Eucalyptus cladocalyx ‘Nana’ (Bushy Sugar Gum)
Eucalyptus cladocalyx 'Nana' (Bushy Sugar Gum)
This is a smaller version of Sugar Gum and is very hardy. This particular form comes from Kangaroo Island and Eyre Peninsular in South Australia. It is drought tolerant being grown in Israel without irrigation. We have found it to be quite drought and frost hardy here but severe frost may cause damage while the plant is young. This is an excellent plant for a wind break with other tall shrubs because of its more compact growth and bushy habit. It appears that it is difficult to establish other plants under this species because of its competitive root system. This tree is about 5m tall here and can grow to 15m tall. The trunk is beautiful when wet.
We have a dwarf Sugar Gum in our Perth garden, it has grown beautifully over the past 25 years and is now about 20 metres tall and has pride of place growing through and sheltering our deck..the problem is the amount of sugar gum that it excretes in summer. It covers the deck and all our outdoor furniture in a sticky glue, is this normal or is it unwell?
Hi Sue,
I believe that this sticky ‘stuff’ is a common problem. People have complained about their cars being covered in it when they have parked under particular species of Eucalypt. Not all species cause this problem. My references to Bushy Sugar Gum did not state that it was a problem plant in this. Apparently the common name refers to the sweetness of the seedling leaves.
Hi,
I have one of these to plant in our garden but can’t decide on location. The mention of competitive roots is something to consider as the plan would be to have shrubs nearby in the same bed. Any idea on how wide the dwarf or nana variety grows? I don’t want to block out too much sun. Can you prune gum trees a little?
Thanks,
Andy
Hi Andy,
Regardless of the size, the roots will still compete for moisture and I have found that to have other plants on their own dripper helps to overcome this problem and give the other plants a chance.
Our Bushy sugar is about 10m tall and 5m across. It depends on soil quality and moisture as to how big they eventually get. They are smaller than the species. These trees readily respond to pruning. They can actually be cut down quite hard and will sprout multiple branches which you can selectively prune. You would not want to be constantly pruning the tree, so choose a site where it can be left to grow.
Could you please tell me just how low we can prune a Eucalyptus cladocalyx nana? Can we keep it as a 2-3 meter bush or is this being unrealistic
My E cladocalyx ‘Nana’ has been 6m tall until it dropped a couple of branches and it is reaching for the sky again. As they can be cut quite severely you probably could keep it to 3m but you would be constantly pruning it.
lovely small gum, birds love it . Its very tough & needs absolutely no supplementary water in western NSW (tough area). Trunks are beautiful in rain & I have various huge Eremophila growing under them.
Same old story dont plant in residential areas if your fussy about letting things grow naturally.
Does the dwarf sugar gum attract flying foxes?