PlantFiles: Silver Dollar Gum
Eucalyptus cinerea

I have E. cinerea growing (Brooksville, FL) and it has been doing great. Now (Nov. 2009) the bottom 2/3 of the tree is brown, dry and looks like it's dying. Top portion is still green. I need to know how to prune it, feed it, water it and if it's in trouble right now. Tree is about 12 ft. tall, trunk is showing the lovely shredded bark but leaves are falling badly. Didn't do this before now. What do I need to do?

In 1981 we planted a 5 gallon silver dollar eucalyptus in our front yard in Phoenix AZ. It grew like a weed and when it was about 25 feet tall my husband topped it as we had heard they could break in high winds if too spindly. That tree is now about 60 feet tall and about 30 inches around. We no longer live at that house but I drive by every so often just to look at it. Wonderful shade tree. We did water deeply to encourage deep roots. I intend to plant another one soon.

I purchased this plant from a local nursery here in zone 7a Lynchburg Va. in the summer of 2008. The plants origin was Monrovia Nursery and was approx. 9ft in height and had been kept in the greenhouse and never exposed to outside elements. I decided to take a chance and plant it outside near some pampas grass which was to be used as a wind block. The plant grew very well here in heavy clay soil summer thru December. During the winter all exposed parts of the tree had dieback. This plant had been exposed to frost,snow,ice and overnight temp. of 0 Deg. followed by several days of below freezing temps. In April the tree was pruned to the ground and with new sprouts emerging and growing vigorously. Within 2 months the plant has approx. 20 sprouts 1ft long but i am undecided to keep it as a bush or try the tree form once again.

I have wonderful success with this plant, have grown them for years. In July of 2007, I planted a 10 inch plant, and by July of 2008, it was 25 feet tall and is the wonder of all who pass by! I do need to know how the root system grows, whether down or out, and if the roots can be damaging to a house foundation. I have mine just a few feet in front of my townhouse, and the landlord wants me to cut it down for fear it will damage the foundation of the structure. If anyone has info, please pass it along. I don't want to lose my tree, and would try to dig it up and give to a friend before having it destroyed. Mine survive winters here very well if planted on the south side where they get winter sun, and mulch around them in the fall. I am about 20 miles north of Chattanooga, TN.

I bought a 5-inch tall eucalyptus in a six inch pot in the spring of 2007. I put it in an eighteen-inch pot, and it survived the winter outside with temperatures often below freezing and once down to 12 degrees Fahrenheit, in South Central Virginia, Zone 7. Now, in the late spring of 2008, it is between four and five feet tall and I'm going to go outside in a few minutes and plant it in the ground. I'm hoping it is indeed the silver dollar eucalyptus that it was said to be, because I don't want it to get more than 15 feet tall. I grew up on the central coast in California, and we had huge eucalyptus trees there. I don't have room for one of those, and they also produce a chemical that deters other plants from growing near them. There are a lot of different types of eucalyptus, and I wonder if all of the trees being mentioned in the comments are the same variety.

I have had my tree for 3 years and it is over 7 foot tall. It was about 12 inches when I bought it. My sisters was atleast 12-14 foot tall and 3 inches in diameter. It Loves Miracle grow potting soil. It loves Louisiana climate too. If you trim off all of the bottom branches it will grow really tall. Make sure to leave the ball at the base of the tree above ground. I have read not to put it close to buildings because of the root systems interferring with foundations. I have seeds I am going to try now to make more seedlings. Our Agri-Science Teacher told us they can freeze and die if the winters are real harsh.

I have noticed this tree growing in several yards in my area and I want one too!! I tried several times in the past with no luck when I lived in GA. I think I'll try again since people are having luck with it here.

last year i planted a small tree about one half foot high. in the spring and early summer, it shot up like the mercury in a thermometer on the 4th of july. it got up to about 6 or 7 feet tall. then in the middle of july, it just turned brown and died with no visible cause of death. These also tend to break in the bad ice storms that happen about every few years in columbia, so that is why there are not many large specimens sold. one more thing is that they lose their round leaves when the mature. especially at the top. they start to elongate and turn more like the normal eucalyptus leaves are.

I just discovered, from this site, exactly which Euco. this is growing in my front yard by the drive. It is a beautiful ornamental with a twisted tall trunk that has many bark shreddings coming off of it. I would say it is at least 60 feet tall. It is willowy in the crown with not all that many leaves. I have pruned around it to show it better and hope for it to grow out a bit. The leaves look just like the stuff in flower arrangements. The only negative I can think of is that it drips quite a bit of sap onto the cars in the spring.

I found two small plants in a local nursery. They had kept them in their covered type green house all winter.I planted them on the south side of my home where they'll be protected from the chilling winds of winter. They started off slow, but in early August they burst forth with a lot of new leaves. The new growth is hardening off now. For the Winter I plan on wrapping both of them up in straw and cloth to protect them for the Winter. I keep reading about people in zones 7 and below who have had luck growing this into a tree. So that's my goal - I want two Eucalyptus trees shading the south side of my home. I'll let everyone know how they turned out next year.

Ken

Hello from Atlanta!

I bought a lovely young silver dollar gum last year. He was about 8" tall and is now up to the second story of our town home. This plant is the talk of the neighborhood!

Can anyone tell me how to save branches for inside my home for arrangements and the wonderful aroma? I have cut them and placed them to dry but they just curl up.

Thanks!

Atlanta Nan :-)

I have had one growing in my yard since 1996, not sure how tall it is but its very large. I bought the whip at Park Seed in Greenwood, SC, they list it as not being hardy in zone 7. This is the first year I have seen flower buds, unfortunately the squirrels chewed the branch off, thats how I knew I had flower buds. The description says bloom time spring but my buds are on the tree now. I also planted a second tree but I have cut that one back several times, so its only about 15' tall. The first tree is taller than my magnolia tree. So if you want to grow it outside give it a shot.

Living in Edgewood, Washington (Sunset Zone 5), the "Silver Dollar Eucalyptus" grows well here. In early Spring I purchased one at the farmers market, it was a small start in gallon can. It has put on considerable growth this summer. There are several good sized trees in the area. Looking forward to this tree adding the scent of eucalyptus oil to the air.

Cultivated in colder regions for floral arrangements, but I´ve seen one or two of them growing spontaneously near roads in warmer areas (I mean warm like Rio de Janeiro), though they don´t grow very much. I guess this species prefers colder areas but tolerates high temperatures.

The leaf has a good scent, better than most Eucalipti I know.

I have three Silver Dollar Gum plants growing; one is over 9' tall and the other two have stayed about 3' tall but are beautiful because they are sprawling horizontally intstead of growing up!

Our weather went down into the 20's last winter and it didn't hurt them one little bit. I am not having much making new ones though I wonder if there is a best time of year to start plants from cuttings. My trees are young and haven't made flowers yet.

We have two of these. One grows in full sun under a power line and must be trimmed twice each year. The other--the same age growing in part shade-- has never gotten over three feet tall. When we trim the tree, we call the local florists who gladly come to cart it away. We keep some of the branches for friends and family.

My three foot tree is the cutest, most fragant item in my apt.

I like this tree--probably for all the wrong reasons. It's a quirky grower of unpredictible form [I call this the teenager model, all elbows and knees]. And the color of a good specimen is sensational. When I was a kid and came down with the crud, my mother would fill an old electric perculator coffee pot with water, stuff the basket full of leaves of this tree, and set it to perking in my room. Don't know if it worked, but I'm still here.

I am in USDA Zone 7b and have had a "Silver Dollar Eucalyptus" in my garden for three years. I thought this past winter when the temps went to 8° F that I might lose it. Its leaves did turn brown, but now I see tiny new green leaves coming on it.

My "tree" started as a small cutting and is now about 9' tall. I did see a beautiful tree in Greenwood, South Carolina (U.S.), with a trunk about 3" in diameter - this is my goal.

I have grown the Silver Dollar Eucalyptus over the past 5 years and found that it makes an exceptional specimen plant/tree. It also seems to help repel bugs (I also use Eucalyptus mulch) and is very pretty. I usually plant it with lavender roses, and they complement each other well. I love the blue-green colour, the round shape of the leaves and the lovely clean smell.

Silver Dollar Eucalyptus is a great container plant! It can be over-wintered in cold climates, or dried for everlasting arrangements.

Many Australian indigenous plants contain chemicals which are poisonous to rabbits and other introduced species. The natural pest bait 1080 is made from such chemicals which makes it safe for use in Australian habitats.

The leaves of Silver Dollar Gum are often used in Australian floral arrangements in conjunction with soft pinks such as rosebuds. Incongruous but pretty.

In Australia this plant grows in the wild especially after bushfires. The strong heat generated by its volatile oils also helps to germinate the seeds. Often amongst the first plants to spring back after bushfire.

A very easy colour foliage to live with. Try matching up a leaf at your paint store-you'll find everyone wanting to know where you got the colour.