Advice on Eucy .

[boom64]

Hi all ,
I have had this Eucy for several years now. Collected from a mates place who told me he had a lot of Turpentines .Originally the wild base and a little bit of movement was the drawcard. Trunk chopped and wired up a new leader and pretty well left it to itself for the duration. Late summer I decided to chop of the two metres it had grown and get serious.
Now the questions ,there is a lot of growth from only one spot. First instinct is to cut to one but maybe not ? Wire for shape and grow out for thickness. Or perhaps cut these thin branches to get ramification happening.
All options and advice gratefully appreciated ,Cheers John.

[Sno]

Hi John . If it was mine ,in my climate ( cold ), I would chop down to where the the first flush of growth is on the last photo , remove any growth at the base . Then leave till warmer weather and when it's pushing new growth remove all but two shoots that are growing on the right side . One is a spare and when both or one is growing strong either remove one or grow two as a twin trunk .,wire so you don't get such straightness in the next flush then let them run again .
Nice base .
Cheers Craig

[Matt S]

Hi John,

Craig is on the money. Always remove the shoots at the base and reduce any clusters of shoots coming from the same place to 2. Once you're happy that the 2 shoots are strong enough to survive, remove one of them.

I'd be reducing the number of shoots as above then wire the remaining with lots of movement, then let them go to thicken up. Ramification can wait until you have the main branches in place, then you can defoliate which will result on the whole tree being covered in new shoots (including the trunk and main branches) and you can start on the ramification. I think eucalypts look best with foliage just at the tips of the branches, but obviously go with the image you're trying to create.

Eucalypts are good at shedding branches where the growth is weak so it's important not to let any branch grow too strongly at the expense of another.

Good luck, that's a good looking tree and well worth the effort.

Matt.

[Rory]

Hi John,

If it was mine, I’d be very different in my approach.
First off, I wouldn’t do anything until about October.
That is the optimal time for a trunk reduction.

Secondly, I’d leave the base shoots on. I’ve never had a Euc lose vigor in other areas because of other branches.
From my experience a Euc will lose vigor in a branch if it’s shaded or cut back too often.

And lastly, I’d do nothing now, but in October, I’d cut back the blue areas, including the heavy chop in the main trunk.
I’d allow about 3 red shoots to continue to thicken, as I prefer multiple parallel upwards trunks on Eucs.
If you wait until about October to cut the main trunk back, it greatly increases the chances you’ll get buds on that part between the chop and the start of the red lines.

If you cut back in another month you’ll increase the chance of die back to the start of the red lines.
But I don’t see why you’d want to lose that secondary trunk completely. I’d certainly be trying to get buds there.
I’d be leaving the base shoots to develop as well, so it keeps the tree healthy when you cut bck in October.
If you leave the base shoots on throughout this cutback it continues to feed and keep the tree healthy.

Sorry if the pic uploads sideways.

9C568ED1-981D-4967-969B-581A556EF8C9.jpeg

[boom64]

Thanks for the great advice Craig and Matt .It really has opened my eyes to what was there and to formulate a vision for the future.
Rory ,thanks for throwing a spanner in the works. A completely different approach ,dare I say old versus new. I am now in a dilemma but basically I think we are all heading in the same direction .Several trunks ,sprawling branches with patchy light foliage...
I will probably sit and stare at the tree for quite a while ,thinking of these two approaches. Once again big thanks to Craig ,Matt and Rory. Cheers John.

[Rory]

I hope my reply didn’t seem rude to Sno and Matt.
There are a tonne of different approaches, so whichever works for each person.

Both Sno and Matt make fantastic trees.
I only go by trial and error from my own experiences.

[Sno]

No worries Rory a variety of opinions based on different expierances is a good thing . It also makes me explain myself better which is always better .. We are on a similar vein except I think the main trunk chop has already been done and now it's reducing it down to where the new growth gives you the best options . For me the shoots at the top of the really straight bit aren't in the right place because of the really straight bit . I would cut it back now to around where you have the blue line because I think it would be wasted energy leaving those shoots up there . I think whether you cut it back now or when the weather warms ( November for me ) by not having growth above the blue line the tree will still die back to the strong growth below the blue line . By tip pruning any of the shoots you are going to keep even when it warms up they will slow down and maybe weaken them so for me let them run . Keeping the base shoots may strengthen the tree but the tree will also direct some energy into them rather than directing all energy into what you are keeping . My trees are still pushing growth but that will slow down soon when we get some proper frosts below -4s and 5 s . In some coastal areas I wouldn't be surprised if gums kept pushing growth all year round with enough water .

[Matt S]

All good Rory, I enjoyed reading your take. We're all on the learning curve with Eucalypts so a variety of experiences is really valuable.

No frosts here so there's not much slowing down over winter, the best way I can get them to pause for a while is to withhold the water for a while, or defoliate.

Keep us up to date John. My main advice is to decide on a design early because I've found major design changes touchy especially if it requires a big redirection of the tree's energy. Resulting die back can be a pain but also remember that deadwood can be an important part of the tree.

Matt.

[boom64]

Hi All,
Time for an update and a few questions
Since April i repotted into a fairly coarse mix with a very generous dose of native fertilizer. Hid it out the front of the house were it gets all day sun. Positioned it so the top growth would bend towards the sun and enhance the bend at the top. Actually starting to wilt by the end of warmer days. Watering heavily every day and as you can see cut back the apex pretty hard. As well as thinned out a few branches.
I think it could be time to make a few decisions ,have recently been out west and like the look of the multi apex trees. Thinking of cutting the thickest trunk at the apex to about 15 ,20 cm and hopefully get two or three shoots and begin to train them to form the basis of the apex. Or should i wait till it thickens up a bit more to keep some harmony with trunk taper before cutting.
Also what is the best to use on the psyllids ,only on one or two leaves at the moment.
Any other ideas always greatly appreciated.
Thanks John.

[boom64]

Woops wrong pix...

[boom64]

Hopefully this works.....

[Sno]

Hi John . Your tree is looking nice and healthy . With regards to the pysllids you could try neem spray , they will be coming from your local gum trees so you might never really get rid of them .
With regards to the structure of your tree , I would , where ever there is multiple branches coming from the one spot bringing it back to one branch and remove any branch you don't want That should stop it from wilting as much . I wouldn't tip any branches yet , leave them to thicken and establish more .
I am not exactly sure of what you mean by the trees out west ( any photos ) .
Cheers Craig

[boom64]

Hi Craig ,thanks for the advice. Will thin out and be patient and wait for them to thicken.
The gums were the old single trees the farmers sometimes leave in there paddocks out in the Riverina. Wish I took some photos ,maybe next time. Thanks John.

[Rory]

My advice would be similar to Sno, except, I don't mind the look of multiple branching coming from the same junction.
Having said though, with Eucs, I found them one of the most difficult trees to correct large bulging, if that concerns you.
What you have there will probably form significant bulging if allowed to grow in time.

They are a fickle species, as they can die back the branch if you attempt to cut after the first node on the primary branch. October/November is the safest time to cut back and reduce any die back chance.

In regards to the psyllids, I found the best way to not have them forming was to grow a different genus. Nothing stops them.