PODOCARPUS FALCATUS 15 SEEDS "OUTENIQUA YELLOWWOOD" IN PORT SHEPSTONE

Podocarpus falcatus  15 seeds  "Outeniqua yellowwood" This fast-growing, majestic yellowwood with its elegant shape is certainly a tree for all seasons and all gardens. It is an excellent container plant and can also be decorated and used as an indoor Christmas tree. This tall, evergreen tree can reach a height of 45 m in nature but luckily never reaching that great height in garden cultivation. The bark is interesting, being smooth and ridged on younger stems and peeling off in flakes on the older trees. The leaves are arranged spirally, with parallel veins and smooth margins. The leaf tip is sharply pointed. Male and female cones occur on different trees. The large, yellow, fleshy fruits take a year to ripen and hang from the branches in clusters. The ripe fruit is edible and very resinous. Remove the fleshy part of the fruit (cone) to expose the seed. This process is very important as the fleshy part contains an inhibitor, which seems to suppress germination. The fresh seed can be sown directly into black nursery bags or into deep seed trays using a mixture of well-rotted compost and washed sand (1:1). The seed must be pushed and bedded into the mixture and covered with a light layer of soil. The mixture must stay moist at all times. Some of the seed may take up to six months to germinate, so be patient. Seedlings can be pricked out at a height of mm and planted into bags or pots. Care must be taken not to damage the taproot as this may slow the initial growth rate of the plant.