EUCALYPTUS grandis

A rapid growing tree, seedlings from Australian plantations have been recorded putting on 7 metre in height in their first year.

A tall straight tree growing to a height of 50 metres or occasionally to 75 or 80 tall with smooth powdery white or blue-grey trunk with a persistent rough bark around the base of the trunk.
Lanceolate foliage 10-16 cm long and 2-3 cm in width, Flower buds occur in the leaf axils in groups of seven before opening to display white flowers in Autumn.

Commonly known as the Flooded Gum or Rose Gum Eucalyptus grandis is widely grown as plantation timber in many countries with large stands in South America.
Originates in the sub-tropical regions of Northern New South Wales and Queensland but performs well in most temperate regions.

Prefers a moist soil in and open sunny position.

Grow notes:

Eucalypt's germinate readily from seed and are generally considered one of the easiest natives to grow from seed.

Depending on the species Eucalyptus seed comes in various sizes from very fine to several millimetres long. As a rule of thumb seed that is fine should be sown on the surface of a porous mix and not buried. Seed 1 to 2 mm in diameter can be covered very lightly and seed from 2 mm up can be sown to a depth of the seed width.

Although seed can be sown most of the year in many parts of Australia seed is generally best sown in spring or autumn in temperate climates, avoid the coldest and hottest months of the year. The optimum germination temperature for germination is around 18-22°C

1. Sow seed on surface of a porous seed raising mix. The seed will lodge in the the pores of the mix once watered.
2. Sprinkle a very light covering of the seed raising mix over the seed if required to hold the seed in place. Do not bury seed deeply.
3. Water with fine mist spray to avoid disturbance of the seed.
4. Place in a warm shaded or semi shaded position to avoid dying out.
5. Keep warm & moist, avoid drying out or waterlogging the growing mix.
6. Germination generally occurs in around 10-28 days in the right condition.

General note: Seeds of many natives are dormant and require specific conditions or pre-treatment for germination.
Do not be too hasty to discard seed that does not germinate, seeds will often lay dormant until the conditions are similar to their natural requirements for germination to occur. Containers put to one side will often surprise long after they were discarded.