Misbehaving Monkey Puzzle seedlings. Please give guidance?

[ChefRico]

Hi all,

I am pleased to have finally successfully germinated and sprouted some monkey puzzle seeds after quite some months of patient waiting! I understand from my research that these trees have a very strong tap root system and can actually push themselves up and out of the pot so I made sure to put these into deep (or what I thought was deep) 8cm pots.

In the pictures provided, both seeds arrived from the same place, and were planted at the same time (though not sure if they are from the same tree) One appears to be growing quite nicely, though the other has gone wild! This morning I found it laying completely on it's side as it had grown completely up out the pot. I have read that at this sprouting stage they are extremely delicate and if the root system is disturbed they can die shortly after. The only solution I have come up with is to slightly over-fill the pot, prop it up again and hope for the best.

Is anyone able to offer advice on what to do? I also wonder if they might need help having their seed cases removed as they appear to be somewhat stuck.

Many thanks all,

Ricardo.

 

[CanadianLori]

OMG, that is so fantastic. I shall never grumble again about how long it takes to sprout hot pepper seeds.

Please do splain what they look like when mature and do they bear fuit?

thank you for joining us!

 

[ChefRico]

Hi there!

Monkey puzzle trees are a type of pine (arucania arucana), it's a prehistoric genus that I understand dates back to the jurassic period.

They have whorls of extremely sharp leaves that grow all the way down the branches and around the trunk. They don't bear fruit but they produce pine cones, and the massive seed you see there are a delicacy in Chile, where the trees are native to. Apparently they taste like pine nuts but I would rather grow them than eat them.(Trivia: Apparently they're called monkey puzzle trees because an explorer writing a journal regarded them stated that it would be confusing as to how a monkey would ever obtain the seeds without injuring itself, even the seedlings are sharp little buggers!) They are very slow growers and can take 20-40 years to produce seeds. I'm pretty fresh with all the terminology so I've forgotten the Latin for this but the trees are separately male and female.

There's one in my local park, which has a sub tropical garden full of all sorts of plants and I immediately fell in love. A 10 or so year old can look like a sort of mutant alien Christmas tree where a fully mature tree will lose the lower branches and get a sort of lollipop look. I was currently playing around with various bonsai tree varieties and just had to add some to my collection.

Here are some pics of my two one year old seedlings. I was of course planning to coppice but have been fortunate enough to have one grow multiple stems all on its own! Also a picture of the one in my park, and a fully mature as well as a close up of one of the branches, looks adorable fuzzy from a far, but the shock I had when I finally first touched one!

 

[CanadianLori]

How delightful! This is way out in the field, but I make and gift sock monkeys to my friends. They are customized to look like the receiver. bald spots, beer bellies and all. Loads of fun.

Love the tails . Oh, if only I had space. I too would have a George!

 

[grouie]

The starting stage looks more intriguing than the final results. I wonder whether they can be grown from cuttings.

 

[Sheal]

They are amazing trees ChefRico and great to see the young plants that you've grown. I think it would be best to leave the seed cases alone as you might damage the plants trying to remove them. I'm sure they will shed them when they're ready. I hope you don't mind but I've added this picture which I took at a local gardens. The trunk of the tree can be seen going down through the middle of the picture.

Quote: but the shock I had when I finally first touched one!

For those of you who haven't seen a Monkey Puzzle tree, the leaves and the spines on the trunk of the tree are rigid and pointed and would cut you to ribbons if you fell into it!

 

[ChefRico]

Hi Sheal,

Of course not. That's a fine specimen! Perhaps one day when I settle somewhere a bit more permanently with a decent sized garden I may look into letting one of them grow into maturity. For now though I'm hoping to play around with the concept of a monkey puzzle bonsai.

There's not too much information on how readily they will miniaturise, as most people consider them quite unsightly! Personally I find them very charming, particularly excited about that triple stem I have and will definitely be uploading more pictures as my indoor garden develops.

If anyone has any input on monkey puzzle trees as bonsai I would be most grateful for any tips and pointers