Re: Gradting Eucalyptus ficifolia]

See this web page on the hybrid cultivars which have become very popular here in Australia in the last 3-4 years.
 
Eucalyptus ficifolia and its relatives are now treated by most Australian botanists as the genus Corymbia, and I believe the graft stocks are all Corymbia spp. (of which there are over 100 out of the 800 or more total for the eucalypts).
 
C. ficifolia itself is one of the 3 most southern Corymbia species and so would seem the best adapted to the San Francisco climate. The hybrids combine this species with the tropical C. ptychocarpa and their cold limits are yet to be fully tested. Some of the named cultivars in the link above may be pure C. ficifolia.
 
You can find information about the origins of some Australian cultivars at the Plant Breeders' Rights website, http://www.affa.gov.au/content/pbr_database/search_action.cfm?sort=txtCommonName
 
Tony Rodd
Sydney
----- Original Message -----
From: a*@mindspring.com
To: m*@ucdavis.edu
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 11:34 PM
Subject: [Fwd: Re: Gradting Eucalyptus ficifolia]



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Gradting Eucalyptus ficifolia
Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2004 06:31:24 -0700
From: Andrew Mariani <andimar@mindspring.com>
To: R*@jschlesinger.com
References: 200408290522230593.0010B603@mail.speakeasy.net"><200408290522230593.0010B603@mail.speakeasy.net>


It is my understanding that eucalytus is very difficult  to graft.  Some propagators in the past have tried tissue culture in an effort to produce named  clones of E. ficifolia with specific colors, but I do not know whether anything came of this project  E. ficilfolia trees are probably still  propagated by seed hence the tremendous color variation.  It is unfortunate since one will not know the flower color of the tree planted until flowering begins several years after purchase.

Andrew Mariani

R*@jschlesinger.com wrote:
Do Eucalpytus generally, and E. ficifolia specifically,  take easily to grafting?  Any suggestions as to the best season to graft one species to another?  Does one have to take vertically growing stems, or would side branches produce a new trucnk equally well? I am asking because at this time many Eucalyptus ficifolia have been in bloom for a while in San Francisco, and there is a lot of variation in the color of flowers and in the number of flowers per tree.  The flowering varies from trees that are covered with blooms to those that have a few here and there.  I would like to take scion wood from a tree that I prefer.  Is this likely to be successful? I don't have a lot of luck rooting cuttings generally, or I might take that approach.

Richard Starkeson
San Francisco
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