Monkey Puzzle Trees

Gwacious! I never even *heard* of monkey puzzle tree until now. Most educ= ational!=20

I went on-line and found umpty varieties, so better do that yourself and se= lect which will best please your Honorable Mum. Since (I assume) it's not = going to be a surprise gift, perhaps you could show her the pictures -- unl= ess she already knows exactly which variety she wants.=20

Also, if there's a plant nursery near you they could help. A good nursery = will order a plant for you if they don't stock it. Be sure to leave plenty= of time.

Here's some planting instructions:

HB

The monkey puzzle tree is Araucaria araucana, sometimes called A. imbricata. It cas grow 90 feet (27.4 m) tall. It is hardy to about 32F (0C). It needs good drainage.

DO NOT SIT UNDER A MATURE monkey puzzle tree. They form cones that can weigh 15 pounds (almost 7 kg), which can suddenly drop.

Most nurseries or garden centres would be able to get you one if they do not stock it. The cost varies, but they are not cheap plants as they are very slow at first. You can reckon on paying around £10 - 15 for a plant less than 1 foot high, and maybe £40 - 60 for a 2 - 3 feet plant. Above that they get very expensive; you would be hard pushed to find a

The male and female plants grow as separate trees. But neither will show flowers (cones) until late teenagers. Remember that these are big trees, growing to 120 feet in the wild, and can easily reach half that in a garden. Do not grow them close to a house or where the upper branches reach over a pavement or path. If you look at pictures of mature Monkey Puzzles you will see they are all "mushroom" shaped. That is because they shed their older branches as they mature. A 12 feet branch dropping from 25 feet can do a lot of damage! They need no maintenance or pruning, and seem remarkably disease-free. Grow in full sun. They do not like dry soil or waterlogged soil, but otherwise seem happy enough even in clay soil, although it won't harm to dig a deep hole and add some good compost when planting them.

Do get one if you have the space for it. As a specimen tree there is nothing to beat them (except other members of the Araucariaceae, perhaps, none of which are hardy enough in the UK, sadly).