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Eucalyptus viminalis
Myrtaceae FAMILY

Eucalyptus viminalis

Eucalyptus viminalis

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

Eucalyptus viminalis is found in the temperate to subtropical zones of eastern Australia, but has succeeded when planted at higher elevations up to 3,400 metres in the Tropics. It is grown in areas with a mean annual rainfall of 500 - 2,500mm; a dry season of 0 - 5 months; a mean annual temperature of 10 - 18°c; a mean maximum temperature of the warmest month of 16 - 32°c; and a mean minimum temperature of the coldest month of 0 - 8°c[1]. A fairly hardy species, one report suggests that it is hardy to between -15°c and -20°c[2] whilst another says that plants succumb to hard frosts[3]. Prefers a sunny position in a moderately fertile well-drained moisture retentive circum-neutral soil[2]. Tolerates poor soils, especially those low in mineral elements[2]. It grows best in valley bottoms on alluvial soils or podzolic sands with a clayey subsoil, and tolerates slightly saline soils[1]. Tolerates dry soils and also drought once it is established, according to one report[2], although another says that it is not very drought resistant[1]. 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[4]. A fast growing tree, it is often cultivated in S.W. Europe for timber, soil stabilization shelter and as an anti-malarial measure, the trees are capable of drying out wet ground, making it unsuitable for mosquitoes to breed in[5]. It has shown rapid growth in the early stages in Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In South Africa annual height growth was 0.9 - 1.8 metres. In Madagascar trees 13 - 15 years old reached a height of 25 - 30 metres[1]. 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[2]. The tree coppices well[1]. The tree is resistant to fire, usually regrowing freely once the fire has passed[1]. When the wood is to be used for pulping, coppice rotations of 6 - 8 years are applied[1]. This species is very easily confused with Eucalyptus dalrympleana[3]. Plants are shallow-rooting and, especially in windy areas, should be planted out into their permanent positions when small to ensure that they do not suffer from wind-rock[6]. They strongly resent root disturbance and should be container grown before planting out into their permanent position[3]. 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[2]. 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[2].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow late winter/early spring in a sunny position in a greenhouse[3, 7, 8]. Species that come from high altitudes appreciate 6 - 8 weeks cold stratification at 2°c[2]. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as the second set of seed leaves has developed, if left longer than this they might not move well. Plant out into their permanent positions in early summer and give them some protection from the cold in their first winter. The seed can also be sown in early summer, the young trees being planted in their final positions in late spring of the following year. The seed has a long viability[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Eucalyptus+viminalis>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]EUCLID - Eucalypts of Australia — Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canber · http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org:8080/euclid/data/02050e02-0108-490e-8900-0e0601070d00/media/Html/index.htm ↩︎A website dedicated to the genus Eucalyptus (sensu latu), with descriptions and nomencultural information on all the species.
  5. [5]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  7. [7]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  8. [8]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  9. [9]Eucalypts. (2 volumes.) — Kelly. S. · Nelson, Melbourne · 1969 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable book (in two volumes) on the many species of Eucalyptus trees in Australia.
  10. [10]Australian Medicinal Plants. — Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. · New Holland Publishers · 2001 · ISBN 1876334703 ↩︎A very good and readable guide to the subject.
  11. [11]Flora of New South Wales — http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm ↩︎An on-line resource giving a brief botanical description of all the native plants of New South Wales, their habitat and range, together with diagrams and photographs of the plants.
  12. [12]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  13. [13]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  14. [14]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  15. [15]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  16. [16]Wild Food in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · Fontana · 1976 · ISBN 0-00-634436-4 ↩︎A very good pocket guide.
  17. [17]Handbook of Energy Crops — Duke. J. · - · 1983 · https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html · ISBN - ↩︎Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
  18. [18]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  19. [19]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  20. [20]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  21. [21]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  22. [22]Native Tastes of Australia — http://tasteaustralia.biz/ ↩︎A website with detailed information on around 50 species of native Australian food plants, including recipes.
  23. [23]Flora of Victoria. — Ewart. A. J. · University Press; Melbourne · 1930 ↩︎A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
  24. [24]Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. — Arnberger. L. P. · Southwestern Monuments Ass. · 1968 · ISBN - ↩︎A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.
  25. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎