Selecting shoots on a Euc

[GavinG]

Now is the time for all good folk who can't stand tinsel and reindeer to ATTACK their Eucalypts without mercy. Repotting in the heat of December works well, and I have bare-rooted quite a number early in their history, to sort roots out or get rid of rubbish soil, remembering to keep them very well watered afterwards.

A couple of weeks later, the Eucs have shot like mad all over the place, and you need to select shoots. if you leave them all, they form ugly lumps, reverse taper, and nasty lines.

This is one. It might be viminalis, or mannifera. Label's lost.

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There are many many shoots growing from the lignotuber - they have to go, as the top will die if they are allowed to grow. Note the intense red colour of the young shoots.

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The top is a mess.

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So you start to select. There's a process that helps make sense of the mess. Wherever there are many shoots from one spot, take out all but one - carefully!! Sometimes you need to use a pointed stick to flick the shoots off without dislodging the shoot you want to keep - this can be tricky as they are all very close, and not strongly attached. You need to choose the shoot that has the most interesting angle, or the one that harmonises best with the other branches.

Once you've cleared out the jungle, you pick the the shoots that will make the framework you want. The fewer shoots you leave, the longer they will grow, and the thicker they will get, thickening the trunk.

I've noticed that when you prune branches back, they often/usually shoot prolifically from the base of the branch, not necessarily at the point where you have cut the branch. I'm not sure what the solution is - you may just end up renewing the fine branches from the basal shoots each year, when you have a framework you're happy with.

This how it's ended up. I think I've probably left too many shoots, but we'll see.

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Gavin

[Watto]

Very interesting and thanks. I also have a couple of Euc's on the go and any information I can get is much appreciated.
I note that you are growing in a colander, how do you find that impacts on the growth?

[bodhidharma]

Thanks Mr "G", a timely reminder to repot my river red which i have forgotten about

[GavinG]

Not a colander, Watto, just a tatty old washing-up basin. That said, if the roots of your Eucs grow out from the pot/basin/colander into the soil underneath, you'll get a good bonus in thickening the trunk. Can be useful.

Gavin