This is a blog post on growing and harvesting Eucalyptus. Currently, I am loving to grow eucalyptus as I am very much into fabric printing. Eucalyptus is one of those leaves that every natural printer love to grow. As both sides of the leaves print colors which is quite unusual. Also depending on the species, it can print vibrant red colors on wool fabric.
Eucalyptus leaves are also great for flower arrangements and decorations. When I didn’t have any eucalyptus trees or when the trees are too young to harvest I do buy eucalyptus leaves from the florist. So far I am growing 3 different species they are River Gum (E.camaldulensis), Globulus, and Gunnii.
You may have heard of eucalyptus trees damaging drainage pipes in houses. Young plants don’t have the ability to do that yet. So it is something to consider when growing eucalyptus. My eucalyptus trees are still quite young only about 1-2 years old.
Growing and harvesting eucalyptus
Growing eucalyptus is best grown from young plants. They can be bought online or at garden centers. There are a lot of varieties of eucalyptus to grow from. In the UK it is common to find varieties that are hardy and can survive the cold winter weather.
Grow them in a sunny spot and feed them with some fish and bone meal. Grow it in well-drained soil. Water regularly when they are young so that they establish their roots deep in the ground and not look for water sources elsewhere.
When eucalyptus is young don’t harvest the leaves so soon. At the moment I only harvest dead leaves that are about fall off by themselves but nothing more. When the bark and stems are more established then it is a good time to harvest.
Thank you for reading and dropping by. Do have a look at my other blog posts on growing leaves for natural printing like Staghorn sumac and Cotinus.
