Tuesday 12 March 2019

Monkey Puzzle Nuts and Trees



           Back in 2012 I managed to germinate four Monkey Puzzle nuts .
            ( So happy me ! Oh ! I can't tell you ..I was over the moon ! )


         On the bathroom windowsill , in pots sealed in ziplock plastic bags  .
                  At this stage , I had just opened the bags a little bit  .

                                    Hey ! Hey ! We're the Monkees !
So there were five nuts to begin with . So exciting ! Four germinated and then one of those didn't make it . I was then very worried about the others.

                                                 This was in 2012.
                                                          BUT
                                 The other three grew healthy and strong .


                               I decided to plant this one out yesterday .


  After a great deal of thought as to where it should go and they need a lot of space . I decided to plant it in the top corner of the Vegetable garden .
If you follow up the tippy top of the baby Monkey Puzzle tree in my wheelbarrow , you can just see my spade in the far corner of the vegetable garden , marking where it would look best in fifty or sixty years time .
Here it will have plenty of space to grow into a magnificent specimen  . Probably not in my lifetime ...but this is planting trees for future generations and for the planet .
                                                Araucaria araucana
                In my opinion , the most beautiful tree on the planet .
  Central and Southern Chile and Western Argentina , where it grows in Auraucaria forests and National Parks .
 Sadly I read on Wikipedia ,that, as from 2013 it's conservation status was changed to Endangered by the IUCN , due to dwindling population caused by logging , forest fires and grazing .
 This is so ,so sad ..... TREES ARE THE LUNGS OF MOTHER EARTH !


    This is a tree that was around during the time of the Dinosaurs !
 It is known as a living fossil tree . Fossilised  Araucaria wood  or lignite can be found , famously at Whitby ,where it is made into pieces of  jewellery .


 I hope that my tree will live a long life and delight generations to come .


I planted another of my Monkey Puzzle saplings down in the Ornamental garden and am still deciding where to plant the third one.
 I,m hoping that I have one of each sex of these trees so that in the future there will be flowers , bees and nuts .


I knew that there was rain on the way , so I didn't have to worry about watering it in .
 What I didn't realise and my husband told me after I had planted this little tree, was that another big named storm Gareth is on the way !
 So I have pushed in some laurel branches and laid down the wheelbarrow in front to give it some shelter .
  Well it was very windy last night ..... but only our garden seat was overturned and no real damage to worry about .
     I was right about the rain !
Take care in this Storm Gareth where-ever you are !

1 comment:

  1. Lovely post and pictures. Good for you, they're wonderful trees.
    Sadly I rarely see any nowadays, and most new gardens are too small to grow one in. xx

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