Eucalyptus Niphophila Tree (12L, 5-6ft)

The lovely Alpine Snow Gum will get your creative spirit going. It can be left to grow to heights of around 5m, it can be hard pruned to offer the shape of a young plant and can be coppiced or pollarded to provide a multi-stemmed appearance. Choose what suits you best or mix and match to create a stunning combination in your garden.

This evergreen tree is known for its attractive peeling bark that has a lovely creamy and silver-green colour. The leaves have a slender elliptical shape with a waxy coating in shades of green-blue and grey-green. In late spring and summer, small creamy-white flowers appear. The tree gives off a fragrant scent in hot conditions.

Alpine Snow Gum will grow in most soil types but does prefer moist, well-drained and fertile soil. It will not do well in water-logged areas. It is frost hardy down to a low -15°C and can thrive in full sun or partial shade.

The Eucalyptus was brought to Europe on James Cook’s 1770 voyage. The French botanist, Charles-Louis L’Héritier, named the genus after two Greek words. The first was ‘eu’ meaning ‘well’ and the second was ‘calyptos’ meaning ‘covered’. They referred to the natural cap of fused petals which protects the flower bud until it opens.

This stunning architectural tree is ideal for both large and small gardens and holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit.