Eucalyptus stellulata

Eucalyptus stellutata is an Australian species appreciated for its decorative bark, umbel habit, cold resistance, and late-winter flowering with white pompoms. It owes its nickname "Black mallee" to the colour of its bark, black at the base. This beautiful evergreen tree also has fine-textured, grey-green-blue foliage that offers a beautiful presence throughout the year. This eucalyptus will adapt to many regions and all types of soil, even clayey and humid. Given its growth, it should be reserved for large gardens where it will be a very beautiful subject in isolation.

Eucalyptus stellutata is a beautiful tree of the myrtle family, native to the mountains of southeastern Australia, where it is often found close to watercourses and marshy areas. It grows moderately fast for the genus, developing several trunks from its base, topped by a wide, fairly sparse crown with a spreading and slightly weeping habit. It will reach a height of about 15 m (49 ft 2 in) and a spread of 8-9 m (26 ft 2 in-29 ft 6 in) at maturity, under good conditions. A well-established specimen will withstand brief frosts of around -14°C (6.8 °F). This may vary depending on the duration of the frost and the rise in temperatures during the day.

The reddish young branches of this eucalyptus bear evergreen foliage in winter, composed of long, narrow, pointed, leathery leaves that are initially green and then take on a more glaucous to greyish colour. They are slightly aromatic and emit a scent of peppermint when crushed. Flowering occurs in February-March on plants that are a few years old. These are actually petal-less, round flowers, composed of a multitude of tightly packed white-cream stamens, resembling pompoms. They bloom between the leaves, grouped in threes along the branches, and are followed by the formation of large, green, cone-shaped fruits that become brown when ripe. The old, black bark peels off in large flakes every year, revealing a brand-new bark, streaked with white and olive green.

Eucalyptus stellutata is a beautiful subject to place prominently in a large garden. It brings an undeniable touch of exoticism to the landscape and structures the garden in all seasons. To dress its base, choose plants that tolerate dry soil such as scabious, candytuft, centaureas, catmints, sun roses, rue, bear's breeches, rockroses, or calamint nepeta for example. It seems that these very drought-tolerant species can thrive near the highly competitive roots of the Eucalyptus.