Dede Sophie

How fast does the Wollemi pine grow? LOOKING FOR RARE AND UNUSUAL SEEDS? THEN CLICK HERE FOR THE ‘SEEDS OF EADEN’ SEED SHOP Believe to have been extinct for approximately 200 million years and previously only known from the fossil record, the Wollemi pine -Wollemia nobilis, was re-discovered 1994 when around 100 specimens were found by accident in a gorge in the Wollemi nation park, Australia. Despite the name, the Wollemi pine is not a true pine, nor a member of the pine family – Pinaceae, but is in fact related to Agathis and Araucaria in the family Araucariaceae – many of whose species are also known as ‘pines’. So back to the question of how fast does the Wollemi pine grow? Well of course this will depend on your Wollemi pine being provided favourable growing conditions, otherwise growth rate will become either insignificant or even attritional! Luckily, Wollemi pines are tough and adaptable, and will grow best in a well-drained, acidic to neutral soil. Do not plant in areas prone

Its rare to come across any nerine in the UK unless it is the ubiquitous (and the only species proven to be hardy in the UK) Nerine bowdenii – the Guernsey lily, name as such despite its South African origins! However there are approximately 20–30 other half-hardy and tender species in the genus, the exact number of which is still being debated by scientists. As you would expect from a genus with such a showy blooms, Nerines have been widely cultivated and much hybridized worldwide, especially Nerine bowdenii, N. masoniorum, N. sarniensis and N. undulata. Notably, the hybrid cultivar ‘Zeal Giant’ with its umbels of deep pink flowers up to 5 cm across has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. However most of the other 20 species are rarely cultivated and very little is known regarding their biology.  In fact many species are threatened with extinction due to the loss or degradation of their habitat which is why the collection of Nerines on show in the Victorian