Eucalyptus bridgesiana Apple Eucalyptus

LATIN NAME: Eucalyptus bridgesiana

COMMON NAME: Apple Gum

The apple gum scents the air with the soft, fruity smell of the crushed leaves, the round, silvery juvenile foliage, the long, narrow adult leaves, and the smooth, grey-green bark that sheds in the long, curling strips. The small, white flowers cluster in the leaf axils, the woody, cup-shaped fruits follow, and the whole tree grows fast into the broad, open crown of the warm-climate garden. The foliage has the unmistakable apple scent when rubbed, and the tree keeps the fresh, eucalyptus look that the Australian garden made famous. It likes the sun, the shelter from the hard frost, and the deep, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Eucalyptus chemistry has kept the laboratories occupied for decades, and the apple gum offers its own profile of the leaf oils, including the compounds that give the crushed foliage its fruity scent. The foresters study the fast early growth and the ability to thrive on the poor, dry ground, while the seed banks hold the wide collections of the provenances. The fine seed is sown on the surface without the cover, needing the light and the moisture, and the nurseries raise the young trees quickly for the shelterbelt and the timber plantings.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

From the plantation to the garden, the apple gum delivers. The timber serves for the posts, the fuel and the light construction, and the essential oils from the leaves have long gone into the home remedies and the cleaning mixes. The bees work the small flowers, the silver juvenile foliage softens the windbreak, and the tree holds the soil on the dry slopes. For the mild-climate garden it is the quick way to an aromatic, silver-green presence.

The apple gum seeds germinate well in a sandy, gritty mix kept barely moist at the surface. The fine seedlings come up quickly, and they grow on with the fresh, silvery leaves. They do not like the wet feet, so keep the mix on the dry side between the waterings. Move the young trees into the larger pots once they crowd, and give them the full sun and the shelter from the hard frost. They grow fast and straight, and the apple scent of the crushed leaves comes early.

To grow the apple gum from seed, sow the fine, dust-like seeds barely over the surface of the deep pot of sandy, gritty mix, keep the pot in the warm, bright spot and mist gently. The seedlings show themselves within a couple of weeks, and they grow on fast. Stand the young trees in the sunniest, most sheltered spot, and the aromatic crown will scent the air over the years.