Re: Also have dying Monkey tree we recenlty purchased a house with two monkey puzzle trees, one tree grows along the drive of the property and the previous owner trimmed several of the overhanging branches to prevent damage to the cars. Since he cut the ends of the branches the entire tree has turned brown and appears to be dying. I have since heard that the tree should have the entire branch removed and not just trimmmed. Is there anyway the tree can be saved or is it simply too far gone, thanks keith
Re: Also have dying Monkey tree It is very common for the lower branches to die and drop off. Even looking at photos of them in the wild, they very commonly have a very short live crown right at the top of a long bare trunk. So if that's what's happening to yours, it isn't something to worry about (other than the risk of being hit by a falling branch!) See e.g. the centre-left tree in the large photo on this page: http://www.florachilena.cl/Niv_tax/Gimnospermas/Araucariaceae/Araucaria/Araucaria_araucana.htm