Eucalyptus nitens (The Shining Gum or Silvertop)

Eucalyptus nitens, The Shining Gum, is a tall and fast growing tree from open forest areas on the mountain tops of New South Wales. Imagine great areas of these beautiful trees with long slender grey leaves, white flowers and mottled grey and white bark. In the wilds of Australia a full grown tree may reach 70m tall and it can grow three metres in a year. So do take this into consideration when falling in love with them.

While it might not get to be quite that size in the UK, it is a tree for large gardens. For those of us without parklands but still a desire for this lovely thing, a decision to coppice them, in other words to cut them back closer to the ground is a tried and tested method of managing this fast growing and happily rejuvenating tree. In fact, if you are ‘all in’ for Eucalyptus nitens and want to thrust a little persuasive architecture its way, cut it back regularly during the first three or four years of the tree’s life to cause it to shoot again and develop multiple slender trunks.

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well watered when first planted.