Hi,
As a first post I thought I would ask if it's possible to reduce the size of my two eucalyptus trees. Unfortunately they have become very leggy at approx 35ish foot. I was hoping to lop off the tops down to approx 20ft. Would this be ok and would it produce a more bushy tree.
Kind Regards Clive
Yes, it would be very OK. However, if you chop them off at about ankle height, they will come more like a bush than a tree and that is the option I owuld take in most instances. If you chop them off at 20 ft, they are likely to come back like a moptop.
In South America, eucalypts are regularly chopped down time and time again as a renewable source of timber. Having seen the use the people of Sth Am make of them, I'm trying to get my husband to agree to planting a grove of Tasmanisn Blue Gums, but he hates the sods so I guess I'll have to work on finding another euc that he prefers.
I would cut them down to waist high. The stump will resprout with several shoots.
If you want it bushy, just leave all those shoots. However, they will eventually grow up as multiple leggy trunks again to the current height.
Alternatively, when the shoots are about 2-3 ft long, remove all except one. You will then get your original tree in about 3-5 years.
Leggy is the nature form of the tree.
In the meantime, cut the old trunk into logs. Put them in the sun for about a year. They will make excellent firewood.
It would help if said what species they are but many eucalypts naturally grow tall and leggy. I would take them lower to about 10ft and leave all the new shoots to spread and bush out. They are likely to sprout new shoots from the base not just where you cut them. Depending on species the trunks and branches may be good for construction or firewood or both. Some species take to coppicing on a regular basis once established without any ill effects.
David
Some tree varieties can be pruned to form a bush which is much more manageable in the home garden. These trees must be trained from the first year through a technique called coppicing. Cut the eucalyptus tree straight across in the first year so it forms a stump that is 3 to 5 inches high. Trim any rough edges on the stump.
Choose four well-formed, well-spaced branches that have grown in the past year and cut off all remaining branches. Try to leave branches that are spaced evenly around the stump. These branches will have formed either from the stump or the ground. This is all the pruning needed in the second year. Remove any new branches that sprout up from the stump or ground each year but allow sideshoots to form on the four originally chosen branches. Trim the sideshoots only when they are broken, unhealthy, drooping or rubbing on other branches.
:-)) My thoughts exactly. I suspect some people think all Eucalypts are alike.
Prune an eucalyptus? Are you mad? Wait for a gentle breeze, and the limbs will fall off by themselves.
Tut tut, such generalisations, and in public too.
David
Uh huh. I've live around eucalyptus trees all my life. Damn things may make fast growing wind breaks, but they are dangerous.
So you have lived with all 700 odd species? What about the other close genera that resemble genus eucalyptus that are often informally called eucalyptus, all those too?
Not all 700 species drop branches. Some are dangerous. We don't know whether the species the OP has are branch droppers.
D
Billy that is crap. SOME Eucalypts can be dangerous. Not all Eucalypts are dangerous.
And there was I, within the last few days, mentioning how some people thought all 'Eucalypt' were alike.
THe eucalyptus that we have in the states seem to be singularly similar. I broke a leg on a seed pod when I was 5, and they smashed some cars during high winds several years ago. But if you got assorted gangs of them roaming your country side, it is probably best not to irritate them. Are there some of them standing behind you now?
Reminds me of Australians. They can be brash and impulsive, AND helpful, good friends. Now don't get your shorts in a twist, Fran. That was meant as a compliment.
We had a bit of a wind storm today, and the trees here in the hills were movin' around pretty good, so I was worried what it would be doin' out on the flats. To get into town, quickly, I need to drive through a stand of eucalyptus, and was amazed that the road wasn't cluttered with limbs. So much for stereotyping.
The use of eucalyptus along California roadways continues today, but the species have changed. In 1961, CalTrans (responsible for maintaining roadways) planted camal- densis, citriodora, caldocalyx, polyanthemos, rudis, and sideroxylon. In the 1980's, 11,000 caldocalyx, 10,000 camaldensis, 6,000 sideroxylon, and 3,000 rudis were planted along highways.
Very few people know that California had malarial problems. Malaria could be found in the Sacramento Valley and Kern County last century. Throughout the nineteenth century, it was believed that the eucalyptus fought malaria simply by disinfecting the ground and air. By the end of the century, the cause of malaria was found, and the eucalyptus' true relationship to the disease became known. The female anopheles mosquito carries the malaria parasite and implants it in a human's blood system. The mosquito's home and breeding ground is generally in a area of standing water such as swampland. Because the eucalyptus absorbs large amounts of water, it can drain swampland thereby destroying the habitat of the mosquito, and consequently stopping the spread of malaria.
OK, so it's not so bad, but its still got some rough edges.
Nyah, nyah nee nyah nyah! Told ya so!
(Ducking and running......)
Kisses to you too me old plate of meat :-))
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