Eucalyptus Caesia Silver Princess

Eucalyptus caesia "Silver Princess"

Eucalyptus caesia “Silver Princess” is a small Eucalypt that can grow to only 5m which makes it ideal for smaller gardens. It has a very ornamental weeping habit and a silvery, white powdery substance that covers the branches and adds to it’s appeal. Red flowers appear during winter and although they are not as prolific as some Eucalypts they still very much add to the appeal of this tree.

Eucalyptus caesia "Silver Princess"

My mother had this plant growing in her garden but decided she didn’t like it so I dug it up and transplanted it into my new garden. It’s appearance is probably not for everyone though as it can look quite sparse. Its older limbs have rough cracking bark and it does have a habit of growing as if it is about to fall over. Then again, for me these are features and I tend to think that as far as Eucalypts go this one is very much an individual. You do see enough of them though growing in peoples gardens to realize that it is quite popular.

As far as the unusual growth habit goes this can be fixed by staking the plant in an effort to try and get it to grow a bit straighter. I’m not a big fan of staking plants though unless they really need to and should only be done as a temporary solution.

Another method that may be better would be to prune it into shape. I actually saw a Silver Princess growing in a country garden once that had been coppiced. It actually looked amazing as there was a spray of branches that emerged from the base of the plant and went in every direction from horizontal to vertical.

It must have been about 3m in diameter and was quite a specimen. I drove past there a few years later though and it was gone. It was disappointing as looking back now I wished I’d gotten a photo.

The important thing here is if you do have a plant that you’re not happy with you do have options as this plant does have a lignotuber and does respond very well to pruning.

The Silver Princess is also very adaptable to most soil conditions as long as the soil is reasonably well drained and is quite often seen growing in streetscapes and public gardens. It can be grown as a feature and also looks good grown amongst smaller plants as the long arching branches look great rising above the rest of the garden plants.

Eucalyptus Caesia “Silver Princess” Images.

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My 7 Favourite Drought Tolerant, Australian Natives Plants.

The words “drought tolerant plants” have different meaning to different gardeners. I once knew a gardener who believed if a plant was considered to be drought tolerant it meant that once you’d planted it you could then walk away and never have to water it again. The funny thing about it, in some respects this can be the case with some drought tolerant plants, in some situations.

If you are a gardener though who wants to give your plants a better that even chance of surviving their first summer then here is the best way to go about it.

I’ve always found that the best time of the year to plant is in autumn. This gives the roots some time to get established over winter and spring before the following summer. It also gives the plant a head start, especially if you have a large garden full of drought tolerant plants that rarely get watered over summer.

The next important thing to do is then water the plant for the first summer and after that it should be able to survive just from the water that falls from the sky. This to me is what the term “drought tolerant plant” means. It means plants that have evolved in their natural environment to withstand long periods without rainfall and as a consequence can do the same when introduced into a garden situation.

Over the years I’ve grown lots of drought tolerant plants and as a consequence I’ve got just a few that are favourites and if I was to start a new garden tomorrow from scratch then these one’s would be definite starters. It’s also important to point out that this list isn’t a list of the seven most drought tolerant plants you can find. Instead it is a list of seven very garden worthy plants that will look and perform very well in the home garden and once established, survive on a very minimal amount of water. So here they are;

1. Alyogyne hakeifolia syn Melissa Anne
2. Eremophila Calorhabdos
3. Banksia Ericifolia
4. Grevillea “Ned Kelly”
5. Eucalyptus caesia “Silver Princess”
6. Acacia glaucoptera
7. Callistemon Salignus

These are a just a few of the many Australian Natives that are drought tolerant plants. There are many others that could be added to the list but I’ve included them here because I’ve grown them in my garden and if I was to plant a new garden tomorrow these would be the ones that would make a great starting point.

If you want to try them in your garden just remember these rules.
1. Don’t fertilize them.
2. Plants them in a well drained soil or on a slope or raised garden bed (exception C salignus).
3. Don’t cultivate around the roots.
4. Only water to establish or when conditions are extreme and the plant is stressed.

There are other drought tolerant plants mentioned throughout my gardening blog and many, many more to come. So please have a read and feel free to ask a question or two.

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