The eucalypts I’ve planted were chosen for being able to withstand heat and drought conditions. My aim was to give them extra water for the first two summers, and after that, they would be on their own. I knew that some of them did not care for frosts, but while this place does get a couple of frosts every winter, they are not severe. The real problem for certain hot and dry loving eucalypts is not the frosts, per se, but the sustained cold combined with wet.
The first image is of the second E. forrestiana I planted – after the first one did extremely well without any extra water at all. However, I recently noted that that particular (first-planted) E. forrestiana has been suffering from the same blight that the others in this post are showing on their leaves – see the following image below this one. Some of the leaves have brown spots and shrivelled areas – something that looks like over-watering to me on other plants, and this browning of leaves notably occurs in winter and after substantial rain.
Here is a close up image of the first planted E. forrestiana. This was planted at the bottom of the “Windmill Patch” in late 2016. My records say October, but although we may have been owners at that time, we did not move in until November of that year… In any case, this was one of the first trees I planted here, and this one was never given any extra water, but thrived nonethless – until now (Spring 2022). The leaves are browning and dying off in a way that suggests overwatering.
The next image is of E. cyanophylla. This is the second cyanophylla I planted, after the first one died of what I thought might be lack of water in a particularly dry year. This plant never looked back and had been growing very happily and steadily until this Spring and all its rain. The black/purply spots can be easily seen on its leaves.
Next image is E. brandiana. It doesn’t really mind the cold, but some of its leaves are still showing signs of stress. Since the browning has occurred on the older leaves and not the newer ones, it does not worry me so much.
The next image is of the poor E. pachyphylla (“Red-budded Mallee”), which flowered during its first year in the ground, while it was still a baby. But subsequent winters have stunted it badly, despite being planted in the open on sloping ground.
[Update, November 2022, the poor little thing has died. this Spring has been so wet, that other natives have also died due to the sodden ground and the months of rain leaving much of the property a literal bog]
Next, the 2nd E. pimpiniana I’ve tried to grow, after seeing mature trees and loving their form. But each one has not been so happy with its conditions here. For some reason they seem to like more water than they’re getting – although this one is now showing signs of disliking the damp and cold of this year (2022).
Next, putting in an image of the E. macrocarpa elachantha, since every Winter the leaves at the end of the stems start going brown and a bit crispy. It looks like insect attack in some ways, but I think too co-incidental that this only happens in Winter and most bug attacks seem to occur in warmer weather. In any case, this plant seems to be weathering the weather OK, but doesn’t grow too quickly.
This E. megacornuta started off quite well, but then a couple of damp cool winters and it began to get browned off. It would recover slightly during summer, but this Spring, despite it living on a slope, it has deteriorated further. Last Autumn, I weeded around the base, and spread some native fertiliser, but it doesn’t seem to have helped.
The next image is of E. youngiana. I thought it would be happy enough in the full sun slope of the “ex-weed-plum patch”, but it seems to dislike the winter here. I planted this due to one specimen doing very well in Shelley’s back garden in Seymour, where there’s clay soil and it gets more rain. However, I think the site there is a little more protected. I’m hoping this one will recover – once it stops raining!
Next is an image of the 2nd E. erythrocorus I planted – this one in fullish sun in the lower south paddock and protected somewhat by some Casuarinas. But every year it gets a bit peaky, and even in Summer, it seems to languish. It’s about 4 years old and still a midget with juvenile leaves.
The sadddest one of all is this E. campaspe ‘silver gimlet’. I think I planted it in the wrong place, since there’s a large tree directly north of it, and so some of the day it is in shade. But what makes me sad is that the poor thing struggled *bravely* to survive year after year here in the “Driveway Triangle”, but now I fear it has finally given up.
…and, apart from the Eucalypts that don’t like our Winters, there are other natives that, up till this Spring, have been happily burgeoning, but who have now died due to waterlogging I need to assume. When the soil eventually drains, I may need to plant some more….