- origin
- growth
- leaves
- blossoms
- fruit
- Which location is suitable?
- What soil does the plant need?
- Water araucaria
- Fertilize Araucaria properly
- Properly cut Araucaria
- hibernate
- Propagating Araucaria
- sorts
More than any other conifer, the araucaria attracts everyone's attention with its striking, prickly, scaly needle structure and offers an exotic variety in every front garden design. In the following, you can read how to best cultivate the ornamental fir tree from the southern hemisphere.
The araucaria can be found more and more often in German front gardens
Table of Contents
Show all- origin
- growth
- leaves
- blossoms
- fruit
- Which location is suitable?
- What soil does the plant need?
- Water araucaria
- Fertilize Araucaria properly
- Properly cut Araucaria
- hibernate
- Propagating Araucaria
- sorts
- Araucarias come from different parts of the southern hemisphere
- Inhabit different climate zones in South America, eastern Australia and the islands east of Australia
- In this country, some species can be cultivated well outdoors
- Striking, cylindrical overall contour and mostly exotic prickly needle foliage
- Branches arranged in a circle and in tiers, coiled like a serpent
- In the home ranges up to almost 90 m high and up to 1000 years old
- In this country, a maximum of 5 m high and 4 m wide
- Triangular, pointed shape
- Strong stinging
- Young leaves are still soft, needle-shaped and light green, older leaves are thick, scaly overlapping and darker
- reach old age
- The separating sexes Araucarias form different cones
- Male cones are elongated and cylindrical, female are spherical and erect
- Heavy consistency, contain a lot of milky juice
- Seeds of some species edible, with high protein and oil content
- In outdoor culture as bright as possible, evenly from all sides, but full sun is not necessarily recommended
- Protected from strong winds as much as possible
- Allocate enough space
- In room culture: Evenly bright (conservatory) at room temperature, can be put outside in summer, in winter keep a little cooler
- Araucaria needs rather nutrient-rich, humus-rich soil
- Good permeability and even humidity
- pH value in the rather acidic range
- Loosen heavy garden soils with plenty of sand
- Rhododendron soil with a good proportion of sand for pot cultivation
- Araucaria must be watered carefully and very evenly, especially during longer summer dry periods
- Avoid waterlogging at all costs
- Additional spraying with a water disperser is recommended, especially for tub culture
- Use (rain) water that is as low in lime as possible
- Cut care is hardly necessary and not recommended
- Cut back shoots that are too disturbing in moderation, paying attention to uniformity with a view to the overall silhouette
- Carry out pruning measures in summer in mild, dry weather
- Usually unproblematic overwintering outdoors
- For certain, more sensitive varieties and young specimens, precautionary protection against the cold with fir branches or garden fleece makes sense
- Severe permafrost can cause cold damage
- In room culture, hibernate in tubs at a cool place of 5-10°C
- Water more sparingly, no fertilizing
origin
The biological systematics of the Araucaria genus says a lot about their areas of origin. Namely, it is divided into 4 different sections, comprising a total of 19 species. The reason for this subdivision is simple: their original area of origin is affected by strong disjunction, i.e. by the division of the area by geological influences.
The various Araucaria species can therefore be found in large parts of the southern hemisphere: in South America from Chile, Argentina and Paraguay to Brazil, as well as on the islands east of Australia such as New Caledonia, the Norfolk Islands and New Guinea and in Queensland in eastern Australia to New South Wales.
The areas that they inhabit in these countries are climatically very different habitats from tropical humid rainforest areas to cool altitudes of up to 2400 meters. Depending on the section they belong to and the species, the araucaria prefer different site requirements.
However, some of our plants can also be cultivated outdoors without any problems, which will particularly please those garden owners who like to set special structural accents in their private oasis.
Origin in keywords:
growth
The special growth with an almost cylindrical overall silhouette and mostly prickly, thick needle leaves is certainly what is particularly attractive about the araucaria from our Central European point of view. The evergreen tree stretches its long, somewhat serpentine, circular and horizontal branches from the trunk. Due to the even, non-branched needling of the branches and their slightly twisted shape, the Araucaria also has the nickname "snake fir".
In their areas of origin, araucaria can reach impressive heights of up to almost 90 meters. Female specimens are generally larger than males. The trees can also grow very old: the highest recorded age for any given specimen is a formidable 1000 years.
With us, however, an araucaria grows to a maximum of 5 meters tall and up to 4 meters wide.
Growth characteristics at a glance:
leaves
The needle foliage of the araucaria is very exotic and conspicuous for the Central European view, especially that of the Chilean araucaria. Its individual leaves have a triangular, pointed shape and a thick consistency. This gives the branches an almost cactus-like ductus. You instinctively want to avoid touching them - and indeed the tips of the leaves can sting painfully.
The leaves are spiral, whorled and densely arranged around the branches, as if scale-like, at least in the older stage. The leaves on the younger shoots are even softer and needle-shaped, and also much lighter green than the adult specimens. Like the tree itself, the leaves last a very long time, usually many years.
Sheet properties in brief:
blossoms
Araucaria blossoms in late summer, usually in July to August. However, it can easily be 30 years before an araucaria flowers for the first time.
fruit
Araucarias are mostly dioecious, i.e. they have separate sexes. So there are male and female individuals. The main difference between the female and male cones is their shape: while females are almost spherical and erect, males have an elongated, cylindrical shape. The cones stand individually or in groups at the ends of the shoots and have a heavy consistency due to the large amount of milky juice they contain. The winged and up to 4 cm long seeds are edible in some species. They contain plenty of proteins and oils.
To remember:
Which location is suitable?
If you want to cultivate an araucaria outdoors, this is usually not a problem. However, you should pay attention to a location that is as bright as possible, depending on your area of origin. Too blazing sun is not really good for some species. Most of the species cultivated in this country like it to be evenly light. This also promotes balanced, straight growth. Depending on the species, you must of course also allow enough space for growth in height and width.
Good protection against harsh winds is also relatively important. So place the araucaria as close as possible to the wall of the house, where sharp gusts of wind from the same directions do not regularly whistle around the corner.
The araucaria species Araucaria heterophylla also has the nickname room fir - it is particularly suitable for cultivation in the house. An indoor fir should be placed in a light, open space, preferably in a conservatory, loosely surrounded by other plants. Pleasant living temperatures of 18 to 20°C are also welcome for the indoor fir. In summer it can also be placed outside in a sheltered place. It should spend the winter a little cooler, at around 5 to 10°C.
Site conditions at a glance:
What soil does the plant need?
Araucarias thrive best in a slightly acidic soil environment with a relatively high humus content and a loose consistency. Even humidity and rather warm temperatures are good. When cultivating outdoors, you should loosen up heavy soils with a good proportion of sand in particular.
If you want to keep your araucaria in a bucket, place them in a substrate of relatively nutrient-rich, humus-rich and slightly acidic soil. Special rhododendron soil from the garden center is well suited. Loosen up the substrate with plenty of sand and, if necessary, expanded clay (€19.73) to ensure effective drainage.
To remember:
Water araucaria
Regular watering is essential for araucaria. The leafy conifers need a continuous, even water supply, so that active watering is also necessary for outdoor cultivation, especially during longer, hot dry periods in summer. Nevertheless, no waterlogging should occur - so make sure when planting to work an effective drainage layer into the ground and before each watering that the upper layer of soil is always dry.
In the case of tub culture, the less voluminous planting ground means that watering needs to be done in even smaller increments. Water the araucaria during the main vegetation phase depending on the evaporation behavior of the pot ball - it should always be moist, but under no circumstances should water remain in the saucer. With waterlogging, the araucaria quickly loses its needles, so you can at least avoid root rot in time.
Similar to some large-leaved houseplants from the tropics, occasional showers from the water disperser are also good for the araucaria. Use water that is as low in lime as possible for watering and spraying, if available, from the rain barrel.
Casting practice in brief:
Fertilize Araucaria properly
In the field, an araucaria does not actually need to be fertilized. Unless the planting ground is particularly poor. Then you should first improve the soil with a lot of organic long-term fertilizer in the form of leaf compost when planting. Once the araucaria has established itself at its location, you can also give it some universal liquid fertilizer or compost during the growth phases.
In the bucket, additional fertilization can be quite useful. However, keep an interval of about 2-3 weeks between fertilizer applications.
Properly cut Araucaria
Cutting care is also not absolutely necessary for the araucaria. Her growth is so clean by nature that even strict aesthetes should hardly find anything wrong with her. In addition, the araucaria is not particularly willing to sprout again if it is trimmed too arbitrarily. If shoots that are too long bother you, you can also shorten them a little. Make sure, however, that the tiers of branches arranged in a circle around the trunk remain roughly the same length, so as not to disturb the overall silhouette.
If you absolutely want to take pruning measures, you should wait for a dry, mild phase in summer.
To remember:
hibernate
Unless you live in an excessively cold area, you don't really need to worry about overwintering an outdoor araucaria. Most variants are sufficiently frost hardy for the Central European winter. However, some varieties are a little more sensitive than others and even young, newly planted specimens should be protected in winter as a precaution. It is usually sufficient to cover the ground around the planting ground with fir branches or garden fleece.
If temperatures are below -15°C for a long period of time, unsightly cold damage can occur, as the tree can no longer draw liquid from the permanently frozen ground.
An indoor araucaria should be a little cooler over the winter than in the summer, at around 5-10°C. Well suited locations are a window seat in an unheated stairwell or, even better, a cold building.
You should water an araucaria in the bucket a little more sparingly during the winter, and stop any fertilizing altogether.
To remember:
Continue reading
Propagating Araucaria
Araucarias are best propagated by seeds. You can obtain these from the ripe cones of your own specimen or purchase them from specialist retailers.
The seeds generally show good germination. However, you should not store them over the winter if possible, otherwise they risk drying out completely. So it is best to place them in planting trays with growing substrate immediately after harvesting, or directly in the ground outdoors. There, however, they only germinate after about 4 months and are not quite as successful under the harsher conditions.
You have a slightly higher chance of germination if you sow the seeds indoors and allow them to germinate carefully, keeping them moist regularly and at an ambient temperature of around 20-22°C. Of course, this requires a lot of patience and attention. Creating a protected microclimate under glass or foil can make sense. Germinated young plants can be transplanted into tubs or cold frames in the spring.
sorts
Special cultivars are not common in Araucarias, but the species do differ from each other. The Chilean araucaria (Araucaria araucana) and the indoor fir (Araucaria heterophylla) are particularly popular in Germany for garden and indoor culture.
Araucaria araucana
The Chilean araucaria or Andean fir is characterized by the typically snake-shaped, circular and tiered branches with thick, thorny needles and has experienced an economic boom in our latitudes, especially in recent years. It is particularly suitable for planting in the garden, as it requires a lot of space with its height of around 5 m and width of up to 4 m. It also gives an impressive picture in front of the house.
It needs a light but relatively wind-protected location in loose, humus-rich soil and regular watering.
Araucaria heterophylla
Not surprisingly, the indoor fir is best suited for indoor culture. Due to the softer, not so prickly needles, their appearance is something different, much gentler than that of the Chilean Araucaria. The silver fir does not grow as large as its conspecifics either: in its natural habitat it can reach up to 65 m, but in Germany its growth is limited by the ceiling at the latest when cultivated indoors.
The indoor fir should be kept at a moderate living temperature and relatively high humidity and stand in a humus-rich, loose substrate.