Nothofagus Antarctica

[LAS]

I decided to give this species a try. The cultivar is the puget pillar. These are the two plants I’m getting next week. I can’t decide if I should wire them up and get some movement in those trunks or not. They are supposed to have a very columnar growth pattern. So , I’m wondering if clip and grow would be a bad idea. Anyways, feel free to give your opinions here for the future of these trees. I’m gonna try and show the progress here in one thread over the years. If you have experience with this cultivar please chime in. Much appreciated folks!

 

[LAS]

The plan so far is to put them in big pots and get some growth. The substrate recipe that I’m thinking of using is 25% pumice, 25% lava rock and 50% Coast of Maine Acid mix:

Planting Soil for Acid-Loving Plants

Organic & Natural Planting Soil for Acid-Loving plants is the ideal mix to improve and revitalize plants that thrive in lower pH soils like rhododendrons, azaleas, hollies, blueberries, strawberries, ferns, fuchsias, camellias, dogwoods, and conifers. A low pH premium formulation made of peat...

coastofmaine.com

I can’t decide if I should try to substitute in some calcine clay for a lower ph instead of just lava/pumice.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I never heard of it before so I googled it and found this intriguing description:

Nothofagus antarctica 'Puget Pillar' | /RHS

Find help & information on Nothofagus antarctica 'Puget Pillar' from the RHS

www.rhs.org.uk

Given that, I think clip and grow would be better than wiring but that is only my opinion based on nothing other than speculation.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Calcined clay would make your potting mix more alkaline. Not more acidic, which is lower pH.

Train Nothofagus as one would a beech, wire needs to be applied carefully with padding to avoid scarring the smooth gray bark. Wire scars take a long, long time to heal. Nothofagus comes from a temperate rainforest climate, it will not survive extreme cold nor extreme heat. Very difficult species for most of us who do not in it's preferred temperature range.

 

[LAS]

MY apologies- monto clay is what i was thinking

 

[LAS]

I never heard of it before so I googled it and found this intriguing description:

Nothofagus antarctica 'Puget Pillar' | /RHS

Find help & information on Nothofagus antarctica 'Puget Pillar' from the RHS

www.rhs.org.uk

Given that, I think clip and grow would be better than wiring but that is only my opinion based on nothing other than speculation.

Thanks for your reply. Sounds like you would do a trunk chop for movement over trying the wire route.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

If you're getting 2 trees, why not try two methods?

 

[LAS]

Calcined clay would make your potting mix more alkaline. Not more acidic, which is lower pH.

Train Nothofagus as one would a beech, wire needs to be applied carefully with padding to avoid scarring the smooth gray bark. Wire scars take a long, long time to heal. Nothofagus comes from a temperate rainforest climate, it will not survive extreme cold nor extreme heat. Very difficult species for most of us who do not in it's preferred temperature range.

Leo do you mean like very small airline tubing? Thanks for the tip

 

[LAS]

If you're getting 2 trees, why not try two methods?

Thats definitely one of the reasons i got 2 of them. The main reason is that i read there are male and female flowers. Im hoping to get one of each and see which i like better.

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Calcined clay would make your potting mix more alkaline. Not more acidic, which is lower pH.

Train Nothofagus as one would a beech, wire needs to be applied carefully with padding to avoid scarring the smooth gray bark. Wire scars take a long, long time to heal. Nothofagus comes from a temperate rainforest climate, it will not survive extreme cold nor extreme heat. Very difficult species for most of us who do not in it's preferred temperature range.

Hi Leo & LAS,
This is very interesting subject of botanical naming of genus and species for me in NZ.
Up until a few years ago all of our native beech trees were named ‘Northofagus’.
Eg. Northofagus solandri is our Mountain beech. Northofagus fusca (red beech - old leaves turn red before dropping) and Northofagus Menziesii (silver beech). All are now renamed Fuscaspora (eg. Fuscespora fusca).
As per your comments about temperate rainforests, all of our native beeches can handle between -10degC to 35degC, although their best temp range is between -5 to 25C, +150 metres above sea level and loads of rain (think somewhere between 1 to 5 metres of rain per year. Funny that these trees detest wet feet in the nursery pots.
These make great bonsai as the leaves are tiny, and when trimmed will grow all Summer (3 flushes per season).
Tagging @Pitoon into this also as he has interest in this too.
I think that’s all!!
5 years of age.
Charles

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Our winters in the CHicago area, regularly get down to - 27 C and in the past had been known to dip to -35 C, and out summers can get quite hot with the occasional + 41 C, so compared to our local weather, these have to be "protected" from the extremes. In a bonsai pot we can probably keep them wet enough. We'll have to shade them from summer heat, and protect them from winter cold, but it could be done. They are beautiful trees. I would imagine they are best for more northern climates.

Right now our southern tier of states (Texas, Oklahoma & New Mexico in particular) are having an extreme heat event 110+ F days (43 C days) and rather warm nights, this hot weather is predicted to persist for 10 days or more. This sort of heat will be rough on any tree, but particularly rough on trees that prefer temps around 25 C or cooler.

It might be that in USA this genus, Fuscospora (formerly Nothofagus) can really only be grown in the northern tier of states, with winter protection. Unless someone has a refrigerated greenhouse down south where they could be grown with summer protection and outdoors in winter.

 

[LAS]

Hi Leo & LAS,
This is very interesting subject of botanical naming of genus and species for me in NZ.
Up until a few years ago all of our native beech trees were named ‘Northofagus’.
Eg. Northofagus solandri is our Mountain beech. Northofagus fusca (red beech - old leaves turn red before dropping) and Northofagus Menziesii (silver beech). All are now renamed Fuscaspora (eg. Fuscespora fusca).
As per your comments about temperate rainforests, all of our native beeches can handle between -10degC to 35degC, although their best temp range is between -5 to 25C, +150 metres above sea level and loads of rain (think somewhere between 1 to 5 metres of rain per year. Funny that these trees detest wet feet in the nursery pots.
These make great bonsai as the leaves are tiny, and when trimmed will grow all Summer (3 flushes per season).
Tagging @Pitoon into this also as he has interest in this too.
I think that’s all!!
View attachment 4472315 years of age.
Charles

Thanks for chiming in kiwi. Your Nothofagus looks great! what substrate are you using if you don’t mind me asking? And did you chop it at some point or did yo start it small and prune ala Japanese style?

 

[LAS]

Do you think it would be wise to slip pot the trees when I get them? They look so cramped in those pots. I don’t want to wait until spring.

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Hi,
Standard pumice and bark combo with about 10% zeolite. It started as a seedling of a few years then with me about 3 years, although only about 1 inch trunk.
I think you would be fine with a slip pot into a bucket size or bigger, and use a very similar media to the one they are in, so the roots grow out into this. Grow and chop over the next few years to get girth etc. and have fun. Oh, and I hope you have lots of trees I you don’t get bored and impatient.
Charles

 

[LAS]

I got the 2 plants today. I ordered air shipping. I spent more than the 2 trees cost for shipping because i didnt want to risk the heat. There were delays and plants that were shipped on monday got to me on thursday. Upon opening the box, the leaves are very pale, very dry and they had lost some of them. I watered them well and put them in my shower for like 2 hours with super high humidity from my shower going on and off every 30 mins. Im so bummed. Im wondering if they were left in the heat in full sun somewhere along the way. I purposely paid $47 for shipping to try and avoid this situation. Any advice on what i can do to help them along ?

 

[LAS]

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Hi,
Wow thy look real crispy. I don’t kid your chances but keeping the root ball damp and misting the foliage might help. If the roots haven’t been cooked then you might get some back budding off the trunk.
Good luck, and I guess you already know this now, but shipping in the Spring or Autumn would be preferable.
Charles

 

[LAS]

Hi,
Wow thy look real crispy. I don’t kid your chances but keeping the root ball damp and misting the foliage might help. If the roots haven’t been cooked then you might get some back budding off the trunk.
Good luck, and I guess you already know this now, but shipping in the Spring or Autumn would be preferable.
Charles

yup - i know. They assured me that with air shipping it would be ok. Somewhere along the line they werent treated correctly for the shipping i paid for. I gave them some seaweed and been spraying them alot. I hope they make it.

 

[penumbra]

These plants have intrigued me for some time, but I am trying to expand primarily into zone 4 to zone 6 plants. I already have too many zone 7 plants that need extra protection during winters like this past one.

 

[0soyoung]

Have you communicated this with the seller, @LAS ?
They might do more than just give you tots and pears.