Eucalyptus caesia ‘Silver Princess’

Eucalyptus caesia ‘Silver Princess’ is a small eucalypt that can grow to only 5 m which makes it ideal for smaller gardens. It has a very ornamental weeping habit and a silvery, white powdery substance that covers the branches and adds to its appeal.

Red flowers appear during winter and although they are not as prolific as some eucalypts they still very much add to the appeal of this tree.

Growing Eucalyptus caesia ‘Silver Princess’

My mother had this plant growing in her garden but decided she didn’t like it so I dug it up and transplanted it into my new garden. Its appearance is probably not for everyone though as it can look quite sparse.

Its older limbs have rough cracking bark and it does have a habit of growing as if it is about to fall over. Then again, for me these are features and I tend to think that as far as eucalypts go this one is very much an individual. You do see enough of them though growing in people's gardens to realise that it is quite popular.

Staking and Pruning Eucalyptus ‘Silver Princess’

As far as the unusual growth habit goes this can be fixed by staking the plant in an effort to try and get it to grow a bit straighter. I’m not a big fan of staking plants though unless they really need to and should only be done as a temporary solution.

Another method that may be better would be to prune it into shape. I actually saw a ‘Silver Princess’ growing in a country garden once that had been coppiced. It actually looked amazing as there was a spray of branches that emerged from the base of the plant and went in every direction from horizontal to vertical.

It must have been about 3 m in diameter and was quite a specimen. I drove past there a few years later though and it was gone. It was disappointing as looking back now I wished I’d gotten a photo.

The important thing here is if you do have a plant that you’re not happy with, you do have options as this plant does have a lignotuber and does respond very well to pruning. The ‘Silver Princess’ is also very adaptable to most soil conditions as long as the soil is reasonably well drained and is quite often seen growing in streetscapes and public gardens.

Eucalyptus caesia can be grown as a feature and also looks good grown amongst smaller plants as the long arching branches look great rising above the rest of the garden plants.