Real World Gardener Podcasts

 PLANT OF THE WEEK All About Australian Native Plants with Silver Leaves. Plants with grey or silver leaves are adapted to a drier environment because the colour of the leaf better reflects the sun than green leaves regardless of the size of the leaf.  This in turn means the plant uses less water for its functions.  There's usually more to the story as is the case with eucalypt trees having a thick waxy coating that makes the leaves look silver or grey in the first place. This waxy coating is added protection from the sun's rays. Eucalyptus perriniana Mature leaves are often different from juvenile leaves not only in shape and size but orientation. Mature eucalypt leaves hang vertically to reduce exposure to high levels of radiation and water loss.  Silver leaves don’t just have to be about small shrubs and ground covers, there’s some beaut examples of silver leafed gums. pt1 A Couple of Eucalypts with Silver Leaves. Two great silver leafed  gums were our picks:Eucalyptus perriniana and Eucalyptus cinerea