Eucalyptus nitida – Smithton Peppermint
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The powerful fragrance of the Smithton Peppermint has to be experienced to be believed!
The strong, warm pepper-minty aroma given off from the juvenile foliage on a warm summer’s day is amazingly powerful, which is why we think this species is best grown as a bushy shrub. When grown as a shrubby specimen, the plant is within reaching distance – not 10m up in the air! Crush the foliage and inhale the most fabulous fragrance. Cut it for the house and fill your kitchen with the amazing scent.
When kept pruned as a bushy shrub, you can easily cultivate Eucalyptus nitida in an Air-Pot container.
Click here for more information on how to successfully grow Eucalyptus in containers.
Pruning keeps the leaves in the juvenile form, which is the most aromatic and it makes excellent cut foliage. The very act of cutting it for the house, keeps the plant small and manageable.
The Smithton Peppermint can also be grown as a statuesque specimen tree in a larger garden or arboretum/parkland setting. If you like the idea of growing this tree in your garden, but you don’t own an estate, plant it well and keep it pruned as a shrub-on-a-stock lollipop. From the very beginning, tip prune every March and continue to tip prune all the new shoots until mid to end of July.
Hop across to the ‘How to Use’ tab for other ways to grow Eucalyptus nitida.
The ‘Planting and Soil’ Tab advises on this Euc’s preferred growing conditions
Trivia is – well – one for the nerdy botanists!
Biometrics for Eucalyptus nitida
Shoots ‘n Leaves: Young shoots at deep crimson with a bobbly texture
Juvenile leaves are bronze when new, turning blue green as they expand
Adult leaves are glossy, blue green, very long, thin and elegant.
Bark: mostly smooth textured on young trees; either silvery olive green, sometimes golden grey. It can peel and shred in the summer.
Flowers: White, very large clusters of 9-15 flowers
Leaf Aroma: strong pleasing peppermint
Rate of Growth: Medium to Fast. 1.0-2.0 m (3-6ft) per year
Height in maturity, if left unpruned: Easy to keep smaller by regular pruning – March 18th and end of May.
After about 15-20 years of unchecked growth, E nitida could reach approximately 15-17 m.
Think of height in terms of a pruned Beech hedge can easily be kept at 1m tall as opposed to an unpruned Beech tree at 25m tall.
If pruned, the form of E nitida will be similar to that of Viburnum bodnantense with vertical stems.
Unless you are growing for cut foliage, please refrain from voluntarily electing to prune your Eucalyptus from August through to February; it can kill it.
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Further advice on pruning can be found in our Guidance Notes here
Visit our pruning video here
Hardiness: Good hardiness rating, root-system should be happy down to around -12 to -14°C, once mature and on a free draining soil.
Hardiness in Eucalyptus is governed by
- provenance of seed (all our seed is sourced from frosty or cold locations)
- how it is grown (i.e. high nitrogen levels reduces cold tolerance),
- the age of the tree – the older your tree, the hardier it will be. Younger Eucs are more susceptible to frost damage.
- how long it has been planted in the ground. The deeper you can encourage the rooting by digging a deep planting pit at the time of installation, the quicker your tree will establish and you will increase its ability to survive cold winters. See our planting notes for more details.
For more information on how to help your Eucalyptus be more hardy – see our Guidance Notes here
