How The Seedlings Are Growing

Here's how all the Tree Project seedlings are going.

The manna gums (Eucalyptus viminalis) are the most advanced. They have grown very quickly, and are now mainly 25-30cm tall and looking very healthy:

The swamp gums (Eucalyptus ovata) are not doing quite so well. Some are about 12cms tall, but others are still quite little. They are very susceptible to powdery mildew, which is surprising for a species which apparently prefers a swampy environment.

They really look like they could do with a few straight days of sunshine, rather than the grey drizzly days we are having. They got another dose of lime sulphur after I took the photo.

The third lot of eucalypts are meant to be candlebarks (Eucalyptus rubida). However, there is such a variety of forms in this box that I really wonder if they are all the same species:

Apart from the long slender red-leafed ones and the round grey-leafed ones, there are a few others with larger, broader leaves which look more like pictures on the internet of immature candlebark leaves. So I suspect that there may have been some seed contamination in this batch.

The blackwoods (Acacia melanoxylon) are the smallest, averaging only about 4cms tall at the moment. In fact they are still germinating, three months after they were planted.

They are all healthy, despite being slow to get going.

Lastly, there are the wirildas (Acacia retinoides). Some of them are starting to grow their adult-form leaves:

The tallest is about 20cm tall, but most are still at the baby stage, and only about 4 cms tall.

They all have a few months to grow before they are planted out. Then I'm hoping to participate in the planting day and see where they will all live!