Almost all of the monkey puzzle (Araucaria araucana) nuts that I put in a seed tray last autumn have rooted. Putting them into a tray immediately upon receipt works much better than waiting for the spring, even though they sat through some frosts.
The acorns that were planted in the same tray have done really well too, and we transplanted them into bigger pots yesterday to grow on before we plant them out. We think these are american red oak, which have less tannins than other varieties, and are fast growing.
The monkey puzzles that I grew last year have almost all been given away to friends, and this is our last one. It is putting on a growth spurt now, and seems to be growing faster than I expected. We need to think carefully aboput where to plant it out, perhaps this coming autumn, as it won’t like hot dry soil, so we’ll need to ensure it has plenty of organic matter around its roots and gets watered regularly.
And here’s a picture of 3 self-seeded olive trees, that I found in my garden over the winter. There are more now, all under the same tree, so I wonder if we just have a fertile tree, while all the others (about 150) are sterile?
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