EUCALYPTUS polybractea - Pure Seed

Eucalyptus polybractea is a small multi-stemmed eucalypt with flower buds which are cup or barrel shaped 3–5 mm across with four enclosed valves. Creamy-white flowers occur in clusters of 7-11 from March to June in its native range.

Growing between 5 and 10 m in height with a spreading bluish canopy and a fibrous rough bark on the lower parts of the trunk with smooth white, pink, orange or grey above.
Juvenile leaves are narrow and greyish in colour. Adult leaves are bluish or greyish-green and lance-shaped.
Widely grown for oil production and salinity control in Western Australia

A dryland mallee endemic to central western New South Wales and central Victoria.

Adaptable to a range of soils but prefers a well-drained soil in an open sunny position.  Drought and frost resistant and tolerates slight to moderate salinity.

Grow notes:

Eucalypts 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 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.