I finally got my Cryptomeria japonica 'Araucarioides' plants today. You wouldn't believe the trouble I had to go to, in order to get some, but at last I have two nice little specimens, from way out west. I have a bunch of other Cryptomeria cultivars, but for some reason, Araucarioides seem very hard to get, especially in Canada (maybe they just went out of style ?). The plants I got don't seem to be grafts, so I wonder about their development. From photos that I've seen, it appears that they develop a trunk at least a few feet (~1m) high. I thought that perhaps those were grafts on to a tall standard, but apparently that's not the case. Can anybody clue me in, please ? (Thnx)
I have one here very unusual its just like an Araucaria maybe your plants are cuttings.Your plant should be hardy as cryptomeria is listed as a zone 5 conifer.
Thanks Greyspruce -- would you please provide more details ? How old is your plant ? ....size ? Yes, I'm hoping it will be OK in my Z5b -- I have another C.j. that has made it through winter no problem, as has a Cunninghamia konishii (both with some snow cover -- see my "Winter survivors" post...).
Jaro Seen some old specimans of cryptomeria japonica 'Araucarioides' 50 ft tall so I would say its not that fast ie growth rate but I want to plant more my self.
The similarity of two of the C.j. cultivars is shown in the attached photos. C.j. 'Little Diamond' has branchlets very similar to 'Araucarioides', but with more frequent branching, and even shorter needles... In either case, its nice to get away from the ubiquitous meatball shape of many of the common garden conifer cultivars...
Congratulations Jaro on your acquisitions! My Araucarioides is doing fine at about six feet. No sign of a graft. I will take a picture later and post it. When I bought mine from Kent Nusery here near Seattle, they had about fifty of them. They have since moved and I don't know if they have any left. I'm going to take cuttings this fall. Other Cryptomerias have rooted well for me in the past.
So how long did it take to get to six feet ? Looking forward to seeing your photos, and additional details on propagation. Thanks.
It's about 18 yrs old with no signs of a graft. It looks like it was rooted and then staked for awhile. Propagation is in the Fall around the middle of Oct. with hormones, bottom heat, and timed mist. http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2392830120036511179gHhBkP
Thanks very much Botann. I searched the internet for other photos, to see what the typical growth habit might be. It appears that in most cases, plants that are 10 to 15 years old (and sometimes older, judging by the size), are fairly bushy, quite unlike your beautiful specimen, with a high trunk free of lower branches. So I wonder -- have the lower branches on your plant been pruned, to encourage trunk development ? (this by the way, is what initially confused me into thinking that your plant might be a graft onto a high standard...). Perhaps those lower branches were used for propagating cuttings ?
You could be right. I know I didn't cut any branches off anywhere. It came with a long straight trunk and no signs of a graft. There are a couple of small branches on the lower trunk. They are the same as the rest of it, so no graft at the top of the trunk. I E-mailed the nursery several months ago inquiring about the plant and haven't had a response yet. Guess I'll have to drive down there to Orting and give them a visit. It's real close to Coenosium Gardens. :-) That's a two for one in my book!
