Azara microphylla
| Azara microphylla | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 20' |
| Width: | 16' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Late Winter-Mid Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Azara microphylla
Propagation: Seed - can be sown in a greenhouse or cold frame at any time of the year, though late winter or as soon as the seed is ripe are probably the best times to sow[1]. It usually germinates within 1 - 3 months at 15°c, though it can take 18 months[1]. When large enough to handle, pot the seedlings up into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts, and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter or two outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[2].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 7 - 10cm with a heel, November in a cold frame[3]. Takes 12 months[3].
Layering in spring. Takes 6 - 9 months[3].
Cultivation: Prefers a position in sun or light shade in a deep humus rich soil[4], but succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1]. Succeeds in almost any soil so long as it is not very wet or very dry[2]. Flowers better in a warm sheltered position[4]. Plants are subject to windburn if they are not in a sheltered position[4].
This species is generally hardy in the open in Britain, tolerating temperatures down to about -15°c[5], though young plants are less hardy[6]. The new growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts[2].
Cultivated for its edible fruit in Chile[7].
The flowers are sweetly fragrant and vanilla scented[5][8].
Range: S. America - Chile and S. Argentina.
Habitat: Lakesides and along the edges of Nothofagus forests[4].
Edibility: Fruit[7]. No further details are given. The fruit is very small, about 3mm in diameter according to one report[4] and about 5mm according to another[6].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Davis, Brian. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th edition. 1982.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.