Happy National Eucalypt Day

Eucalypt Australia is the operating name of the Bjarne Klaus Dahl Trust which aims to promote and educate the community about the conservation, cultivation, diversity and importance of eucalypts.

March 23^rd each year is declared National Eucalypt Day and many organizations and groups conducted events to celebrate the beauty, diversity and importance of our endemic tree.

After a traditional water ceremony at the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens yesterday, horticulturalist Russell Larke conducted a walk through parts of the Australian Garden with an emphasis on Mallee species that would make great additions to private gardens.

Typical Mallee habit - South Australia

A ‘Mallee’ is a multi-stemmed eucalypt, seldom more than 10m tall, with a woody structure at the base containing lignotubers that enable recovery after fire or other major damage. In a garden situation in fact, Mallees can be periodically pruned to ground level to keep in check out of control growth and to promote re-shooting and flowering.

Many Mallees will happily grow in our temperate climate but well drained root zones are generally required.

Red-capped Gum flower, Eucalyptus erythrocorys (Credit: gardenigwithangus.com.au)

Red-capped Gum bud, Eucalyptus erythrocorys (Credit: gardeningwithangus.com.au)

The diversity of bark, leaf, fruit and flower structure can make many Mallee species interesting additions to a garden.

Why not wipe a weed and mulch a Mallee!