Rainbow Eucalyptus! Anyone else plant trees just for your birds?

[Chantilly Lace]

If you have never seen a rainbow eucalyptus tree, you have to look them up! They are the most amazing, stunningly beautiful trees I have ever seen. Their bark is blue, yellow, red and brown, almost like stained glass. I ordered a little one and just planted it, I hope it grows super big!

Here are some more pictures:

Yahoo! Image Search Results for rainbow eucalyptus tree (pic from Yahoo, mine is just a baby!)

I also have a mulberry tree I planted 3 years ago to make perches and chew toys for the birds, I am planning on letting it get a little bigger and then chopping it down and turning it into a big playstand for the birds, and then replace it with another one. it is almost 10 feet now, but I want the branches to be thicker for my big boys, so I am waiting a bit longer. In the meantime they love destroying branches and searching for berries when I put big branches in their cages with fruits and veggies stuck on the branches.

I also have some timor black bamboo I recently planted, to use as perches, toys, and decoration around the house. I just love bamboo, and this is shiny and jet black when it matures. It is also a clumping variety, so it will not spread like crazy!

(just a picture I found on Yahoo, mine are still pretty small and not mature enough to be really black yet)


So, who else plants tree JUST for their birds?

 

[Chantilly Lace]

No one?! LOL. I guess I am the only one who has her yard filled up with trees for the birds.

 

[Merlie]

I didn't per say "plant" any trees, but I've purchased many different types of indoor potted palms for the fiddos ... many palms have air cleansing qualities plus, most are very bird safe.

 

[Greycloud]

Wow! I have never seen them before! They are beautiful!

 

[Annamacaw]

WOW!! I love that rainbow Eucalyptus!!!
I have just started a garden at the girls front window...... I put some tomato plants in it now, but will have lots of flowers.... I thought about a little bird bath, but not sure if I want to invite wild birds so close?

 

[chompie_puppy]

That Rainbow Eucalyptus is stunning! I've never heard of them before!

Oh, I just did a Google search and see they don't grow in Australia. That's why I don't know about them! I've barely got my head around all the native trees, nevermind trees from overseas!

I totally agree with you about planting plants for the fids!! One of the things I particularly enjoy giving my birds is wild foods. All my birds get some - from Quail to Finches to Parrots.

I'm a bit of a dork so I carry my field guide with me so that I can identify a plants while I'm out and about.

Some of my favourite plants to give to my birds are (photos are all my own):

Paperbark Blossoms

The Lorikeets adore these and the Budgies are quite fond of them too.

Paperbark Seed Pods

This is by far Clopin's favourite wild food!

Paperbark Bark

Makes absolutely awesome shredding toys! Just watch out for any spiders hiding in the layers of bark.

Banksia Flowers

Always a good shredding toy. One of these will last for about 2 days in Clopin's cage!

Grevillea Blossoms

There are plenty types of Grevillea plants out there. Some have more nectar than others, but they are generally all loved by all my fids!

Grevillea "Honey Gem" is a man-made hybrid and contains the most nectar which makes it perfect for my Lorikeets!

Beanie is so obsessed with the Honey Gem he doesn't even bother looking at the camera!

Clopin doesn't say no to a good Honey Gem blossom either.

Eucalyptus blossoms

The Lorikeets really enjoy the blossoms while the Budgies love the Eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus is a pretty amazing plant.

Eucalypts have a special place in the life of the budgerigar.
The wild budgerigar has evolved alongside the Eucalypt tree and over a million years has developed an intimate bond with the tree and its leaves. Wet eucalypt leaves excite and invigorate both the wild and aviary budgerigar into a frenzy of joy. They love to bath in the wet leaves and breeding hens destructively chew the bark searching for trace elements and lysine, the breeding protein. The eucalyptus oil from the leaves has medicinal properties that stimulate the immune system and promote a strong natural resistance to disease.

Source - Bird Health - Budgerigars - Feeding

One way I've made my life easier is by planting native trees in the garden.

Here is the side of our house lined with Bottlebrush and Grevillea plants.

Whenever I don't have time to go out and find wild foods for my flock, I can simply go into our garden and grab them some!

Sometimes when I find a tree with lots of blossoms and seed pods I will cut more than I need and keep it in water for the following day.

 

[65sunnyday]

I haven't planted any trees for my birds--but now I'm thinking to now! Boy, I wish that Rainbow Eucalyptus would grow in Northern Ohio, but I'm sure it wouldn't. Maybe the mulberry? But I have thought of growing chickweed. Anybody know of a place to order seeds? It seems to be the ONE weed that DOESN'T grow in my yard!

 

[Chantilly Lace]

I haven't planted any trees for my birds--but now I'm thinking to now! Boy, I wish that Rainbow Eucalyptus would grow in Northern Ohio, but I'm sure it wouldn't. Maybe the mulberry? But I have thought of growing chickweed. Anybody know of a place to order seeds? It seems to be the ONE weed that DOESN'T grow in my yard!

Try Apple (safe is you don't use pesticides, and the wood smells amazing if you bake it to disinfect it!), Crab Apple, Willow, white birch, and I bet mulberry would grow there. That tree grows FAST. It is about 15-20 ft in 2-3 years, and I bought it at 2 feet tall.

Here is some cheap chickweed!

Chickweed seeds / Medicinal herb

 

[65sunnyday]

Chantel--Thank you so much for the info--I just put my order in. It never ceases to amaze me how helpful & ADEPT you all are!

 

[Monica]

I live in a desert... and things don't grow well here... well, there's a lot of planted trees, that have been here for years... but we can't even grow a green lawn for more than a year >.<


*searches for rainbow eucalyptus*


Uh... do these work? (pics taken 6 years ago? wow...)

 

[Heatherina]

I admire you ladies a great deal.
I am planning on growing a garden with a bunch of things for the birds.
What are some good flowers to grow for birds that are safe??? I live in the mountains i am sure i could go out and find a ton of trees to cut on but i have no clue how to identify anything which sucks on my part.

 

[Sailor's Mom]

I have planted banana trees, sea grapes, grape vines (last year and have grapes currently on it), potted a palm tree, and am currently looking to plant a mango tree and I have 3 cumquat (sp?) saplings that came up this week. I love gardening and I am looking forward to planting all kinds of fruits and veggies for Sailor! Great thread.

 

[Chantilly Lace]

I admire you ladies a great deal.
I am planning on growing a garden with a bunch of things for the birds.
What are some good flowers to grow for birds that are safe??? I live in the mountains i am sure i could go out and find a ton of trees to cut on but i have no clue how to identify anything which sucks on my part.

It is not easy to identify trees and plants either! I bought a field guide so I am hoping that will help, if it does I will post the link for you.

 

[Anne & Gang]

I had no idea t hose trees were that lovely.....we do have an apple tree in our front room...sigh..yes, for the birds