PlantFiles: Blue Gum, Tasmanian Blue Gum
Eucalyptus globulus

Zone 9b Coastal Otago New Zealand

Our property is surrounded by a hulking feral posse of these gigantic gums- but I dont really mind - Im a fatalist when it comes to having our roof crushed by stray limbs. :-)
From a sheer cliffside the gum out in front has grown about 20m in 12 years. Off to the east an existing behemoth tops out at 40ms and is currently (mid spring) smothered in a tiered canopy of huge creamy yellow flowers, with resulting avian attention.
They regularly 'self prune', dropping huge dead, and sometimes live, limbs without warning. I imagine the habit is much worse in a region with wood-boring insects.
They self seed with gay abandon, the seedlings going straight up with juvenile foliage for about 6 ms before branching and taking on an adult look. Cut them before this stage and they make wonderful fencing rails etc, due to the straightness and durability of the timber.
If youre looking for a firewood tree, this is a superb choice- the wood is hard, dense, easy to split when dry and hot-burning. They drop so much wood you dont even really have to cut them down.
They do drop ribbons of bark but we dont notice any problem with underplanting; many natives seem to enjoy the shelter they provide.
Indifferent to soil type, withstands a lot wind- our location is sea-side and very exposed to regular 100km blasts. Come to think of it, I cant say Ive ever seen a Tassie blue gum on its side anywhere. With their massive scale theyre great for drying out a boggy area and rendering it plantable for other trees.
Plant them in a group on a larger property (as much for their utility as their looks)- they have a very dignified silhouette and the flowers are wildly popular with local fauna. Eucalypts love company, which is something many people either dont know or ignore. They do so much better in groves.
Just remember- this is one of the worlds largest trees and they dont care about your scowling out the kitchen window at their wanton enormity- consider yourself warned!

nice euc

Pros

Certainly one of the fastest growing eucalyptus.
Nice Fragrance
Nice color and foliage
Can grow in any soil as long it isn't very fertile.
Drought tolerant, water tolerant.
Easy to sow, even old seeds wil germinate in 3 weeks.
Nice flowers
Attracts alot of wildlife
No pests or diseases and can repel some insect by it's fragrance

Cons

Not reliable hardy
too fast growing for container, becomes rootbound very quickly and never recovers.
Grows too fast , the stem is not hardened enough versus wind.
Fertilizer or very fertile soil wil make it grow top heavy.
not for windy sites.
grows too large to shelter in winter zones 8 and 7
can lift structures when grown to close to.
Never plant or grow it next to infrastructure or elecric systems.




The special oils in the leaves can kill most species of plants growing under or nearby, mulch the ground with pine needles or bark and clear the ground of any euc leaves.
Allow the seedpods to dry for a long time until they crack.

I grew a couple of these from seed during the summer. Six months later they are both six feet tall plus. I live in mid Alabama, and though these monstrosities are not supposed to tolerate our winters, I'm planning on planting them outsite in April just to see how big they will get until frost (they live in the greenhouse now and they're approaching the ceiling!). When these trees are young their leaves are really beautiful grey/green.

Truly massive species with a huge, twisted trunk and up to and sometimes over 200' tall. This Tasmanian native is planted commonly as an avenue tree in the Los Angeles area, particularly along athletic fields. It is messy tree with peeling bark and a constant leaf litter. THe bark is a pale color and the leaves a dull green. Reportedly in the heat of day, the leaves give off essential oils and from a distance this gives the sky line a blue tinge. There is a mountain range in New South Wales called the Blue Mountains for this reason (per a contributing member from Down Under- thanks!).