Thread: Mature lemon scented gums

Sorry can't help with the timber characteristics but as you say its a pity they're getting rid of it - they are infamous for summer branch drop.

But they're also nice in the school grounds as that wanderful lemon smell is like a natural deodorant that masks those yukky kids smells

Tell them to plant some Letospermum petersonii - same great smell without the dead kids.

Lemon scented gum was at one stage thought to have potential as a plantation tree. Possibly for flooring if I recolect correctly

Cant help with the workability.

Go for it I say

Lemon cented gums gradually change to Spotted gum as you come south. Some trees are hard to pick which box they should slip into but most Eucs are like that.
Well its good wood looks like spotted gum and many others, personally I cut them up into fire wood and I have a Lucus mill.

lemon scented gum (E. Citriadora) is virtually the same as Spotteg gum (E. Maculata)...G'day Bruce.

We mill it with Spotted Gum.it drys the same, looks the same, is the same as far as insitu performance goes.

BTW... Eucalyts usually only drop limbs if they are in distress...eg: drought.
has anyone looked into their health?

hmm,
I just found a use for a coupla Lemon scented gums that some twit planted in the wrong place. Thanks Glock

Edwin, I would be jumping on that straight away if it were in my neck of the woods.
Have you got yourself a chainsaw mill? I'm starting to really like Spotted gum.

You'd get enough timber out of that for stacks of furniture....and for free!

Originally Posted by glock40sw

BTW... Eucalyts usually only drop limbs if they are in distress...eg: drought.

Hi Trever,

E citriodora is infamous for its trait of dropping branches in summer. Whether this is because its original habitat was rainforest and it gets water stress elsewhere or its just a self pruning thing I dont know.

Its not just minor branches either, I'm always on my guard when I walk under them.

If its anything like spotted gum...... have it.
Some people look down on this group......I don't know why.......The more of this type of eucalipt (corimbya mutter mutter) I see the better I like them.

From my understanding the important thing is to select the rught time to mill it.

I've been told...... and it seems right to me....... wait till the bark starts to come away.... then mill it.

cheers

G'day All.
The worst part about S/Gum and L/ Scented is that the sapwood is lyctus suseptable and needs to be treated.
If you can get it cut without sap on the timber, you will be better off.

A poor mans sapwood treatment is to get normal boron powder. mix it 1kg per 10 litres of water. pour/brush it of the sapwood and then cover it with black plastic for 48 hours. This lets the boron leach into the sapwood and give an envelope treatment. if you cut the sapwood after treatment you will need to recoat the cuts.

Have fun.

Gday Glock, I know I should do some reading on this Borer, but do they only eat the sapwood? Or can they go through the sapwood into the heartwood? I believe it is the starch that they after?

I have seen the suckers in action on some redgum trunks (if it is the same borer)that came from Wodonga. They look like witchety grubs and bore big holes in an oval shape. Then eventually change into a flying unit.

Are the present down in southern Victoria?

sure are some great big wichetties in SW Vic

G'day.
Lyctus is only active (supposedly) from NSW north to QLD. They are not active in cooler climates.
Lyctus are about 3 to 6mm long and leave a hole about 2mm dia.

They are only very small buggers that attck the sapwood for the starch. They ussually only go for sapwood but have been known to go through truewood to exit.

There are four lemon scented gums, that I planted, in front of my house 24 years ago. As with all eucalypts they do drop branches, but haven't yet experienced the "summer" branch drop. They do however shed a "skin" every spring and make a hell of a mess. The sapwood of milled timber is susceptable to lyctus borer, and the longicorn beetle can and does attack the living tree. Three of mine were attacked and the trees exuded resin to smother the attacked area. The tree is endemic to this area, but is not a part of the rainforest. These trees are part of the bloodwood family and are prone to gum veins between the growth rings. Often used as scantling and flooring. Lemon scented and spotted gum makes a very nice floor. I have built a few tables from lemon scented gum. It is very nice to work with, but must be treated for lyctus, before use, and does tend to be a bit "greasy".
Jim.

'E citriodora is infamous for its trait of dropping branches in summer. Whether this is because its original habitat was rainforest and it gets water stress elsewhere or its just a self pruning thing I dont know.'

This is not totaly true. Some lemon scented and spotted gums never loose branches others loose branches all their lives and some in between. Its genetics, unfortunatly seed collectors find it easyier to collect seed from branches on the ground rather than climb trees, so they collect the worst possible.
A woman was doing her phd on branch drop in C. citriodora and C. maculata but reduced it to just spotted gum to reduce work load and be able to finish. She found areas where seed should never be collected and other areas with very stable trees.
I work as an arborist and I see young lemon scenteds that have already lost several branches, others that have been dropping them for years (I remove them). Yet others like the two on the roundabout on the top of Swanson St Melb that have never dropped a branch in the last 100 years. It depends where the seed comes from.