26 replies to this topic

[rprimbs]

Is anybody growing the ultra rare Wollemii pine? If so how is it doing? And what do you think about it?

[tropicbreeze]

I haven't grown them but I had friends who tried. It's not a tropical, theirs didn't last too long. They need that cooler climate.

[aussiearoids]

Thanks for the info Zig ,I have been tempted to get one , now I will forget it ... Bruce Ironmonger is growing them in US somewhere and might have them on his new place in Childers , sub-tropical Qld .
Heard it is very easy to propagate from cuttings , thus all the hype and release after a long wait .

[carver]

Saw a few of these for sale last year, interesting looking, but it seemed like they were trying to sell the story of the tree more. Each one came with a full page description of how it was discovered, like Michael said a bunch of hype. I would rather try one from cutting, then I could really exaggerate the story for the next person:lol:

[BS Man about Palms]

True, Bruce and Suzy have a lot...

[PalmatierMeg]

I checked into them. My climate is a no-go.

[rprimbs]

Thanks for the info Zig ,I have been tempted to get one , now I will forget it ... Bruce Ironmonger is growing them in US somewhere and might have them on his new place in Childers , sub-tropical Qld .
Heard it is very easy to propagate from cuttings , thus all the hype and release after a long wait .

As I understand it when you propagate an evergreen from a cutting that originally grew sideways -- you get a ground cover. And if you propagate an evergreen from a cutting that grew upward -- than you get a tree. Apparently this is how certain low growing evergreen "ground covers" are created. I don't know if this would be true of a Wollemii pine though. But it is something to consider. I think that it would really be something if you ended up with a Wollemii ground cover.

[OldNed]

Ordered my Wollemi from National Geo in Sept of '06. It arrived 3 months later-several emails explaining unexpected high demand etc.

I kept it potted for a couple of years then planted it out. It grew slow-but-steady 'til about 6 months ago then started to decline. Tried a couple of fixes-no luck- but it was cool to have one of these trees with an amazing discovery story for a while.

[tropicbreeze]

The correct spelling is Wollemi, it's named after the Wollemi National Park where it grows, which is named after Wollemi Creek. It's a half million hectare national park that covers remote sandstone gorge country at an altitude that sometimes gets snow in winter. I've never camped there in the winter, only in the summer. It stays fairly cool in the gorges and doesn't get a lot of direct sun.

The Wollemi Pine only grows in a very small sheltered part of the park. If it was able to adapt to a wide range of conditions it wouldn't likely be as restricted.

[JungleGina]

Bought one this summer from a guy growing them here for National Geographic. It's already dead. Oh well.

[Palm crazy]

Very popular up here, but I haven't the room for one. To me they look like all the rest of the evergreens up here, lol. But if it had some kind of special flower I think I could find a spot. I just planted a Chilean Fire Tree, (Embothrium coccineum), can't beat those hot red flowers.
But still I may change my mind and plant wollemii pine in the future.

Edited by Palm crazy, 13 December 2010 - 09:41 AM.

[Cycadcenter]

Yes, we have them both in Australia and the USA.

Have a 100 or so planted at the farm in Childers and another 100 ready to plant out, just returned from Oz yesterday and it was just too wet to get much ground ready for planting. Managed to get in 25 Malay Dwarf Bamboos and a few Budda Belly but not much else.

Back to the Wollemi's, in Oz we have lost two in the ground, one just died and the other got mown over by the slashed, WOOPS.

In the USA we lost a few initially after importation and we just have a couple of hundred left which we will release next year.

Anyone who is interest in a forward order just drop me a PM

Thanks

Bruce

[Eric in Orlando]

Wollemia nobilis is going to be a tough grow in the SE US. It is very susceptible to root pathogens in the soil, I believe phytophora. It seems its going to require similar conditions as Araucaria araucana. We have planted out 6 over the last few years and 5 have died. The last one isn't thriving.

Now on a bright note, there seems to be success grating it onto Agathis rootstock so that it can take humid subtropical climates.

[Justin]

I have a small one that is doing great - wasn't fazed by the record heat in early October, and hasn't been phased by any "cold" nights so far this fall/winter.

[Geoff]

got my National Geographic cutting (about 3" tall) about 5 years ago... maybe 4... now is about 5.5 feet tall and seems to be happy as can be. The ones I temporarily lost at the Huntinton were all moved (and as far as I can tell, all survived the moves) to the periphery of the lawn instead of in the middle of it and are now abouit 8' tall. Seems this is a great tree for California at least.

[trioderob]

gave one to my brother in new mexico

a hard freeze killed it dead.

they dont like to get very cold.

[Cycadcenter]

got my National Geographic cutting (about 3" tall) about 5 years ago... maybe 4... now is about 5.5 feet tall and seems to be happy as can be. The ones I temporarily lost at the Huntinton were all moved (and as far as I can tell, all survived the moves) to the periphery of the lawn instead of in the middle of it and are now abouit 8' tall. Seems this is a great tree for California at least.

Geoff,

Thanks for the update on the Huntington Wollemi, they were from the initial batch we imported about 6 months before the National Geographic plants were available.

Here is a photo of the ones at Kew Gardens showing both male and female cones.



Bruce

[hydrophyte]

I'd like to resurrect this thread because I'm on the hunt for Wollemia. Does anybody know of any US sources?

Edited by hydrophyte, 17 March 2012 - 06:58 PM.

[DALION]

I'd like to resurrect this thread because I'm on the hunt for Wollemia. Does anybody know of any US sources?

Ask the guy from the post above (Cycadcenter). They still had some in December 2011 when I was at their place.

[Palm crazy]

Here one from the PNW, they are not that slow growing here, and I am soooo glad I didn't plant one in my small lot. Grow 80'-130'.

[hydrophyte]

Thanks I sent a note to Cycadcenter. I hope that maybe he hasn't moved yet and still has some plants available.

[Tropicgardener]

Here one from the PNW, they are not that slow growing here, and I am soooo glad I didn't plant one in my small lot. Grow 80'-130'.

That is the best one I have seen in cultivation..........despite what they say, they don't seem to do very well at all in the humid tropics/subtropics which is not surprising considering their cool temperate origins.

[hydrophyte]

Anybody have any other ides for US sources?

[Peter]

You might try Australian Native Plants nursery in Ojai, CA. http://www.australianplants.com/

[rprimbs]

Anybody have any other ides for US sources?

I've got one now -- if I can keep it alive! I'm going to root up some cuttings in a year or so I think. So you probably could get one from one of us in the future.

[JasonD]

San Marcos Growers has a nice crop of 7g, 15g, & 24in box trees.

[Sim01]

I see you have pictures of plants showing both male and female cones, do these plants set viable seeds?

Simon