Eucalyptus moorei – Little Sally – 1 of the most gorgeous short bushy trees

Description Eucalyptus moorei aka Little Sally or Narrow-leaved Sallee. Sallee/Sally is a corruption of old English ‘sallow’, meaning willow The most beautiful, small and slow (for a Eucalyptus) growing tree, often seen as a multi-stemmed tree (a true mallee species), but can be trained into a fine tree with a single trunk. Personally – for a small garden – I think its best grown in its more bushy format, because you get more fragrant foliage, its easier to manage with pruning and well……its just …easier! Eucalyptus moorei has a very elegant form, with a light airy canopy. On the build up to flowering, the pale golden petioles and golden star-shaped flower clusters give the whole tree a most beautiful soft radiance. ? Good screening bushy multi-stemmed tree. Fantastic bark. Great for bees. Excellent in patio pots and terrace containers. Tolerates intermittently wet but draining soils. Click here to read about ‘How to successfully grow a Eucalyptus in a container’ Highly recommended.  Read on for more information Hop over to the ‘How to Use’ Tab to see how this species can be enjoyed or used in the landscape or garden – such as growing in a pot, as a bushy shrub, standard tree or for cut foliage etc. The ‘Planting and Soil’ Tab advises on this Eucs preferred growing conditions – its likes and dislikes A most useful feature of this tree species is its adaptability to tolerate cold, wet soils, which are intermittently flooded or slow to drain, like clays and poor sandy soils that are deficient in nutrients: would suit mound planting in wet ground. Eucalyptus moorei’s absolute favourite conditions are coarse, gritting sandy soils in close proximity to, but sitting above swamps or boggy areas: but not all of us have a garden like this! The Trivia Tab is just that!! Biometrics for Eucalyptus moorei Shoots ‘n Leaves: Young shoots round and green, very ornamental and elegant Juvenile foliage: ovate to elliptical, about 3-4cm long and narrow with a fine point, in a blue-green /sage green colour, becoming glossy green and upright in habit Adult foliage: golden petioles support long ‘willow like’, sickle shaped leaves about 3-9cm long; glossy green. Bark:  Beautiful!  Smooth, tactile, silver with clotted cream striations, peeling off in strips of cinnamon and caramel to reveal fresh white bark beneath; often with hints of salmon-pink and olive green. Flowers: golden flower buds open to white flowers in a star-like formation, in very large groups of 7 up to 15; giving a superb show. These are followed by the gumnuts – amazing clusters of up to 15 balls per group, which are held on the lower branches for another year – very attractive. Leaf Aroma: typical Eucalyptus fragrance but with delicious minty over-tones ? Rate of Growth: fast growing for any other evergreen tree, slow growing for a Eucalyptus, about 4m in 8 years Height in maturity, if left unpruned: Eucalyptus moorei may reach around 6-7 m as a tree form. We think it is great when grown as a pruned bush or multi-stemmed shrub/tree Easy to keep smaller by regular pruning – March 18th and end of May. Responds well to pollarding, when done at the right time of year.  Unless you are growing for cut foliage, please refrain from voluntarily electing to prune your Eucalyptus from August through to February; it can kill it. To receive monthly pruning and aftercare advice, sign up to our Gumnut Club – its free and you can unsubscribe at any time. To subscribe to the Gumnut Club – just call or ping us an email to [email protected] Click here for further advice on pruning can be found in our Guidance Notes Click here to visit our pruning video Hardiness: Good hardiness rating, root-system should be happy down to around -8 to -12°C, once mature and established in a stress-free environment. 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), 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 see our Guidance Notes on how to increase the winter hardiness of your Eucalyptus, and keep it happy!