Re: Some Favourite NZ Aralias.
Jason D wrote:
>
> Try any of the New Zealand aralias. They do well here
> in SF, bouncing back after our 1990 freeze (25-28F for
> many nights). Except Meryta sinclairi.
> -Jason
Hi
NZ Aralias are locally among some of the most popular of native shrubs
and small to medium trees.
It's a pity Meryta (Puka) is too tender for you (and for me also, alas)
as it is a very handsome species with its enormous leaves (which though
they might look fragile are surprisingly resistant to the strong winds,
even gales, that are common in the seaside gardens which it enjoys).
Most of the other varieties commonly grown here belong to Pseudopanax. P
lessonii (Houpara or Fivefinger) with dark green foliage is handsome in
its own right and also has a couple of very attractive colour varients,
"Gold Splash" coloured bright yellow along the veins and midrib, and
Nigra in which the foliage is a striking bronzy purple. These are often
grown in large pots or tubs and can be pruned to keep them down, though
the ordinary green form can grow to 3-4 metres or even more if left.
Coastal and rather dry conditions suit best, but it is more hardy than
Mertya and will stand a few degrees of frost.
P crassifolium (lancewood) and P ferox (Toothed Lancewood) are to my
mind the pick of the bunch. The name Lancewood is an allusion to their
extraordinary juvenile form as a single stem with weirdly drooping very
long, narrow, toothed foliage which means they scarcely have any width
at all. The leaves can vary in colour from darkest green to bronzy
overtones with an orange midrib. They are extremely striking and make
very telling accent plants. However, eventually (10-20 years) they take
on a quite different-looking adult form as a medium-sized tree with a
long bare stem and a neat rounded head of shorter toothed leaves which
looks for all the world as though it had been toped. Occasionally
suckers form and these always revert to the juvernile habit.
Both are quite hardy and P ferox (which has very deeply toothed foliage)
can stand very dry situations (in fact it may get a root rot if the soil
is too wet)
Moira.
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata (near Wellington, capital city of New Zealand)
