Eucalyptus cladocalyx ‘Nana’ (Bushy Sugar Gum)

Eucalyptus cladocalyx 'Nana' (Bushy Sugar Gum)

Eucalyptus cladocalyx 'Nana' (Bushy Sugar Gum)

The bees have found the flowers on our Eucalyptus cladocalyx ‘Nana’, (Bushy Sugar Gum). The smell of honey is in the air on these hot dry days that we are having and there is a constant hum from the canopy of this tree in particular.

This is a smaller version of Sugar Gum and is very hardy. This particular form comes from Kangaroo Island and Eyre Peninsular in South Australia. It is drought tolerant being grown in Israel without irrigation. We have found it to be quite drought and frost hardy here but severe frost may cause damage while the plant is young. This is an excellent plant for a wind break with other tall shrubs because of its more compact growth and bushy habit. It appears that it is difficult to establish other plants under this species because of its competitive root system. This tree is about 5m tall here and can grow to 15m tall. The trunk is beautiful when wet.

 

8 Responses to “Eucalyptus cladocalyx ‘Nana’ (Bushy Sugar Gum)”

  1. sue rogers says:

    We have a dwarf Sugar Gum in our Perth garden, it has grown beautifully over the past 25 years and is now about 20 metres tall and has pride of place growing through and sheltering our deck..the problem is the amount of sugar gum that it excretes in summer. It covers the deck and all our outdoor furniture in a sticky glue, is this normal or is it unwell?

    • Corinne says:

      Hi Sue,
      I believe that this sticky ‘stuff’ is a common problem. People have complained about their cars being covered in it when they have parked under particular species of Eucalypt. Not all species cause this problem. My references to Bushy Sugar Gum did not state that it was a problem plant in this. Apparently the common name refers to the sweetness of the seedling leaves.

  2. Andy says:

    Hi,

    I have one of these to plant in our garden but can’t decide on location. The mention of competitive roots is something to consider as the plan would be to have shrubs nearby in the same bed. Any idea on how wide the dwarf or nana variety grows? I don’t want to block out too much sun. Can you prune gum trees a little?

    Thanks,

    Andy

    • Corinne says:

      Hi Andy,
      Regardless of the size, the roots will still compete for moisture and I have found that to have other plants on their own dripper helps to overcome this problem and give the other plants a chance.
      Our Bushy sugar is about 10m tall and 5m across. It depends on soil quality and moisture as to how big they eventually get. They are smaller than the species. These trees readily respond to pruning. They can actually be cut down quite hard and will sprout multiple branches which you can selectively prune. You would not want to be constantly pruning the tree, so choose a site where it can be left to grow.

  3. Sarah Gowty says:

    Could you please tell me just how low we can prune a Eucalyptus cladocalyx nana? Can we keep it as a 2-3 meter bush or is this being unrealistic

    • Corinne says:

      My E cladocalyx ‘Nana’ has been 6m tall until it dropped a couple of branches and it is reaching for the sky again. As they can be cut quite severely you probably could keep it to 3m but you would be constantly pruning it.

  4. Rob says:

    lovely small gum, birds love it . Its very tough & needs absolutely no supplementary water in western NSW (tough area). Trunks are beautiful in rain & I have various huge Eremophila growing under them.
    Same old story dont plant in residential areas if your fussy about letting things grow naturally.

  5. Jilly says:

    Does the dwarf sugar gum attract flying foxes?

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