Eucalyptus pulverulenta 'Baby Blue' (Florist Silver Dollar) - A smaller to medium size well branched lignotuberous tree or large shrub that can reach 25 feet tall with immature pale bluish-grey kabob-style foliage with opposite more oval sessile pairs as mature foliage. It produces creamy-white flowers in groups of three in fall and spring.
Plant in full sun in a decently well-draining soil and irrigate occasionally to infrequently. It is hardy to about 15 to 20 degrees F. In the garden it is a sprawling shrub and occasional pruning is recommended to direct the plant's form and to encourage the decorative new foliage that is popular in flower arrangements.
Eucalyptus pulverulenta is a mallee (shrubby Eucalyptus) endemic to southern New South Wales. 'Baby Blue' is a seed grown selection noted to be a more dwarf form of the species. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'eu' meaning "well" and 'kalypto' meaning 'to cover' as with a lid and an allusion to the united calyx-lobes and petals that is called an operculum that forms a lid or cap that is shed when the flowers open and the specific epithet is from the Latin word 'pulveratus' meaning "powdered" in reference to the white waxy covering on the leaves, buds and fruit that give the plant its silver gray look. Though generally referred to as Florist Silver Dollar in the US nursery trade in Australia it is called Silver Mountain Gum, Silver-leaved Mountain Gum and Powdered Gum. We grew this interesting plant from 1998 until 2008.
The information about Eucalyptus pulverulenta 'Baby Blue' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |