Eucalyptus is an enormous and fascinating genus. It comprises over 700 species, and accounts for more than two-thirds of Australias vegetation. It is unfortunate that they are frequently regarded as not being reliably hardy outside of the subtropics, because it discourages people from planting them in cooler areas. There are many reasons to plant a eucalyptus--to begin with, they help to control aphids and other insects, most of them will grow rapidly, even in poor soil (12 per year is not out o ...