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RE: Weinmannia spp

Tim Longville wrote:

I saw Weinmannia trichosperma in full flower at Mount Stewart garden in
Co. Down, Northern Ireland, a few weeks ago and thought it one of the
most beautiful small trees I'd ever seen. Its close N.Z. relative, W.
racemosa, is supposed to be as beautiful - but perhaps even more
tender? At least, while the Chilean is (just about) available in the
U.K., the New Zealander doesn't appear to be. (Moira and Tim: Is it
cultivated as a garden plant in NZ?) (Does anyone know if it's ever
been tried, even, in the U.K.? Of course, though it isn't offered by
any UK nursery, it may be being grown now, in some disgustingly
sheltered Cornish or Dorset garden. Has anyone come across it?)

I wondered if anyone on the list has ever grown either of these spp.
and if they had info. to offer or suggestions to make about their
hardiness levels, optimum conditions, etc. I know most of the rest of
the genus consists of genuinely tropical  shrubs and trees but I
wondered if there might be any other spp knocking around in its
dark depths, which might be worth a try, even as a conservatory
plant, in the UK? Anybody have any ideas?

Well Tim, I haven't seen Weinmannia trichosperma, but I have seen a LOT of 
W. racemosa (Kamahi), seeing as how they grow all over Kaitoke, including 
in my garden. I think this is a really great medium sized tree, in spite of 
how common it is here. There is also a closely related W. silvicola. W. 
racemosa can grow up to 25 m high and the trunk can be up to 1.2 m across, 
but such big trees would be VERY old, as it is pretty slow growing.

>From late spring through summer the tree flowers, with the racemes looking 
very similar to Hebe flowers. Before the flowers open the flower stalks and 
buds are red, which gives the tree a warm glow as they are borne so 
profusely. Then the flowers open and it is a mass of creamy-white. Fruits 
form on the older flowers while others are still opening, and these are 
also reddish coloured, so the tree again gets a rosy glow. Just for good 
measure, on young trees the leaves are often coloured bronze to brick red 
in colder weather. Leaves on mature trees are a dark green, and lighter 
underneath. It certainly isn't tender, and stands snowfalls and many frosts 
down to -5oC or so in our garden each year. It grows at much higher 
altitudes than our 250 m (up to 900 m - wouldn't that make it an alpine? 
:-)) and right down to Stewart Island in the far south of the country. I 
would expect it to stand English winters in the milder parts of the 
country, but it would NOT cope with continental USA winters! Protection 
from cold winds might be an advantage, as it is a forest tree, so not used 
to standing alone. It obviously likes wet conditions as it grows alongside 
one of our streams, and grows just as happily on very steep hillsides. It 
forms quite a wide canopy, with no leaves lower down, so I would guess that 
high levels of light are important. However, like most NZ forest trees, the 
seedlings germinate in very shady conditions and force their way up to 
where the light is.

It does not seem to be much cultivated as a garden plant (shades of "it 
grows wild everywhere, so why would we want it in our garden?"), although 
you do see it in some nurseries, especially those that specialise in native 
plants. I can attest to the fact that it is highly palatable to cows when 
small enough for them to eat the leaves! This is not really a useful 
horticultural fact, however!

As for seeds, I'll pop down the garden tomorrow and see what I can find and 
let you know. There are certainly plenty of seed capsules on the older 
trees (if I can reach them), but I would guess they would be empty now. You 
may need to wait a few months for some seed from this year's flowers. It 
self seeds readily in most soils and conditions, which is why it is so 
common (and why I've never needed to collect seed - I just have to 
transplant a seedling).

Tim Dutton
"Raindrops", Main Road North, Kaitoke, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
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