"david taylor" wrote in message
...
When I said auracarias were beautiful, I had in mind the monkey puzzle at
Wrexham crematorium~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~Even as a client of the crematorium I would not appreciate it!!
Brian.





















which is well over 60ft. high and smaller trees with
regularly spaced branches. The two I mentioned are unusual with around
20seasons growth crammed into the last 10 feet.
Norfolk Island pines are splendid trees.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "david taylor" contains these words:

Trees in the auracaria family are very beautiful when growing well-

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This beholder doesn't find them
beautiful, especially when grown as specimens in an expanse of mown
lawn.

we have a
small monkey puzzle growing out of doors and two Norfolk Island pine in
a
conservatory.
My elder daughter's in laws have two monkey puzzles groing in and
exposed
position in Cheshire.
These tree have developed a ugly mushroom shapes with top branches
densely
crowded. I think this is where the tree has grown above the shelter of
a
tall hedge and become exposed to strong winds blowing in from the
marshes

No, that's it's normal habit as it matures :-(. The bottom branches
drop off leaving a tall naked trunk with all the remaining branches
bunched together at the top end like a giant inverted lavatory brush.
Hillier's Manual attributes this to araucarias grown in industrial
areas, but I've observed it in many very rural auracarias in unpolluted
areas. My neighbour has one dwarfing a rural cottage and adjacent
farmyard. The ghastly tree is about 60 ft high, 40 ft of which is bare
trunk.

Last week, for the first time, I saw a monkey puzzle that looked
strikingly good, but this will only be a temporary effect I fear. It was
in Attadale garden near Strathcarron in Wester Ross. The tree was a
young one, about 20 ft high, growing amid a dense "jungle" of very
striking foliage which included gunneras, bamboo, and huge skunk
cabbages. The whole effect was wildly exotic.

Incidentally Attadale is a fabulous garden, one of the best in
Scotland imho, well worth a detour to visit by urglers in Wester Ross.
Good restaurant close by :-)

http://www.attadale.com/attadale_gardens.html

tour tabs at the bottom

Janet.