Eucalyptus curtisii

Plunkett Mallee (Eucalyptus curtisii) is the rare Queensland gum that stays small enough to plant in a suburban backyard. It grows as a multi stemmed tree to about 6m tall and 5m wide, and in season it carries such a heavy load of white to cream flowers that the whole canopy turns pale. Birds and bees find it within days of the buds opening.

Why you'll love it

• A eucalypt that fits a suburban block. About 6m by 5m in a multi stemmed mallee form, rather than the 20m single trunk most people picture when they hear the word gum.
• Flowering you can see from the street. The cream and white display is unusually heavy for its size, smothering the canopy rather than dotting it.
• A magnet for birds and bees. Nectar in quantity brings honeyeaters, lorikeets and native bees straight in.
• Fast and hard to kill. A fast growing native that is drought tolerant, heat tolerant, frost hardy and content in poor soil once it is away.

Where it works best

Screening and windbreaks. Plant 3m apart for a screen. The multi stemmed habit branches lower than a typical gum, so a row at that spacing gives useful cover rather than a line of bare trunks with foliage overhead.

Feature planting. One tree, given room to show its multiple stems and smooth bark, works as the centrepiece of a native bed or a front garden.

Growing Plunkett Mallee in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with no crowding from larger trees. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, and it is frost hardy and heat tolerant. It is not listed for cool temperate districts, so gardeners on the tablelands should expect it to sit and sulk rather than thrive.

Soil. Poor soil is fine and lean is better than rich. Sandy, gravelly and shallow ground all suit it, provided drainage is real. Heavy, wet clay is the one thing that will kill it, so mound the bed 200mm.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to establish, then only in prolonged dry weather. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser sparingly in early spring, if at all. Rich feeding produces weak growth that breaks in wind.

Pruning. Little is needed. Prune after flowering to keep the multi stemmed form balanced, and remove any stem crowding the centre. Mallees carry a lignotuber at the base, so the plant recovers from a hard cut better than most eucalypts.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow this one in a single size, a 45L pot: an advanced tree with its multiple stems already formed and real height on the day it lands. It is heavy, so plan for a second pair of hands at the planting hole.

Eucalypts of this size are staked for transport and should be untied once planted, since a rigidly staked young gum never builds trunk strength. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The best bird attracting natives for Australian gardens
• Browse the full Australian native tree range
• Compare small trees for urban gardens
• See screening plants in the 4m to 8m range

Common questions

Will it stay small, or is that just the nursery label?

It genuinely holds at around 6m tall and 5m wide. This is a mallee, a naturally multi stemmed form that does not build a single dominant trunk, which keeps the final size in check.

How close can I plant it to the house?

Keep it at least 5m from a building, paving or a drainage line. That matches the mature canopy width and gives the root plate room. It is a modest tree by eucalypt standards, but it is still a gum.

Will it grow in a cold southern garden?

It is frost hardy, but it is listed for subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid climates rather than cool temperate ones. In a genuinely cold district growth will be slow and flowering light.