Gum Tree Eucalyptus microcarpa

Grey Box is one of the long lived inland box eucalypts of south eastern Australia. Bark is the identifier, fine and closely flaky and pale grey over the trunk and out into the limbs, with smooth ribbons shed on the upper branches. The buds and gumnuts are small, which is what microcarpa refers to. In open ground it makes height quickly, then spends a long life thickening into a dense, dull green crown that eventually carries hollows. It is a shelterbelt, habitat and shade tree for heavy inland soils.

Tough ground, and the two summers it cannot be left

Its range runs from western Victoria through central New South Wales in drier woodland country, so it is built for frost, drought and clay. It suits inland districts across Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT and southern Queensland, and it will hold on through seasons that thin out softer trees. Full sun, and no soil preparation beyond breaking up a compacted planting hole. Cream flowers are worked heavily by bees and it has a solid reputation as a honey tree. In shelterbelt rows, space for a dense mature crown, because this is not an open canopy species and a crowded row will thin from the inside.

This one is lost to the opposite of impatience. It is tough enough that people plant it and walk away, and the first two summers are exactly when it cannot afford that. Grass growing to the stem robs it of water, and an unmulched, unwatered tubestock plant on hard ground will sit still for years or die outright. Clear the grass well back from each plant, mulch it, and water through the establishment period. After that it genuinely looks after itself.

Grey Box among the inland box species

Alongside yellow box, which shares the country and the honey reputation, Grey Box has finer flaky bark, smaller fruit and a denser, less drooping crown, and it holds up better on the driest sites. Yellow box gives more nectar and more open shade. Red box is the third of the group and the one to pick if you want the round blue grey juvenile foliage for cutting. Choose Grey Box when longevity, hollows and drought toughness on heavy ground matter more than flowers or foliage colour. It is also the quietest of the three in the landscape, a dense grey green mass rather than a feature, which suits a shelterbelt where you want shelter rather than something to look at. Browse the range in gum trees.

Prune it young, water it longer

Prune only while the tree is young. Choose a leader, shorten competing stems, and lift the lower branches over two or three seasons rather than all at once, working in late winter. Once the framework is set, leave it alone apart from deadwood, because a mature box seals large wounds slowly. Feeding is optional on farm ground and light in a garden, meaning a native blend once each spring while the tree establishes. The more useful inputs are mulch, grass control around the base and reliable water while the roots are still in the planting hole.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 4 sizes, from 200mm up to 400mm, priced from $29.95 to $199.00 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.