17 April 2009

The continuing eucalypt menace...

| johnboy
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[First filed: April 01, 2009 @ 15:05]

On the corner of Cox and Campbell Streets in Ainslie is one of the biggest trees I’ve ever seen in an urban environment.

Anyway it’s not quite so big any more.

My estimate is at least 10 tonnes of timber came down onto the road when this thing came down.

Also for those still burning firewood to keep warm most of it seems to still be there.


UPDATED The authorities appear to have given the mighty globulus the thumbs down after this misdemeanour.

And most of the firewood has disappeared too.

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I am a local, that tree is right up my street, I miss the tree. If you don’t like trees you should move to Gungahlin.

GardeningGirl11:06 pm 17 Apr 09

Sad about that fantastic old street tree, but I would think a relief for the locals.

Holden Caulfield said :

We’ve bought our eucalypts from Yarralumla too. Now that I come to think of it our first attempt in Nicholls were def Euky Dwarves, but the second (and successful) attempt may have been a variety of snow gum (or similar) that are native to our region.

I remember seeing dwarf snow gums at Yarralumla too. I wonder how much of the great bark and wonderful shapes they would develop this far from the snowy climes?

Holden Caulfield11:30 am 03 Apr 09

GardeningGirl said :

Sorry to hear about the vandalism/thefts 🙁 I heard the Euky Dwarves with the beautiful flowers don’t like climates as cold as ours but we have planted one which is supposed to be a bit hardier that we got at the Yarralumla Nursery. The trunk is lovely. Haven’t seen any flowers yet.

We’ve bought our eucalypts from Yarralumla too. Now that I come to think of it our first attempt in Nicholls were def Euky Dwarves, but the second (and successful) attempt may have been a variety of snow gum (or similar) that are native to our region. They also have an expected mature height of 5-7m IIRC. Certainly not 20-30m+ jobbies anyway.

ta ant – dang faulty memory, i had always assumed it was a big branch. remember watching that last episode and can recall the living room, the carpet, sisters and parents and crying with mum… obviously just not the important bits!

Nope, it was the whole tree. I remember the scene from the series very clearly, and also read the book (s) before teh series was made. The second book, btw, was The House at Misrule (or soemthing like that). whoops, no it was The Family at Misrule.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Little_Australians

i think it was just a branch, though of course a good’un… and of course it was judy. how could i have f’gotten?

Juju never did anything by halves did she? By God, I howled!

ant said :

but Judy wasn’t killed by a branch… the whole tree fell on her!

Noooo not the death of Juju! That was as sad as the end of Molly!

but Judy wasn’t killed by a branch… the whole tree fell on her!

god, seekay, was only just remembering peg lying under that tree t’other day – what a great australian drama that was (well, for this then-young’un, anyway!)

this is a beautiful tree. hard call to make, sacrificing some aesthetics over practicality, and how much? wither the ecosystem?

GardeningGirl4:15 pm 02 Apr 09

Scary pic. What a shame, looks like a magnificent tree.
I see fallen branches in our area, not frequently, but regularly. I happened to be looking out the window once when a branch went next door.

Holden Caulfield said :

They can be temperamental buggers to plant/grow as well. Took us two goes to get a small copse of 5 or so Euky Dwarves growing at our previous house in Nicholls, but now, 7+ years on, they look great with slender white trunks and they must be close to their expected 5-7m height.

Not so much success at repeating the process at our new home though. Partly due to temperamental plants and partly due to wankers either pulling the saplings out of the ground, or stealing them outright. Out of six trees planted in total, we only have one left, but it’s going strong and should reach maturity in a few years. They were planted to replace a big kick arse pine tree which was dying and had about as many redeeming features as eating your own vomit.

Sorry to hear about the vandalism/thefts 🙁 I heard the Euky Dwarves with the beautiful flowers don’t like climates as cold as ours but we have planted one which is supposed to be a bit hardier that we got at the Yarralumla Nursery. The trunk is lovely. Haven’t seen any flowers yet.

Remember the end of Seven Little Australians, Johnboy!

Holden Caulfield10:28 am 02 Apr 09

I really like eucalypts, but it is clear that in times past consideration for their mature size in domestic areas wasn’t given a lot of thought.

They can be temperamental buggers to plant/grow as well. Took us two goes to get a small copse of 5 or so Euky Dwarves growing at our previous house in Nicholls, but now, 7+ years on, they look great with slender white trunks and they must be close to their expected 5-7m height.

Not so much success at repeating the process at our new home though. Partly due to temperamental plants and partly due to wankers either pulling the saplings out of the ground, or stealing them outright. Out of six trees planted in total, we only have one left, but it’s going strong and should reach maturity in a few years. They were planted to replace a big kick arse pine tree which was dying and had about as many redeeming features as eating your own vomit.

Assuming the appropriate species is chosen for the domestic application required, I reckon it’s hard to go past a good gum tree.

“I never understood the desire to plant strictly native trees when exotics would often be more suitable.”

Ask the birds, bees, possums, beetles, koalas, fungi what the problem is with exotics. There’s just so little sense in planting exotic trees that have no biodiversity value whatsoever when there are thousands of natives to choose from.

You don’t move to London if you hate red telephone boxes. Similarly, if you’ve got a major problem with eucalypts then don’t live in the world’s center of diversity for the genus Eucalyptus.

Hmm. Apparently, bicostata is one of 4 sub-species of globulus. Probably the thing I call globulus is in fact just a sub-species of it!

I’ve never been that fond of them. I think they need a fair bit of water when young, and the leaves are long and leathery, thick. And they’re rotten for climbing, everythign grows upwards. Unless you’re tall, in which case you can reach the next bit. But most people interested in climbing trees tend to be short.

There was heaps of them at the old Duntroon school. They’re still there, except the ones that were on the roadside where Fairbairn Ave meets Pialligo Ave. They got chopped down and mulched into heaps for Mr Snow’s road improvements.

as a homeowner, i loathe the gum trees residing near me. constant leaves and twigs dropping in my gutters clogging them up and the fear of a branch flying off in the wind and onto my roof.

My oath, Fabforty. The way some people worry about gum trees dropping branches, you’d think they were at it constantly. I haven’t seen any of mine do it yet! Sometimes after high winds I’ll notice one has let go (at least 4 during the last 12 years), but I’ve never caught them at it. No dead roos underneath, either. I reckon the roos have worked out that, if you hear a -crack- above you, move.

fabforty said :

The World is a dangerous place. Get over it 😛

True, but there is no need to make it more dangerous by planting these guys in unsuitable areas. I never understood the desire to plant strictly native trees when exotics would often be more suitable.

The surrounding area is a completely alien environment of concrete, tar, buildings and breakable humans and their possessions. Plant something suited to that environment.

Really, Johnboy, you need to start dealing with your Dendrophobia.

How much does a semi trailer weigh ? I am fairly confident more people have been killed by trucks than by sinister gum trees laying in wait to drop branches on unsuspecting passers-by.

The World is a dangerous place. Get over it 😛

canberra bureaucrat7:03 pm 01 Apr 09

there are also mainland E. globulus. I believe there are 4 varieties of it, 2 in tas and 2 on mainland. Last time I checked anyway….

I am now fulfilled in life, having used that piece of trivia.

its E. bicostata the mainland equivalent to globulus, bicostata is being fazed out as a street tree (or that’s my understanding ) as they are an inappropriate for this sort of use .
I have memories of urban services trying to remove these trees 10 years ago (approx.) but one or two locals to campbell st kicked up a fuss about the destruction of the trees and most if not all were left (my recollection at least).

That’s a nice tree. i’m guessing it’s a Globulus? They do well in Canberra and grow huge.

The on-going years-long drought is really knocking trees around. Many of my younger gums have bad die-back and whole limbs of toasted leaves. It’s disheartening to see (I’ve planted several hundred over the years but many don’t make it).

what a fantastic example of our beautiful native trees…..much nicer than those ‘mighty’ oaks!

If that’s the one I think it is, I’ve been harvesting fallen branches and bark for kindling for years.

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