Corymbia ficifolia syn Eucalyptus ficifolia
This is one of the fantastic street trees in my neighbourhood. There are 3 of them in a row and they were possibly planted by the owner of the house adjacent. What makes them an ideal street tree is that they rarely get too big to interfere with power lines and they are adaptable to poor soils. In recent years grafted specimens have been released in a range of other colours including pink, red ,and purple. Seed grown plants produce variable flower colour so this was a way of guaranteeing flower colour.
The "Gum Nuts" from this tree are decorative also
Growing in a Californian garden
Pictured on a stamp released in November 1982(Designed by E Conabere)
A painting by May Gibbs (1877-1969) 1902Art Gallery of Western Australia
What a beautiful Australian tree! I have seen it in a botanical garden here.
ReplyDeleteA most spectacular tree, for sure. Eucalyptus has a long history in India, too. It was first planted in the 18th century by Tippu Sultan in his hill-top palace garden near Bangalore, and the seeds were from Australia! There were 16 species in all but E. ficifolia was not one of them!
ReplyDeleteIan, what a terrific splash of color along the roadway. I bet that they are the envy of the neighborhood. Love the old stamp & prints, also. Thanks
ReplyDeleteAnd what zones will this tree grow in? I have to have that! I just must!
ReplyDeleteI did come across the US hardy zones in a web search .It will tolerate a heavy frost and snow. Unfortunately seed grown plants are very variable and may be a bit disappointing in colour.
ReplyDeleteI am a landscaper from NZ and have developed a passion for these trees. Have started propagating them in our nursery and have found that they grow and flower well in a wide range of sites in NZ.
ReplyDeleteThey are very similar to our native Pohutukawa and Rata trees which are in the myrtle family as well, though red gum probably has slightly more vibrant flowers.
Thanks Dan for your comments. It is always interesting to hear about what is going on "across the ditch" in New Zealand.
ReplyDeleteI have one growing well in my back yard in Diamond Creek Victoria. I plan to take one to my new house in Thailand to see how it goes.
ReplyDeletePeter
Peter
ReplyDeleteAre you taking seed of it to Thailand?A grafted plant may grow well but I wonder if you can take it in to the country. Good luck anyway. Write a blog about your new Thai garden mate
cheers Ian
Hi Ian, thanks for putting up these photo's and info, I've been looking for this exact tree to do the same thing( plant between our fence and the footpath) in a row of four.Any help locating them would be appreciated
ReplyDeletecheers mate, Dean
Dean, Saw loads of these at nursery trademart last week so should be readily available at most garden centres
ReplyDeletecheers ian