Family Myrtaceae
Originating from Queensland, New South Wales
- Stunning slender curved silver-grey foliage borne on bright pinky red stems.
- Intensely aromatic leaves and white flowers.
- Hardy once established and easy to grow in all soil types.
Elegant, airy, and willowy uniquely coloured foliage can eventually form a large tree of outstanding character, although it can easily be pruned to any shape or size. The slender scimitar-shaped foliage has stunning candy-pink veins and leaf stems to complement their bright silver-grey colour. When crushed, they smell intensely of spearmint.
Small sea urchin-like white flowers are borne in mid-summer, and are loved by all pollinators. The seed capsules can persist on the tree after flowering for many years and may require a bush fire to germinate.
This has proved to be a hardy Eucalypt, planted in our display gardens at our Suffolk branch, sailing through the winter of 2022/23, when many antipodean plants such as Callistemon were damaged or killed. It has a lignotuber, a large below-ground root, from which it can regenerate after severe weather, fires, or even drastic pruning. Easy to grow and tolerant of thin, poor soil once established, ideal in coastal gardens.
Height and spread after 10-20 years if not pruned 12m x 8m.
