Pseudopanax arboreus

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Pseudopanax arboreus
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Hardiness:10
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Evergreen Cross Pollinated
Height:20'
Width:13'
Blooms:Mid Summer
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Pseudopanax arboreus (common name: puahou)

Propagation: Seed - best sown when ripe in the autumn in a warm greenhouse[1]. The seed can be slow to germinate. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[1].

Air layering[1].

Cultivation: Requires a moist but well-drained humus-rich soil in semi-shade or full sun[1].

Not very hardy in Britain, plants tolerate temperatures down to about -5°c provided they are in a warm sheltered location[1]. Whilst they can succeed outdoors in the mildest parts of the country, they are not hardy at Kew[2].

Plants often start out life as epiphytes on the stems of tree ferns, eventually rooting into the ground[2].

Large plants respond well to heavy pruning and careful transplanting[1].

Plants have three distinctive forms of foliage at different stages in their life-cycles, the second stage, as a sapling, is often the most interesting[1].

Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[1].

Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Range: New Zealand.

Habitat: Forests and open scrub from sea-level to 760 metres from North Cape to Southland.

Edibility: Young leaves[3]. The same report then goes on to say that the leaves are much too bitter to be edible[3].

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

In Leaf: Evergreen

Flower Type: Dioecious

Also Known As: Neopanax arboreum. (Murray.)Allan. Nothopanax arboreum. Panax arboreum.

Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Crowe, Andrew. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton, 1990.