This E. burdettiana was purchased from Dean Nicolle in March 2020, and planted here in May of that year. After checking where E. burdettiana was likely to grow in Western Australia, and what conditions it favoured, I thought this site on the side of a slope comprised of granite boulders might be to its liking. When this tree was planted it had been raining, and water regularly trickled down the boulder above the the small depression in which it had been planted. As the photos below show, it was inclined to grow very quickly, and because this site was also open to strong southerly winds, the sapling was staked on three sides with ropes so that it could move around but would not be blown over.
E. burdettiana. Planted May 2020. Image taken July 2022
However, in early 2023, having become rapidly top-heavy, it was discovered to have almost completely blown over ‘uphill’ rather than downhill – which would have been more expected. The roots on the downhill side were thus exposed and some of the longer thicker roots on either side of the drip line looked as if they had been severed.
After this, the tree was righted and re-staked, and extra soil and two large logs were used at the base of the downhill side of the tree to help the roots become more secure. The following 4 images were taken after the restaking and from 4 different angles. They are reproduced below for recording how it looked then and in case it later succumbs to local wind and rain conditions.
E, burdettiana. Planted May 2020. Image taken March 2023.E. burdettiana. Planted May 2020. Image taken March 2023.E. burdettiana. Planted May 2020. Image taken March 2023.E. burdettiana. Planted May 2020. Image taken March 2023.
According to Nicolle (2016: 174) E. burdettiana is rare both in cultivation and in the wild, so I was even more keen to keep it alive. The Euclid site provides for further information on, and description of this species .
Update July 2023: E. burdettiana seems to have survived the winter so far, and is living in a trickle again. Some of the new leaves look as if they are unhappy with the cold, but they are not dying. Latest image below
E. burdettiana with wet rock. Image taken July 2023.
After the unprecedented rains of the Spring last year, several of the natives turned up their toes, especially the Acacias in damper patches. Some of the Eucalypts that were never so robust, also decided that they’d had enough battling the cold and damp of Mt Alexander winters (c.f. previous posts re: E. megacornuta, E. pimpiniana, E. pachyphylla).
The front ex-weed plum patch on the other hand seems to be the most favoured place for successful growing – probably due to its being on a slope, having sun all day (aligned north-south), and having deeper soil. One of the only 3 surviving of seven A. paradoxas is still doing well in this patch. What follows is a record of some of the successful Eucalypts that have survived at least 3 years in this area of the garden.
E. cyanophylla. Planted April 2019. Image taken 16th January 2023
First image (above ) is of E. cyanophylla, the second one tried on the property – the first one was planted in the upper south paddock which is normally very hot and dry, but that one did not succeed past one year. This one is halfway down the front slope, and has always seemed very happy there. After the first summer, it has not been watered. When this image was taken it was 3 years old, and chest height.
Next is the Kalgan Plains Mallee, and although planted at the same time as the E. talyuberlup which is illustrated later in the post, this one is slower growing and is still around waist height. It is quite robust so far, and seems to like extra water. The new growth of the stems and leaves are orange and quite pretty. In the image below, the plants seen behind it are a large Acacia provincialis to the left, and an Acacia genistifolia to the right. I’ve tried growing A. genistifolia in other places in the garden, but this is the only one that has done well.
E. pachyloma (Kalgan Pains Mallee) Planted October 2018. Image taken January 2023. E. yarraensis. Image taken January 2023. Planted October 2020.
This E. yarraensis is not, strictly-speaking, planted in the front ex-weed plum slope, but at the bottom of the slope, in a seasonally damp patch in a depression next to the old windmill. It was planted as a tubestock (bought from the local ASQ nursery) in October 2020, and grew very fast. One summer watering the first year, and that was it. In the background can be seen one of the three E. citriodora, which were already mature trees when we arrived in 2016, and which I think may be hybrids, since the leaves are not as long and do not have as pungent a smell as other citriodora I’ve encountered in the past.
E. talyuberlup. Image taken January 2023. Planted October 2018
This E. talyuberlup is one of the fastest growing Eucalypts on the property (apart from the E. scoparia just up the slope), and not watered after the first summer. Very pretty with its new red stems and almost shiny green leaves. Unlike some of the other Western Australian eucalypts, this one was not worried about the winter cold. In this image, taken in January, there is a small Grevillea olivacea in front of it, as well as a hose used for watering smaller plantings due to heat of summer. To the left of the tree, and down the slope, one of the Acacia boormanii is visible.
The next image is of the E. rosacea, which has always done well, with only one watering in its first summer. It was planted next to the E. synandra which is said to be similar apart from observable differences in the flowers, but so far the rosacea has put its energy into growing, and has not flowered, while the synandra has flowered twice. However, the synandra has been subject to attack by bugs, and it’s always looked a little peaky [at time of posting, recent image of the synandra not available].
E. rosacea. Image taken January 2023. Planted December 2018
The following image is of the E. conferraminata, bought along with others from Dean Nicolle in 2020. It was hurriedley planted because it was not doing well in its pot, drying out very quickly, so I wondered whether it would survive, since the slope does not get regular watering. However, it seems to have grown into its spot and looks healthy 3 years later.
E. conferraminata. Image taken January 2023. Planted March 2020
The next two images are of the same tree, E. vesiculosa, taken at two different angles. Like the E. conferriminata above, this one was brought over from SA after visiting Dean Nicolle’s arboretum Open Day.
E. vesiculosa. Image taken January 2023. Planted March 2020E. vesiculosa. Image taken January 2023. Planted March 2020
Next is an image of the 2nd planted E. pyriformis. Last year (2022) was the first time it produced one (1) flower. This is in contrast the the first planted E. pyriformis on the other side of the driveway, which has flowered prolifically every year since it was planted in November 2016.
E. pyriformis #2. Image taken January 2023. Planted November 2018
Following are three images of the earlier planted E. pyriformis, growing on the opposite side of the driveway, in a slightly drier patch. The first image shows most of the tree with buds and open flowers, the 2 images after that shows a close up of the flowers and buds (the first, behind wire, as protection from hares and/or kangaroos). Note that the images were taken in November and December, so this indicates what time of year flowering can be expected.
E. pyriformis. Planted November 2016. Image taken December 2021E. pyriformis. Planted November 2016. Image taken November 2019E. pyriformis. Planted November 2016. Image taken December 2021.
The next three – E. saligna, E. wimmerensis, and E. stricklandii – are not planted in the front ex weed-plum slope, but in the so-called ‘driveway triangle’, opposite that patch, on the other (north) side of the driveway. Sydney Blue Gums (E. saligna) are said to need extra water in summer, so it was planted next to a stand pipe (c.f. the next image to follow). However, after the first summer, it wasn’t given any extra water than any of the others, and it seems to have thrived anyway – apart from an early attack by hares, and then annual farming by the local ants of some red sap-sucking beetles .
E. saligna (Sydney Blue Gum). Planted 2018. Image taken January 2023.
The next image is of the E. wimmerensis “Tucker Time”, which we bought as it promised to provide nectar for birds due to prolific flowering – hence its name. But, so far, no flowering, although it has grown well in that spot.
E. wimmerensis (Tucker Time). Planted 2019. Image taken January 2023.
The next image is of E. stricklandii. This was given to me as a small potplant by Shelley Frawley, and planted in 2018. It’s always done fairly well in this dry and windy spot, with little supplementary watering. It promised to flower last spring, but it seems that all the rain has made it decide to hold off a while longer. The buds can be seen in the image below.
E. stricklandii. Planted April 2018. Image taken January 2023.
The next image is of E. laeliae. I wasn’t sure if this would survive as it comes from a more tropical and wetter in summer climate. For this reason, I planted it in the swale on the north side of the property, which remains wet in winter after it rains. The reason I wanted to try this one is due to the promise of a white trunk. Other eucalypts I particularly like for their pale smooth trunks have also been planted here – E. saligna, E scoparia, E. victrix. The laeliae is just beginning to have a trunk that can be seen – although not yet very visible in the image below.
E. laeliae. Planted September 2019. Image taken January 2023.
The following image is one of two E. tetraptera planted on the front ex-weedplum slope. Since this image was taken, the plant has grown very leggy – possibly due to last Spring’s rain, and because of this, recent images cannot capture the whole plant. It’s about to be cut back severely, but according to advice, this will cause it to quickly resprout more thickly from a lignotuber. For the past year, however, it has pretty much flowered constantly. Unfortunately this image does not show the flowers – which are small in comparison to the size of the tree. Maybe later, before it is pruned.
E. tetraptera. Planted October 2017. Image taken February 2022
Finally for this post, an image of the second attempt at growing E. macrocarpa, at about 3 years old. The image shows the residual plastic frost protector, as it definitely does not like the cold – every winter the leaf tips turn brown, but seem to recover once the warm weather returns. As this was taken in February, the leaves look quite healthy in this image.
E. macrocarpa ssp elachantha. Planted April 2019. Image taken February 2022.
