Flowering Gum

Flowering Gum 'Beeliar Orange' (Corymbia ficifolia 'Beeliar Orange') is a grafted selection bred to give you the display of a Western Australian flowering gum on a tree that fits a suburban block. It settles at about 5m tall and 3.5m wide with a rounded canopy, and through late spring and summer it carries heavy heads of vivid orange blossom that honeyeaters and bees work over for weeks. Because it is grafted rather than seedling grown, both the flower colour and the compact size are predictable.

Why you'll love it

• The colour is guaranteed. Seedling flowering gums are a lottery and you wait years to find out what you bought. A grafted plant flowers in the colour on the label.
• A gum tree that suits a small garden. At around 5m it gives shade and structure without the scale or root run that rules out most eucalypts near a house.
• Serious wildlife value. The blossom is a magnet for honeyeaters, lorikeets, native bees and butterflies.
• Tough once it is away. Drought, heat, wind and salt tolerant, a strong combination for a coastal or hot inland garden.
• Low maintenance. No routine pruning, no feeding programme, and it holds a neat rounded shape by itself.

Where it works best

A single feature tree. Give it an open position where the canopy can round out and where you will see the flowers from the house.

Driveways and avenues. A repeated planting down a drive is spectacular in flower. Allow about 4m between trees so each canopy can develop fully.

Small and coastal gardens. One of the few native shade trees that will not outgrow a modest block, and its salt and wind tolerance suit exposed sites.

Growing Flowering Gum 'Beeliar Orange' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with good air movement around the canopy. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens. It takes light frost only, so hard frosting tablelands and cold inland districts are outside its range.

Soil. Drainage matters more than fertility. Flowering gums resent wet feet, so on clay build a raised mound at least 300mm high. Sandy and gravelly soils are ideal.

Planting the graft. Keep the graft union above soil level and never bury it under soil or mulch. Rub off shoots below the graft, because those come from the rootstock and will not carry orange flowers.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first two summers, then only in extended dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, or nothing at all, because overfeeding produces soft growth and fewer flowers.

Being honest about it. Flowering gums flower most heavily in a dry summer climate, so in a garden with humid summers expect some variation from year to year.

What to expect when it arrives

This tree is supplied as advanced 30L and 90L stock, so you are buying real height and a formed canopy rather than starting from a tube. Grafted plants are slower and harder to produce than seedlings, which sits behind the price and why the colour is reliable.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, so a tree this size is quoted individually and travels properly staked. Expect a quiet first season while the roots establish, then flowering from the following summer. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full Australian native range
• Compare other flowering trees
• Feature trees for a focal point

Common questions

How big will it really get?

About 5m tall and 3.5m wide in an average garden. Grafted selections stay considerably more compact than seedling flowering gums, which can reach twice that height.

How close to the house can I plant it?

Allow at least 3m to 4m from a wall so the canopy has room and the roots are not fighting foundations or paving.

Will it grow in a cold southern garden?

It handles light frost only. Mild coastal and city gardens in the south are fine, but hard frosting tablelands and cold inland districts are too cold for it.