EUCALYPTS VHT117

Develop your ability to select and cultivate appropriate varieties of Eucalypts in different situations.

COURSE CONTENT

The content of each of eight lessons is as outlined below:

1. Introduction
   • Scope and Nature of Eucalypts
   • Taxonomy; Review of the system of plant identification
   • General characteristics of the Myrtaceae Family
   • Subdivisions of the genus Eucalyptus; Macrantherae, Renantheroideae, Renantherae, Terminales, etc
   • Popular subdivision into gums, box, stringybark, messmate, mallees, etc
   • Hybrid Eucalypts
   • History of Eucalypt taxonomy; botanical renaming and Corymbia
   • Plant Name Pronunciation
   • Eucalypt Flower Structure; inflorescence, flowers
   • Eucalypt leaf structure
   • Resources and further Information; nurseries, seed, herbaria, etc.
2. Culture
   • Soils and Soil Structure
   • Soil Chemistry
   • Nutrition
   • Fertilizers
   • Summary of Eucalypt characteristics and culture
   • Planting technique
   • Tree Guards
   • Pest & disease that are commonly found on Eucalypts
   • Watering
   • Weed Control
   • Soil Testing
3. Propagation
   • Scope and nature of Eucalypt Propagation
   • Treatment of Seed during Germination
   • Substrates for starting seed
   • Transplanting Seedlings
   • Potting up
4. Commonly grown Varieties of Eucalypts
   • Scope and Nature of Eucalypt Culture in Australia and elsewhere around the World
   • Review of many commonly cultivated Eucalyptus and Corymbia species
5. Other important groups.
   • Introduction
   • Hybrid Eucalypts
   • Why Breed Eucalypts
   • Review of Mallee Eucalypts
   • Review of Gums
6. Lesser grown varieties.
   • Boxes
   • Bloodwoods
   • Peppermints
   • Strigybarks
   • Ironbarks
7. Making the best use of Eucalypts
   • Introduction
   • Timber Production
   • Oil Production
   • Where to Plant Eucalypts; amenity trees, natural and bush gardens, xeriscapes
   • Agroforestry
   • Techniques for Planting on SlopesPlanting on Arid Sites
   • Growing in Dry Areas; overcoming dry conditions, sandy soils
   • Eucalypts and Fire Management
   • Windbreak Planting
   • Plant Selection
   • Understanding Plant Interelationships
8. Special Assignment
   • Problem Based Learning Project
   • Plan the establishment of a collection of different cultivars of Eucalypts
   • eg. Gums, Mallees, Tall Trees, Short Trees, or Dryland Species, suited to growing in a specified locality.

Duration: 100 hours

Aims

• Describe the classification of Eucalypts.
• Discuss general cultural requirements for growing Eucalypts.
• Propagate Eucalypts.
• Differentiate between identifiable characteristics and cultural requirements in a number of commonly cultivated Eucalypts.
• Discuss characteristics of a wider range of Eucalypt species.
• Describe commercial uses for a range of different Eucalyptus species.
• Plan the establishment of a collection of different cultivars of Eucalypts (eg. Gums, Mallees, Tall Trees, Short Trees, Dryland Species), suited to growing in a specified locality.

Why Do People Grow Eucalypts?

Eucalypts can be used in many different situations. Amongst the more than 500 species you can find types to use in a very wide range of situations:
They are excellent for use as firewood, the leaves can be cropped for oil, the flowers are excellent for honey, some make excellent building or construction timber, farmers use Eucalypts for windbreaks or shelter belts, conservationists can use them for reclamation of damaged countryside, or stabilisation of erosion prone areas and to support local wildlife, they can also be used in home gardens, parks, street trees etc.

Timber
The best known Australian native trees, the eucalypts, are grown extensively for timber and paper pulp production, both in Australian and overseas plantations. Their main disadvantage is the long period of time required to produce a harvestable crop. For example, mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) typically takes more than fifty years before it can be harvested. Other species, though, can produce commercial timber in a shorter period; for example, spotted gum (Eucalyptus maculata) can be harvested in less than twenty years

Oil
The flavour and fragrance of scented plants such as lemon myrtle, eucalypts and boronias is due to the aromatic compounds in their flowers, leaves and bark. When these are extracted by distillation, the resulting product is a volatile, colourless, oil-like material. Essential oils are used in food flavouring, and in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and fragrance industries.