River Red Gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis

On a floodplain with access to groundwater a River Red Gum builds a massive short trunk and a wide, heavy crown that spreads further than the tree stands tall. The bark is the giveaway, smooth and shedding in ribbons to leave a mottled surface of white, grey, pink and tan that shifts through the year. Old trees carry the hollows that possums, parrots and owls depend on. Paddocks, dam surrounds, creek lines and large scale revegetation are where it belongs, doing stock shade, erosion control and habitat work.

Floodplain country, and the limb drop that rules out house yards

It follows inland rivers and floodplains across every mainland state, which is why it turns up in country nothing else in this range would hold. It takes long drought, extreme heat, hard frost and periodic waterlogging, and it will grow on heavy clay that defeats most trees. Full sun. Once established it asks for very little water, though it grows fastest near a water table. In a windbreak or dam planting, space for a crown that will keep spreading for decades, and keep the row well back from fences, septic lines and buildings, because the roots are as vigorous as the canopy. On a dam edge or creek bank it does real erosion control work, and the summer shade over stock is why so many were left when paddocks were cleared.

The problem here is not horticultural, it is a safety issue, and it is the reason the species carries the reputation it does. A mature river red gum can release a whole limb, green and apparently sound, with no wind behind it and no warning, most often at the end of a run of hot weather. The piece that comes down is large enough to flatten a vehicle. That rules the tree out of house yards, car parks, campsites, stock yards and anywhere people sit, and the exclusion zone has to grow as the crown does, which is the part people forget once the tree is in. Plant it where a falling limb lands on nothing and keep it that way.

River Red Gum against the other two red gums

Set beside forest red gum, which follows the east coast on deep river flats, River Red Gum is the inland floodplain species with a shorter, heavier bole and a wider crown. Manna gum is the cool climate alternative for habitat work and hangs its shed bark in long ribbons rather than shedding in patches. Choose River Red Gum only where you have serious space near water and want a tree that will outlive everyone involved. On anything smaller, one of the others is the honest answer. It is also the most tolerant of the three of periodic flooding and long drought in the same paddock, which is why it holds the inland river country that neither of the others could. See more in mature trees.

Early shaping, then hand it to an arborist

Do formative pruning in the first few years and very little after that. Select a leader, cut its rivals back while they are still thin, remove tight forks with included bark, and lift the canopy in stages, working in late winter. Once the tree has size, leave structural work to an arborist, because limb removal on a mature red gum is genuinely dangerous and bad cuts create the weak regrowth that fails later. On rural ground it wants no fertiliser at all. In a garden, two seasons of a native product is enough, with mulch and grass control doing the rest.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 9 sizes, from 125mm up to 100L, priced from $16.95 to $649.00 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.