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…
Do you sell or where can I buy an orange grafted dwarf eucalyptus ficifolia?
Hi Francine,
Sydney Wildflower Nursery has regular stock of Eucalyptus ‘Dwarf Orange’.
Best,
Kath
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.
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
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.
Just to add another observation, new shoots appear then a couple of days later the tips of these go black.
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.
Must be in the too hard basket ??
Can you suggest anyone who may be able to help?
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
Thanks Kath I’ll give it a try.
Chris.
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.
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
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 š as is Eucalyptus ceasia ‘Silver Princess’.
Hope some of these suggestions help,
Kath
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 EuropeĀæ? Many thanks! =)
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
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
Hellow Kath
I have a row of Karachiās 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??
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 š
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 ?
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
Chris and Sharyn, Bough ta āSummer 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
Wow! do Bunnings really replace a plant that dies once planted in your garden?
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!
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 ?
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.
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 š
Kath
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.
Iād love it if it also flowered but all of those see to have a rough trunk.
Weāll be looking at the canopy from our deck so not necessarily too dense, just beautifully and randomly shaped.
Cheers
Sonya
Hello,
Could you please let me know if itās possible to turn a dwarf ficilolia into a topiary? I have one in a large pot but feel itāll be happier in the garden itself. Iām 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,
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