Hardy Tropicals UK

The one i keep passing on my travels looks very similar to this. This picture made me think as its in the wild so i thought do they naturally end up like this? do the lower branches die off in time?

OMG, thats an aweful look

Thats now f*kuped up totally. Looks nothing like a MP.

Monkey puzzle trees are relatively common near me, some produce cones every year. Sadly at least two have been cut down.

Its just unfortunate they're so slow growing. But still great to see the pic Kris. Looks like conifers is a good source. Many people pick seed from a female tree but without a male close by for pollination the seeds are inviable

In reply to sanatic, yes they do loose their lower branches when they get bigger much like our scots pines do, i think its a really jungly kind of look Did you know they're not actually a conifer.

In saw some whilst out in the Yorkshire dales last year in may time, they must be hundreds of years old, they had lost their lower branches, and was great to see them planted amongst native trees too

I think i would personally like see them with all branches on makes them more of a show stopper personally. But other may disagree. I could however picture it when showing more trunk in somewhere like a rainforest reaching up for the sunlight.

They do tend to lose all their lower branches naturally with age, but the pics of trees in the wild may well be showing trees that are several hundred years old. Younger trees keep their branches better, but it can vary with growing conditions - trees on sites with poor drainage are less likely to keep a good crown.

The place I collected my seeds (Kyloe Wood, Northumbs) has a mix:








PS Kata's pic of a kid with a cone is Bunya Araucaria bidwillii, from Australia, not hardy in Britain. MP cones are smaller, and disintegrate before falling, so they're a lot safer.

They are great pics Conifers,

Thanks very much for the Information, I love them but they are too slow.

after a few mistakes by myself out of the 9 I had 6 germ..I now have 3 still alive. 2 are about 6 inchs and have started to fork at the top the other is comming along. that fresh uk seed I got worked so well

miketropic wrote:2 are about 6 inchs and have started to fork at the top the other is comming along

Mine are at the 6" and forking stage too. I thought they were supposed to be slow-as-a-slow-thing when young?

Kristen wrote:

miketropic wrote:2 are about 6 inchs and have started to fork at the top the other is comming along

Mine are at the 6" and forking stage too. I thought they were supposed to be slow-as-a-slow-thing when young?

They do slow down, at least mine did. I also note some variation in my seedlings - most are single stem, 2 have split into 2 trunks and one has forked into 5. All at 6-8 inches tall. I also have one that is much larger than the rest and has had to be potted up more. It was sited in more sun and damper soil. I can take a pic if it helps?

Meant to post this ages ago, it was Mid February. Should have pricked out much earlier than this but ...

Shows how robust the roots become, and why pricking out earlier would be easier. They were sown in very sandy soil, so it fell off the roots reasonably well. (They are on a sheet of A4, landscape)

Is this just a corker..

I bought it off Blairs, it arrived this morning.

Thanks Blairs!
Yoiur look great too Kristen

Do we feed these, if so with what.

kata wrote:Is this just a corker

It SO is

Do we feed these, if so with what.

I'm feeding mine, mostly , with supplemental lighting. I give them some Canna Terra Vega which some indoor growers (not specifically for Cannas - as dear and naive Mrs K though!!) use.

Thanks Kristen,

For now I need a new pot, I can then mix manure and new compost. Give it time to settle then add slow release.

What ya think?

I tend to add slow-release when I pot on, but that's usually because I am doing loads [in a batch] and putting some slow release in each time it is potted on means it gets fed! I also add slow release to everything, which is not potted on, in Spring - but generally, apart from permanent pots, pretty much everything is potted on - all the cuttings taken last year need bigger pots, come Spring, to grow on into.