Need advice - baby monkey-puzzle tree

[shez]

Hey, I'm new to the forums :) Need some advice on a new tree that I baught today.

I (probably foolishly) baught a what looks like a nearly dead baby monkey-puzzle tree. Ive been wanting one of these for years, I spotted one as a child and fell in love with them and vowed that when I got my own house I would buy one.

I have some where to put it in the garden but I'm not sure whats the best thing to do for it. Poor wee thing, don't want to completely kill it.

Any advice??? Should I plant it in a bigger pot for a while? or should I just plant it where its going in the garden? Its an open space, gets the sun all day. I've baught plant food for my other plants that I got today, will that help it?? I can't really find any information on it.

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks. (I can get a pic tonight of it)

[shez]

I guess no one has experience with these trees then :)

[brooklyn1]

Plenty of info in the net.

[FarmI]

I assume you mean that you bought an Auricaria? Which one? The common name od monkey puzzle is used to describe all of the Auricarias round here.

Poor wee thing will need a huge garden - acres of it to be on the safe side for any humans if it's one of the Auricarias that get huge cones.

Assuming that it's an Auricaria, then it's a tree. It needs to be in the ground, not a pot, but given how huge they can get, put it a long way from any structure - minimum of 30 ft)

Its an open space, gets the

Just dig a generous hole and plant it. Dont' feed it till it's well established and don't overwater it - these things tend to grow best in dry climes.

[ntantiques]

Like most new plantings, they do need to be watered regularly until well established. I'll also add that in spite of their reputed cold tolerance, Monkey Puzzle babies are tender - I lost 60 1-1/2 -to 2 ft Monkey Puzzles this past winter. They were planted in generous pots, stored in a sheltered area awaiting a benefit Spring plant sale. After a week of freak arctic temps (reaching a pipe bursting low of 9 degrees) they looked ok and I thought I'd dodged a bullet, but very sadly, almost all slowly went brown & croaked. Nancy T