Walton's Plant Library

Other Names:  Baby Blue Eucalyptus

Description:

The silvery foliage is very ornamental on this beautiful landscape specimen, a tall, spreading shrub that can be maintained by pruning; retains its juvenile foliage into maturity, with powdery white blooms from spring to fall

Ornamental Features

Baby Blue Silver-leaved Mountain Gum is clothed in stunning clusters of white pincushion flowers along the branches from mid spring to mid fall. It has attractive grayish green-variegated silver foliage with hints of powder blue. The fragrant round leaves are highly ornamental and remain silver throughout the winter. The smooth tan bark and silver branches are extremely showy and add significant winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Baby Blue Silver-leaved Mountain Gum is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and can be pruned at anytime. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Baby Blue Silver-leaved Mountain Gum is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Baby Blue Silver-leaved Mountain Gum will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for sandy, acidic soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Baby Blue Silver-leaved Mountain Gum makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Its large size and upright habit of growth lend it for use as a solitary accent, or in a composition surrounded by smaller plants around the base and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.