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Monkey Puzzle Tree
ecapstick03
Posts: 2
i have recently bought a house that has a monkey puzzle tree in the garden , it was here before the house was built and they were built in the 1960s
its roughly 3 storeys tall and I am wanting to know how best to look after it . A few of its branches have started going brown I am wondering how I can prevent this and should I trim back the brown branches or leave it alone ?
Thanks
0
Posts
Love monkey puzzle trees but sadly don’t know anything about growing them. Would love to see a picture.
Last edited: 08 February 2018 18:22:44
As Freddies Dad says , it's natural for the old branches to be discarded by the tree ; this is partly an adaptation by nature to reduce the risk of a 'fire-ladder' .
Many conifers do this as their old dead wood is dangerously flammable to them .
The giant redwoods on the Pacific NW coast of the US are known for this ; they have even evolved a fireproof spongy bark to eliminate the risk of damage one step further .
PS
You are very fortunate to have a (circa 60year old) Araucaria in your garden ; I wish I had !!!
Sounds like it's happily looking after itself .
Thank you all for your responses , I will take a photo tomorrow when it’s daylight
This is our Monkey Puzzle tree - which is now 35 years old - it took about 10 years to establish and start to grow. We have cut a few lower dead branches off - just as described on here. It makes a great frame for Christmas lights too.
