Eucalyptus melliodora A. Cunn. ex Schauer

There are conflicting reports on the hardiness of Eucalyptus melliodora. Ian Barclay, from near Olympia, Washington in the United States, regards it as tender, and finds that his plants are cut to the ground each winter (Hardy Eucalyptus Page 2004). In contrast, Tom Hart Dyke’s trees at Lullingstone Castle were only ‘cut in half’ by the November 2005 frosts and have regrown rapidly since (pers. comm. 2007), and John Purse’s trees in north Kent were not affected and seem to be reasonably hardy, though slow-growing (J. Purse, pers. comm. 2007). It needs maximum light and does not tolerate shade. In the San Francisco Bay Area it is commonly used as a street tree, and Sean Hogan (pers. comm. 2007) reports that it suffered only minor damage in a –10 ºC frost at Berkeley. In Australia this is the most important species of eucalypt for honey production, and it is noted for its very fragrant flowers. As an ornamental its principal feature is its patchwork bark in different colours, which sometimes peels and falls in circular rings.