Bill - I'm really sorry. I don't have personal experience using eucalypt bark or chips in my soils. I thought I remembered a discussion in a trusted text I have (Growing Media for Ornamental Plants and Turf - by Handreck and Black) in which it was noted that eucalypt chips were suitable in container soils. After looking at that text to confirm what I said, I discovered it actually says that eucalypt BARK is suitable for use in container media, but it should be kept to under 30% of the volume because of potential Mn toxicity issues. I would advise you to disregard what I originally said and to research further on your own before deciding on the eucalypt bark or chips. Sorry - I'm glad I caught you before you went out & bought a load. ;o) Al

Let me try that again ( I have never posted a pic before!) [IMG]http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu330/flowergirl34/mysteryplant1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu330/flowergirl34/mysteryplant2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu330/flowergirl34/mysteryplant3.jpg[/IMG]

The first tree is Geijera parviflora, AUSTRALIAN WILLOW. The second is, indeed, a Jacaranda. Joe

Apparently the Eucalypts most prone to dropping large limbs are the smooth-barked ones. You are said to be safe with ironbarks, but I'd like to be more sure of this before planting them close to a house, all the same. Yes, Almeria, the greedy roots thing is often complained of here, with people saying that there is no point watering under eucalypts to get other plants to grow, as all you're doing is watering the eucalypts. There are more than a thousand species of eucalypt, including, some truly beautiful SMALL ones, with the western Australian mallees at the top of the list in my view. There are also some truly superb grafted eucalypts which should be quite safe near houses as they don't get very tall. You'd probably know already if you had any of these, by their extremely showy flowers. You can see that none of us want you to grow an environmental weed, but don't let this put you off Australian plants, as there are literally thousands of them which would do well in your climate. Before planting wattles, read up a bit on the lifespan, and see whether you're happy with what's on offer. There is a tendency for the showiest ones to be short-lived (ten years or so). Acacia decora is an exception. What about the emu bushes, Eremophila species? Can you get them over there? Their botanic name means "desert-lovers". There are several hundred species. They are showy in flower, and many of them are also good screens. (e.g. Eremophila maculata.) Trish