Tristaniopsis Laurina

Height: 7 - 8 m

Water Gum has been widely used in inner-Melbourne streets because of its relatively small size, elegant evergreen foliage, and graceful form. In addition, it has very fine bark, usually a mix of mahogany exfoliating to cream. In Melbourne, Water Gums will grow well on many compacted sites, as long as they have occasional summer irrigation; for establishment, we recommend weekly summer watering. In Prahran, the Water Gum has been used very successfully, with only minimal pruning under power lines.

In the wild, the Water Gum grows near stream banks, and under cover of other dominant trees. In the landscape, this allows them to be used with southerly exposures, and under the canopies of deciduous trees. Because of its restricted size and evergreen habit, Water Gum is ideally suited as a large hedging or screening plant. It is also ideal for commercial planter boxes where a tree is required.

Currently, all Water Gums grown as advanced trees are seedling stock. Metropolitan Tree Growers offer two cultivars of Water Gums and one of the Mountain Water Gum. These three selections were made by Michael Looker as part of his doctorate studies.