A Florist's and Crafter's Dream: Eucalyptus Pulverulenta

Eucalyptus pulverulenta, appropriately called Florist Silver Dollar Eucalyptus, is familiar to most of us as part of floral displays. It is the plant with the strong, powdery blue-gray foliage that fills out bouquets, provides structure in dried wreaths and centerpieces, and smells refreshingly minty and mentholated in home fragrance. But did you know you can grow it in your own yard, provided you live in a warm enough location? You can have Eucalyptus pulverulenta growing in attractive tree form, ready to meet all your needs, with no trips to the florist or craft supply store necessary.

Eucalyptus pulverulenta is commonly called Silver-Leaved Mountain Gum. While many North Americans may be unfamiliar with other gumnut trees, I would venture to guess that we all know this tree’s blue-gray silver dollar-shaped leaves which look and smell just about as good dried as they do when freshly cut. Florists and crafters have made Eucalyptus pulverulenta popular… and for good reason. It is strong, fragrant, and stays in great shape when dried. 

I used to buy bunches of dried Eucalyptus pulverulenta to use in making wreaths. Then I studied in Australia and learned lots more about eucalypts of all sorts. My lucky stint abroad took place long ago, but I still remember these plants well.

The Australasian Roots of Eucalyptus Pulverulenta

In Australia, I lived close enough to the Blue Mountains to visit them twice. The color that surrounds them on most days comes from eucalypts. Their oils are released into the air as tiny droplets, and dust particles from the land get caught up in them. When the light catches things just right, the result is a blue-gray haze which appears to hug the mountaintops and make everything look quite ethereal. Honestly, the “look” is cooling and heavenly, especially for Aussie natives and visitors who have just left the hot hustle-bustle of sun-baked cities such as Sydney to cool down both minds and bodies in a mountain escape.

The Australian “bush” (woodland) is filled with gums. Gums, or gum trees, are a commonly used name for the eucalypts that cover the land, including Eucalyptus pulverulenta. We have probably all seen pictures of koalas holding and chewing what is similar to an olive branch but with greatly elongated leaves, much longer and thinner than the disk-shaped leaves of Eucalyptus pulverulenta. Olive branch? No. These are actually eucalypts, one species or another. 

Cup-shaped, woody gumnuts fall from the eucalypts. With familiarity only with pinecones, acorns, and the occasional coveted chestnut, I was taken in by the sweet form of gumnuts… completely inedible, but as cute as rounded little buttons. I fell in love with these fruits of the eucalypts, seeing how crafters Down Under would turn them into tiny hats and furniture pieces for magical little fairy gardens.

As Nature would have it, the gums of Australia are fire-resistant when “green” with life. But when the leaves fall to the floor of the bush in papery form and in great quantity, their oils go from being fragrantly intoxicating to problematically volatile. I am not talking about the number of leaves that might accumulate under one well-pruned tree, kept to a manageable size in a gardener’s yard. Instead, I am talking about papery leaf waste from “forests” full of towering trees, left to bake at the hottest temperatures on a continent south of the equator. But even the youngest Australians are taught to be cautious of how they extinguish campfires and the like. Eucalypts are beloved, seeming to proudly announce that they are Australian. But a healthy sense of respect also goes along with this love.

Growing Eucalyptus Pulverulenta Stateside

Travel often makes memories that stay fresh and clear, no matter how many years pass. My months in Australia filled me with sights of so many of the hundreds and hundreds of eucalypts, it feels like just yesterday when I saw these shrubs and trees. Unfortunately, the Stateside location of my home will not support their growth. It is too, too cold at some points in the year.

Eucalyptus pulverulenta grows in Zones 8-11 here in the U.S. This telling of the appropriate Zones is on the cautious side. Some say it is hardy to about 15 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit, so there may indeed be more leeway when it comes to planting. I get a little envious of my southern relatives who surely could grow eucalypts. Up North where I live, I have to use fresh-cut stems of Eucalyptus pulverulenta which I get from florists’ shops, shipped in from warmer climates. And I still buy dried stems at craft supply stores. (It always amazes me when I see how similar in pliability, strength, color, and fragrance the two are, fresh and dried. Eucalyptus is a florist’s dream, a crafter’s dream.)

If you live in a cool location, as I do, you can walk away from reading this with a little more information on a plant you are likely to know quite well. You and I can continue to love it and use it; we just cannot grow it outdoors. But if you live in a warm Stateside location, you might want to grow Eucalyptus pulverulenta in your yard and enjoy this lovely multi-stemmed tree. (If you make any gumnut hats, let me know!)