Lemon Scented Gum Corymbia citriodora (Eucalyptus citriodora)

Crush a leaf and you get a hit of citronella, which is the field test for Lemon Scented Gum. The other giveaway is the trunk, smooth and powdery pale, shedding each summer to cream, pink and grey. This is a tall forest tree from Queensland with a straight bole and a high, open crown that carries its foliage well above head height, and that puts it into avenues, park plantings and commercial landscapes where the trunk is uplit and the shade underneath stays filtered.

Warm districts, and frost on young trees

It is a warm climate tree. Brisbane, coastal and inland New South Wales, Perth, Adelaide and the warmer parts of Victoria all suit it, and it copes with humidity, heat and long dry spells once the roots are down. Full sun, and drainage. Fertility is not the issue, and it will grow on sandy and gravelly ground that would not carry a shade tree from a wetter climate. Set it well back from buildings, pools and overhead lines, because the eventual height is considerable and the crown sits high. As an avenue, space for the mature canopy, not for quick effect, since crowded trees draw up thin and lean.

Frost is what catches people out. Young trees are tender, and a hard frost in a cold tableland garden will cut a newly planted one back or kill it outright, even though established trees are far tougher. If you are inland and cold, plant in spring, not autumn, choose a site with air drainage over a hollow, and protect the plant for its first two winters. In genuinely cold districts, plant a tableland species instead.

Telling the three apart by scent and trunk

Three trees in this range are constantly confused. Subspecies variegata is the coastal spotted gum, long sold as Eucalyptus maculata, and its leaves carry only a light citrus scent, nothing like the citronella here. Corymbia maculata is the southern spotted gum, with the dappled mosaic trunk rather than this powdery pale one. If the scent is the reason you are buying, this is the only one of the three that delivers it. If you want the mottled trunk, pick one of the spotted gums. All three are forest trees and none of them shrinks to fit a small block, so the choice is about scent, trunk and climate rather than size. Larger sizes sit in mature trees.

Lift the bole gradually

Prune for structure only, and do it early. In the first three or four years select a single leader, shorten competing stems while they are small and remove tight forks, working in late winter or early spring. The straight clean bole is the feature, so lift the canopy gradually, never in one go. Avoid large cuts on established trees, because wounds on a smooth barked Corymbia are slow to close and stay on show. Feeding is light. A native blend in the first two springs, then mulch, grass control and deep watering through the first two summers.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 7 sizes, from 200mm up to 150L, priced from $29.95 to $759.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to Australian native trees for shade.