Has anyone tried araucaria angustifolia outdoor?

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

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.

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

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

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

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/22167/37205-eight-world-s-most-unusual-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

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

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

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/viewtopic.php?p=48149&sid=163ad9b79f3eec23f92421fc4f0b939d

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

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

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

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

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

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.