About Monkey Trees
Monkey-puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana) are native to the Andes and coastal mountain ranges of South America. They are grown as ornamental trees on the U.S. West Coast and from Virginia south and west through Texas. They are unusual evergreens with small, stiff, triangular leaves of dark green with needle-sharp tips. Monkey-puzzle is hardy to zero degrees. Does this Spark an idea?
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Characteristics
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The monkey-puzzle tree grows in a loose pyramidal shape. Branches grow horizontally in whorls around the trunk, although some twist and turn vertically. Thick, pointed leaves growing in a spiral cover branches. The monkey-puzzle tree reaches 150 feet tall in its native habitat. In cultivation, it usually grows to only 30 feet.
History
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Surgeon and plant collector Archibald Menzies found the monkey-puzzle tree on a plant-hunting trip to South America and introduced it to British gardeners in 1975. Its exotic look quickly became popular and many Victorian gardens feature the monkey-puzzle. The name comes from a viewer's comment about one of the young trees Menzies was raising, "It would puzzle a monkey" to climb it, he said.
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Culture
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Give the monkey-puzzle tree full sun and plenty of space, as it grows about 15 feet wide at the base. It tolerates less direct sunlight but needs at least six hours of sun to grow well. It's not suitable for a pot. Plant it in well-draining soil amended with compost and give it 5 gallons of water a week until it is established. Water it more often in hot weather. Monkey-puzzle loses its lower branches with age.
Uses
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Monkey-puzzle trees are dioecious, producing male and female trees. Mature female trees produce cones containing edible pinon seeds, which are a food source for some residents of the Andes. The wood is used for furniture and paper, resulting in the tree's near-extinction due to logging and burning in Chile.
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