Eucalyptus camphora subsp. camphora – The Broad-leaved Sally
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Eucalyptus camphora subsp. camphora is a true swamp gum (it enjoys wet feet), but it has the typical double conic buds and obconical fruit – love the intense botany bits! ?
Eucalyptus camphora subsp camphora is a fabulous, highly aromatic small to medium sized evergreen tree that thrives on wet soils and clays.
You can pollard it like a willow (e.g. Salix daphnoides) or you can coppice it once it has a trunk that has reached 5 inches (125cm ) in diameter and not before!
Then it can be grown as a multi-stemmed bush or tree – very easy-going.
Another useful property of this species is that is will tolerate being grow in partial shade, such as a woodland glade or in close proximity with other trees.
Read more about how to grow it and what it likes by visiting the other tabs on this Eucalyptus species data sheet. Hop across to ‘How to Use’ Tab for info on the different ways in which Eucalyptus camphora can be grown and in what locations
The Planting Position & Soil Tab tells you all you need to know about how to keep it happy and what it likes.
The Trivia Tab is for the Botany Nerds!
Biometrics of Eucalyptus camphora
Shoots ‘n Leaves: Very ornamental foliage.
Juvenile leaves are rounded. Shoot tips and emerging foliage are golden amber and burgundy, which are beautiful when back lit with sunlight.
Excellent for floral art work and floristry.
Adult leaves are apple green/olive-green and broadly lanceolate.
Bark: smooth, sometimes with rough patches. Ivory to olive green with hints of pewter and custard yellow, sometimes slightly powdery.
Flowers: White, with 7 buds per group, fragrant
Leaf Aroma: Amazing – very strong Eucalyptol aroma, also contains the highly aromatic camphor oil
Rate of Growth: Fast at 1.5-2m per year.
Height in maturity, if left unpruned: Short term around 5m and long term Eucalyptus camphora subsp. camphora can reach 10m on good ground with plenty of moisture.
If pruned, it can be trained to form a bushy screening tree, a lollipop standard or a multi-stemmed bush like a species rose or coppiced Hazel tree.
Responds well to coppicing and pollarding, when done at the right time of year.
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.
Click here to read our guidance notes on how and when to prune a Eucalyptus.
Click here to see a short video on pruning Eucalyptus on National Eucalyptus Day – March 18th
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Hardiness: Root-system should be happy down to around -8 to -10°C, once mature; hardiness improves with age.
I am happy to report that our young Eucalyptus camphora subsp. camphora survived growing in a frost packet, on our swampy yellow alkaline clay soil, at Grafton Nursery in winter 2022/2023, when we recorded -13°C
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.
We’ve written a deep-dive article on how you can keep your Euc happy and help it to become more hardy as it establishes in your garden.
Click here to read our guidance notes on Hardiness in Eucalyptus in the UK
