Corymbia Species, Lemon Eucalyptus, Lemon Scented Gum, Blue Spotted Gum, Lemon Bush

I have been growing this tree for a third year here in Charleston, SC (Zone 8b) it is now more then 25 feet tall
looks great and i...Read Mores growning amongst large oak trees in my back yard which offer it some protection in the winter months, when the tree was smaller I protected it from frost the first winter, second winter had no damage until temperature went down to 20 F some leaves were burned but the tree bounced back quickly in the spring with a lot of new growth.

So far so good.

Zone 9b Coastal Otago, New Zealand.
I grew mine from seed (all these corymbia eucalypts are very easy from seed so give them a go-...Read More theyre idiot proof) and at around 5 years of age it is already 8 m tall, though still relatively unbranched and slender.
We can get occasional frosts down to -5 C which is pretty crispy, though not soil-freezing, and mine has never shown damage at these lows. It is not particularly sheltered but IS planted on a slope which helps with cold air drainage. So if youve got a hillside, consider planting things which may succumb to cold on flat ground- slopes mean less frost damage.
We are coastal and are regularly blasted by 100km winds from the Southern Ocean, and the gums around here are not especially troubled by crown-splitting, perhaps because heavy winds are common and the trees are tempered to them as they grow up.
This is an elegant gum that casts a pleasant dappled shade with its slender leaves and rather whispy looking canopy, so its a nice companion for other trees, rather than blocking too much light.
Grows fine on heavy yellow clay as long as there is drainage.
All gums are fire hazards due to the volatile vapours emitted by their foliage in hot conditions- do not plant them near buildings in fire-prone areas, or allow their dry leaves to sit in your guttering etc.
I find that gums generally do not sucker, but many will set seed freely. Just pull up the ones you dont want.

It's only somewhat cold-hardy. The story is that the Disney people fell in love with this tree because it did so well at Disneyland, and...Read More when Disney World was built it was a major part of the landscaping there as well. Then the hard freezes of the late Seventies came...I'm told that trees fifty feet high were killed outright. The Sunset people give the hardiness as 24-28 F and I suspect that they are right. There are big eucalypts (this one was called Eucalyptus citriodora for a very long time and people still think of it that way) that can supposedly take more cold, and I've bought seeds and will be experimenting with them here in zone 8b, rather north of Kissimmee and Disney World.

Found it in Madagascar but probably comes from Australia. The foliage is used in perfume industry. Young leaves are quite soft spiny but ...Read Morevery perfume. Seem difficult to grow in garden but in forest it grows quite easily.

It seems to grow well here in the Rio Grande Valley where I've seen it in park and school areas of Brownsville and Harlingen. The branch...Read Morees are weak and the tree sheds much litter so it's not planted close to buildings. Looks very fine in parks as you approach from a distance. Our soils tend to be alkaline and clayey here.

This is a beatiful upright tree with weeping leaves like many eucalypts. Its bark is its best feature, changing from an almost amber colo...Read Moreur through greys to white before it is shed in Midsummer to start the cycle again. Don't plant where you will feel you have to clear the bark as the scent as it's crushed underfoot is wonderful.
It and the leaves have a strong lemon scent and both can be added to pot pourri.

It will grow too fast and sappy where it is in rich soil with ample Summer water and be in danger of splitting in a storm. It can be pollarded in those conditions fo its juvenile foliage.