Eucalyptus

[runnerbean]

How should you lop or prune above tree?

[runnerbean]

[isbister]

Vigourously. If not to ground level and replant with something useful. As you can see I'm not a big fan of eucalyptus...are you keeping koala bears?

[antipodes]

oh dear, why this bad feeling? eucalypts are lovely! You can cut off fairly big branches, it should then give offshoots from the main trunk. Eucalypts often fork and you can cut off branches that are not growing where you want them to! They are very hardy to cutting normally so don't be afraid to trim. Back home, I know we sometimes had to actually burn the stump and lift it out to kill an unwanted tree! And cutting them never seemed to kill the tree, it always flourished again later in the year.

[SMP1704]

I'm sure that Eucalyptus is lovely in its natural setting or at least in a large garden but not in a 30' terraced garden..........

Same applies to Brown Turkey fig trees - but that belongs to another thread.

With regard to pruning - they seem tough enough to stand pretty brutal treatment.

[cambourne7]

might be worth getting some professional advice as they can prune to restrict growth and maintain shape.

Either way speak to local florest and ask if they would like to buy whats cut down, maybe ever a swap for a nice bunch of flowers  ;D

[Barnowl]

We have two mature trees in the garden. It's not easy to find anything that is happy growing beneath them - possibly due to the trees taking up the lion's share of any available moisture. However, under one of them is a camelia  that does well.

[runnerbean]

Thank you for all advice, luckily the tree is not in my veg garden, and there is plenty of room for it.  I am the grower in the family and my husband is the slayer!... that's why I wanted advice when he looked hungrily at it with saw in his hand!!!!  Thanks again

[isbister]

Eucalyptus is an attractive tree when well grown, ie none or minimal pruning. As soon as you start serious surgery on it it'll explode into a haystack of epicormic shoots and you'll need to attack it every year from then on to keep it safe and worth looking at. Also, as far as our wildlife is concerned, the tree is completely sterile - offering no food or shelter, in all my years as a tree surgeon i can't remember finding a nest or so much as a nibbled leaf. There are sooo many better trees to plant - especially english oak and hawthorn