Arucaria trees/ seed.

A friend and I got talking about plants in a gorgeous tropical garden of someone on the Ghanaian Paralympic Cttee.
Ive had a request from her emailed via a rather circuitous route! She was so nice and offered to take me to Aburi Botanical Gardens but we couldnt find time on my schedule.

The email was about Arucaria? Im not familiar with it.
Will an arucaria grow in the tropics?
How long to grow from seed in the tropics?

Does anyone know about its growing conditions.
Could anyone recommend a reliable stockist for a small sapling?

I'll do a bit of googling, but as always I thought Id ask you guys first.

Edited to add: - its a Monkey Puzzle tree- but you all probably knew that.

 

Im assuming nurseries would know about regulations regarding exporting non native plants?

Id be grateful for some information to pass on, failing that I'll trust the nursery.

 

You are probably talking about Araucaria araucana which i also find plant of remarcable beauty and of which you find different specimen also in Essex.

For example in front of the Redbrige registry office in Cranbrook road.

 

There is always plenty of fresh seed for these for sale on Ebay, some of which are pre-germinated so you buy them with the root just emerging.

I bought some fresh seed earlier this year and got all 10 to germinate between 4 weeks and 6 months :thumb:

 

Are we sure its the monkey puzzle, its not actually tropical.
More sort of a mild temperate climate plant.

Araucaria heterophylla, Norfolk Island Pine, is the one more usually seen in warmer climates.

 

Evening.

Hi, thanks for the accurate ID.

Pete, will the species you spoke of be more appropriate for the tropics?

 

Dont profess to be an expert but if you look up heterophylla you will find its planted in warmer parts than the UK, it probably doesn't survive on the mainland here.
Unlike the monkey puzzle which is pretty hardy, and I'm only guessing would not like the tropics.

I've grown heterophylla but only as a pot plant, which is quite common.
Mine died the first winter outside.

Araucaria heterophylla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia