How eucalyptus trees can impact other plants in your garden

3 years ago 338

Q: We unrecorded successful a gated assemblage with beauteous trees and walking trails. The tiny patio location we bought is surrounded by eucalyptus trees that driblet leaves, etc. continuously. We person a tiny garden. I americium having occupation increasing hydrangeas. I person planted respective successful antithetic places trying to find the close spot but they bash not survive. I besides inherited respective roses that are struggling to bloom contempt fertilizer. The leaves are successful each the angiosperm beds. Is the eucalyptus lipid toxic to the plants?

A: Many plants nutrient compounds that volition inhibit oregon halt the maturation of adjacent plants to amended vie for nutrients, sunlight, and different resources. This improvement is known arsenic allelopathy. Black walnut, maple, pine, and eucalyptus are immoderate better-known examples of this. If you privation your hydrangeas and roses to thrive, I urge planting them distant from the eucalyptus trees.

Alternatively, you could effort increasing them successful containers, taking attraction to region immoderate eucalyptus leaves that onshore connected the potting soil.

Q: We precocious had a precise old, precise ample ficus histrion removed due to the fact that the roots were causing damage.  We hated to spot it spell due to the fact that it was beauteous and offered a large woody of privateness (we unrecorded successful a condo analyzable with 2 communicative neighbors each astir us).  When it was removed, they crushed the roots astir six inches deep.  We privation to works different histrion successful the aforesaid country but perceive that it mightiness not beryllium imaginable due to the fact that of deficiency of nutrients.  What bash you deliberation and what benignant of histrion (and what size) would you suggest to springiness america each year-round beauty, privateness arsenic rapidly arsenic possible?

A: Whenever an old, established histrion is removed, determination volition ever beryllium immoderate roots near behind, adjacent if the archetypal 6 inches of basal operation was crushed away. Many trees tin re-emerge from those remaining roots and tin go a attraction contented for years. Ask anyone who’s tried to region an established mulberry histrion and you’ll perceive each astir “zombie trees.” Fig, olive, Princess Paulownia and metallic maple are immoderate of the worst offenders.

If you person precocious removed a ample histrion and the roots proceed to sprout, you whitethorn person to usage stump killer. Once the histrion and its roots are wholly dead, they volition yet decay successful place. If you effort to works thing successful that spot excessively soon, the caller tree’s roots whitethorn beryllium crowded retired by the remaining intact roots from the aged tree.

If you’ve waited and are convinced that the erstwhile histrion volition not effort to marque a reappearance, you should beryllium capable to works a replacement successful the aforesaid location. The prime of histrion depends connected the magnitude of abstraction available, tallness requirements, sunlight, and determination of structures specified arsenic patios and sidewalks. Privet, boxwood, photinia and podocarpus are immoderate fashionable choices for Southern California.

Have questions? Email gardening@scng.com.


Looking for much gardening tips? Here’s however to interaction the Master Gardener programme successful your area.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

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San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu/

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