And why is tree #3 growing in such a prostrate way? 😅 it’s a green mallee, not sure if this growth habit is normal for a young mallee tree.
by AussieRosie
And why is tree #3 growing in such a prostrate way? 😅 it’s a green mallee, not sure if this growth habit is normal for a young mallee tree.
by AussieRosie
5 Comments
Mallee trees love to sprawl and grow low then thicken up later but they aren’t really renowned for their height. If you wanted strong vertical growth then different gum varieties would have been a better choice here.
They look healthy. Remember the mallee habit (mallee is less a taxonomic group and more a description of how such eucalypts grow) is of multi-stemmed, relatively short trunks with a big lignotuber underground. These won’t grow big and drop limbs, but just give them time, they’ll fill out and grow to a reasonable height in time.
I’m not sure about this specific variety but when they’re that young it’s usually best to just leave. After planting, the first wo years is a typical timeframe before any formative pruning for most trees.
Lower branches often feed the trunk to support thickening whilst it’s young.
Most of the trees in my garden are mallees – some I leave with multi trunks from the base and others I prune to more of a tree look, it depends where they are in my garden. They’re pretty happy to be pruned – maybe cautiously chop and see how they respond then go from there. I LOVE MALLEES
They’re juveniles and need all the leaves they’ve got to optimise health and growth. Don’t be tempted to prune it just yet.