Re: Some Favourite NZ Aralias.
>
>
>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.
I have P Ferox in a pot- have had it 4 years now. It is getting almost too
big to drag in on cold nights- we go to -10C occasionally. I was hoping to
see the adult form- but do I really have to wait 20 years?
>Isabel
>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)
