Eucalyptus paniculata

Cultivation Details

Eucalyptus paniculata is native to the warm temperate and subtropical climate of southeastern Australia, where it is found at elevations up to 500 metres. Rainfall can occur all year round, with a mean annual rainfall within the range 820 - 1,250mm. The mean maximum temperature of the hottest month is 24 - 29°c; mean minimum temperature of the coldest month is 2 - 5°c, and frosts are rare^[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -3°c, but young growth is more tender and can be severely damaged at 0°c^[2]. Requires a sunny position, succeeding in a range of light to medium-textured, well-drained soils of low to moderate fertility^[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 6.5, tolerating 5.5 - 7.5^[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant^[2]. The plant develops a lignotuber - this is a woody tuber that starts to develop near the base of seedlings and can become massive in the mature plants of some species. It possesses embedded vegetative buds, allowing the plant to regenerate following crown destruction, for example by fire^[3]. Trees can be grown with an 8 - 15 year rotation for the production of poles^[2]. Annual wood production potential is 9 - 18 cubic metres per hectare^[2]. Whilst most Eucalyptus species, grown in small numbers outside their native range, can be an attractive and useful addition to the landscape, certain species (including this one) are more problematic. When grown in monocultures, especially outside their native range, they can become an environmental disaster. They are voracious, especially in their use of water; they are allelopathic, inhibiting the growth of the native flora; they reduce habitats for native fauna; and encourage the worst possible attitudes to land use and conservation^[4]. This species has promising prospects for planting. It is a good to very good plantation species^[1]. There are excellent plantations of the tree in Brazil, Argentina and several countries of Africa. It is an important species in Mozambique and South Africa where it is listed as a good coppice species but hard to debark. It is promising in Kenya, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, California and Hawaii. It failed in Ethiopia, Italy, the Ivory Coast Zone A, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Zambia. There is frequently some doubt about the identity of some of the ironbarks, but plantations labelled as Eucalyptus paniculata are usually good^[1]. Eucalyptus species have not adopted a deciduous habit and continue to grow until it is too cold for them to do so. This makes them more susceptible to damage from sudden cold snaps. If temperature fluctuations are more gradual, as in a woodland for example, the plants have the opportunity to stop growing and become dormant, thus making them more cold resistant. A deep mulch around the roots to prevent the soil from freezing also helps the trees to survive cold conditions^[4]. Many members of this genus are remarkably adaptable however, and there can be a dramatic increase in the hardiness of subsequent generations from the seed of survivors growing in temperate zones^[4].