The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Trees and Shrubs => Topic started by: Hilary on November 01, 2011, 03:54:33 PM
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Norfolk Island Pines Araucaria heterophylla are quite popular in gardens here in Corinth and in gardens along on the old National Road going towards Xylocastro.
These two are only a few meters from the sea and enjoy strong north winds during the winter.
One planted in a garden in the street where I live had to be cut down as after 15 years it was blocking the windows.
However, one planted in the back yard of this block has never grown very much. I am told that there is only a shallow layer of earth then builders' rubble.
It is also an unhealthy light green colour
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Fairly common in Cyprus, too. And I, also, have seen some looking decidedly healthier than others. Personally, I've not been convinced that I want one. Sure, they have architectural qualities, and maybe I don't have the right sort of garden (or right spot in the garden), but they just don't do it for me!
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I think that they are a beautiful tree when young and very architectural. An old specimen can look very tatty for quite a long time.
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Why not try the Wollemia pine, Wollemia nobilis, ? It was only discovered in Victoria, Australia in 1994. It is the same Araucaria family and may be more interesting
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Here's a picture of Wollemia nobilis at Kew where it has started coning. It was difficult to photograph as it is inside a cage! Last winter killed a young tree planted in the open at Wisley but others I have seen came through OK.
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I have to say that I agree with Mike: although as John says these trees have a noble architectural quality, they seems so utterly foreign to the Mediterranean landscape that I find their uncompromising shape quite out of place. But I think I'm getting even more intolerant with age - in the English landscape I now find phormiums so alien that I've ripped out all ours (and they sure take some ripping!)
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I suspect they look alien in their homeland too.
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Alien or anachronistic?
They share some similarities with the tree ferns and the like (fossils such as Calamites (http://www.premdesign.com/fossil.html)) that were the the pioneers of land plants on Earth.
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SPOOKY
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As Mike says A. heterophylla is fairly common in Cyprus. As I look out of the window from here I can see 4 of them towering over neighbour's houses. That doesn't include the one I have on my yard that was planted over 20 years ago (it probably seemed like a good idea at the time). I have to agree that now it just doesn't fit and I wouldn't have done it again but I can't bring myself to cut it down.
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I have always felt that if a plant is wrong and spoils the garden it should go though here in the UK TPO's do prevent you from removing trees quite often. We have a history here of over planting in the wrong places and over crowding. In our street the council have replaced limes (which were too big anyway) with "British natives" ? Platanus. This is what the tree officer said, they had a policy of only using British natives! These have only been in about 5 years and they are already too big and will need regular, costly maintenance to be pollarded. They will never make a nice tree.
Garden design today tends to treat trees as bedding where semi-mature trees are planted for instant effect without any concern for the future design of a garden. Under these circumstances when they have outgrown their remit they should be removed. Really sensible planting in the first place would be preferable but is rarely practised.
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If those initials are unfamiliar, TPO = Tree Preservation Order
(I wish there was a TRO - Tree Removal Order :))
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Here in Cyprus we don't have the 'problem' of TPOs. I agree with you in principle, John, and I have no scruples about removing perrenials and shrubs that turn out to be in the wrong place but trees seem to be different, maybe it's a hangover from UK and TPOs. Having said that I'm currently clearing up after the man with the 'cherry-picker' and the chain saw who has completely erradicated a very large mulberry that was suffering from a chronic illness and was also getting rather close to the overhead electricity lines.
I have also come up with a possible theory regarding the number of Araucaria heterophylla there are in Cyprus. I was delving into the depths of my memory trying to remember why we had ours, as it wasn't something I'd purchase it must have been a gift. The tradition of giving flowers/plants on special occasions is widespread and here in Cyprus is no different. However, 20-30 years ago cut flowers were not so readily available as they are now, they virtually all had to be imported, so giving a pot plant was quite common. I seem to remember that A. heterophylla was at one period very popular in this respect. Pot plants eventually outgrow their pots, if they don't die of neglect in the meantime, and need to be moved on, so where better than in the yard outside the house. This may also explain why so many are planted so dangerously close to houses. No evidence but just a thought.
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Why not try the Wollemia pine, Wollemia nobilis, ? It was only discovered in Victoria, Australia in 1994. It is the same Araucaria family and may be more interesting
Hi, quick note from Aus.
The Wollemi Pine was discovered in New South Wales, remarkably close to Sydney, in an isolated valley in the rugged Wollemi National Park. It's theorised the trees survived the drying of the continent around them for thousands of years in their isolated and well watered valley. Their valley also protected them from the many hundreds of bushfires that would have burned through the surrounding countryside not to mention the land changes caused by white settlement and the introduction of new grazing animals. It's a fascinating story (see http://www.wollemipine.com/index.php) but I'm not sure I'd recommend a them as a tree for Mediterranean climates. The ones planted in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens don't look terribly happy in our hot, dry summers despite the best of care, so I suspect they are unlikely to thrive in hotter/drier climates.
Anita
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Dear Anita thanks for correcting my note on the Wollemi; I had a senior moment and mixed this up with the discovery in Victoria of a red mimosa, A. leprosa "Scarler Blaze".
A.araucana is found in the mediterranean climate areas of Chile. I quote "At the moist , southern end of the mediterranean climate area are the remainders of once extensive forests of A. or monkey puzzle" Plant Life in the World`s Med Climates.
There are many Araucarias in Sicily which being an island has a moister climate than the mainland, I assume.
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Here's a nice specimen of Araucaria araucana at Kew earlier this year. Note the relative drought we are increasingly getting in London.
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Re A. araucana:
At some times of the year I presume those branches, bristling with pointed leaves, must be good at garnering moisture by condensation overnight and from mists. I know some animals (beetles) and plants do that in Chile, but I'm not sure in which parts; presumably as an adaptation it is most likely in areas of low rainfall.
As saplings, the tough and pointed leaves must be a deterrent to browsing animals. But one could wonder why they retain their pointedness when older and/or above browsing height. Could be a reflection of the existence o tree-dwelling/climbing browsers that are now extinct, I guess. Holes in that argument, though.
Just thinking aloud, wondering if the pointed leaves were a particular adaptation or an incidental characteristic.
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There were the giant slothes but the Araucaria had been around a long time by the time they appeared. Presumably they would have evolved with large herbivores. As shown with these trees on "Planet Dinosaur" recently on TV.
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So I suppose in evolutionary terms you could say "if it aint broke".
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The story of Araucarias and Wollemia can be found in Survivors: The Animals and Plants that Time has Left Behind, by Richard Fortey. Available on Kindle (sorry John J)
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You're forgiven, if only for those great photos of Autumn colour!
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There were the giant slothes but the Araucaria had been around a long time by the time they appeared. Presumably they would have evolved with large herbivores. As shown with these trees on "Planet Dinosaur" recently on TV.
- yes, of course - good thought, John
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By the way, doesn't Kindle mean 'to set fire to'? Now there's a thought!!!!!