I am live in Southern US. I am on the waiting list to get a Wollemi Pine from Australia as soom as they are made available to the United States. www.Wollemipine.com

I am hoping I could get some information from Australian Gardeners. My questions are as follows...

What is the weather like?

What is the dirt composition and texture?

Ground water? Rain?

I am waiting patiently to hear that I get to have one of these ancient trees. I want the tree to be happy and to thrive. So while I wait I would like to try to learn more about the growing conditions in Australia.

Any input from Australian Gardeners would be greatly appreciated.

God Bless
Linda

It is Autumn here and where I live the temp is 20-29 or 32 some days so beautiful. We are suppose to get Monsoonal rains in the Summer but its not like that anymore and the dams are drying up in Brisbane where they are ready to restrict us to watering the garden with a bucket, a trifle hard when you live on a 3/4 acre ( 3000 mt2 ) block though North and South of Brisbane, like the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast they are getting more rain so their dams are full.

You say you live in the South I see you Zone is 7 where I live it would be about your 9 or 10 . And where the pine came from would be nearer to your temps than to here. I dont think it needs any special soils just look after it like you would any other plant ...Hope this helps.......Cheers...MM.

trancegemini

I think the soil is perfect but, I will be getting the soil tested to be sure.

It does get VERY hot and humid here in the summer. The Wollemi will be partially shaded by a large cherry tree and a large Oak tree..

Again thank you all for your valuable input.

I am sorry to hear about the water issues...Can you dig your own well??

Here they sink a bore its a cost factor with us we live south of the city, one of our garenweb members west of the city, , got a company in to bore and after it costing them over $3500 there was nothing there, so why take an expensive chance .....Cheers...MM.

I know what you mean scandia. unfortunately there wouldnt be many people around with a wollemi pine yet because I think theyre still too expensive for the average person over here to afford one, but in a couple of years there'll be heaps of folks who've given them a go in the garden but that doesnt help you much now though. :)

" the only reason I noticed it was it was caged up"

hi mm, I remember hearing that a fairly large wollemi was planted in a park somewhere (I just cant remember where it was) and someone came along and dug it out and stole it so Ive noticed they always seem to have a big cage around them now when you see them on tv. I guess someone just couldnt wait to get one!

trancegemini

I take the GA quote with a grain of salt. The Norfolk Island pine will, indeed, grow in a wide range of conditions, and the Wollemi is reportedly very adaptable, but I have to wonder:

1. If it is so adaptable, why is the wild population (apparently) limited to such a tiny part of the Blue Mountains ?

2. It survived several ice ages, yet there are no records of it being logged or even felled to make way for agriculture ?

I accept that there may well be other wild populations in some of the more rugged sections of our national parks, and I also accept that loggers and others may not necessarily have recognised its uniqueness when they chopped one down, but it still has a lot of people wondering why it has remained hidden for so long, a mere 200 km from the most heavily populated city in Oz ?

Given the amount of scrutiny that it would have received from the scientific community by now, I cant imagine that it will suddenly keel over in gardens across the country, but I do have to wonder if climate change will have a swifter impact on the population. The sad reality is that they wont be alone - ferns and cycads which have lasted for millions of years could disappear in less than a century if some of the gloomier predictions are correct.

I also question the suitability of such a potentially large tree for the average suburban garden, but that comes from seeing way too many Bunya,Hoop and Norfolk Island pines in tiny backyards throughout Rocky.

Cheers,

Artie

Being adaptable in a wide range of conditions while under the full time care of the experts isnt really a good gauge though is it? I think once it's been grown by the general public for a couple of years we'll start getting some good feedback on how easy or difficult they are to grow in different areas under more normal care conditions.

I guess it is up to the conservationists whether they will release a pine to me or not.

C.N.

But Norfolks do seem to be fussier than Wollemis in regard to climate. Judging by the way they drop out in Sydney suburbs as you go from the coast to the foot of the Blue Mountains, they would appear to be very frost-sensitive. Nor do you see them in the lowland tropics.

I believe there is no simple answer to the puzzle of why the Wollemi has contracted to such a tiny area. You can hypothesise climate change, but if so, how come it's turned out to be so climatically adaptable? - or refuge from bushfires, but there are numerous other refuges in the region that are even better protected. My guess is it has to do with both fire sensitivity and competition with other trees, e.g. all the temperate rainforest angiosperms including its local companions Sassafras and Coachwood, both of them abundant in similar sandstone ravines in the area.

Wollemia has small leaves and thus competition with larger leaved species has undoubtedly resulted in its restricted occurence too, as well as fire because Eucalypts are so common in this area now.

Maybe it has become restricted to this locality during a really bad climate deterioration event however hasnt been able to escape and re-expand due to the advance of Eucalypts and associated fire-phylic habitats.

Now Im rambling....

From Kris

I have a Monkey Puzzle Pine growing well in North Queensland ! thats adaptable !