QUESTION:
Our group of flowering gumtrees have been fantastic over summer, attracting millions of bees and some lorikeets too.This is their first real flowering in five years – what should we do next to assist them?
ANSWER:
These are some of the best native hybrids developed in the last 40+ years. Stan Henry and his sons, in Queensland’s Glasshouse Mountains, created the ‘Summer’ range of pinks, mauves, reds, oranges and white-with-pink.They discovered these trees need to be grafted onto an east coast gum root stock to thrive in heavier soils, and they’ve been a huge global success. Most of these trees grow around 4–6m but many gardeners prune to keep them around 3–4m. Newer hybrids with similar or fresh colours are more dwarf, usually 3–4m. Keep an eye on insects at all stages and give the trees an organic fertiliser after flowering to support the next bloom.
Learn more about bee populations in Australia and how we can encourage them in our gardens
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