Alpine Celery Pine
Phyllocladus alpinus
Family: Podocarpaceae
What it is like
Phyllocladus alpinus is an evergreen Shrub growing to 9 m (29ft 6in) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8. It is in leaf all year. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 9
Where it is found
Sub-alpine forest and scrub, 500 - 1500 metres, on North and South islands southwards from latitude 36° 50's.
New Zealand.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
Yields a red dye. (from the bark?)
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
How it is grown
Prefers a good loamy soil containing leaf mould. Succeeds in a good open soil but if it is to thrive it needs copious rainfall, high humidity and warmer conditions than are normally found in Britain. Plants are hardy but very slow growing in cultivation in Britain. They tolerate temperatures down to about -20°c in one report whilst another says -10°c. A plant at Bedgebury in Kent was 3.3 metres tall in 1985.
Propagating it: Seed - sow late winter in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings in a sandy soil in a cool or slightly warm frame in spring.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Secondary; Sunny Edge;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 7-10
Growth: Slow
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist