Silver-leaved Mountain Gum: blooming cold hardy ornamental Eucalyptus
Gustavo Iglesias Trabado 
GIT Forestry Consulting - Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal - www.git-forestry.com - EUCALYPTOLOGICS
GIT Forestry Consulting - Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal - www.git-forestry.com - EUCALYPTOLOGICS
Eucalyptus pulverulenta have started blooming in Galicia once again! Normal patterns for this specific small-leaved cultivar follow a more usual late autumn blooming period. However, depending on yearly climatic variation and the fertilization regimes, blooming can be delayed after the worst of the winter season is over. Hence, spring bloomers can be achieved!
Fig. 1: General outlook of a blooming E. pulverulenta cultivated in the tablelands of Galicia, Spain (USDA Zone 8b). Click image to enlarge.
Flower bud formation however is always from the previous growth season. This means any "delayed blooming" to next spring relies on the older remaining flower buds. So, the most likely case is a less prolific blooming than the usual happening by autumn, be it because of some of these having already flowered, be it because some of the yet immature buds have disappeared due to the effect of winter gales.
Fig. 2: Detail of flower arrangement on the silver-leaved branchlets of E. pulverulenta. Prolific flowering and gradual blooming can attract huge numbers of pollinators. Click image to enlarge.
No doubt one of the most strange looking ornamental eucalypts able to be grown in Mediterranean and temperate humid conditions, the silver-leaved mountain gum combines a mallee or straggly growth habit with great interest because of the texture and arrangement of its foliage. In addition, prolific flowering adds interest to the plant as a hummingbird or bee attractor, and, of course, as an extra ornamental feature that can be displayed at least twice per year in your garden.
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© 2007-2009 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.
Posted by Terry 6b7a NJ on 4/15/2009, 2:11 am, in reply to "Silver-Leaf Mountain Eucalyptus... in bloom!"
ReplyDeleteThat IS very ornamental! And very architectural. Though it may seem like an odd thought: But if there was any (plant) life on other planets, that particular variety looks like something you might see there!