the flower is a deep red, almost pink. This tree get to about 5-6 metres tall.

Here is another (terrible) photo of it in someones front garden, you can see how useful these trees can be as screens as they have a compact crown as oppose to most Eucalypts which are quite open.

The last one I want to show you is Eucalyptus ‘Summer Beauty’ which is a light pink form that gets to about 6 metres high.

This is a very delicate colour, as with all the grafted Eucalyptus ficifolia the flowers form in dense bunches that are very bee and bird attracting, often when they are in full flower you can hear them hummmmm…

Posted

04/02/2015

Bird attracting, Medium Tree, Natives for containers, Small garden, Small tree

Kath Gadd

Tags:

Eucalyptus ‘Dwarf Orange’, Eucalyptus ‘Summer Glory’, Eucalyptus ‘Summer Red’, grafted, large flower, orange flowers, pink flowers, Red flowers, street address, Street Trees, summer flowering

Comments

33 responses to “My Favourite Grafted Dwarf Eucalyptus ficifolia”

Francine Roose

28/03/2016

Do you sell or where can I buy an orange grafted dwarf eucalyptus ficifolia?

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  28/03/2016
  
  Hi Francine,
  
  Sydney Wildflower Nursery has regular stock of Eucalyptus ‘Dwarf Orange’.
  
  Best,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Chris & Sharyn Thomas

23/04/2016

Hi Kath,
We planted 2 of the Ficifolia dwarfs 3 months ago. One took & is healthy, the other slowly died. leaves slowly went light then yellowy. we took it back & they replaced it (most unusual). Thinking the problem may have been the soil, (although both were planted in the same soil) we planted it in a different spot using good virgin soil.
The new one is now slowly dieing, exhibiting the same symptoms as the first one.
We also kept the soil moist this time.
I have checked th pH of the soil which is 7.2, basically neutral.
Are these hard to grow (strike) or can you suggest anything we can do?
Cheers,
Chris & Sharyn.

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  25/04/2016
  
  Hi Chris,
  Were both the Grafted Eucalupts the same? as in both Dwarf Orange or Summer Red? from the same grower?
  thats the first question, I ding there can be quite a lot of variance between grafted stock….depending whom is doing the grafting.
  Second question, how well drained is your soil?
  Best,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
  1. Chris & Sharyn Thomas
    
    25/04/2016
    
    Hi Kath, Thanks for your reply.
    The original 2 were the same & from same supplier (dwarf reds). The replacement from a different grower we were told.
    I have planted all 3 in large soil mounds. The bottom of the root ball probably is below natural ground level.
    I would say the soil does not drain well.
    Chris.
    
    Reply
    1. Chris & Sharyn Thomas
      
      26/04/2016
      
      Just to add another observation, new shoots appear then a couple of days later the tips of these go black.
      
      Reply
Chris & Sharyn Thomas

30/04/2016

I dug around the root mass today to see if it was wet as we have had a lot of showers thru this week. I was surprised to find the soil was not wet, certainly damp but the soil is so light it just crumbled thru my fingers. I did mix some sand with it but I now would say it is & has been well drained.
Interested to read your thoughts.

Reply
1. Chris & Sharyn Thomas
  
  02/06/2016
  
  Must be in the too hard basket ??
  Can you suggest anyone who may be able to help?
  
  Reply
  1. Kath Gadd
    
    03/06/2016
    
    Hi Chris,
    
    Apologies for not getting back to you sooner, for some reason your follow up comments didn’t come through as an email….I would try giving it some Iron Chelates, sometimes with a sandy soil the trace elements are not available to the feeder roots and it may be lacking in Iron.
    
    Best,
    
    Kath
    
    Reply
    1. Chris & Sharyn Thomas
      
      16/06/2016
      
      Thanks Kath I’ll give it a try.
      
      Chris.
      
      Reply
      1. Ann TREE
        
        15/08/2017
        
        Hi Chris and Sharyn,
        I am a self employed Gardener and love problems with plants/trees etc. I agree with Kath that grafting does have its problems. Soil is still a very key factor and I would be looking into all aspects of nutrition for your soil. As Kath has mentioned it could be a Chelate problem. There is a white mould that can become present in the root system and this will kill your plant/tree. I have come across this a few times in some of the gardens I have worked in. If your tree has died [your Post is 16/6/2016] pull it up and check the root system for this white mould/fungus. No matter what you plant in that soil it will end up succumbing to a slow death. I have found that Solar sterilisation will kill this white fungus. This means opening up the soil to the sun and turning it frequently. Summer or hot periods are best time to do this. It could also be a lack of moisture. You say on an inspection that the soil was crumbly? It takes 2 years for a transplanted tree to ‘settle in’. That means it takes 2 years for a newly planted shrub/tree to establish a root system that will support the crown of the tree. That means 2 years of nurture in the beginning.
        Please let me know how your Fiifolia’s are going.
        Cheers,
        Ann.
Paula Tobias

21/05/2016

Hi there, i am looking for a small “gum” tree (or similar) that i can put up next to a colourbond fence that will get northern sun. It needs to be a small tree, as there are powerlines directly above it, and the fence is 1.8 metres tall…the tree can be taller than the fence..

.I’m after a “drooping/weeping habit” or a tree that can be pruned accordingly or even weighted down to encourage the shaping of the branches into a more “drooping” habit….flowering either white/yellow flowers as there are roses that are red and pink at either ends of the fence. (bit too much red/pink I think!) Its a long boundary fence.

I have an image in my minds eye that i have seen somewhere, and its to make a bold statement for people when they are passing by the fence. Looking on the internet, I’m not sure what exactly I am looking for, so if you are able to offer some suggestions, that would be great!

We get very hot summers here, 38-40+ for months followed by cold winters down to -2, with intermittent frosts. we have an underground artesian bore as well as the Lachlan River to draw water from.

any suggestions considered.

much appreciated

Paula
Hillston Backpackers….Outback NSW

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  23/05/2016
  
  Hi Paula,
  
  Have you seen Eucalyptus ‘Blue Veil’ as a grafted Standard? that would be perfect for you! Also you might like to consider Eucalyptus ‘Coral Princess’ or Eucalyptus ‘ Snowflake’. Unfortunately the more weeping grafted ficifolias are in Pinks and Reds 🙁 as is Eucalyptus ceasia ‘Silver Princess’.
  
  Hope some of these suggestions help,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Mr. G

22/10/2016

Hi!

I would like to know it it’s possible to get Corymbia summer beauty and summer glory in an Australian nursery selling abroad. if not, do u know of any nursery selling these species in Europe¿? Many thanks! =)

Reply
Ann Mackenzie

02/06/2017

Good morning

How gorgeous to see your dwarf Summer Glory, don’t apologise about the rubbish bin in the photo it actually is great for me to see the size of the tree. Is this full grown, I want to buy one for my precious friend who is a widow and she said she has always wanted one so nows the time for me to buy her little treasure.

Do you grow them I don’t need it until nearer Christmas she moves into her new home around December but if one is available now then I will look after it until then.

Kind regards
Ann

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  06/06/2017
  
  Hi Ann,
  
  Thanks for the message, sometimes Eucalyptus ‘Summer Glory’ is a little hard to get hold of, however if you are not in a hurry, you could order one from Sydney Wildflower Nursery and get it mailed out to you at the end of the year.
  
  Best Wishes,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Geoff

13/05/2019

Hellow Kath
I have a row of Karachi’s gums and although they have grown quickly, they are a real mess of leaves nuts and branches.
What I would like to do is attempt to grafta smaller
gum onto these trees and if they take I will get the tops knocked off
Do you think this would work??

Reply
Debi Cowan

08/10/2019

Hi Kath,
I am looking for suggestions for small i.e. 4 metre tall flowering gum trees please as the position is near a fence and the hight is also restrictive. Hence the four metres 🙂
I love Silver Princess the wood and the flower colour I think it is a mallee gum the way it drapes and the rounder less pointed green to grey leaves, could confirm me on this as well ?

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  21/10/2019
  
  Hi Debbie,
  
  Whereabouts is your garden? Eucalyptus ceasia can be difficult to grow in some parts of Australia, especially the more humid climates.
  There are several pother small Mallee eucalyptus species that may work, https://austraflora.com/trees/ has a good range or you could try a ficifolia grafted cultivar.
  
  Best Wishes,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
alex

29/02/2020

Chris and Sharyn, Bough ta ‘Summer Glory. Same problem as you, some leaves went very pale and fell off. I reckoned it was dying for sure. Anyway i watered it well over six weeks or so, and it came back. Now heaps of new shoots and leaves. Not game to buy another as at $70 (grafted) not cheap. If you buy another, make sure it is from someone who will replace it if it dies (Bunnings),
Cheers Alex

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  02/03/2020
  
  Wow! do Bunnings really replace a plant that dies once planted in your garden?
  
  Reply
Catherine

15/05/2020

Hi Kath, I’m loving the Summer Glory pink colour and want to plant one in my front garden however will need to prune to control the height. Does this work?

4 metres is OK but 6 will hit our wires and obstruct our view.

How quickly do they grow and reach full height?
Thank you!

Reply
Nicki

06/07/2020

Hi Catherine. That is the same question I had. Is it possible to restrict the heaight of a summer Beaty and summer glory by pruning ?

Reply
Gordon Jenkinson

04/01/2021

Hi, I’m looking for smaller (under 5m) grafted Eucalyptus variety’s that would grow in the NSW sub alpine area (Jindabyne) – bird and bee attracting preferred. Mainly granite soils with good drainage, winter temperatures down to -10 with summer temperatures occasionally reaching high 30c. Generally low rainfall area with little humidity – any suggestions welcomed.

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  22/02/2021
  
  Hi Gordon,
  
  Sorry for the delayed response. Almost all Eucalypts should attract birds/bees during their flowering season. You could try the following species that should be able to cope with Jindabyne’s conditions.
  
  – E. stellulata ‘Little Star’ is a dwarf euc that is very frost hardy.
  – E. pauciflora ‘Little Snowman’ may grow grow taller than 5m (up to 7m) but would be very suited to your conditions.
  – E. caesia ‘Silver Princess’ I have seen grown in your area before. Maybe just protect it from frost during its first winter season.
  – E. preissiana, which would also be worth protecting from frost when young
  – E. gregsoniana
  
  Good luck 🙂
  Kath
  
  Reply
Sonya

11/05/2021

Hi

We are looking for a tree no taller than 5m with a smooth, pale trunk – along the lines of, I think, a ghost gum.

I’d love it if it also flowered but all of those see to have a rough trunk.

We’ll be looking at the canopy from our deck so not necessarily too dense, just beautifully and randomly shaped.

Cheers

Sonya

Reply
Sue

23/08/2021

Hello,
Could you please let me know if it’s possible to turn a dwarf ficilolia into a topiary? I have one in a large pot but feel it’ll be happier in the garden itself. I’m looking for a plant that has a sort of umbrella shape to go into a certain spot. Do you think this would work with the ficifolia? Is transplanting it risky?
Many thanks,

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  01/11/2021
  
  Hi Sue,
  
  Apologies for the delayed response! It would be difficult to shape into a topiary, eucalypts are by nature assymetrical and tend towards a funnel-shape when left alone. You can, however, prune it after flowering to encourage a larger, more spreading canopy.
  
  Transplanting can be risky if the plant has been in a pot for a long time. This forces the roots to meld to the shape of the pot and when put in the soil the roots won’t spread out as much like they’re supposed to. This makes the tree less structurally sound, and more likley to fall over.
  
  Best of luck,
  Kath
  
  Reply
Sheleema

01/08/2022

Hi, I’m after a hardy gum, to mass plant (10-15?) to line our driveway. I would say the soil is currently poor.. Very rocky & dry clay, & the the conditions would often get very hot. I’m in Central Queensland. Ideally, I want these trees to eventually meet to form a canopy to drive through but not be gigantic. Id like fast growing trees with attractive trunks & weeping foliage & bight pink flowers. Happy to nurse the right trees until established with irrigation etc. does such a tree exist? or am I asking too much?

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  03/08/2022
  
  Hi Sheleema,
  
  To be honest I am not sure, that is quite a specific list of requirements 😉 do you get frost where you are? and is the site windy? Have you been in touch with your closest native nursery? or council nursery?
  
  Best Wishes,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
  1. Kath Gadd
    
    04/08/2022
    
    Hi Again,
    
    I just had a thought, what about Eucalyptus sideroxylon Rosea?
    
    Reply
Marie

10/12/2024

Hi, I live on the south coast of NSW. I’m after a Eucalypt that I can keep to around 3m with a compact habit and white/cream flowers. It will be facing south west and in good draining ‘native mix’ soil. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Reply
Marie

10/12/2024

I just emailed you … possibly even a Corymbia ?

Reply