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Australian Native Plants

Pruning Eucalypt hybrids.

19 years ago

1. I have 3 'Summer Beauty' Eucalypts ~ 700mm height. The one that is in the ground was planted at Christmas in the hot western sun - and all the leaves on the lower limbs browned off and died quickly. I put shading mesh in front of it, and the plant flowered well a fortnight ago. Should I prune the lower branches now?

Do pruned branches need a sealant? - I think I once read somewhere to smear petroleum jelly (vaseline) over the cut surface.

2. The other 2 red-flowering Summer Beauty are still in pots - can I plant them hard up against the white one already in the ground for a mallee effect?

3. Maybe these hybrids should not be bought by anyone, for they are created from 3 plants - E. ficifolia, E. ptychocarpa and 'grafted onto a vigorous, hardy rootstock'. Birds and insects will cross-pollinate between 'Summer Red/Summer Beauty' and local generic trees, and disrupt the genetic makeup of further plants in local bushland, ie, a hybrid will take seed and grow, formed of my bought Eucalypt hybrid and the native trees in the national Park down the street. Thoughts?

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Comments (5)

gregaryb
19 years ago
Don't stress about Wollemia!

I don't believe there is all that much rocket science to pruning natives. I always do my pruning after flowering, any time between January and April (when ever I get round to it). But the only reason why a restrict myself to this period is that there does not seem much point to cutting off all the flowers.

I like to cut off the lower branches of my Eucalyptus ficifolia and my Acacia pycnantha in order to establish head clearance as they grow. I guess my only precaution is to not to excessively reduce the foliage in the process but that is more about appearances.

I sometimes cut shrubs down to their stump if they get to staggly and, unless they are particularly stressed, they always bounce back very quickly.

If they can survive Ausy bushfires they can survive and overzealous pair of shears.
pos02
19 years ago
You might even find that the branches where they leaves fell off might re-sprout. This happened to mine a few years ago, and I just left it (make sure it has adequate water though - the recent downpour will do wonders). I don't know the science behind the cross pollination, but I'm sure if it were a problem we would have seen it by now. There are many Eucs planted in places they are not indigenous to. As far as I know, the Summer Beauty variants need to be vegetatively reproduced.
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One of the older conventions of rose care is to cut way back on a one-cane wonder to force more new canes. It doesn't work. It's kinda like beating a sick child to make it stronger, IMHO. If you really want the rose to get stronger, what I do is dig it up and pot it in good potting soil and in a pot that is not too big for the root system (otherwise they're susceptible to root rot if the pot is too big). Then I baby it along and see if I can get it to revitalize. If it's only got one cane, it's because it's weak and not growing well. Pruning off what little top growth it has will only weaken it more. Vigorous plants respond to heavy pruning by growing more, but weak plants die. I'd wait til normal spring pruning time to prune back Mr. L. I find that fall pruning in my climate, at least, results in increased cane canker from exposing cut wood to wet winter weather. Yes wind whipping can be a problem but it's better to stake and tie in most cases. You can indeed prune into old gray wood, so long as you see a bud. I'd only do a third or half the canes that way at one pruning and wait for the next year to do the others. I have revitalized old improperly pruned roses that way, but that was in mild California with long growing seasons and gentle winters. I haven't tried it here.
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I can't see the canes on the right very clearly. It looks like you have some canes tied to bamboo stakes with green tree tie. It's just my personal prejudice, but I wouldn't put up with that. If it were my HP, I'd hammer it...in the spring. At that time, I'd prune it down to 15 inches. I'd completely remove any basal canes that are scraggly (if that describes the two on the right). Then I'd prune everything down to stout wood that will support itself. If nothing is that stout, then take it down to 15 inches. The reason I'd wait is that I'm not convinced every HP is equally hardy, especially with Lyon being in southern France. You can top the plant after it gets really cold down 3.5 or 4 feet. One other thing. Again, I can't see clearly. Are those canes coming out of the ground or out of a single basal cane? I'm thinking I would probably have planted that rose deeper. I always bury the crown of any own root rose. It makes for a stouter base with more support for the basals. I plant all my roses deep, and they don't mind in the least. In your climate, it's freeze insurance.
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Ani, leaves harbor pest eggs and disease spores. By removing the leaves you open the canes up so they can be sprayed with the Neem or a dormant oil spray. It really has nothing to do with hardiness or root growth, just the general health of the plant. Roses in our local climate start to drop their oldest leaves as a natural growth cycle. By removing the leaves, we're doing what nature is going to do for us anyway. The only spray I use in my garden is one round of Volck's Dormant Oil spray after I prune in January. When using any oil-based spray, the temperature has to be under 60F, including reflected heat coming off block walls, so it can be tough getting even one round sprayed. The dormant oil spray helps to suffocate eggs and spores and should only be sprayed when the roses have no leaves. Because I often have roses from other people's yards come through mine for raffles or trades, I'm also trying to keep a disease called San Jose Scale out of my garden. Some great nurseries to purchase roses from in the metro-Phoenix area are Berridges, 4600 block E Camelback, Bakers, 40th Str & Osborn and Harpers, Hayden, south of Thomas. These aren't the only nurseries, of course, but they're well-known for quality roses and knowledge of rose culture.
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gonow
19 years ago
Pruning after flowering is the best advice. Cut the dead branches off near but not flush with the trunk. Leave the slightly raised collar intact. Don't seal with anything. let her rip is current best practice.This hybrid is considered sterile so don't worry about cross polllination.
gregaryb
19 years ago
Hybridisation between Euc botyroides and Euc camaldulensis is a problem in the Melbourne Wildlife Sanctuary - Latrobe Uni.

So you do have to be careful about the non-indigenous Eucalypts you use.

Eucalyptus ficifolia is not a problem around Melbourne at least as far as I am aware. In fact last I heard Eucalyptus ficifolia had been changed to Corymbia ficifolia, and we have no indigenous members of the Corymbia genus around Melbourne.
evandhelen_gmail_com
15 years ago
Hi, I have an "Orange Splendour' that is a flowering wonder.
i would like to prune it however am concerned I may ruin its future flowering. It is about 6m high.Regards,Evan

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