Bookleaf Mallee

Bookleaf Mallee (Eucalyptus kruseana) is a small Western Australian mallee grown for its foliage rather than its shade. Round silver blue leaves sit in pairs, stacked flat along the stems like the pages of a book, and through winter lime yellow flower clusters open along the same wood. It settles at about 3m tall and 2.5m wide, which puts a genuine eucalypt within reach of a suburban block.

Why you'll love it

• Foliage worth a second look. The stacked, coin shaped silver leaves are unlike any other eucalypt, and they hold that colour all year on cut stems as well as on the plant.
• Small enough for a real garden. At 3m by 2.5m it is a feature shrub or small tree, not a 15m gum that has to be removed in a decade.
• Winter flowers for wildlife. Lime yellow and green blossom draws honeyeaters and native bees at a lean time of year.
• It wants dry, poor ground. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant, frost hardy and content in poor soil, so it thrives where richer plants fail.

Where it works best

Feature planting in a small garden. One plant carries a front bed or a courtyard corner on foliage colour alone. Allow 1.5m clear of a wall so the branch structure shows.

Rockeries and gravel gardens. Sharp drainage and reflected heat suit it, and the silver foliage works against stone and decomposed granite.

Pots and containers. A pot 500mm or wider holds it near 2m, and container growing is the practical way to grow it in a humid or wet climate.

Growing Bookleaf Mallee in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day. It belongs in warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi arid gardens, so Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra and inland New South Wales suit it well. Humid summers are its weakness, and the wet tropics and humid subtropical coast are the wrong home.

Soil. Drainage decides everything. Sandy, gravelly or rocky ground is ideal, and it needs no fertility. On clay, plant on a raised mound with coarse sand through the backfill and use a gravel mulch rather than a moisture holding one.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to establish the root system, then very little. Feed with a low phosphorus native fertiliser or not at all, since standard fertilisers push soft growth that spoils the compact habit.

Pruning. Prune lightly after flowering to keep it multi stemmed and dense. It carries a lignotuber, so an old or leggy plant can be cut back hard and will reshoot from the base.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: tube stock, 200mm in packs of six, 250mm in packs of three, and a single 500mm specimen. Tubes and 200mm plants are young and quick to establish, which matters for a plant this sensitive to root disturbance. The 500mm plant arrives already branched with real height on day one.

Expect slow growth in the first year while the roots go down, then steadier progress. Eucalypts establish better from smaller stock than most people assume, so do not dismiss the tubes. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the wider Australian native tree range.
• See other native plants with yellow flowers.
• Compare options in plants for small gardens.
• More choices for dry beds: drought tolerant plants.

Common questions

Will it grow on the humid east coast?

In the ground, not reliably. It is a dry climate species, and humid subtropical or tropical summers bring on leaf problems. A large pot in a sunny, sheltered spot is the workaround.

How big does it actually get?

About 3m tall and 2.5m wide, usually as a multi stemmed mallee rather than a single trunk. Pruning after flowering holds it lower if you want a shrub.

Is it frost hardy?

Yes. It handles frost once established, which is why it does well in cool inland districts.