How to Grow Eucalyptus Tree (Safeda), and Where You Never Should
Before you learn how to grow a eucalyptus tree, decide whether you should. Safeda grows easily from seed or a cheap nursery sapling and shoots up fast, which is why it lines so many canals and farm boundaries. It also drinks heavily, and it is on the RHS list of high water demand trees that can dry clay soil under buildings. So the honest verdict is plain: plant it on waterlogged or salty farmland, or along big field edges far from wells and houses. Do not plant it in a home garden.
The verdict first
- Tree: eucalyptus, safeda; in Pakistan mostly Eucalyptus camaldulensis and E. tereticornis
- Home garden: skip
- Farm on waterlogged or saline land: plant, it is one of the few trees that earns its place there
- Next to tube wells, springs, crops you water: skip or keep well away
- Growth: very fast; often cut for poles and fuelwood within several years
- Water use: high; a Pakistani drainage study estimated about 70 litres a day for a normal tree
- Propagation: seed in nursery bags; cut stumps regrow (coppice)
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Why is safeda so controversial?
A review of eucalypts in Pakistan prepared for the Australian aid funded Aik Saath project lays out both sides fairly. In its favour: fast growth, wood for fuel, poles, timber and charcoal, honey from its flowers, and tolerance of saline and alkaline soils up to about pH 8.5. Against it: depletion of groundwater, suppression of nearby plants, and complaints from farmers that crops next to it yield less.
The water point is not a rumour. A survey in two Malakand villages linked eucalyptus plantations to many springs drying up and a falling water table. A pot trial compared one year old eucalyptus with acacia (kikar), albizia (siris) and neem and recorded it using roughly twice to three times as much water. The same review also notes the flip side: the IWASRI drainage work treated eucalyptus as a living pump for lowering the water table on permanently waterlogged land.
The same thirst that dries a spring can rescue a waterlogged field. Where you plant it decides which story you get.
Where should eucalyptus be planted, and where not?
| Site | Verdict | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Waterlogged or saline farmland (parts of Punjab and Sindh) | Plant | Draws down the water table; tolerates salt |
| Large farm boundaries, away from wells and irrigated crops | Maybe | Good poles and fuel; expect lower yields in the crop rows next to it |
| Barani (rain fed) land, hill villages with springs | Skip | Competes for scarce water |
| Home garden, lawn, roadside in front of houses | Skip | Too tall, too thirsty, too close to walls and drains |
| Near a borewell, hand pump or spring | Skip | Its roots compete directly for that water |
By climate it grows almost anywhere in the plains: Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Delhi, Peshawar. Cold hill winters slow or damage some species. The question is never “will it grow”, it is “should it be here”.
How far from walls and pipes?
The RHS puts eucalyptus among the high water demand trees whose drying effect on shrinkable clay can reach as far as the tree is tall, and notes roots can spread up to three times the tree’s height. A mature safeda is often taller than a three storey house. On a normal home plot no safe distance exists, which is why the answer for homes is no.
- Buildings on clay: at least the tree’s full expected height away. In practice, keep plantations to the far side of fields.
- Drains, sewers, septic tanks: as far as possible; old leaking joints draw roots in.
- Wells and tube wells: keep plantations well away. The Pakistan review cites Indian data where bore wells within about a kilometre of plantations lost yield.
Already have one near the house? Our sibling guide on jacaranda shows a slower, gentler shade tree, and a qualified arborist can advise on removing or reducing a big one safely.
How to grow eucalyptus from seed
- Buy seed from a forest department nursery or a seller who names the species. Seed is tiny, like dust.
- In February to March or after the monsoon, mix the seed with dry fine sand so you can spread it thinly over a tray of sand and compost. Do not bury it; just press it in.
- Water from below or with a fine mist. Keep in light shade.
- When seedlings have two to four true leaves, prick them out into polythene bags of soil, sand and compost.
- Harden them off in full sun and plant out at 30 to 60 cm tall, at the start of the monsoon or in spring.
Cuttings and clonal plants exist in forestry programmes, but home growers almost always use seedlings.
The farmer’s rule for a boundary row
If you plant safeda along a field edge, dig a deep, narrow trench between the tree row and the crop every few years to cut the spreading surface roots, and keep the row on the north side of the field where its shade falls off the crop. It does not stop the water draw from deeper roots, but it reduces the obvious damage to the first crop rows.
Planting and care for the first two years
- Dig pits about 45 cm wide and deep. The conventional plantation spacing recorded by the Pakistan Forest Institute is 3 by 2 m, with closer spacing used for short rotation poles and fuel; ask the local forest department what suits your district.
- Plant the seedling at bag depth, firm, and water well.
- Water weekly in the first summer if there is no irrigation or rain. The Pakistan Forest Institute has noted it can establish without irrigation in the Peshawar area when planted in the winter rains.
- Keep weeds and grass cleared in a 1 m ring for the first year.
- Protect from goats and termites; young eucalyptus is highly susceptible to termites for its first two years. Keep the soil around the stem clear of dead wood, and if you use a soil insecticide, read the label, wear gloves and keep it away from children and livestock.
Feeding is rarely needed on farmland. On very poor soil, a basket of farmyard manure in the pit at planting is enough; our guide to cow dung and other organic feeds explains how to use it well rotted.
How fast does eucalyptus grow, and how tall?
Very fast on good, moist ground: one of the quickest trees farmers can plant, which is why it is cut for poles and fuelwood within several years; a Sindh plantation recorded by the Pakistan Forest Institute was harvested on an eight year rotation. It keeps growing into a tall tree, commonly towering over everything around it. Cut stumps sprout again, so one planting can give several harvests.
Eucalyptus oil is poisonous if swallowed, and children are most at risk; the leaves and oil are not a home remedy to experiment with. Read our separate guide on eucalyptus oil safety and the child warning. Big safeda trees drop heavy limbs without warning, especially in storms; never park or play under them in wind. Felling a tall tree is dangerous work for trained people only, and roadside or canal trees usually belong to the government, so do not cut them yourself. People with spring allergies can check the pollen calendar for the main local triggers.
Eucalyptus tree questions
Should I plant eucalyptus in my house?
No. It is too tall and too thirsty for a home plot, and it is a high water demand tree near buildings on clay. Choose a smaller, slower tree.
Do eucalyptus roots damage houses?
They can, mainly by drying shrinkable clay under footings and by entering leaking drains. The risk is highest with older houses on clay soil.
Does eucalyptus really lower the water table?
Where it is planted densely, yes, it uses a lot of water. That harms springs and wells in dry areas but is used deliberately to drain waterlogged land.
How fast does safeda grow?
Very fast on moist ground. Farmers often harvest poles and fuelwood within several years, and the stumps resprout.
When is the best time to plant eucalyptus in Pakistan?
February to March, or at the start of the monsoon when the soil stays damp while roots establish.
Can I grow eucalyptus in a pot?
Young plants live in pots for a year or two and some people grow them for the leaves, but they soon outgrow any pot. It is not a long term container tree.
Is eucalyptus good for saline land?
It is one of the better trees for moderately saline and alkaline soils, which is a large part of why it was promoted in Pakistan.
Why are crops weaker next to my eucalyptus row?
Mostly competition for water and some for light and nutrients. Root trenching and placing the row on the north side reduce it, but cannot remove it.
Is it banned to plant safeda in Pakistan?
Rules vary by province and city and change over time. Check with your local forest or horticulture authority before planting a roadside or society plantation.
Read more tree and plant guides in Phool aur Paudhe.