Has anyone tried araucaria angustifolia outdoor?

[serj]

I have this one outdoor. I'm going to try it without additional heat. It grows with my palms. My protection will be very simply - the styrofoam box.
[/img]

[lucky1]

Hi serj,

I have a Wollemia nobilis, a member of the same family.
The Wollemi pine comes from the blue mountain region of Australia (near Sydney) and was only "rediscovered" in 1994.
Goes back to the time of the dinosaurs.

Extremely interesting plants, forming "polar caps" like a waxy covering over the bud to protect it for next year's growth.



Mine spends winters in the cold building.
What minimum temp can yours tolerate?

Barb

[serj]

I suppose the temperature must be in range -12 -15 C. But i don't know how many time can take this temperature my araucaria.

[lucky1]

Should be good inside your styrofoam box.
Good luck with it serj this winter.
This link shows it may push your palms out of the way.

http://www.conifers.co.nz/araucaria/araucaria.html

[TerdalFarm]

Nobody around here grows them, but they were fairly common where I grew up on Oregon (45 oN, but mild marine winters). They were real trees up there. Nice, but not something I care to try down here.
--Erik

[serj]

Thanks Barb for information. I think it is difficult to buy plants in AU? Maybe you know were to buy Wollemia nobilis seeds?

[lucky1]

Very difficult but like plants from any country going across borders, there are phytosanitary certificates and expensive air shipping costs.
I've never seen Wollemia nobilis seed available but that's probably because they were propagated in 1994 by tissue culture as the discovery of the stand of pines (numbered at only 100 adult trees in one area in the entire world) was considered equivalent to finding a dinosaur.

For 3 or 4 years, I was on the National Geographic's list of people who wanted one.
It was a marketing fiasco, as first people to get them were scientists (naturally) and then botanical gardens throughout the world.
During this time, excitement among people who wanted one continued to grow, and prices started to ramp up.
Highly sought after, some were stolen from Botanical Gardens, which led to welded steel cages constructed around donated trees in public spaces.

http://www.divinecaroline.com/22167/372 ... l-plants/2

By marketing fiasco, I was mad at National Geographic's marketing arm...they finally notified people--while shipments of tissue-cultured specimens were being delivered to people on the list--that they couldn't ship to Canada. I then tried to order one from a nursery in Australia but there was a 3-month delay while he waited for other orders from Canada. Getting no new orders from here, prices kept creeping up because of the "4-hour trip one way to get the phytosanitary inspection". He finally returned my money.

People all over the U.S.A. were posting pictures of their Wollemia nobilis and I was still waiting on the National Geographic "list" when--now 5 years later--I discovered that Lori Pickering of Jurassic Plants Nursery on Vancouver Island, B.C. had some for sale. Think I paid only $80 for a 1-foot tall healthy plant, compared to the $300 or $400 it would have cost from Australia.

I well remember the frustration of wanting that plant and waiting 5 years for it.
Pic from this year:


Sorry this is so long
The Auraucaria (spelling?) trees are very diverse and interesting.
Interesting how DNA mutations have created modern pines which are far less interesting than predecessors.
But then again, how many dinosaurs munch on our modern trees?

Your angustifolia will be beautiful, and is widely distributed in many countries.
Despite that, it's critically endangered because of human use and animals eat the seeds too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria_angustifolia

[serj]

It is so interesting for me what i have read above. Barb, may i share your pics on the my forum?

[serj]

Barb, could you tell me what is the coldhardiness of Wollemia nobilis?

[lucky1]

Hi serj, sure use the photos...will add a few more of mine at bottom of post.

Cold hardiness of yours...a good reference here:
http://www.growingontheedge.net/viewtop ... fc4f0b939d

Whereas Wollemia nobilis is widely reported to be OK to -5C, other reports from Japan and USA state -12C.
I'm sure you understand why I'll never subject mine to frost...took far too long to get this plant

Exciting indeed to own a plant whose ancestry goes back 200 million years.
I am looking forward to the bubbly bark starting.
Have heard it looks like "bubbling chocolate".

More Wollemia info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollemia

Found some pics when mine arrived in 2007:


For such a young plant, its bark turned woody quickly that summer under "morning sun only" exposure.


I've since cut off the competing "leaders" as I wanted a single trunked tree.
In habitat, Wollemia apparently reroots as these leaders are bent (by animals perhaps or landslides--the stand was found at the bottom of a deep narrow canyon), obviously an adaptation contributing to its long history.


And here's a pic of what I think the scientists called "polar caps", buds that are protected by a white waxy covering. As the buds swell at the beginning of the season's growth, the "caps" peel off in pieces, resembling spilled candle wax.


I hope you enjoy having--and growing--your magnificent specimen too!
Barb

[lucky1]

You'll be sorry that you asked for pictures
Found another in my album:

Wollemia nobilis "leaf attachment" more closely resembles the following palm than a pine!


Cataractarum palm (Chamaedorea cataractarum):


Looking forward to watching your Auracaria grow (I never get the spelling correct).
Barb

[ROBRETI]

Hi all,

Good luck with the Araucaria. as far as I remember, the most cold tolerant member of this family might be the A. araucana that lives in Chile and Argentina. There is a beautiful specimen in Niagara on the lake, which might be about zone 6b...

As for the Wollemia, the one that the National Botanical Garden has received in Budapest, Hungary, has been kept outside all year round and has successfully withstood all freezes, with a min of about -15C. This is a great news, eh? I think Wollemia lives in the wet cold canyons in Australia so it does not really appreciate hot dry weather.

Barb's pictures are just great!

Good luck again!!
Rob

[lucky1]

robreti, thanks very much!
It'd be great to search Google Earth for "Niagara on the Lake Araucaria"...and up pops the streetview/live pic.
Maybe one day soon technology will have that capability.
How big is that one? guesses as to age?

Very encouraging for serj that the BG in Hungary has a Wollemia outdoors year-round.
Almost proof that the A.angustifolia would do very well for serj outdoors.

Re wollemia, you're probably right as it's happy with 80% shade at my place.
The National Geographic literature (years ago) stated it could easily handle 105F heat, but I wouldn't have it in the sun at those temps.

Took a pic of Wollemia today in the cold building:


Bud for next year's growth seems to know it doesn't need to form waxy coating indoors.


Barb

[serj]

Barb, your wollemia looks very nice. It is very beautiful plant. I let you know about my araucaria in case if it overwintered.

[TimMAz6]

Great Wollemi pine Barb!!!!! I got one outside in the ground too.......I need to protect it soon since we already dropped to 18F (-7.7C) without protection. I killed one a couple years ago........but I was surprised it didn't brown out immediately after a day time high of 12F. Photos taken yesterday. PS, some snow this morning too.

[lucky1]

serj, please take a picture of your styrofoam box for your auracaria.
At what temperature will you put the box on?

Tim, great! thanks for your pic, it's lovely and shows no indication you've had -7C 19F.
What temperature killed your last one?
How much sun does it get in summer?

A nice covering of leaves and proximity to your palms and yuccas is likely keeping it warmer.
Any sign of "bubbly chocolate" yet?

Barb

[serj]

With great pleasure i'm posting pic of my enclosure.



Also you can see my palms.

[serj]

When the temperature drops below -5 C i will put on roof from the styrofoam. Last winter all of my plams (except phoenix dactylifera) overwintered with success. It was -27 C Last winter was very bloody. Usually we have about -20 C for 1-3 days every winter.

[lucky1]

-5C is a very good temp for putting the roof on...if it fits over those gorgeous specimens.

I recall how awful last winter was for you, but lots of snow was good insulation against the brutal cold.

Your araucaria will do well in a styrofoam enclosure and when it's larger, probably won't need any winter protection. (*envy*)

thanks for the picture!
Barb

[TimMAz6]

Nice protection Serj!!

Have you tried Araucaria araucana? This species looks similar but is the hardiest of all the Araucaria species. I also beleive your colder than my climate and my Araucaria araucana browns out on me every winter but keeps on living. I now protect it in a greenhouse during winter and it's fine. We bottom out at -19C typically.

You can see my A. araucana on the left side of the photo I took yesterday. If you look close you'll see that the lower branches are brown from previous years winter burns. The Trachycarpus takil will get a greenhouse too......anyday now!





Hi Barb,

no bubbly chocolate bark yet. I'm hoping the Wollemi will take off next season. Mine is planted in a very sunny/hot location but it gets shaded after 4pm in summer....this may help.

[JackLord]

Nice Monkey Puzzle tree. Mine is roughly the same size. No brown, but it did get some trunk damage when I mulched it too heavily. It seems undaunted and continues to thrive, albeit very slowly.

[lucky1]

Cool you've (both) got a Monkey Puzzle.
What was the childhood saying: Is it the only tree a monkey is unable to climb? (can't remember the saying).
Growing up on the Coast in Vancouver, there was at least one of those trees on every block.
Dangerous to walk under as they got huge...heavy branches would break in storms, and I think the seeds were heavy.

Tim, the takil gets protection; the yuccas don't? Gorgeous border!

[TerdalFarm]

[quote="lucky1"] Gorgeous border![/quote]
Absolutely!
Please share more photos with us. --Erik

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Since we're on the topic of Araucaria...

These Araucaria araucana seeds just arrived in the mail today :

<img src="http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u192 ... 8-1912.jpg" border="0" alt="Araucaria araucana">

There are about 250 of them in all ! :

<img src="http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u192 ... 8-1913.jpg" border="0" alt="All Araucaria">

I'll be planting them over the next couple days, and will post photos when they start germinating!

[lucky1]

Wonderful, Cameron!
Neat looking seeds...are there any Monkey Puzzle trees growing in your area?
Bet they'd need no protection at all in your zone.

Let us know how the germination goes.
Barb

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Barb, I've heard that there's a 5 foot tall tree growing unprotected on a south-facing slope in south-west NS. I think A. araucana might have a shot here in Halifax if sited well, so that's why I bought so many seeds!

[lucky1]

That is good news.
If you ever get down to SW NS, make sure you take your camera.

Or wait a few years and you can photograph your own wall of trees...
The trees seem to do well in Vancouver's humidity off the ocean, should be the same at your location, albeit you probably get more snow.

You could easily sell some to adventurous gardeners in NS and beyond.
Barb

[serj]

TimMAz6, i have never tried araucaria araucana outdoor But i have this one as indoor plant. It is very little. I'm going to grow it for more large size and plant it outdoor. I see one thing - araucana grows too slow in comparison to angustifolia. Yes, my climate is more colder than yours. If i correctly understand your araucana was without protection during last years?

[igor.glukhovtsev]

I told Serj there are two A.araucana at one private property in Almaty suburban. Took pictures today:

[TimMAz6]

Hi Jack,

what type of trunk damage did you get on your monkey puzzle when mulched heavily? How much mulch did you use?

Hi Barb,

Yucccs don't get much protection. I try to protect my Yucca rostratas from moisture not cold. I place a small 'roof' over the leaves to keep cold rain/snow out of the leaves.

Hi Erik,

I'll try to post more photos in near future!

Hi Cameron,

great seeds!! Germinate them all, perhaps a few will be more hardy than the others. Good luck with them. The monkey puzzle shown in the photo was germinated back in 2000!...............they are slow growing.

Hi Serj,

Yes, for the first few years I didn't protect the monkey puzzle tree too much and the leaves turned brown. Last winter I built a greenhouse around it and it stayed green.


Hi Igor,

great photos! The older leaves are brown........I assume from winter cold.

[serj]

Tim, what kind of protection did you use for covering of araucaria?

[TimMAz6]

Hi Serj,

here's a few photos of the protection and monkey puzzle over the years.

[serj]

Tim, thanks very much for sharing very interesting pics. I realy see that your climate is more warmer than mine. I remember you told about -19 C as minimal temperature during last years?

[TimMAz6]

Hi Serj,

yes your colder than me if your USDA zone 6a. I'm in USDA zone 6b. By the way, palms can't grow here, I protect them in a greenhouse too!

[serj]

Tim, realy my area is borderline beetween 6a and 6b. This is in case if calculate it with official data from the meteo-station. We have no any meteo-station in our city. It is located in the another city. My city is more warmer. I have a good microclimate. It is not a long way from me to the local nuclear power plant. Maybe 17 kilometers to the North-West.

[serj]

Look at this picture, please. You can see A. araucana in the Uzhgorod, Ukraine. Uzhgorod is located in zone 6b/7a, Zakarpattya. The mountain Karpati protected Uzhgorod from the cold North winds.

[JackLord]

TimMAz6:

Hi Jack,

what type of trunk damage did you get on your monkey puzzle when mulched heavily? How much mulch did you use?

Looked like slightly white fungus or slight rot. I hit it with fungicide and am careful with the mulch now. The first three inches or so of the trunk now looks like some of your pics i.e. no needles and a bit worn. But the rest of it is flourishing. No brown whatsoever. That is probably due to our warmer winters down here.

I only put two inches of mulch down, but I banked it around the bottom of the trunk. I refrain from that now. Ultimately it does fine here except that it takes the prize for slowest growing tree in the universe. I am tempted to seek out a bigger specimen.

[TimMAz6]

Hi Serj,

Very nice A. araucana!! I wish someday mine will look that healthy! I've heard there is a form of A. araucana which is more hardy. I beleive this 'hardy' form is native to the colder regions in South America.

[TimMAz6]

Hi Jack,

thanks for the input with mulching the monkey puzzles. I have another monkey puzzle I grew from seed but it's in a container. I'll plant it out next season.....this container grown one appears more 'healthy' than the one outside. Perhaps these trees will get hardier with size/age??

[igor.glukhovtsev]

Tim, I've seen the Korean people were wrapping cold tender trees with the rice straw cover - every branch. In a case of your araucana I would wrap stem and every branch with a burlap, put a chicken net around and pack a space around the tree with a wheat straw. It should work.