Bell-fruit mallee is a small, spreading multi-stemmed tree or shrub from southwest Western Australia, grown for its grey-green foliage and bell-shaped fruit. It does best in full sun and well-drained soil in temperate climates, and performs poorly in the tropics.
Family
Myrtaceae (Myrtle family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water young plants regularly until established, then allow the soil to dry between waterings; it tolerates dry conditions once mature.
Soil
Well-drained sandy or gravelly soil; tolerates poor, lime-rich or laterite-type ground.
Temperature
Suited to temperate climates; performs poorly in tropical conditions. Cold tolerance limit not known.
How easy
Easy
Native range
S. Western Australia
Climate
subtropical
About
Eucalyptus preissiana, commonly known as bell-fruited mallee, is a species of small tree or shrub that occurs in an area between Albany and Esperance in Western Australia. It has a spreading habit, smooth bark, elliptical to egg-shaped or oblong leaves, flower buds in groups of three, yellow flowers and cup-shaped, conical or bell-shaped fruit.
How to grow it
Bell-fruited mallee can be cultivated in temperate areas of Australia but performs poorly in tropical environments. It is propagated from seeds and germinates easily. It prefers a position in full sun and in well-drained soils.
Where it grows
Bell-fruited mallee is found in coastal and sub-coastal areas among limestone and laterite and grows in gravelly sandy-clay soils. It occurs in coastal and near-coastal areas from the Stirling Range to the Fitzgerald River National Park and almost to Esperance to the east. Subspecies lobata only occurs in coastal areas in a few places between Esperance and Hopetoun.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eucalyptus preissiana 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.