This fast growth also means some early decissions will have to be taken. Size control can be very needed to minimise the risk of your new plant causing problems in future. If your garden space is limited or you have given little importance to the proximity of the growing tree to your house or other infrastructures you will have to take timely decisions. Some as appropriate species choice and appropriate placing of it in your garden cannot be taken anymore.

We saw before how eucalypt saplings of certain species can grow from two to seven meters height during their second and third growth seasons when established as plantations for timber production, and this meant some early management decisions had to be taken quite quick compared to other tree crop types in order to try to obtain a particular product in future. In gardens things happen in a similar way. Your desired product can easily be a certain outlook and size for the plant so it combines properly with your garden design. You can choose between letting your sapling grow to its natural adult size or manage its size and form. If the later is the choice, then get ready for frequent operations of pruning and clipping and for at least yearly pollarding.

In future installments we will see examples of tree size control operations aiming to produce small trees from 3 to 5 meters height with compact forms and as dense canopy as possible. For the tree above is now time to adapt to short days, slower methabolic activity, reduced growth rate, chilly winds, frosts and eventual snow. Its good growth rate from spring to autumn, formation of protective fibrous bark in the lower trunk and depletion before winter of the extra slow release fertiliser added at planting hole months ago do almost secure its survival in an average frosty winter. Frost damage is unlikely due to cold hardy species choice but could easily happen on the newest and most tender growth depending on intensity and duration of your frost events. As these trees do not really go dormant but barely sleepy, size control operations carried on immediately before the start of frost season can easily increase the risk of damage on newest winter growth after you cut some parts, especially if daytime temperatures regularly go over 8ºC. It does not necessarily have to happen, but it could. So first pollarding combined with maintenance pruning is to be delayed until late spring next year. This time then, later can be better than sooner!

The tree above is an Eucalyptus gunnii (Cider Gum) planted from a lightly rootbound medium sized pot by early spring. Root arrangement prior to planting was necessary to try to avoid future stability problems. A planting hole three times rootball width and two times rootball height was made and further soil around and below was broken to increase chances for future strong anchorage of the tree. Extracted soil was differentiated into highly organic and mineral soil. A basal layer of mineral soil was placed over a coating of 8-24-16 slow release granular fertiliser with an expected durability of 6 to 8 months. Direct contact of fertiliser and roots was avoided. The top layer of extracted soil was reincorporated at the upper layers of the planting hole to favour easy uptake of nutrients by the future fine taproot developing during the first year after planting. A smaller dosage of mineral fertiliser was added as superficial coating making sure it was arranged in a circular way at some distance from the main trunk before organic mulch addition as final soil cover. Frequent irrigation took place during the first weeks after planting to encourage fast root growth in search of nutrients available at some distance around the rootball. Water addition was gradually decreased and only some emergency frequent watering during the worst of mid summer was needed. Tree staking is a temporary preventive measure against windthrow taken once growth rate started rocketing and meanwhile strong root anchorage and woody basal tissue development are not achieved. Its need will disappear during next growth season, especially after size control operations are performed.