Wollemia nobilis...any news on timeline for U.S. sales?

Discussion in 'Araucariaceae' started by markinwestmich, Jul 24, 2006.

  1. carbluesnake

    carbluesnake Active Member

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    Someday soon, someone is going to discover an old warehouse with thousands of strange conifers, and then we will know why the trees have spent a long time in Canada.
     
  2. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Thanks for address.
    Is Wollemi Australia a private corporation...or a government bureaucracy?
    When an agency selects a distributor, don't they get a lot of applicants?
    Are any references checked for a successful track record?
    Surely applicants BID on these money-making opportunities. Or is it just handed to the first guy who says he knows where Canada is?

    Ha ha, Carblu...! But I'd cry over the loss if it came to that.
    Yet another example of how mankind can screw up all that's good, given the opportunity.
     
  3. Landscapeplants

    Landscapeplants Member

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    Here is a December Newspaper article abt the Wollemi which will andswe a few questions.

    I have some friends in Gympie "in the know" who are not convinced!!!!!

    Regards

    Bruce



    'Dumped’ Wollemi pines rumour false

    20.12.2006

    Read more via the link...
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 3, 2007
  4. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Lemme see what I have questions about...
    Why would a rumor arise? Jealousy? Malice? Probably not, given that the Australian Government, presumably, has authorized the RBG (therefore, no competitors) to oversee the entire thing, from propagation to worldwide marketing. It's locked up. One propagator, one distributor (though each have partnerships). Since the Wollemi is under license and no-one else can propagate it, there's no-one to flood the market. Otherwise production curtailments would have been implemented to keep prices artificially high (OPEC comes to mind). Again unlikely.

    (1) "culled older hedge material, the plants from which vegetative cuttings were taken" UBC BG technical people would know whether tissue culture can continue from the same stock time after time. Seedlings are clones, exactly what the world wants...a true Wollemi. Would the UBC Botanical Garden dispose of tissue culture parent material? What was wrong with the old stock? Why would stock not be composted on site? Why bury it in an off-site forestry area?

    (2) "This land has recently been sold for development" Are pines still being produced and nursed? Will propagation operations move to another site once the developer occupies the land? Or cease entirely if it's deemed that sufficient seedlings are in supply to meet demand? The release states "Birkdale continues to operate..." on that site? When does Birkdale's licence expire? Was there a BID process that initiated the awarding of the licence?

    Does the Australian Government review their business plan? Does the RBG?
    Is there any government oversight at all? Do they know we Canadians are at the short end of the stick so far? Do they know quantities of seedlings have been traversing North America?

    Imagine a living fossil of Wollemi's magnitude being found on Canadian soil. Our gov't could only hope for such a windfall (pardon the pun!), and would be "at the table" every step of the way, if only to ensure they were getting all the royalties to which they were entitled. They'd never leave the business plan to a consortium, no matter how respected the society was that awarded the licence to the partnerships.

    Or the rumor is true, and something has been discovered that could collapse the market.
    At the very least, has the Australian Government considered conducting a Performance Review?

    Thanks for this, Bruce.
    -------------------------
    a note to carblu...you ole' soothsayer, you. Yup, I'm crying.
     
  5. Landscapeplants

    Landscapeplants Member

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    Thanks Daniel for fixing the link.


    While I have your attention i saw the following on another forum:


    Could you enlighten us as the the nature and any possible papers published on this.

    Kia,

    A couple of things:

    1. Lots of people had the same thoughts as you, taking plant material, treating it and burying it in a remote forest location just smells "off" it me.

    2. The Birkdale land which was sold was not being used for Wollemia propagation.

    As for Government oversight.............I really can't comment on that as I have no knowledge.

    Here are a couple of photos of the Wollemi Production Nursery located near Gympie.

    NOTE THE 3M HIGH 24 STRAND ELECTRIC FENCE

    regards

    Bruce
     

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  6. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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  7. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Art Drysdale believes there's simply not enough Canadian interest.
    Still doesn't explain why distribution failed.
     
  8. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    The wollemi pine appears to be further threatened by a fungus, again, in seemingly healthy specimens.
    This quote is of "markinwestmich" from another post on this site, dated May 17/06.

    The Wollemi Society says the following: (I hope a short clip 'n paste is OK?)
    Special Properties
    A fungus found on the leaves of some of the Wollemi Pines in the wild has been found to produce small quantities of a chemical known as Taxol - an anti cancer agent. Taxol is not a byproduct of the Wollemi Pine. Previously, Taxol has been found on trees in the Taxis genus (e.g. Yew Trees). The amount of Taxol found on the Wollemi Pines is too small to be used for medicinal purposes.


    I assume that wouldn't quash an import request, so will complete the application form to import one bareroot seedling from (Bruce, of course) Australia (since the Cdn distributor is either in jail or asleep, or both).

    Is this the correct name to place on the Canadian Food Inspection application: Araucariaceae wollemi. A search on their site provided no results.

    If it's correct, I'm learning because of the UBC BG Forum.
    If incorrect, I have more reading to do (on Latin names, etc.)
     
  9. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Spellcheck: Araucariaceae: Wollemia

    Good luck getting it!
     
  10. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Thks for that spellcheck...and to think I had been worried about the spelling for Araucariaceae.

    I know there's only ONE plant, but I've also seen it listed as:
    Araucariaceae: Wollemia nobilis (or is that not necessary for the paperwork?)

    Hey, they can only say "no", but don't think it'll fail. Google Image searches (all 18 pages, I think it was) showed the Wollemi virtually everywhere in the world, at Botanical Gardens and privately owned. And if I get tired of waiting, maybe I can peek in the window (just kidding) at Dr. Murch's UBC O office, just to get my fill of looking at these miraculous plants.

    Besides, I'm a former farmer...paperwork doesn't scare.
    Wouldn't it be hilarious when I receive mine April/May, only to find them at Home Depot by the dozens. Maybe not REALLY funny.
     
  11. neonrider

    neonrider Active Member

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    I ordered Wollemia Nobilis (I gave it a new "Lil' Aussie" name) from National Geographic Store online in the beginning of January. I received it a month later. NG charged me $122.90 for the tree ($99.95, why not just price everything at $1, $10, $100 etc.) which included the Express Mail delivery. Received it a month later via UPS Ground. The tree was advertised as 10-14 inch tall, but I received a 5-6 inch tall midget which has several browned tips on it's leaves and is severely cut back. After several contacts to NG and numerous promises to refund the shipping overcharge, all I received was $2 refund... all reminders to NG to refund the extra shipping cost have failed. Therefore, I do NOT recommend National Geographic as a source to buy Wollemia Nobilis (Lil' Aussie, a.k.a. Araucaria Downunder). I recommend waiting until your local nursery has them for sale or try getting one from a friend overseas.
     
  12. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    neon, your experience mirrors those of many customers (reported, I think, on Garden Web forum) who ordered from NG. I agree with you completely. For that price (and we collectors don't mind spending $), it's nothing short of fraudulent to receive a puny misshapen and stressed seedling.

    People have even emailed the Aussie government with their complaints.

    I've done a bit more websurfing re sizes and saw reference to cuttings having been taken from lower branches, which yielded seedlings with a shrub form (many stems). Seedlings that were grown from top of tree (leader) cuttings took on a more characteristic tree form.
    But since the trees apparently have a habit of producing buds on mature stem wood, even the tree form would need to have those buds pinched off to maintain the tree shape.

    Can you post a pic of L'il Aussie? I'm sure with some TLC, it'll be a lovely specimen in short order.

    Thanks for the NG warning (they won't ship to Canada at all). I'm going the long route...getting a $35.00 Canadian import permit to buy from an exporter in Australia, complete with phyto certificate. Hang the cost!
     
  13. neonrider

    neonrider Active Member

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    Hi Kia,

    My Lil' Aussie page is located here: http://www.themysteriousworld.com/wollemia.htm
    I'll consider to do the same, get an import permit and buy directly from Australia. National Geographic will get no business of mine anymore and the next year's NG magazine subscription will be cancelled. It's become overloaded with drug sales pages anyway.

    After some time we can grow many of our own LIl' Ausies. Maybe even sell them to neighbours. Is there a detailed info somewhere how to reproduce Wollemia Nobilis?

    Neon Rider
     
  14. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Hi neon, L'il Aussie looks pretty good, albeit small. It'll grow leaps and bounds in a sheltered spot on your patio this summer.

    While I'd never consider taking cuttings other than for myself, I've read cuttings root readily. Believe it was on the National Geographic online site that I saw a link to cultural instructions...how to grow it (not propagate), but today I can't find it.

    You may be interested in L'il Aussie's care: several sources mentioned that when fertilizing, use 6-0-6 (no phosphorous), or similar.

    If you haven't got an Australian exporter/grower yet, I can PM the contact info.

    BTW, I've bookmarked the DNA project from your site. Since seeing a Discovery Channel feature on the topic several years ago, I've been fascinated.
     
  15. neonrider

    neonrider Active Member

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    Hi kia796,

    Thanks for the info, I'm a beginner, so I'm yet to find out what a 6-0-6 is.
    Yes, I'd like an Australian exporter info, thanks.

    What DNA project are you referring to?

    Thanks

    N/R
     
  16. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Hi neon, 6-0-6 (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) is the recommended fertilizer for Wollemi pines.
    I'll send you the exporter's email address by Private Message.

    Re the DNA reference, I am indeed sorry about that! Comes from having too many links on the go...and not paying attention to where it came from.

    I bet L'il Aussie is looking better every day. You may find these of interest.
    http://www.wollemipine.com/
    http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/wollemia/
    http://www.bbg.org/vis2/2007/wollemi/caresheets.html

    Cheers!
     
  17. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    There'll be some news very, very soon regarding Wollemia nobilis and UBC Botanical Garden as well as a way for Canadians to purchase the plant.
     
  18. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Glad to hear that. I wonder how many Canadians were disappointed by NG's marketing flop...

    My import certificate is ready, so I'll go that route. Following all the discussions on garden sites re Wollemia shrubby plants vs. upright plants (and the position on the parent from which the cuttings were taken), I'm opting for the upright. Especially after seeing pics of magnificent Wollemia stock at his Australian nursery.

    "...and UBC Botanical Garden". In retrospect, Daniel, I bet you were just itchin' to tell us, but of course couldn't...yet.
     
  19. bcgift52

    bcgift52 Active Member

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    Hurrah for UBCBG ! Kia796 can be first in line, with me following.
     
  20. bcgift52

    bcgift52 Active Member

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    Well I guess that puts me first in line.
     
  21. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    You are indeed, bcgift. And Daniel's likely preparing his new forum thread (for us): "Wollemia nobilis Owners"
    I'm like an undisciplined 8 year old waiting for school to be over...yippppeeeee.
     
  22. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Actually, I'm trying to extract a photograph from a coworker who is chatting in an informal meeting. Might not have anything until tomorrow.
     
  23. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Sounds rather painful...(*grin*)
    No hurry on the Owners' site...we need to get 'em in the ground first, as you originally suggested.
     
  24. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Tell that coworker to stop orking cows and hand over the photo!! :-)
     
  25. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    A special preview for forum members. We'll be working on the press release over the next few days / week (expect a BPotD appearance, too), but here is a pic of the one we're going to be receiving and planting in a couple month's time, with the garden's Ingrid Hoff. Pic is from this AM.

    This plant is grown from a first-generation cutting of King Billy, the tallest of all wollemis.
     

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