I have a couple of Buddhist Pine's on order (definitely Podocarpus Macrophylla). And there seems to be quite a discrepency on various web sites whether zone 7, 8, or 9 are at the northern (cold) end of it's range. I'm in zone 7B, less than 10 miles away from the northern edge of zone 8, and I'm a bit apprehensive now that I'm unsure whether these plants will survive outdoors on the southwest (warm) side of my house, right up against the house. If anyone in zone 7 has any outdoor experience with Podocarpus Macrophylla, I'd be most interested and grateful for your insight. Thank you
I'd give it a go. You might get some damage in a severe winter, but is unlikely to be killed, and should be completely OK in most years. PS spelling is Podocarpus macrophyllus, and it isn't a pine. Best vernacular name is the Japanese name, Kusamaki.
If you protect (southwest (warm) side of my house, right up against the house) the Podocarpus macrophyllus, we call it Yew Pine out here and no, it is technically not a Pine at all, you can grow it in a zone 7. The most versatile is the Podocarpus macrophyllus 'Maki' in which it can be grown outdoors and indoors if need be. The nicest shaped plant (dense and columnar growth) and the hardiest of this group is the Podocarpus macrophyllus 'Hendersonii' and the fruiting form is the Podocarpus macrophyllus 'Fruiticosa' which sets a lot of fruit here in a temperate climate. Jim
Thank you Mr. Shep and Michael F., I'm going to give it a try. By the way, the Podocarpus Macrophyllus I'm purchasing are both of the fruiting variety. I thought it'd be a novelty, and perhaps interesting to see if they ever fruit. Thanks for the info both of you gave.
Re: Yew Pine - Podocarpus macrophyllus Yes, excellent point. It is times like this is when I get irritated that so much information on specialty plants is not online yet. I guess I'll have to "wing" it from here. I had to backtrack some in memory as I remember the bonsai guys wanting two 'Maki' to ensure better fruiting on their pre-bonsai plants they got from Don Kleim and their bonsai plants from Toichi Domoto. The 'Fruiticosa' is capable of producing lots of fruit on its own* especially in the warmer climates. So, in effect a nursery can claim most any macrophyllus is a fruiting Yew Pine, yet still prefer to sell them in pairs if people want fruit but only one select form will produce fruit year in and year out and this form ('Fruiticosa') is certainly not a mainstream plant in the nursery trade yet, even after over 30 years of it being around. It was not ever offered to the nursery trade to begin with. The plant was generally only available for very select Botanical Gardens, Arboteums and some collectors that knew of it and was never meant to be a standard landscape plant. I do not remember 'Hendersonii' producing much fruit in most years but it can as I've seen it do it in some years but in most (average) years we can count the number of fruit we will see on them as there is not a lot. 'Maki' sold in pairs are capable of producing more fruit than 'Hendersonii' in pairs will in most years is what I am alluding to in most locations capable of growing them. Some areas such as cooler areas in June when these plants generally flower for us here may not get or see any fruit from the non macrophyllus 'Fruiticosa' forms. Then again there are reports the fruit is edible and there are also warnings from some sources to keep the fruit away from children. *This I will have to double check but as I recall this one can produce the fruit (drupes) without it having a second one nearby. I can be wrong on this. Offhand I just do not remember us selling this one in pairs, even when we sold it for a couple of rather specialized landscape plantings. Jim
Hi Jim, Thank you also for the info. By the way, I'm not positive that the ones I have on order are of the Fruiticosa variety. They're being sold through Burntridge Nursery which has a web site online (they're categorized under fruit tree, and labelled Buddhist Pine). I thought they looked to be an interesting plant, and the evergreen factor was a MAJOR plus, and that they could be planted close to the house, and that they were slow growing were all the reasons why I wanted this plant. It'll fit perfect where I need some greenery next to my house...so long as it'll survive our winters sheltered from the brunt of it because of its location next to the house. The fact that it was listed as a fruit tree had no bearing on whether or not I purchased it, just simply an interesting oddity. I suspect that being in zone 7 might eliminate its ability to make fruit, which is o.k. also......but Burntridge's description does say that the fruit is sweet...hmmm. Perhaps if it does fruit, then I can taste on a limited basis.
Perhaps Jim is thinking of another name for the podocarp cultivar, that he will recall later. I'm not getting any verifying hits even using more than one spelling. If a podocarpus was put on the market as cultivar 'Fruiticosa' surely that was a mistake for the species name fruticosa - as in Potentilla fruticosa and Penstemon fruticosus - which means shrubby rather than fruitful. I didn't get anything for a 'Fruitlandii' podocarp either, another spelling that seemed possible as there is definitely at least one other ornamental shrub with that cultivar name. I have not looked in any manuals.
Re: Yew Pine - Podocarpus macrophyllus Ron, Don Kleim had this one for a few years before I knew him. Below is the catalog description from the Henderson Experimental Gardens Plant Specialist, Wholesale '86-'87, Shrubs and Novelties, page 10. 'Podocarpus macrophyllus (PM010) - evergreen tree, upright growing 40-50' tall. Leaves dark green, coarser than P. gracillior. Selection P. m. Hendersonii (PM011) makes dense upright columnar growth. P. m. Fruiticosa (PM012) has heavy set of fruit.' The drupes (fruit) of 'Fruiticosa' are a bluish-purple in color. I've seen top growth leaves about one inch in length and less than half as wide as the species form. 'Hendersonii' has narrower and slightly shorter leaves than the species form also. I'll have to look through a few other old catalogs to see if other close knit friends of Don's tell more of this Podocarpus as I have found nothing online about it. Jim
"Fruiticosa" is almost certainly a mistake for fruticosa, unless it was an intentional pun or somebody mistakenly thought there was a term "fruiticosa" that meant something akin to fruitful.
You cannot apply newer or amended naming conventions to pre-convention plants. Why do you think I have such a problem with one Society in particular that let plants that were imported into their continent be renamed later all because no one wanted to find out what the name of the plant was when it first came into them and whether that name was recognized anywhere else? In many cases those plants were not only here from Asia but had been in the nursery trade in some circles for several years that were named later in another, non-Asian, non-North American, continent. It has become obvious and not only to me that others elsewhere, even to some extent certain people in this forum, do not like having us that knew what went on with some of these plants still around as the higher ups cannot pull the wool over our eyes so to speak. Sorry about this but when we know the plant, we've seen and been around the plant, some of us have grown the plant, we are not going to play someone else's game from people that want to call the shots, to impose their will onto others and yet have nothing to bring to the table. The above is not my philosophy, otherwise I certainly would not be in this forum if I believed it was completely right and just to be that way but I know why certain people and know what prompted those people to feel that way about things. I know more about this plant than I am telling and I know which four educational institutions, two here in the US and the other two in Japan that have the written documentation about this plant. There was no disagreement with the name 'Fruiticosa' among anyone, all of the parties involved, that knew of or in fact know this plant. Let me tell you a little something. I have a legacy to uphold. I can be right about a plant and I can be wrong about a plant but one thing I never do is BS someone about a plant. I am not allowed to!! Jim
I'm not finding anything online for either 'Fruticosa' or 'Hendersonii'. Just goes to show the value of old nursery catalogues! Too bad someone like Google wouldn't set aside funding for scanning all of those in and making them publically available.
Neither is mentioned by Krussmann or Welch & Haddow. I did notice under Podocarpus forrestii (in Krussmann) the comment that it resembles P. macrophyllus var. maki. Maybe someone garbled this into "fruiticosa" at some point along the way. Such mistakes are not rare in catalogs.
Arthur Lee Jacobson has some interesting information about this plant on his websitehttp://www.arthurleej.com/p-o-m-jan05.html. He lists variety 'Maki' in a separate species - Podocarpus chinensis. He further states that " Male and female flowers are usually on separate specimens (but self-fruitful or hermaphrodite clones are in circulation)."
