Eucalyptus mitchelliana – Mount Buffalo Sally – 1 of the magnificent Mountain Gums

Eucalyptus mitchelliana

How to use in the landscape and/or garden: How to grow or train it to get the best out of it

Fabulous Rare Specimen Tree for the wider landscape, arboretum collection or avenue planting and for the smaller, medium and larger garden

Commercially: a good choice for open public spaces, parks, business parks, university campus

Rare only because people have not yet discovered this wonderful tree, not because it is difficult or challenging – it isn’t.

 Growing a full-sized standard: planting the tree and running away is an option, but it won’t necessarily give you the best results.  This is particularly important with Eucalyptus mitchelliana as it has a weeping habit and therefore the leading shoot is always leaning over. This in turn leads to the formation of a more-bushy young tree. Remain vigilant and help your tree grow vertically into a shapely mature specimen.

We suggest you maintain a leading shoot and tip prune the lateral shoots to encourage a little bushiness.  Keep all the sides shoots as they are building up the strength of the main trunk.

• To grow a large specimen, leave the tree to grow up naturally thereafter.
• For a small tree, tip prune the leader when it reaches 1.2m, thereafter let the head develop. Then prune the tree every March 18^th and end of May to keep your tree small and bushy.

For more, see our guidance notes for growing specimen Eucalyptus in our Help and Advice section.

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Growing shrub-on-a-stick clipped standard: this is an opportunity to grow a Eucalyptus in a confined space like a courtyard and also control its overall size. You can produce a small tree on a trunk with a height of anywhere between 2.4m (8ft) and 4m (12ft). Prune back growth every March 18^th or thereabouts and tip prune the annual growth back by up to 90% at the end of May. Light tip pruning can be done again during July, but no later. Don’t prune from August through to February.

REMEMBER: No grass, no weeds and a thick boring bark chip mulch, to a depth of 150 mm (6 inches) are essential to assist with good establishment. Our research trials have demonstrated that grass around the trunk of Eucalyptus prevent the trees from quickly establishing and can completely stop them from growing.

Floral Art:  Eucalyptus mitchelliana is not on our ‘Cut foliage’ list, but I see no reason why you could not use the odd branch in a vase of flowers

Firewood Production:  Eucalyptus mitchelliana is not on our selected species list for Biomass or Firewood.

Rural/Agricultural:

• Good shade tree for livestock to stand under. Eucalyptus provide a cool environment for horses, cattle, llamas, sheep to shelter from the sun on hot days, as the mass evaporation of water through the leaves creates a cool shady canopy beneath. Good choice for silvopasture on a free-draining soil.

Ecology:

• All Eucalyptus produce useful flowers providing foraging for honey-bees and other pollinating insects

Environmental:

• Growing on the Coast  Eucalyptus mitchelliana is a snow gum and a mountain gum, and geographically grows amongst the other Australian snow gums – i.e. it is a hardy tree. It will tolerate a light sea-spray so best a few miles in from the sea.

To make this work, we recommend that:

1. you plant a smaller specimen ( 5 litre pot, around 1m-1.2m tall)
2. encourage fast establishment in a deeply prepared planting pit (follow our planting advice), to encourage deep rooting to grow an upright, stable tree.
3. Staking will be required.
4. Newly planted trees will very likely require a wind break shelter for their first winter in the ground with you.
5. Zero grass or weeds during the period of establishment is non-negotiable!

• Tolerant of cold and exposed growing environments inland mitchelliana will grow in open fields and pasture, once established.

We recommend

• you plant a smaller specimen (less than 1.8m tall in a 3 or 5 litre air-pot)
• encourage fast establishment in a deeply prepared planting pit (follow our planting advice), to encourage deep rooting to grow an upright, stable tree
• Staking will be required
• In exposed locations, newly planted trees will very likely require a wind break shelter made from horticultural fleece or sail cloth, for their first winter in the ground with you; this very much depends on the level of exposure
• Zero grass or weeds during the period of establishment is non-negotiable!

• Tolerant of poor stony soils once established  E. mitchelliana is happy on poor, stony soils and does not require a rich soil.   Tolerant of arid environments, poor stony dry soils once established. It is essential that your Euc. is given our recommended quantity of water for its first 2 growing seasons in your grounds, during its establishment phase before you abandon it to its fate.  The tree needs to establish a good, deep root system before it can survive in dry, challenging conditions. No grass, no weeds and a thick bark chip mulch, to a depth of 150 mm (6 inches) are essential to assist with good establishment. Growth on impoverished soils will always be reduced.