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Posted by Sunshine in the garden (U14303938) on Saturday, 10th March 2012
I have a eucalyptus bush which is just over a year old but has grown to about six feet but almost on one long stem. I really want it to be more bushy. Should I cut it back now? and by how much?
Eucalypts are fast growers, and many species will reach a height of 5metres (16 ft) over three years if left un-pruned.
Week 18; (Beginning of May)
Coppicing and / or pollarding now will help to keep the tree/s small and manageable.
It will also encourage the more attractive juvenile foliage.
Conversely if you want to grow a tree, train a central leader vertically, this will eventually form the trunk.
As the tree grows remove the lower limbs radiating from the leader/trunk just as they start to die back.
Established trees need little attention, except to remove dead or damaged branches.
, in reply to message 2.
Posted by Sunshine in the garden (U14303938) on Saturday, 10th March 2012
Thanks for that. Does it matter how much I cut it back by?
A word of warning about eucalyptus from a few weeks back
As mentioned in the Eucalyptus link Geoff has submitted it is not really a good " bush" subject.
As you will see in the following link coppicing might give you a spindly bush,but my choice would be to pollard it and make what is effectively a "standard" tree I.e. a trunk with a bushy top to a desired height.
Then you could prune it annually to keep it at your desired shape.
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