Re: Wind
Barry Garcia wrote:
>
> theryans@xtra.co.nz writes:
> >Well, by trial and error over several years I did eventually find plants
> >which could not only survive but look good.
> I've even seen a Phoenix canariensis growing at Lover's Point park in
> Pacific Grove. It copes well with the wind as well as the salt spray. A
> little bit up from the beach are two Trachycarpus fortunei. They look a
> bit beaten, but they are both about 20 feet. Also the many Cupressus
> macrocarpas that naturally grow right along the seashore where they are
> native (which is that general area I believe). C. macrocarpas actually
> look better when they're exposed to wind as they stay small and develop
> thick trunks and fantastic windblown shapes. I have also seen some
> Ararucaria heterophyllas along the same stretch of coast that look fine (a
> few broken branches, but they look like they do well there).
Some Palms are indeed very wind-resistant, and especially the Canary
palm which is widely grown locally, but I couldn't have included them in
the garden I describe due to limited space.
Nor could I have found room for Araucaria heterophylla which is
especially popular here for seafront planting and for exposed parkland.
We know it as the Norfolk Island Pine. Norfolk Island is a small dot
about half way across the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia.
The "Pine" appears to be a quite extraordinarily tough plant. Photos of
its native island show specimens actually growing in beach sand just as
coconuts do in warmer regions. If it doesn't suffer any damage it is
also a very beautiful tree growing with extreme and tidy regularity like
a very superior Christmas tree.
I gather A araucana (Monkey Puzzle) is about as tough, but much less
popular because of its terrible spiky foliage.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
