River Red Gum Flowering habit

[OzBuzz]

Hi Everybody,

If i'm getting too prolific with posting tell me to shut up!

I have, what appears to be, River red Gum near my place - they have some beautiful buds on them at the moment.. everything that i have read so far though suggests they don't open until summer? Does that mean that the buds take about 6-8mths to mature? From the look of them at the moment they look like they could open in a few weeks!

[westmar]

hi
   red gum normally flower around august to December.southen blue gum[eucalyptus bicostate] flowers around winter time

[OzBuzz]

Me thinks i need to learn how to identify plants properly!

[philinacoma]

There are some good books for our area.

"Honey Flora of Victoria" edited by Russel Goodman  1973 (if you can find it)
"Native Trees and Shrubs of South Eastern Australia" by Leon Costermans

There are a lot of things to look for to identify a Eucalypt given there are heaps of them around.
bark type
leaf shape
leaf vein placement
leaf colour
leaf texture
bud shape
bud cap shape
flower colour
fruit shape

[OzBuzz]

I was going to upload some photos but it appears imageshac is having a hissy fit at the moment for some reason... I'll have to go with a description:

Bark is best described as grey in colour, rough around the base up to about 2m, smooth as you progress up the branches. The smooth sections are a mix of white, grey, cream, and green bark colours (when it rains the bark gets the most amazing yellows and orange colouration from, what i would believe to be, lichens etc).

Leaves are long and pointy - dark green in colour with no prominent veining as such

The flower buds are 7 per stalk - 6 in a circular shape radiating from a central stalk and one standing erect out of the centre. The flower buds are pointed.

[philinacoma]

The bark suggests one of the gums. Does it have a reddish colour?

Do the leaves have a curve?

Are the buds long and pointy or more rounded with a point?

Can you see any of the fruit? Do they have valves? (teeth) Do the valves recess back inside the fruit, level with the end of the fruit or protrude?

How would you describe the shape of the fruit?

[OzBuzz]

I finally got imageshack to work!

[philinacoma]

The buds are a give away, River Red Gum.

[OzBuzz]

The fact that they're 6 buds radiating out with one centrally? That was my initial thought - ok, so based on the information i have read these babies wont flower till summer? Does that add up looking at where the buds are at now? if that's the case there certainly wont be any late autumn flows from these babies!

[philinacoma]

According to one of my books it says that "Inflorences appear in the leaf axils during November, and further give rise to the clusters of flower buds which open 9-12 months later."

Which I translate to mean the buds are there for up to 12 months.

[OzBuzz]

Anybody want an awesome Red Gum flow in November? 

[philinacoma]

You know, you're only just up the road from me. 

[westmar]

hi
   its not a southen blue gum.it looks like red gum be interesting when it flowers to have a look at fruit valve.also some of your gray gum buds are similar to red gum.the bark of a grey gum is shed in rather large irregular patches the new bark being bright orange ,but fading to fawn or grey brown on exposere. it normale flowers in December to march.

[westmar]

hi have a look at the patches on the trunk,red gum out her normally don't shed in such wide pieces.but every were can be different.

[OzBuzz]

You know, you're only just up the road from me. 

How up the road? Does the tree look familiar? 

You're not from the olive farm are you?

[philinacoma]

Not quite that close. Coburg. Compared with where the rest of the keeps on here, you are just up the road.

[OzBuzz]

Not quite that close. Coburg. Compared with where the rest of the keeps on here, you are just up the road.

Ah not far at all  almost neighbours! how many hives do you have? where do you possibly keep them in coburg?

[philinacoma]

2 hives at the moment. I keep one down the side of the house (the side that is a dead end) the other hive is off for a holiday so they can forget where they were. When they come back they're going down the side too.

I'll probably do a split or two next season. Not sure where they'll go yet.

[OzBuzz]

2 hives at the moment. I keep one down the side of the house (the side that is a dead end) the other hive is off for a holiday so they can forget where they were. When they come back they're going down the side too.

I'll probably do a split or two next season. Not sure where they'll go yet.

Awesome, no neighbour troubles?

I'm negotiating with my local council to get access to a few acres that ar quite isolated - by a river with lots of native vegetation... if i succeed you can put some them i'm sure and they wouldnt be too far from you. I'm hoping to get up to about ten hive swith splits/swarms... but i'm a newbie

[philinacoma]

No complaints have come to me, but my wife overheard part of a conversation the neighbour was having with some guests. She only heard snatches as the garbos were going past.

From one of the visitors "...it has to be certain distance from the fence..."
Reply from neighbour "...it complies." then quickly changes subject.
This suggested to me that she had approached the council, they had come around and informed her the site complied with the regulations and there is nothing they can say/do about it. When I placed the hive there I made sure that the fence was the minimum 2 metres on their side. As it is the bees fly straight up between the 2 houses and fly over the houses (3-4 metres). From past interactions I have had with the neighbour, I suspect their/her concern is that bees are dangerous and they will rip down the front door in the middle of the night and attack them in their beds. Unfortunately she is a bit of a drama queen.

The good neighbours get some honey.

Sounds like a good site. Are they just river red gums down there?