Description
Eucalyptus nicholii ‘Avon’ – Willow Peppermint
Introduced to the UK by Hardy Eucalyptus at Grafton Nursery in 2022. We particularly like the form of this selection growing in our nursery. E. nicholii ‘Avon’ exhibits a neat upright habit and shows great promise of growing into a handsome, well-shaped specimen tree.
Feathery foliage more reminiscent of a willow tree than a typical Euc! This versatile and wonderfully fragrant Eucalypt can be grown in several ways. Train it as a standard tree, prune it as shrub-on-a-stick, grow it as a bushy shrub for fun or cutting for the house, great in a container on the patio (Air-Pot container ofcourse!)
Click here to learn more about how to best grow a Eucalyptus successfully in a patio pot or planter
Hop across to the tab labelled ‘How to Use’ to learn more about Eucalyptus nichollii and how it can be grown, trained and enjoyed. 😎
The ‘Planting Position and Soil’ Tab tells you all about the growing preferences of Eucalyptus nicholii and how to keep it happy 😊
The Trivia Tab is for nerdy botanists! 😁
Biometrics for Eucalyptus nicholii ‘Avon’
Shoots ‘n Leaves: Young shoots are initially pinky bronze with flecks of gold.
Juvenile foliage is long and narrow, feathery, sage green and looks spectacular against the strong carmine/burgundy stems.
Adult leaves are 12 cm long and 1 cm wide and continue to resemble those of a willow
Bark: In maturity the bark is fibrous and deeply fissured lengthways; the yellow ochre to mushroom colour shreds to reveal underlying layers of dramatic russet foxy brown. Splits in mid-summer to fleetingly reveal bright Eau de Nil before returning to foxy-russet ‘cadbury’s flake’.
Flowers: White flowers in clusters of 7, appear late summer to early autumn, ours is in flower from end of August onwards well into October – great for the bees.
Leaf Aroma: Wonderful strong eucalyptus aroma with suffused with fresh peppermint.
Rate of Growth: Medium to fast, 1.0-1.5 metres per year in optimum conditions.
Height in maturity, if left unpruned: Short term, the tree quickly reaches around 6-8m. About 10m after 10-15 years, ultimately around 12-15m, but can be kept smaller with occasional pruning. Always prune March 18th and end of May. Avoid pruning in Autumn or Winter.
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Click here to read more about the pruning of Eucs.
Click here to watch our YouTube video on pruning
Hardiness: Moderate to good hardiness, root-system generally tolerating down to -12 to -14°C on a sheltered free draining site.
Hardiness in Eucalyptus is governed by
- provenance of seed (all our seed is sourced from frosty or cold locations)
- how it is grown (i.e. high nitrogen levels reduces cold tolerance). Eucalypts need to be grown without stress – see our blog post on the subject.
- the age of the tree – the older your tree, the hardier it will be. Younger Eucs are more susceptible to frost damage.
- how long it has been planted in the ground. The deeper you can encourage the rooting by digging a deep planting pit at the time of installation, the quicker your tree will establish and you will increase its ability to survive cold winters. See our planting notes for more details.
Click here to read more about hardiness in Eucalyptus and how you can help your Eucalyptus to be as hardy as possible