Germination temperature
Warm, as in its tropical monsoon home; avoid cold.
Tree growing guide
Broad-leaved bloodwood is a small, tough eucalypt from the monsoon savannas of northern Australia, with huge rounded leaves and creamy flowers. Its winged seed needs no pretreatment: sow it lightly covered in warmth and keep it just moist.
Warm, as in its tropical monsoon home; avoid cold.
Light cover, about the thickness of the seed.
Related bloodwoods start in 4-6 days.
Bright light after emergence; full sun for the tree.
None needed.
Sow in trays, pot up early, plant out young.
The seed is brown, ellipsoidal and 10-15 mm long with a wing at one end. Sow it as it is; do not remove the wing. It comes from urn-shaped woody fruits 2.2-3 cm long.
Not needed. Untreated seed of related northern bloodwoods germinated at 90-93% in seed bank tests.
Not needed. This is a tropical species with no cold requirement.
Not needed. Sow the dry seed directly onto moist mix.
Keep the tray warm. It grows in the hot, monsoonal Top End of Australia, so in India sow in the warm season or early rains; in cooler climates sow indoors with gentle bottom heat.
Lay the seed flat on the surface of the mix and cover it thinly with fine mix or coarse sand, about the seed's own thickness.
A very free-draining seed mix, for example seed compost with plenty of coarse sand or grit. In nature it grows on sandy to gravelly soils.
Keep the mix just moist, never soggy. Water from below or with a fine spray so the seed is not washed out.
A thin cover is enough. Give seedlings bright light as soon as they appear to stop them stretching.
No data exist for this species, but untreated seed of related northern bloodwoods began to germinate in 4-6 days. Allow a few weeks before giving up on a tray.
Pot seedlings singly into deep tubes or pots once the first true leaves have formed, handling them by the leaves. Plant out while still young, before roots circle the pot, at the start of the wet season in the tropics.
Water young trees through their first dry season. The tree forms a lignotuber and drops its leaves in the dry season, so leaf fall in a long dry spell is normal, not a sign of death.
Cause: damping off in wet, cool, airless mix. Fix: use a gritty mix, water sparingly, keep warm and give good airflow.
Cause: too little light. Fix: move trays into bright light, or full sun with light shade at midday, as soon as seedlings emerge.
Cause: the species is dry-season deciduous. Fix: none needed; it releafs with the rains. Water only if the soil is completely dry for long periods.
Cause: poor drainage. Fix: plant on a free-draining, sandy or gravelly site, or on a raised mound.
Best in hot, tropical climates with a distinct wet and dry season, such as much of India. It is not suited to cold winters.
Full sun on well-drained, sandy or gravelly soil. As a small tree to about 10 m (33 ft), it fits larger gardens and parks.
The large, round juvenile leaves, two-toned bark and creamy white flowers make it a striking feature tree.
Broad-leaved bloodwood is often confused with C. latifolia and C. greeniana; C. foelscheana has larger urn-shaped fruit with a distinct neck.
Sow the winged seeds lightly covered in warmth for a striking tropical bloodwood.
No. Bloodwood seed germinates without pretreatment. Sow it on moist, free-draining mix, cover thinly and keep warm.
This bloodwood has a large winged seed 10-15 mm long, unlike the fine seed of many eucalypts. Cover it thinly, about its own thickness.
It is naturally deciduous in the dry season and regrows leaves when the rains return.