Australian Pine

[_Keith]

On my recent trip to the Keys, I brought back some Australian Pine cones. What is the best way to germinate them?

[Brad-Tampa]

No!!!!!!!!

[Pedro 65]

On my recent trip to the Keys, I brought back some Australian Pine cones. What is the best way to germinate them?

They look like Casuarina ( common name Sheoak) seeds which grow along the river banks here I don't have any on our property as they become thickets ( tree weeds), they are great for river banks and imagine they would very much be a a tree weed in Florida ? Sorry, I can't tell you how to germinate them, maybe give the seed to Jude Pete

[SubTropicRay]

The seeds make great potpouri. Don't plant that invasive pest.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

They are illegal to grow in Florida so you won't find many people with experience germinating them.

[The Silent Seed]

Haha! I actually have had these growing in my plant house before - they are lovely potted plants. Graceful.

[_Keith]

Haha! I actually have had these growing in my plant house before - they are lovely potted plants. Graceful.

[sur4z]

I personally think pine trees are great if properly maintained. They may be "illegal" to plant in Florida but that doesn't keep them from growing in Florida. In fact there are 2 roads in my town that are line with 40-50ft pine trees and are land marked so they can't be removed. And they withstood the 3 hurricanes 10 years ago with no problem. Also the town of Gulf Stream got a special bill passed where they can maintain the pines that border state road A1A and even replant if necessary. I realize pine trees change the PH of the soil and make it more acidic, but so what! I love the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and the shade they provide in hot south Florida. Film at 11.

[Mike Evans]

Keith, the best way to germinate them is with a blow torch. Don't you dare plant those things. I do not know if that is the actual seed pod. I have forest of 100'+ Austrialian Pines looming over my garden from the neighbors yard. These things are the tallest and worst weed you can imagine.

[PalmatierMeg]

No, no, no! Class I invasive - makes queens almost desirable. I've got them along my Isabelle Canal on vacant properties owned by others. They dump tons of needles into the water. Their wretched offspring pop up in my container garden and on any patch of bare earth the wind blows across. They are shallow rooted, so hurricane winds blow them over - during Charley cat 3/4 winds blew them into canals, onto roads and onto houses. It took a weeks to clear them off Sanibal-Captiva Rd on Sanibal Island. To this day I see their monster rootballs where 100' specimens fell along roads. A dirty, nasty, dangerous tree bested only by the hated melaleuca. I spent 15 years working on a State wildlife preserve removing these things. Did I say I hate both those !@$%^& abominations?

Keith, your only hope is that this tree can't survive LA winters. If it does you will have released a plague.

[Moose]

As others have stated - an invasive tree. They were planted along many of the South Florida canal banks years ago I guess as an erosion control plant. Hurricane Andrew hit and toppled most of the giants in Miami-Dade. The ones along the canals fell and caused serious blockage and usurped our drainage system. Their removal was done at quite the cost. There were several tree cutters that were killed in the process.

Gotta rank it right beside the melaleuca tree as one of the all time faux pas Florida plant introductions.

[Moose]

Keith, the best way to germinate them is with a blow torch. Don't you dare plant those things. I do not know if that is the actual seed pod. I have forest of 100'+ Austrialian Pines looming over my garden from the neighbors yard. These things are the tallest and worst weed you can imagine.

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/18

[Moose]

No!!!!!!!!

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/pdfs/casequ.pdf

[sur4z]

How could anyone not like this vista???

[Pedro 65]

How could anyone not like this vista???

IMG_3233.JPG

Me for 1 , it looks like a long driveway with repetitious tree's for a "Hearse" to drive down

[Silas_Sancona]

Ya know, growing up I used to admire these trees as the Grade School I went to had these and another species with bigger cones lining the back of the property line. Many memories using the cones as Grenades during recess. Anyway,

Seeing the invasiveness, messiness, and overall danger these pose here in Florida quickly makes one realize how much they shouldn't be grown/ need to be removed. Back in CA, seedlings would occasionally turn up and I can only imagine the potential that might exist for invading beach areas or marshland in warmer parts of the state. Like pesky Tamarisk in the Desert, or the on going battles here to exterminate Brazilian Pepper, the negatives just greatly out weigh the positives for planting one.

-Nathan

[_Keith]

How could anyone not like this vista???

IMG_3233.JPG

Very stately looking. Reminds me of the formal European Gardens.

[Sandy Loam]

The three types that you commonly see in southern Florida are Casuarina equisetifolia, C. glauca and C. cunninghamiana. I understand that they spread by underground rhizomes, which makes them so invasive.

I considered planting some as "screen" at some point, but their invasiveness and messy droppings turned me off. Their massive size also makes them impractical as a screen plant unless you have a lot of land.

I agree with everyone else. You may regret trying to germinate them, but it is possible that your short cold snaps will keep them in check.

[Eric in Orlando]

They are from Casuarina equisetifolia.

There are 3 Australian-Pine species grown in Florida;

Casuarina equisetifolia sets seed and is the Australian-Pine you seen on the beaches. It is also the least cold hardy. They were killed out in Orlando after the 1989 freeze.

Casuarina glauca does not set seed but suckers very heavily. This one is not salt tolerant. These were killed to the ground in Orlando in 1989.

Casuarina cunninghamiana is the hardiest of the 3 Casuarina grown in Florida. It is listed as a Cat. 2 plant in FL meaning it can naturalize but has not become invasive (the other 2 are Cat.1 ). These survived the 1989 freeze in Orlando with only minor to moderate damage. They aren't common. They do not have as a conical growth habit as the other 2, more irregular shaped as other trees. They are not very common. I see some old trees are around here byut never any stray seedlings. I have tried to grow seeds off these but with no luck.

Years ago I read someone was grafting Casuarina glauca onto Casuarina equisetifolia to created a non-suckering, non-seeding, sterile tree.

I would say germinate them and grow them as a bonsai. Australian-Pine makes nice bonsai. They are way to tender to survive where you are in the ground.