Welcome to this post that will talk about growing eucalyptus. Probably one of the most popular trees to have at home at one point. Now it has become more of a staple piece. The main reason for the gain in popularity was how easy it was to grow this tree. In this article, we will explain further on exactly that. You will learn how you can learn to grow it from a seed or just from a cutting.
Find out what type of climate and environment it likes to grow in so you can have the best chance. You might be surprised as well by the speed at that the eucalyptus grows. It can really be a great tree to grow if you want to see results quickly and also have something that will stay around for a long time.
How To Grow A Eucalyptus Tree
Growing eucalyptus is a lot about having the right conditions for it to grow in. We want the soil to be very well drained but also contain a lot of nutrition. It’s a tree that particularly likes the sun a lot, keeping it in a spot where it can get that every day will make it flourish.
If you are growing eucalyptus from seed then you will have to do that indoors. This way we can keep it safe from the outside elements that might harm it otherwise. We find that it does grow faster this way also. Sow it in a small container with healthy and well-drained soil.
You might want to grow eucalyptus from cuttings at first if you have a tree nearby. We would actually advise against this as the speed you can grow it from seed is really fast. So for a first-time grower of eucalyptus, this is the best route to take in our opinion.
It will take between 18 – 21 days for it to germinate and start sprouting. This is when you can start seeing it grow above the soil. A lot of people call this tree an invasive species, given that information it will grow very fast as well, like most invasive species.
Keep the plant growing in a sunny window and make sure the soil never really dries out too much. Once it’s about 1 – 2 feet tall you will be able to start growing it outdoors. Make a well for it and then plant it. Make sure it’s stable and then water the soil. Keep watering it whenever it dries out.
At the end of the season, you will have to start cutting branches. It grows almost 8 feet tall per season so there will be plenty to cut. This way we can keep the tree a bit more contained and not grow completely wild.
How To Grow Eucalyptus Indoors
Growing a eucalyptus indoors is a really fun project to undertake. It really is about making sure it has a great environment to grow in. As eucalyptus likes well-drained soil that is kept well watered and in the sun we can make sure it gets that.
The biggest upside of growing it indoors is that you can always keep an eye on it. Eucalyptus is also a tree that can grow indoors for many decades indoors as well. You might have heard that it grows very quickly every year. That’s very true. About 8 feet per season is the average.
You might wonder how you could ever grow it indoors at that speed. But it all comes down to cutting the branches from it a lot. It will keep it from getting out of hand. We usually actually recommend cutting it down by almost 30 % every year. But this number can actually increase to have it growing more like a bush. The key is that you cut it during the season and not at the end only.
How To Grow Eucalyptus From Seed
Growing eucalyptus from seed is probably the best way to do it actually. Since it’s a very fast-growing tree as well the best option is usually to grow it from a seed. Make sure that you have fresh seeds as those will propagate a lot faster and the success rate is higher too.
Prepare a small container with healthy soil and water it well. It should have some small holes in the bottom to lead away all the excess water. Place seed each in the containers and lightly tap them. cover them with a little bit of soil. They will basically be growing directly on the surface of the soil.
Leave them in a sunny window where they can start sprouting. It’s important to keep the temperature warm as well, ideally, it should be around 60 – 70 degrees. This will really kick start the first growth of the seed.
After about 18 – 21 days you will be able to see the first signs of it above the surface of the soil. At this point, you want to keep doing what you are doing. Water the soil when it needs to and let it sit in a warm sunny spot.
You might wonder when the best time is to plant a eucalyptus tree seed. We often recommend you do it during the late spring actually. At this time of the year, the weather is becoming warmer and it’s easier to get the necessary amount of sun. About 10 hours is ideal when growing indoors.
Growing eucalyptus from seed can be very rewarding but if you want to try your hand at doing it from cuttings then we have the perfect article for you. Find it here, How To Grow Eucalyptus From Cuttings.
How To Grow Eucalyptus Plant
Growing a eucalyptus plant is a really fun project because of the speed at that it will grow. It is one of the fastest trees you can have growing at home. It clocks in around 8 feet or 2-meter growth every season. Even if it has been sown the same year. A pretty insane amount actually.
Of course, it won’t be growing a very thick trunk as it will grow more vertically instead. It really likes a relatively dry environment with lots of warmth. It originates from Australia where it had this exact climate basically all year round. It has found a new home in California where it now is being grown to a great extent.
The biggest issue one might have when growing this tree is the sheer growth it’s possible to achieve. If you have it outside this might not be an issue, since you want it to grow tall and establish itself. But if you plan to keep this tree indoors then you will definitely have to prune it quite a lot.
A good tip is to keep it in the sun a lot. This will actually make it grow thicker and not just tall and thin. It sort of works the same with herbs that don’t get enough sun during the season. They grow thin and scraggly. We want to avoid that because the eucalyptus tree needs to establish itself.
How To Grow Eucalyptus From Stem
Growing a eucalyptus from a stem is very possible. The best thing is that since eucalyptus is also a tree that establishes itself very quickly you will also see results very quickly.
Most people might suggest taking the cuttings or stems at the end of the season. We prefer doing it at the start of the season instead. This will let us have cuttings and stems that already have developed some leaves on them. They tend to grow roots a lot faster than the tired autumn cuttings and stems.
For the best chance of having their root, you can dip them in a rooting hormone. This will kickstart the process and make them grow roots in no time. But there are of course other things you can do as well. Keeping it in the sun for a long time during the season will also greatly help it in growing fast.
In most cases, you will keep the cuttings indoors to protect them if the nights are cold. But having them outside during the day will help them get the necessary 6 – 8 hours of sunlight. It’s the same amount an already established tree might need. Taking the cuttings whilst there are still leaves on them will help generate more energy when the sun is shining on them.
How Long Does It Take To Grow Eucalyptus
Growing a eucalyptus is actually a very fast job or project to do. If you have read the previous segments above here you would be able to see that it can grow about 8 feet tall per season. Compare that to the average of 2 – 3 feet for other trees and we quickly see a winner.
But it will only be able to grow this well if the soil is kept well drained but also watered regularly. It likes the sun a lot, pretty obvious when we see that it originates from Australia.
Pruning the tree at the end of the season if you have it outside will help it grow bushy and develop the trunk a lot more. It will eventually look a lot better if you keep this practice up.
There are some arguments against growing eucalyptus because of the impact it can have. In this article, we will take a closer look at that. Find it here, Why You Should Not Plant Eucalyptus.
How To Grow Eucalyptus From Cuttings
Growing a eucalyptus tree from a cutting is one of the best ways of propagating more of this wonderful tree. It’s a fast-growing variety once it can get established. The biggest difference between growing a cutting and a stem is the size difference. A cutting will only maybe have a few small branches coming out and be less than half a foot tall.
The larger stem is often used if you want to quickly clone your tree and get more eucalyptus. We prefer taking cuttings because we can grow these indoors without any problems. It lets us keep an eye on them more as well.
Take the cuttings in spring once small leaves are sprouting out from them. This time of the year they are full of life and ready to grow. Dip them in rooting hormone if you want to increase your chances.
Place them in a container with water, filled about 1 – 2 inches up. Leave them here for about 2 weeks and make sure they get plenty of suns. Fill up with more water when you see it’s starting to drain out. It’s important that there is always water in there for the roots to continue growing.
Once you see clear roots coming out you can either plant it on freeland if you wish. Or you can plant it in a pot and have it growing outdoors for the summer and then bring it indoors.
FAQ
Does Eucalyptus Come Back Every Year?
Eucalyptus is not like a herb that you will cut down completely at the end of the year and then have come back. Instead, it’s a tree that will continue growing. Even if you cut it down at the end of the year it will probably come back actually. The tree is very resilient and will quickly establish itself where it’s grown.
Why Doesn’t My Eucalyptus Plant Smell In The Shower?
Your eucalyptus will probably not smell a lot in your shower because the soil is poor. The case with eucalyptus is that the better the soil is the more the plant will smell. We, therefore, recommend using some fertilizer in the soil to make it healthy again. Some watering probably wouldn’t hurt it either.
Is Eucalyptus Poisonous To Dogs?
Since the eucalyptus tree contains a lot of essential oils, those can be very bad for dogs and pets all around. They can be poisonous and make them very sick. So if you want to grow a eucalyptus tree at home with pets we recommend growing it where they will not be near it.
