Round-leaf mallee is a multi-stemmed Australian eucalypt, usually grown as a small tree or mallee, valued for its cream-yellow winter flowers and drought tolerance. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil once established.
Family
Myrtaceae (Myrtle family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly while young, then rely mostly on rainfall; established plants are drought tolerant.
Soil
Well-drained gravelly, sandy or sandy-clay soil; tolerates poor, shallow soils.
Temperature
Frost and drought tolerant when established; protect young plants from hard frost.
How easy
Easy
Native range
SW. Australia
Climate
desert or dry shrubland
About
Eucalyptus orbifolia, commonly known as round-leaved mallee, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to inland Australia. It is a tree or mallee with rough bark, oval leaves, yellow flowers and conical fruit.
How to grow it
The mallee is sold as seed or as seedlings. It will grow well in a full sun position and is drought and frost tolerant when established. Suitable as an ornamental or as a light screen, it also attracts native birds. The seeds propagate easily and it can be grown in a large container.
Where it grows
It is found amongst granite outcrops and on slopes and ridges in the Mid West, Wheatbelt and Goldfields regions of Western Australia between Mount Magnet, Mukinbudin and Kalgoorlie where it grows in shallow gravelly red sandy or sandy-clay soils. The range extends into central Australia west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and northern South Australia.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eucalyptus orbifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.