Re: Brachychiton acerifolium



The Silver tree ought to do well in a Monterey garden, but I wouldn't expect it to be particularly long lived;they can be very susceptible to phythopthora and contrary to what someone else posted, they don't occur close to the ocean where they would resist salt spray, but much further inland on the sides of Table Mountain. Typical soils would not be pure beach sand, but coarse weathered granite more similar to decomposed granite with an acidic ph.  The dry season is also shorter in Capetown with afternoon fogs that come off the mountain tops rather than the sea, but do add moisture from fog drip. Good air circulation shouldn't be an issue in your location, Capetown is a very windy town throughout the year. I wouldn't treat this tree as really drought tolerant with our 6 month long dry season, and would give it the benefit of moderate regular irrigation and a good mulch to retain some ground moisture and keep the roots cooler in summer. The smaller height
 Psoralea pinnata also grows in association with the Silver trees, and might combine nicely with the attractive, showy and fragrant blue sweet pea-like flowers blooming now. Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset's might also be a good companion.

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On Mon, Apr 2, 2012 11:40 AM PDT B. Garcia wrote:

>On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 10:29 PM, david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> If you're intrigued by the idea of less commonly seen southern hemisphere
>> trees that do well right along the coast, it would be worth your while to
>> check out the collections at UCSC Arboretum. A few things that come to mind
>> would include Agonis flexuosus 'After Dark', Cunonia capensis, Cussonias
>> such as spicata or paniculata, or Psoralea pinnata. Quite a few Acacias,
>> Callistemons and Melaleucas would also be good candidates. Personally I
>> wouldn't recommend any of the Brachychitons as they all come from more hot
>> dry or warm subtropical habitats.
>>
>
>
>I actually visited the arboretum this past Saturday. I saw they had a few
>Brachychitons but none looked particularly great (the best one was growing
>with most of its foliage on one side). However the silver trees
>(Leucadendron argenteum) were looking great, and I've decided I'm going to
>go with that for the new house. Especially as my parents want to paint it
>grey, so it would be a nice reflection of that (plus no one uses these in
>their gardens and I have one that's doing well even with full on wind
>exposure).
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