cussonia paniculata

[gilles06]

hi,

Do you grow this plant? I love it, very graphic . it is from south Africa and it is a good candidate for mediteranean climate

show yours...

au revoir.

Gilles06

[Gonzer]

Definitely a favorite of mine Gilles. many folks call it the Cabbage Tree, why, I don't know. This specimen is about 30 years old. It was put in the ground about 7 years ago.

[gilles06]

HI Gonzer,

Yours seems very small for 30 years? But it look healthy, is it beginning flowering?

Mine is about 10 years old and 5 or 6 ft high.

Salut.

Gilles06.

[ariscott]

I just put some Cussonia spicata seeds down today.... Are they really that SLOW??

Regards, Ari

[Gonzer]

Mine was grown in a bonsai pot for many years. It hasn't flowered yet but has shown signs of speeding up it's growth. Gilles, yours is THE most impressive specimen I've seen. Yeah Ari, out here they're slow.

[gilles06]

Hi Ari, Gonzer

Cussonia spicata is a different plant from paniculata, and it is more tropical. I find this plant fast, at the beginning only 1 or 2 inc per year and now 1 or 2 feet! And it is not irrigated...

Salut.

Gilles06.

[fastfeat]

There is a 35'/12m tree of C. paniculata (pretty sure it's this species) at Fullerton Arboretum. I don't think that this species is recommended for humid subtropical areas, however.

[ariscott]

Hi Ari, Gonzer

Cussonia spicata is a different plant from paniculata, and it is more tropical. I find this plant fast, at the beginning only 1 or 2 inc per year and now 1 or 2 feet! And it is not irrigated...

Salut.

Gilles06.

Do you grow C. spicata as well? I would love to see a photo, if you have one. We are in monsoonal tropics, so I think C. paniculata wouldn't like our wet season.

Regards, Ari

[gilles06]

Hi Ari,

Unfortunately i don't grow yet cussonia spicata.

But they come from different places with some wet...

clik here

Au revoir.

Gilles06.

[bahia]

I grow both Cussonia paniculata and C. spicata here in the San Francisco Bay Area, where both have become rather popular accents for gardens when you want a palm-like effect initially, but they do eventually become branching trees with time. Both can be pretty fast to get some height if given good summer water, but C. spicata is definitely faster growing and can easily make 3 to 6 feet of trunk height in a season if it likes the growing conditions. C. spicata is also not as cold hardy, and was killed back to the roots in my garden at 25F in the 1989/90 winter freeze we had here in California, while C. paniculata only defoliated, and did not have damaged trunks. I'd also guess that C. spicata is a better candidate for climates with hot, humid tropical-like summers, as C. paniculata is much more sensitive to too much water at the roots, and can easily rot out if not planted in very well drained situations. Almost all species of Cussonia in South Africa prefer to grow in very well drained soils, usually in boulder outcrops which they call koppes in South Africa. C. paniculata is the Highveld Cabbage Tree, C. spicata is the Lowveld Cabbage tree. There are some very large examples of both species at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, and they also have both species here at the Berkeley Botanic Garden. I have a multitrunked C. spicata that is now about 18 feet tall in my front parking strip, and is also branching several times now even though it has never bloomed yet, after 10 years of growth. C. paniculata seems to bloom more readily under our coastal maritime mediterranean conditions, I have had several bloom with only 3 feet of trunk, after only 4 years in the ground. I would also caution that all Cussonia species have incredibly thick roots that can easily lift paving and be destructive, so they aren't good candidates for planting next to house foundations, too close to pools or sidewalks, etc. They also tend to send up new shoots at the base of the trunks, so if you prefer the single trunk look, you need to keep on top of rubbing off the new shoots.

These two species of Cussonia are readily available by mail order from local northern California sources such as www.anniesannuals.com, which sometimes also carries a few other similar Cussonia species. Just as an aside, the current crop of Cussonia paniculata plants at Annies Annuals came from seed I collected in one of my client's gardens last summer. C. paniculata is also usually available as 5 gallon sized plants from San Marcos Growers in Santa Barbara. I was first introduced to these two Cussonia species some 15 years ago when I first visited Gary Hammer's Montebello nursery location, and it was incredible to see how large he could get these to grow so quickly in one season with their LA type summer heat.

On a related note, can anyone tell me how long it typically takes Trevesia palmata seed to become ripe, and what I should look for as a sign of the seed being ready to harvest? For the first time ever, I finally have several specimens of these that have retained what looks to be viable seed, and would like to also make this available through Annie's Annuals, but have no experience with the seed. I suppose I could just wait until they start falling off the trees...

[gilles06]

Hi Bahia,

Good explanations, give us some photos of big cussonias.

Salut.

[ariscott]

Thanks for the information, Bahia. Do you mind posting pics of your trees. I would love to see them . I am looking forward to see mine grow... I just hope the seeds are still viable.

Regards, Ari

[Roaringwater]

That is a great C. paniculata Gilles, thanks for showing us. Here is my Cussonia spicata, growing with Elegia capensis in a spot that is well-drained, but wet a few feet down. It was slow until it got its roots down, but is picking up speed now. I too would love to see Bahia's tree, but I don't think we will be lucky.

[gilles06]

Thank you Roaringwater for the photo from "tropical Ireland".

I like your Elegia, i think i can't grow it because of my alcaline soil.

Salut.

[han]

Roaringwater, I like your Cussonia and Elegia. They are very nice plant.

Years ago I had a Cussonia paniculata growing quite well in my tropical region until it was killed by flood in my area.

Besides, does any one know if Elegia capensis can grow in the tropics?

regards

Han

That is a great C. paniculata Gilles, thanks for showing us. Here is my Cussonia spicata, growing with Elegia capensis in a spot that is well-drained, but wet a few feet down. It was slow until it got its roots down, but is picking up speed now. I too would love to see Bahia's tree, but I don't think we will be lucky.

[Roaringwater]

Thanks Gilles, I think you're right about Elegia not liking alkaline soil or water. I'm lucky that restios grow very easily here. Here is my Calopsis paniculata, which has stems nearly 3 metres long.

Hi Han, it's interesting to hear of your experiences in the tropics. I don't know if the Elegia would grow in a tropical climate, but I suppose you could always try. It wouldn´t mind occasional flooding, nor would the Calopsis.

[Charles Wychgel]

Good explanations, give us some photos of big cussonias.

Here is Cussonia gamtoosensis in the garden of a neighbour, photo taken 2 years ago, seedling of this plant is now growing in my garden

[gilles06]

Hi Charles,

Nice specimen for this rare specie.

Thank you for the photo. I love cussonias.

Salut.

[ariscott]

My seeds haven't germinated yet. Do you know how long it takes to germinate them??

Regards, Ari

[Roaringwater]

C. gamtoosensis looks like another nice species. I wonder how old that specimen is. Aren't you growing a number of the more uncommon species of Cussonia, Charles? Which do you find the fastest growing?

There is a nice specimen of Cussonia paniculata growing at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London. I took this photo 4 years ago, it must be a fair bit bigger by now.

[PalmsZA]

Hi all

One of my trees below (behind the scheff), for some reason I dont have a decent pic of this tree.... Love the large lollipop look.

[gilles06]

Wow! Yours is so tall! How old and tall is it?

[PalmsZA]

Hi Gilles

No idea of the age.... I can only assume it was planted by the first owners of the house 20 odd years ago...

At a guess I would say it is 10 - 12m tall maybe more...will have to go have a proper look.

Cheers for now

Dennis

[gilles06]

Hi Dennis,

Thank you for the photo, i am really impressed.

Salut.

[Eric in Orlando]

Anyone grown Cussonia in Florida or a similar climate ? I have a small C. paniculata and a C. spicata to try out here when they get bigger.

[joe_OC]

Came across a nursery that had about 5 mature trees with about 5/6 feet of trunk here in Orange County if anyone is interested.

Joe

[joe_OC]

[Tracy]

On 9/5/2009, 12:17:46, Gonzer said:

Definitely a favorite of mine Gilles. many folks call it the Cabbage Tree, why, I don't know. This specimen is about 30 years old. It was put in the ground about 7 years ago.

Do you still have your Cussonia?  Unfortunately the link to your original photo isn't valid anymore, so I couldn't tell if it was C paniculata or C spicata.  I've  been quite impressed with the growth of Cussonia spicata.  I just planted one in late fall or early winter.  The photos below were less than 4 months apart (12/28/2016 and 4/18/2017), and the winter growth shown in these two shots is amazing.