Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. debeuzevilli: my favorite plant in the garden this week

Riffing on the meme over at danger garden, I'm excited to share this stately Eucalyptus with you this week. As we sat in the garden on Father's Day with our family and guests, I realized we were finally in the welcome filtered shade of our five-year-old Jounama Snow Gum.

I love its powdery blue-gray leaves.

They look spectacular combined with the red of Crocosmia 'Lucifer' in this shot from last summer.

The young bark is beautifully mottled in green, gray, brown and even white, while the older bark is wrapped with color bands and fissures.

Even the oldest bark adds interest as it peels off.

Both the new leaves and the dying leaves are a warm, cinnamon-orange and they look great punctuating the wealth of gray-green foliage.

I chose this particular species because of its reputed cold-hardiness, and it has sailed through some severely cold Portland winters over the five years it has been in. I also wanted a tree that was fairly open and wouldn't add too much shade to my sunny back garden area.

The stats on Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. debeuzevilli:

   • Hardy in zones 8a to 9b. One of the best adapted Eucs for the Pacific Northwest - can even stand
      sub-freezing wind
   • 20 to 30 feet tall, with an open, umbrella-shaped canopy. Up to 70 feet in Australia - yikes!
   • Sun and well-drained soil
   • Water only until established, then no supplemental water

Some sources recommend cutting it back by one third in its second year to establish a strong root system. I couldn't bring myself to do it, and lived to regret my pruning timidity after the tree leaned increasingly over the next two winters.

Last year I removed a main branch fairly low on the trunk to restore the Euc's balance. It seems to be working, and luckily, the cut isn't very evident.

I know that Eucalyptus trees have a bad reputation in California, but I grew up with them and have always loved their slim, graceful stature and dusky foliage. I'm really happy to have this memory of my childhood embodied in a lovely and thriving tree in my own Portland garden.