Plymouth Garden Centre, plant nurseries in Devon, gardening advicePlymouth Garden Centre, garden centre in Devon Cornwall UK,

Jurassic Plants                                                    

It’s June and my garden is going ok…. my planting projects are going well although I am yet to see anything – I’m not the most patient of gardeners! I am glad to see all the customers in the garden centre who are taking up the challenge and growing their own which is great because we all know the greenest veg grows in your garden!

 

So enough of Gro- bags and Tomorite for now, I am going to let you into a little secret well a big secret actually and introduce you to the Wollemi Pine (otherwise fondly known to myself as ‘willamena’ as I regularly forget the proper name!!!)

 

Launched at the Chelsea Flower Show last month the Wollemi Pine is a fantastic story to tell. It is one of the world's oldest and rarest plants dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. With less than 100 adult trees known to exist in the wild, the Wollemi Pine is now the focus of extensive research to safeguard its survival.  

 

Fast Facts about the Wollemi Pine.

Claim to fame    One of the world's oldest and rarest trees

Scientific name Wollemia nobilis

Family Araucariaceae

 Relatives Kauri, Norfolk Island, Hoop, Bunya and Monkey Puzzle pines

When discovered  1994

Where discovered  200km west of Sydney in a rainforest gorge within the 500,000 hectare Wollemi National Park in the Blue Mountains

Discovered by David Noble, a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Officer and avid bushwalker

Age The Wollemi Pine belongs to the 200 million year old Araucariaceae family

Oldest known fossil 90 million years

Wild population Less than 100 mature trees

Characteristics Conifer with attractive, unusual dark green foliage, bubbly bark and sprouts multiple trunks

Growth habit Fast growing in light, favours acid soils, and temperatures from -5-45°C

Size The largest wild Wollemi Pine in the rainforest gorge is 40m tall with a main trunk of 1.2m wide

Conservation Royalties from sales of the Wollemi Pine are to support conservation of the Wollemi Pine and other rare and endangered plant species

The BBC wrote back in 2003 that Professor Carrick Chambers, director of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, said at the time of the discovery that it was "the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur still alive on Earth".  Today, the trees' home is a closely guarded secret. No roads lead to the area. Even scientists studying them are blindfolded as they are flown in by helicopter to the site.

Gardeners across the country are being offered the opportunity to assist in the conservation effort by growing your own Wollemi Pine and becoming part of one of the most dramatic comebacks in natural history. Here at Plymouth Garden Centre we have been a supporter of local grower Kernock Park Plants who have been at the forefront of introducing the Wollemi Pine to the UK and we are the nominated stockist of the Wollemi Pine for this area.

So a real Jurassic plant – it’s a very exciting project to be a part of and conjures up images of huge pine trees. So I must warn you specimens are quite small, available in 3 litre pots and have been grown on to approx 40 and 45 cm tall. One of the charming aspects of the Wollemi Pine is that each one is completely individual. This is a perfect size for either keeping in the pot for the patio, or planting in the ground.



Each Wollemi Pine will come with an information booklet, care label, sachet of mycorrhizal "friendly" fungi to help the growth of your Pine and also a certificate of authenticity to prove that you have purchased a piece of genuine Jurassic history. The pine is potted into a coloured pot with a printed Wollemi Pine logo

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I think my ‘Willamena’ is brilliant and I love the fact that we can all get involved in conserving this ancient plant. It really is an amazing story and as we face a world plagued by global warming and damaging our environment perhaps this is one way to help put back into the environment. I wonder if the large airlines would be prepared to plant a Wollemi Pine for every plane they send over to Australia as a means of compensating for all the carbon emissions?! Who knows.. but we can all do our bit. In addition to the Wollemi Pine’s Jurassic roots it also has what some may consider a Jurassic price but remember this is part of history and the pine offers a unique gift for special occasions, a stunning patio and indoor plant and feature tree for parks and large gardens.  It’s also a great planting project for schools.

So if you are interested pop into the garden centre where we will show you our Wollemi Pines or log onto www.wollemipine.co.uk

 

  

Plant of the Month

 

Some of you may know by now how much I love the tropics so this month I have gone Bananas!

 

Following a current theme of global warming and lowering carbon emissions etc banana plants are ideal compensators! Fast growing plants are really vigorous and soak up loads of carbon dioxide. Try growing a hardy Banana in a pot and admire the mass of huge tropical leaves. Very cool! Our plant area manager has a 5 year old plant which is 8 to 10 feet in height, a real living parasol!

They will grow vigorously in any compost .John Innes no 3 is best and don’t worry about the winter if it is harsh as it will kill the stems but you will get a whole plantation growing from ground level in the spring.

Musa basjo is the best variety to grow and Musa lasiocarpa is a real winner if you want a dwarf version with a very decorative stem. They will flower eventually and what a talking point, but remember we are in England so don’t expect to eat the fruits!

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 
Plymouth Garden Centre, Fort Austin Avenue, Crownhill, Plymouth PL6 5NU Telephone 01752 771820 Fax 01752 767152 Email: