anyone who has ever seen the pix of this tree.. wants it ... lol

see link ... you are going to have to study and compare to your location ...

my very brief perusal seems to indicate an incredibly small natural distribution ... as well as heavy moisture and drainage needs ...

i note your thinking.. seems to be limited to temps alone ...

do you really think.. temps aside.. you are near equivalent to Indonesia??? ... though NZ seems rather green ... i really dont think of it as wet as Indo ..... but what do i know ... lol ... north of the equator and all ...

as tom notes.. try it.. whats to lose????

ken

ps: if you were state side.. i would recommend the forestry school of your state university ... you must have some sort of equivalent ... local experts are probably going to be better than us ....

http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/k4063e/K4063E03.htm

Yeah this is probably a question for locals - i.e., anyone else in Macaronesia LOL. But I look at the fact that, though there are a couple fine trees at the Huntington in Pasadena, they are not a widespread tree in Southern California. The Huntington is probably the perfect combination of away from the immediate marine influence, giving it nice warm summers, but not too far inland to have bad freezes in winter. I would try them if you can do so economically, but I feel like, if these were easy to grow anywhere but the tropics, they'd be widespread in subtropical areas like yours. It's telling, for example, that even the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney doesn't have one. Besides having summer rain, Sydney is just a little cooler and wetter than LA in winter. (though a little sunnier and drier than Santa Cruz)

Actually, as I compare Funchal to LA, Funchal is somewhat warmer and sunnier than I expected. I wouldn't be completely surprised if one could mature there; but the Azores are a bit cloudier than Madeira, right?

For reference, Pasadena's climate:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena,_California#Climate

Notable is that almost half the year is above 80F/27C, and 2-3 months of it substantially so.

Thanks guys for your advise. Actually I started growing "Eucalupta" from 1100 seed (I know, an overkill) in a small box about a year ago and now they are outside for a couple months planted in pots (only 12 specimens that are less than a foot tall). Hoping that a couple will make it. Basically I still hope that someone with Azorean, Lordhowean or Newzealander experience will answer my call as well. I did try to grow them and this is why I am growing them right now and perhaps you missed that I wrote that they are struggling here with this wind and hell knows what else is wrong, but they are not dying either. Indoors is not heated so there is no point keeping them indoors and I don't have a greenhouse. Yes, I am very much into providing all my experience and future experience to this forum once my experience progresses. Not just asking questions, but am posting what I already know from my short experience with "Eucalupta" (sorry, this is my nickname for it). I have grown one in a warmer summer but freezing winter environment elsewhere in a zone 8A and it was growing much faster, but in winter I brought it indoors and it stood no chance to grow and survive there long term. Here it is a zone 11B but a summer heat zone is probably 1 or Zero :-). So I do have an experience albeit short one and am looking for those people who have long years experience growing "Eucaluptas" in a cool summer, warm winter environment, if any. You know, 50F to 80F. I am testing dozen different plants here, just for hobby's sake. But also important to note that we get high moisture most of the time and sometimes there is a lot of wind. Being 2km from the coast I may not get a lot of salt spray from the Atlantic Ocean. Soil is well draining and rocky and there is a lot of rain here and a lot of moisture, but it can be one week of no rain in summer and quite warm in the 75-82F range. Surprisingly not too many Pinus pinea here either. Most popular pine here is Pinus pinaster (Maritime Pine).

David probably meant The Canary Islands, of course, they are much more south than here and that's where I wanted to end up, but here in the Azores is a better climate because you don't get the humid high heat so much and not very cold either, but a good sleeping weather most of the year and very little heating is needed while in the Canaries and even Madeira you would probably need a/c a lot and some heating as well. Guess what, bananas grow here outdoors without protection other than wind breaks.

Regarding Azores being like Indonesia. I doubt very much, although I've never been to Indonesia. Azores is more like Ireland mixed with tropical volcanic island. They call it The European Hawaii. It is not really tropical, but there is no freezing and nothing below mid 40Fs (on rare occasion on winter nights), and nothing above 85F either, but most of the time it is 50s and 60s, outside of summer and 70s in the summer, with occasional low 80s as peak temps for a shorter time periods. There probably not another exactly the same climate like this in the world. At latitudes 37 to 39 degrees and warmed by a Gulf Stream, it is too far North to be tropical, but it is not subtropical either, because Subtropics get a lot of hot weather and Tropics get slightly warmer during winter, so it is rather a Temperate Pseudo-Tropical Oceanic climate as I would call it, and only in lower elevations as higher up say 1000 ft. and up it never gets over 70F and probably gets closer to freezing in the winter nights.

Probably a good climate for plats like fatsia japonica and gunnera manicata

Interesting discussion on the Azores climate. Perhaps post photos of your land/scape?

I will post videos for now:

More videos:

One more:

"my short experience with "Eucalupta" (sorry, this is my nickname for it)."

I think it's a good one!

Keep us updated on them...you would be a horticultural pioneer.

"but here in the Azores is a better climate because you don't get the
humid high heat so much...good sleeping
weather most of the year"

This however might be exactly why this species will struggle to survive there. Yes I edited the tail end of my prior message but of course I mean the Canary Islands seem to be the only ones that have really hot summers, in the manner of Pasadena at least. In a borderline area this presumably allows some true tropicals a chance to thrive. On the UK forum "Growing on the Edge" there are various Europeans with travel experiences in Madeira and the Canary Islands so you might ask there if anybody has ever seen one.

Reminder of my picture of one of the Pasadena trees:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1731828/rainbow-eucalyptus

It was more colorful in person.

In the Azores Eucalupta will probably grow 3-4 months during the summer and then either stop growing or slowly decline, especially from high winds. I'll keep informed. All I can tell now that during the month or two outdoors the seedlings did not grow much (although the red "trunks" got slightly tougher and thicker if I am not mistaken) and one of the dozen got broken in half, but I taped it together in hopes that it may recover. It seems to dislike temps below 20C or even stop growing below 20C (68F). It's a nice photo. I think that in California etc. Eucalupta may completely lack the blue colour on its bark. It is possible over a long time they may become a different species or subspecies in Calif. and Azores. Just like the CIDP did in Charleston, South Carolina. Yes, Charleston has very different looking CIDP variety. Lighter green and softer fronds, and more hardy, but still not good for zone 8A. Back to Eucaluptas... if I am not mistaken they are being grown in southern Spain.

WOW! Thanks for posting the videos. Beautiful scenery, you may be able to grow most anything. We would love to see your garden/Eucalupta endeavors.

"It is possible over a long time they may become a different species or subspecies in Calif. and Azores."

I don't quite think that's warranted but a locally-adapted strain might be selected. The odd looking (to you, presumably) CIDP in Charleston could either be the result of a selection for certain traits, or merely a mild chlorosis from growing on very nutrient poor, non-volcanic soils, compared to what you are used to seeing. Or a physiological adaptation to the climate of the SE, versus a true genetic/gene flow based on.

I'm sorry-did I miss something by (not yet) having watched the videos. What is CIDP?

Pico, a most interesting convo. At this early stage of thinking about it, might there not be a microclimate situation that would enhance the survivability of these Eucs? I'm thinking a cove situation or something like that, where humidity and possibly nighttime warmth might be more favorable? That's not to say you have such at your disposal. Just thinking uh, online.

+oM

Maybe on the south side of the island? In a greenhouse-skyscraper? I prefer to grow it exposed to the elements. If it does not make it here I move on to growing those that will grow here without nursing them to old age. CIDP = Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis).

Senegal Date palm that I planted on a slight slope that gets exposed to some winds, which snap broke its newly grown long frond, now is growing much shorter fronds, just half length of previous ones, which means it is adapting, within months of planting to the new situation. I've noticed palms exposed to winds grow thicker and denser fronds as well. Eucalupta may do something like that as well, grow shorter and tougher. I will even try to bend and tie up some of them to the ground to see what shape they will take. Not trying to make bonsai though. Just to protect them from winds and I prefer eucalyptus not to grow very tall here and block the views or fall onto a house.

Update: Eucalyptus deglupta that I raised several dozen of and only this past winter I planted 6 of them into the ground at an elevation of around 150 m above sea level, into a poor "soil". They did not grow too large in their pots over the past 5 years. After clearing an acre or so of shrubby woods with an excavator I was struggling to find some soil to purchase in order to cover the field. The soil I covered it with by just a barely a foot or so is very poor and has a lot of volcanic "gravel" in it mostly, stones and clay. It is dug up from down deep so it has got no organic matter yet. Finally the 6 x "Arcoiris" (Rainbow Eucalyptus) are in the ground and are slowly growing. Some showing deep, red foliage and some green foliage. The bark is still mostly light brown with some opened up patches of light green. They should show more colour when the trunks grow to at least 10-15 cm thickness if they will have tropicals colours here at all. Will see how their bark will look after several more years, whether all brownish and light green or will show some more tropical colours such as orange, red and especially blue. I will post an update then and now here are some photos of the pot-grown ones after 5 years (they grow very slowly in the pots):

Anyone growing these in Portugal or Spain please post up close photos of the bark of larger E.d. (Eucalypto arcoiris) trees if possible.

This one does not even look like Eucalyptus deglupta, with all the green leaves and the yellowish branches. I was sold some mixed seed over 5 years ago that's why there was a difference in the size and speed of growth of the seedlings.

Actually the pots in your last shots are significantly small relative to the size of the tops of the trees. Planting fast and tall growing trees such as this species with roots deformed by prolonged entrapment in undersized containers is particularly undesirable as kinds with this manner of top growth may blow or lean over later. After having become tall and heavy enough to do damage.

always nice to get a real update on these old threads and not some careless drive-by bumping