Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) is a large, smooth barked eucalypt with dense and durable wood that is pale in colour.  A native of South Australia, the species natural distribution includes the Flinders Ranges, the Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. 

This varied and sometimes harsh geographic made Sugar Gum a popular farm forestry species and shelterbelts and woodlots of Sugar Gum are common and familiar feature of Victoria’s western plains and the Green Triangle region. 

 

The first direct seeded sugar gum plantations were established in western Victoria in 20-60m wide belts in 1876.  The original management of these shelterbelts was to harvest them every 20-40 years for posts, poles and firewood and to utilize the vigorous coppicing ability of Sugar Gum to establish the next crop.

 

Sugar Gum is well suited to the lower rainfall areas of the Green Triangle region and is adapted to seemingly infertile sites.  While Sugar Gum prefers sandier clay loams but is well adapted to a wide range of soils.  Growers need to be aware that Sugar Gum has only a low to moderate resistance to frost when young and planting should be planned to avoid the worst periods of frost.

 

However once established, Sugar Gum is tolerant of drought and exposure, and since the expansion of farming into the more arid regions of south-eastern Australia, has proven to be a suitable species for shelter, firewood, posts and poles. 

 

Sugar Gum is a hard, durable and attractive pale timber with an array of product options. Its performance in milling and ease of drying make it one of the best potential timber species in Australia.  It is increasingly becoming recognised as a solid construction and attractive furniture timber.

 

These features, combined with its tolerance of exposure, drought and a wide range of conditions, has led to increasing interest from farm forestry and plantation investors.