Eucalyptus nicholii ‘Avon’- Willow Peppermint
This is a fabulous species. Widely planted in California and Australia, E. nicholii deserves wider planting in the UK. The foliage is unlike your typical Eucalypt, resembling more a fine leaved, feathery willow. The tree is very elegant with a light, open crown and beautiful semi-weeping habit. From a distance the young tree outline is similar to a Silver Birch tree or young weeping willow.
How to grow E nicholii ‘Avon’ and get the best out of it
Good Specimen Tree for the wider landscape, arboretum collection or avenue planting and for the medium and larger garden:
Growing a full-sized standard: planting the tree and running away is an option, but it won’t necessarily give you the best results. See our guidance notes for growing specimen Eucalyptus in our Help and Advice section.
Growing shrub-on-a-stick clipped standard: this is an opportunity to grow a Eucalyptus in a confined space and control its overall size. You can produce a small tree on a trunk with a height of anywhere between 2.4m (8ft) and 4m (12ft).
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Remember: No grass, no weeds and a thick bark chip mulch, to a depth of 150 mm (6 inches) are essential to assist with good establishment. Our research trials have demonstrated that grass around the trunk of Eucalyptus prevent the trees from quickly establishing and can completely stop them from growing.
Floral Art: E nicholii ‘Avon’ produces excellent cut foliage for Flower Farmers and floral art. Beautiful in a vase of flowers for the house. It is favoured by florists for use in bridal bouquets and general wedding work.
Rural/Agricultural:
– Good shade tree for livestock to stand under. Eucalyptus provide a cool environment for horses, cattle, llamas, sheep to shelter from the sun on hot days, as the mass evaporation of water through the leaves creates a cool shady canopy beneath.
– Sage-Green foliaged species, which looks for comfortable and not ‘foreign’ in a rural setting – reminiscent of Willow Trees
Ecology:
– Bees. All Eucalyptus produce flowers with nectar and pollen, this species is prolific in flower from late summer onwards for several months, providing foraging for honey-bees and other pollinating insects
– Chickens: The shredded foliage of E nicholii is excellent at deterring red mites in Chicken nest boxes and hen houses, as they detest the presence of Eucalyptol. I used to line our Chicken boxes with shredded leaves, strew the floor and pile up the spindly branches for the chickens to make nests. It was all great till the foxes moved into the next field L
Environmental:
– Growing on the Coast We have no experience of growing E nicholii in a coastal environment. I suspect it may grow in milder coastal districts, when cultivated a mile or two in land of the sea, but this needs trialling. I know that the Irish struggle to obtain good results with E nicholii due to salt laden winds. Do get in touch if you are giving this a go and let us know how you get on.
– Tolerant of poor stony soils once established E. nicholii ‘Avon’ does not require a rich soil and can survive in poor, stony soils. It is essential that your Euc. is given lots of water during its establishment phase, before you abandon it to its fate. The tree needs to establish a good root system before it can survive in these challenging conditions. No grass, no weeds and a thick bark chip mulch, to a depth of 150 mm (6 inches) are essential to assist with good establishment
