Eucalyptus pulverulenta ‘Baby Blue’

florist silver dollar
Silver dollar leaves are ‘skewered’ on thin branches. Florists’ foliage filler. Cream flowers in fall & spring. Sprawling shrub, prune to keep tidy.
Eucalyptus pulverulenta 'Baby Blue'
height 9–20ft
width 10–20ft
tolerates Cold, Drought, Pots, Wind
water
needs		 Low – Moderate
hardy
to		 15F
exposure Full Sun
indoor
outdoor		 Outdoor
drainage In Ground: Planting Mix, In Pots: Potting Soil, Tolerates Heavy Soil, Tolerates Sandy Soil
fertilizing All Purpose, Low Needs
origin SE Australia
california
native		 No
sunset
zones		 5, 6, 8–24

Sunset Zones Map

Outdoor Exposure Guide

Growing Notes

While many eucalyptus have similar juvenile leaves, this tree keeps its attractive, glaucous blue leaves into maturity. A waxy coating on leaves helps them hold onto moisture, making them a long last cut foliage favorite. Leaves also have a high menthol fragrance.
Wide, erratic branching pattern makes for interesting mature specimens. Prune early to develop the desired structure. Alternate pruning a branch in one direction and then in the next to create a zig zag pattern in the branches. This plant can also be forced into a more treelike (though wide) form by pruning up the lower branches early on and then thinning out the interior of the plant once mature.
While this shrub will survive some shade its dusty silver leaves are most dramatic in the sun.
Creamy white flowers in fall and spring.
Since this plant has a lignotuber (swollen underground root) it is likely to regrow from even more extreme cold than noted here (in the sunset zones and hardiness.) Typically plants with lignotubers will also regrow from devastating fire damage.

Special Interest

The species name pulverulenta is a throwback to the Latin ‘pulveratus’ meaning ‘powdered’ and referring to the dusted leaves of this plant.