Sugar gums have a reputation as risky branch-droppers but they’re important to bees, parrots and possums

• Less than a year after my retirement, it shed a couple of major limbs and was removed.
• I had been its custodian for over 20 years and took my responsibility seriously, extending its useful life.
• It’s a shame, because there is much to appreciate and admire about the sugar gum.

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A hardy and impressive tree

• In its natural habitat in the Flinders Ranges, sugar gum can be an impressive single-trunked tree.
• Like many eucalypts, sugar gum is a hardy tree with plenty of dormant buds (epicormic buds) under its smooth yellow, grey bark.
• When the tree is damaged by fire or stressed, these buds may become active and produce lots of new shoots.

A tree that leaves a lasting impression

• Coming from the western suburbs of Melbourne, I remember lots of them in rows at the intriguing Albion Explosive Factory.
• These trees left a lasting impression.
• More broadly, though, many in the wider Australian community still see sugar gums only as risky trees that drop dangerous branches.

Lopping and topping

• These trees are capable of growth in heavy clay soils, drought tolerant and efficient water users.
• They were a tree that more or less looked after themselves in tough conditions.
• Some were regularly pruned at a lower height to encourage growth for the rapid production of firewood or fence posts.
• But when you stopped lopping and topping, the shoots grew quickly.

A haven for native animals

• Many sugar gums feature hollows and cavities, which become a haven for native fauna.
• These provide a home for a possum or two, but it is perhaps parrots that benefit most.
• At certain times of year, there is a deafening din around sugar gums as sulphur-crested cockatoos, corellas and lorikeets jostle for nesting sites.

Gregory Moore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.