Archive for the 'Drought Tolerant Plants' Category

I found this tree flowering in my fence line planting and as a street tree in one of the smaller nearby towns. Eucalyptus kingsmillii is a Western Australian species which is mallee shrub or small tree 4-8m tall by 3-6m wide.

We had Mistletoe birds nesting in one of the trees in the windbreak. It was the first native bird to nest in a tree which we had planted. After a storm one day I discovered that the neighbour had found the nest about to collapse and it had eggs in it. She found a stocking and slid a length of it over the nest and tied it securely to the tree. The birds continued to sit and raise the chicks.

Our plants have brilliant red flowers but apparently it is often yellow. They originate in very arid areas and need good drainage and a warm aspect. They are drought tolerant and moderately frost tolerant. Eucalyptus kingsmillii is highly suited to gardens, parks and roadside planting. It can be cut for floral decorations. Apparently this is a plant grown in California.

• A photo and article on Mistletoe Birds can be found here.

We think that this tree is Eucalyptus ficifolia crossed with Eucalyptus pachyphylla. The name probably should be Corymbia ficifolia hybrid but I cannot get used to calling Eucalypts by any other name.)

This tree is obviously drought and frost hardy here and grows in alkaline soil, which breaks all the rules if the books are to be believed. The issue is, I think, that many species are quite adaptable and noone has the full story on all species. This tree is one of those. It has large fruits which are urn shaped and very decorative. Many use them for crafts and they are fun to create things with children.

Around town the many coloured forms of Eucalyptus ficifolia are coming into full bloom. This is a spectacular plant in flower. Amazingly it grows very well here although probably not as large as it would be in better conditions. Some plants show some yellowing due to the lime in the soil but many seem to grow beyond the lime.

The colours range from deep dark red through vermillion, letter box red, orange, tangerine and shades in between and white. I haven’t seen pink but I believe there is that colour form also. This is one of the plants which, when grown from seed, cannot be guaranteed to give the colour required. Some clever people have been trying to graft Eucalypts and strike them also. I’ve read some articles on the techniques but have not had the inclination to try.