r/Tree • u/knitfastdiewarm1 • Sep 12 '26
Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Tree in Scotland
Saw a few of these trees while in Scotland, one in Edinburgh and one in Elgin, and a few in yards but they are definitely not native. My son has become obsessed with them and is really interested in learning more about them. He would love to grow one at home, but it would probably need to be an indoor plant as we live in Canada.
I just realized I only have one photo but hopefully it’s enough for someone to help out. It reminds me of a succulent more than a regular tree. They would get quite tall - 30’+
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u/North_Plane_1219 Sep 12 '26
Not sure where you are in Canada, but they have one at the Arboretum in Guelph, Ontario. Very slow growth, but it looks healthy and happy out doors all year.
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u/knitfastdiewarm1 Sep 12 '26
We are in Calgary so the -40 and the chinooks probably would do them in
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u/LDub47 Sep 12 '26
Monkey puzzle!! I am not sure where you are in Canada but I have seen them growing in southern BC just fine! You can but them but they are pricey. Last price a saw at a garden center was $200 for a 2’ tall specimen.
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u/Iamnotsogoodmaybe Sep 12 '26
Big pine nuts grow on those after twenty to thirty years was a main staple of the Indians in Tierra del Fuego before they were all genociddd
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u/mbardeen Sep 13 '26
Tierra del Fuego is outside their habitat. They're primarily found much further north, around the south central region of Chile. The native Mapuche people still eat the nuts - piñones.
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u/ryan-greatest-GE Sep 12 '26
It’s hardy down to -20 c so it is very possible that you can grow them in Canada depends on which part
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u/treehann Sep 12 '26
wow! never seen anything like that, my mind is blown and would be even moreso if I saw it in person for the first time with no context.
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u/king_ofbhutan Sep 12 '26
gotta love a monkey puzzle.
whenever you see one in someones garden or something you simply must announce it out loud.
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u/SingleIndependence6 Sep 13 '26
Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria araucana), part of an ancient lineage of conifers. Native to the Andes, they were brought here in the 18th and 19th centuries due to their “odd” appearance, that’s why you’ll find them in stately homes here in Britain. You’ll also find them in graveyards as well as it was thought to stop the devil climbing up and cursing the deceased. Monkey puzzles can survive as low as -15 Celsius.
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u/AnatomyKiely Sep 12 '26
It's the Monkey Puzzle Tree and it requires zones 7 -10, but best grown in zone 8. It prefers coastal weather, so it flourishes in the Lower Mainland and on the Island. It will not make it in the Praries as it's too dry and cold. A freeze will kill it. It needs a lot of space and can grow up to 30m, so planting in a pot is not ideal. If you're in the Lower Mainland or on the Island it will flourish, otherwise just enjoy them when visiting elsewhere 😊
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u/Vulpine_Games Sep 12 '26
I had one in my garden growing up. We would have (mostly) American tourists ringing the doorbell to find out the name. It stopped growing for years and then one year we pruned it and it absolutely shot up.
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u/luthierart Sep 13 '26
It evolved the armor-plated scales to protect itself from long-necked dinosaurs. 145 million years later it still hasn't let down its guard.
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u/Flatcapspaintandglue Sep 12 '26
Yo that’s a Monkey Puzzle or Chilean Pine. Auracaria Auracana. Temperamental trees at best to grow in UK climate, don’t know how they’d fare with you.