How To Prune Eucalyptus Trees Including Pollarding and Coppicing

[@penelopehammerton2907]

Thank you Annette, looking forward to see how it starts to grow back. Very interesting video. 👍😁

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Penelope, I've made some follow-up videos - do take a look - it was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend pollarding if you have any eucalyptus 🌿😁

[@gulliblestravels71]

Thanks so much!! I felt your anxiety when the saw came out and have agonised myself about pollarding eucalyptus but you've given me confidence, really appreciate this video.

[@cottoverdi]

That's so cool. Glad I could help someone else! 😁

[@ayaanfamily8397]

Great to see these many trees. Save tree save earth. Let's grow together, friend

[@cottoverdi]

Absolutely! Thank you Ayaan. Trees are such an important plant of our gardens and the plant 🌲😁🌳🌴

[@YougrowgirlUK]

That was useful. I have a really leggy eucalyptus and I couldn’t decide what to do. It can’t support itself. So I’m going to chop it

[@cottoverdi]

Glad I could help! ✂︎🌿

[@soulgirlktf]

Thanks Annette for your brilliant mini series on Eucalyptus pruning it's enormously helpful and it's so great to see your experience here in the UK. I came home from the garden centre with a Gunnii yesterday, totally unplanned but it was in the sick bay and I couldn't resist it! It's over a metre high looks really healthy :) They were clearing space for their Winter displays haha I had a car full of plants & shrubs and only spent £35 but then I had a bit of a panic - how the heck do I look after a Gunnii and keep it in check?! LoL Impulse buy haha. I'm a nightmare for sick bay buys they always grow on so well though and having moved last year i've a whole garden to do! Thanks again you've put my mind at rest, much appreciated x

[@cottoverdi]

haha. That's me too - always grabbing the impulse buys. Glad you found these videos useful - I was also worried initially but the eucalyptus is just so robust and such a fast grower - it's good to know we can keep it in check!

[@RubixLUL]

Nice I want a nice small tree and I like this method 👌

[@cottoverdi]

Thank you. I'm so glad you found this helpful. 😁

[@WhirledPeasFursure]

the one thing I wish more of these vids would do is talk about what time of the year it is,, summer? spring? etc? ,,,, but,, lol,,, THANKS,, great vid

[@cottoverdi]

Hi There, We pruned these trees in mid April (spring here in UK). National eucalyptus day is at the end of March. That is usually a good time to prune but we waited because I felt the wether was too damp/wet. I've just posted a followup video showing the growth we've had 9 week later (End of June). And I will post another in a week to show how the trees look now, 16 weeks later in early August. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching.

[@lisahiebert6554]

Not sure what to do with my 8ft tall eucalyptus I take cutting for floral arrangements in summer. Want to over winter this hopefully outside. It is in airpot in ground so I can bring it inside if need be but would rather not. We still have about a month of summer so can I cut it back to about 4ft tall now? I Am in BC Canada zone 8a ❤

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Lisa, I am also in zone 8a. I only prune my eucalyptus in March so I would wait until then. At that time, you can chop it down to exactly where you want it to start growing from. I don;t bring my eucalyptus inside over winter - they are planted in the ground and stay there. do you have one that is hardy? I think it can cope with most situations in zone 8a - we did have some damage one year from a particularly hard frost but you could try wrapping it when you know a hard frost is coming - that's what I will do in future. Hope this helps. 😊

[@amybrocklehurst]

Hi thanks for the video would love to see how they grew back do you have another video?

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Amy, yes I have lots of videos over the last year or so, showing their progress. Try searching my Chanel for the playlist called Eucalyptus.

[@devyani1987]

Hi, would you be able to offer some advice please? We have a gunni azura that we moved from one spot in the garden to another whilst it was just under 2 yrs old so had reached about 10-12 feet high. Since moving, all the leaves have gone brown and red, and basically died :(( but the bark seems to still be light green when we shaved a bit. I really don’t know what to do - do we need to remove the dead leaves or cut off some branches?

[@cottoverdi]

Hi there, I'm not sure which zone you're in but if your season is similar to mine then it's best to leave all pruning until March. However, if you have a definite dead branch, then it would be okay to take this off. I'm not an expert but this is what I do. 😊

[@ilonaiwanek357]

Hi, I just bought small eucalyptus gunnii trees and put them about 5 metres from the house. Was wondering if the roots might damage the pipes, foundation of the house when trees are a lot bigger? Can I keep them smaller about 2,3 metres permanently? Does the roots still going to grow I I keep it small? I am in UK. Thank you for the answer in advance!

[@cottoverdi]

Hi ilona, yes, eucalyptus can be tricky if planted too close to the house or pipes. they are very shallow rooted and stretch far when seeking out water. If you can keep them small, then they won't need as much water. Our hedge is planted fairly close to our property but we keep the bushes under 2 meters tall and they are watered on a regular basis if we don't get rain so that they aren't spreading their roots searching for water. Hope this helps.

[@ilonaiwanek357]

Thank you Annette for reply x we decided to move eucalyptus from the ground to the pot. Just been to garden centre to buy pots for my 3 gunniis and the man in garden centre said they will last about 18 months in the pot (the pot is quite large) as they grow soo fast and then they might look sick as the pot might be too small for them. So he is not recommending pots for eucalyptus. What do you think? We want them grow about 9-10 foot high, not bigger. The problem is they are near the drains now and might damage drain pipes in the future if left in the ground even if we keep them smaller...

[@cottoverdi]

yes, pots aren't great for eucalyptus long term. And if you have drains nearby, I'd be hesitant to plant them - do you think there could be a different plant that would suit this spot better and maybe plant the eucalyptus further away from your drains?

[@ilonaiwanek357]

@@cottoverdi hello Annette 😊 we decided to return them as lady in the shop told us they safe close to the house and roots invasive. We have also one olive tree still in the pot but I think they safe about 5 metres from the house and roors not so bad as they grow really slow. We bought this tree two weeks ago and is about 1.5meter and 20 years old. We still need 2 trees (we have factory next to the house and want some privacy) which are 'safe'. Would you recommend any Annette?

[@cottoverdi]

Gosh, well I'm glad you were able to return them. I'm not that knowledgeable on which trees to plant for privacy but if you are happy with a deciduous tree, then we have used Prunus Amanagawa and we love them. They are very upright and not only do you get beautiful spring blossom, but then also wonderful autumn colour. But, they trees are bare over the winter so this may not suit you. I hope you find something you like.

[@lisahiebert6554]

Not sure what to do with my 8ft tall eucalyptus I take cutting for floral arrangements in summer. Want to over winter this hopefully outside. It is in airpot in ground so I can bring it inside if need be but would rather not. We still have about a month of summer so can I cut it back to about 4ft tall now? I Am in BC Canada zone 8a

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Lisa, I am also in zone 8a. I only prune my eucalyptus in March so I would wait until then. At that time, you can chop it down to exactly where you want it to start growing from. I don;t bring my eucalyptus inside over winter - they are planted in the ground and stay there. do you have one that is hardy? I think it can cope with most situations in zone 8a - we did have some damage one year from a particularly hard frost but you could try wrapping it when you know a hard frost is coming - that's what I will do in future. Hope this helps. 😊

[@lisahiebert6554]

@@cottoverdi it is a 2yr old Cinerea silver dollar. Seed packet says tender perennial. Wish I could send you a picture of it. I have planted pot too close to sidewalk and house I think. Can they be chopped every year? I read somewhere they had to be 4-5 inches in girth before doing that. Mine is only 2 inches. Appreciate your input.

[@geesgardeningclubuk5247]

Brutal 💪🏼

[@cottoverdi]

Yes.. But necessary if I want to keep it as a hedge.

[@gulliblestravels71]

So keen to start I forgot my question! Am I right in assuming that pollarding will also limit root spread? And also, does the trunk below the pollard line continue to increase in diameter, ie, after continuous pollarding will I eventually finish up with a big girth and relatively little head? (Btw I see there's a new 'Eucalyptus France Blue' which apparantly remains small - a few meters - and isn't so thirsty) Thanks again, very much appreciate your help.

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Rois, I think that limiting the top growth will definitely limit the root spread. I'm not sure how big the girth will eventually get but mine are definitely still getting thicker. Hopefully, by keeping the overall plant quite small (relative to it's natural habit), the girth will also be restricted but I have no experience of this yet. I do have some of the France Blue but I have kept it in pots.

[@Mevmotto]

Hi do you know if there is any problem with eucalyptus being planted to close to a the house?

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Meva, yes, there is a problem with this. The eucalyptus are shallow rooted so they are best kept quite small with pruning if you want to plant them close to your house (the roots will match the canopy) or plant them a really good distance away.

[@carolmcintyre8485]

What did you do with all the branches?

[@cottoverdi]

haha. Some I kept for plant supports and the others we had to burn but I always grab a huge bunch of the greenery each year and bring it inside because it smalls so good! You can hang a branch in the shower too...very spa-like.

[@thomaswright2614]

Hi I was wondering how far apart should I plant them for a hedge? and if the birds like them? cheers and thanks for video

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Thomas, I don't know whether there is a recommended distance but ours are about 1 meter apart. This works great for us and produces a hedge that is to our liking. In all honesty, I haven't seen any birds using the Eucalyptus hedge but our cats have always loved so sleep underneath - so maybe cats like the scent and birds don't?

[@susanfellmclean5744]

Just a couple of corrections: National Eucalyptus Day March 23 Eucalyptus grow in every climatic type in Australia - too general to say that Eucalyptus grow in much warmer climates - depends on the species

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Susan, thank you, I was probably generalising too much when I said they only grow in warmer climates. I think each country must have their own National day because here in the UK, National Eucalyptus Day is definitely March 18th. 🌿

[@aznstylepn0y]

Is it best to grow it in a pot or in the ground ? I live in a zone 9a I’m just afraid of over water when it rains a lot . But at the same time less water in a pot and it’s been drying up in the pot don’t know if it’s too much water or less water and it’s in the patio. It is 8 feet tall

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Ryan, I've only ever grown very small ones in pots - about 3 feet high maximum - then I plant them in the ground. Yes, you will need to keep an eye on the watering and not let them dry out - they grow fast so will be thirsty in the pots. I wouldn't worry too much about over-watering - in the UK it rains A LOT! and we don't seem to have any problems with that at all. Hope this helps. 💚🌳

[@Poppoppoppins]

My new 6ft eucalyptus gunni in a pot is starting to go a little yellow. Does that mean iam not watering enough in UK? Thank you

[@liamparker5778]

I have new eucalyptus trees and they are growing well however the middle section appears "bushy" whereas the top looks nice and the outward growing branches are growing well. Will it spoil the look/growth of the tree if I were to prune the middle section at this time of year?

[@cottoverdi]

Hi Liam, if you are only pruning part of your tree, then i think it should be fine to prune now. I', not certain it will have time to regrow new shoots before the frosts (are you in UK?). it took about 2 months before I saw any new buds.

[@liamparker5778]

@@cottoverdi yes I live in the UK. The trees are roughly 7ft tall at the moment this is their first year in the ground. I think I may just trim to tidy them up and see how they get on. Thank you

[@gedhuffadine1873]

Does it burn well?

[@cottoverdi]

Hi, yes, it burns pretty well if you allow the leaves to dry in the sun for a week or 2. If you are thinking about using the trunks for a stove, then I do not know how well it burns. 🌿

[@GWHAWK87]

Why didn't you only pollard one and then alternate each year?

[@cottoverdi]

Hi there, we decided to pollard them all at the same time because we use these 5 bushes as a hedge and so if we had only done one, the others would have become too tall (they grow SO quickly) and the hedge would've looked uneven. I will be posting a video very soon to show how the hedge looks now - it is fabulous!