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Araucaria araucana

Also Known As

Araucaria imbricata
Monkey Puzzle Tree

Plant type

tree, conifer

size

H: 30'-80'
W: 15'-35'

planting zones

7a-10b

More Options

Araucaria araucana plant details

Araucaria araucana is an evergreen conifer tree with green foliage. Grows well with sun - mostly shade and even moisture - low water. Drought tolerant once established. Adapts to various soil conditions. Does well in average, clay, gritty, rich and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something verticillium wilt resistant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Araucaria araucana

Plant type: conifer tree
Plant family: araucariaceae
Foliage: evergreen green
Mature size: 15 FT - 35 FT - wide, 30 FT - 80 FT - tall
Uses: architectural, spiky, year round interest

GROWING CONDITIONS for Araucaria araucana

USDA Zones: 7a - 10b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly shade
Watering frequency: even moisture - low
Resistant to: deer and rabbit, verticillium wilt
Soil needs: average, clay, gritty, rich and well-drained

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

The monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) hails from a geologically ancient genus of plants which includes the familiar houseplant Norfolk Island Pine. The common name of this remarkable species refers to the consternation a monkey might experience trying to climb through the hard, spikey foliage. Its requirement of a climate with both mild winters and mild summers makes this a special tree for coastal BC. Elsewhere grow in a pot and keep above freezing in winter. The photo of wild monkey puzzles was taken by Phoenix Perennials owner Gary Lewis on his botanizing trip to Chile. In cultivation the trunks remain clad quite low down on the trunk with branches as opposed to the umbrella shapes seen in the wild.

By: Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants Ltd.

Monkey puzzle tree. This southern Chilean conifer has the hardest sharpest needles imaginable. You will either like this plant or really not like it. Mature trees were planted in many ports along the Pacific coast and are now 70'-80' tall after 100 years plus.

By: Gossler Farms

Long, spidery branches (or monkey tails?!) covered with densely-overlapping sharply-pointed leaves give this med-large tree a unique look. These are grown from seed, so their gender is not known yet. S/M/GDr

By: Forestfarm

The Monkey Puzzle Tree, also called Monkey Tail Tree or Chilean Pine, is the national tree of Chile and is capable of living to over 1,000 years of age. Monkey Puzzle Trees can grow in temperate and subtropical climates to over 100 feet in height with a trunk 3 to 5 feet in diameter. The tree grows slowly, putting on about 12 inches of growth per year and changes form over time: transitioning from sparse, symmetric branches as a juvenile, full branches when it first reaches reproductive maturity, and an umbrella canopy at full maturity. The Monkey Puzzle Tree is endangered under the IUCN largely due to naturally-occurring and human-caused habitat destruction. The seeds it produces are a staple of indigenous diets in the south-central Andes. This species is dioecious, having both male and female plants that produce cones, although only the female cones produce edible nuts starting around 30 to 40 years of age. Our plants are seed grown and so may either be male or female. Cold hardy to USDA zone 7 and above, or to 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

By: Wanderlust Nursery

Thick, triangular, dark-green needles are very sharp and pointed at the tips. This unique tree is native to Chile and Argentina on the slopes of the Andes Mountains.

By: Conifer Kingdom

An evergreen conifer with an open and uniform pyramidal shape in youth, maturing to a dense gumdrop shape with a tall straight trunk. Small, sharp, triangular leaves spiral around the branches and trunk. Seedlings of the Monkey Puzzle tree were distributed by the Chilean delegation during the Lewis and Clark centennial exposition held in Portland in 1905. These seedlings have grown into the large, old growth Monkey Puzzle trees that are still seen in our older Portland neighborhoods today.

By: Garden World

From the Andes of Central Chile, northern Patagonia, and Argentina comes this 50 – 80' spiny and marvelously geometric evergreen tree with a spread of 20 – 30'. "In captivity" it is more likely to grow to 30 or 40' tall. In Chile it is protected today because of its endangered status. The Missouri Botanic Garden has it that the "Common name reportedly comes from a comment made in England in the mid-1800s where an observer of a specimen tree growing in Cornwall remarked that "it would puzzle a monkey to climb that tree." It's more likely to be a complete monkey deterrent if you are so in need.

By: Dancing Oaks Nursery

Very sharp and stiff green needles. Layered branches form a stiff conical shape. Native to Chile and Argentina. Don't back into it. OUCH!

By: Bloom River Gardens

This fabulous tree ought to require no introduction, as it is so distinctive that even your non-gardening friend who can't tell a tree from a cell phone tower knows what to call it. I suspect the Sequim and Port Angeles areas may have more of these trees per capita than anywhere else in the United States. Said to look "just as out of place in its Chilean homeland as it does in British gardens" (that, of course, is a compliment), its gigantic symmetrical sprays of dark green, spiny branches arch downwards then turn up towards the sky at their tips. Sexes are separate; female trees produce big round cones that can drop and whack unsuspecting pedestrians on the head, but more commonly disintegrate gradually on the tree. It prefers a position in half to full sun; and, while it endures drought and poor soil once established, it grows far more quickly if watered regularly and mulched: some of the best specimens in the Northwest are in areas of high rainfall such as near the coast and in the Cascade foothills. Much hardier to cold than commonly believed, it has proven successful in Weed, California and even reached 20' tall in Kennewick, Washington. Try it in Salt Lake City. There have also been a few scattered reports of it achieving treehood in the mid-Atlantic region where it seems somewhat of a "holy grail" plant.

By: The Desert Northwest

Certainly enigmatic in its armament-like leaves, but doubtful that any monkey could find comfort in its branches! Despite its startling close-up character, young trees present a geometric symmetry in their growth and are dark green in color. Listed among endangered species in Chile by international agreement, yet not uncommon in the Andes at higher elevations. Seeds are prized as a diet staple by indigenous people in Chile and Argentina.

By: Heritage Seedlings

Pyramidal with stiff, spreading branches, large cones when mature. Deer resistant. Hardy to Zone 7.

By: Lael's Moon Garden

Monkey puzzle trees are so named, I guess, because it would be a puzzle for a monkey or anything else for that matter to climb one. Those little leaflets you see in the picture are hard and sharp as knives. The mature trees are graceful and pendulous, but they are slow growing. And they are not hardy. ALSO this is one of two plants (the other is Embothrium) that I do not guarantee as they are so easy to kill. But here is one way to keep it alive: dig a hole 2' x 1'; cut an X across the bottom of the rootcontrol bag but hold it closed until you lower the plant into the hole, then take scissors and cut down the sides of the bag multiple times and fill up the hole. Mulch and pray. zone 6

By: Whitman Farms

The unusual Monkey Puzzle Tree eventually becomes a large tree to 70' or more. Long, narrow branches are densely covered with sharply pointed, rigid dark green leaves. Your cat better not get stuck up this tree! Heavy, spiny cones take three years to mature. Hardiest of the Araucarias, this native of Chile thrives in loamy soil and plenty of moisture.

By: Greer Gardens Inc.

A heritage tree, given away as seedlings by the Chilean exhibition at Portland, Oregon's 1905 World's Fair and planted throughout the city. A coniferous evergeen growing slowly to a stately 30 ft tall x 15-20 ft wide or so in cultivation the crown rounding in maturity. Leaves are tough, dark-green, sharp-pointed, and triangular. Specimens should be carefully placed not to compete with other trees and to avoid nearby pathways as the 15 lb cones can maim! Full sun to partial shade in moist, well-drained soil with regular summer water. Cold hardy to USDA zone 7.

By: Cistus Nursery

Native to Chile. Spreading, arched, rope-like branches with sharp, pointed, dark green leaves.

Araucaria araucana plant details

CHARACTERISTICS OF Araucaria araucana

GROWING CONDITIONS for Araucaria araucana

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

Garden photo gallery of Araucaria araucana

Gardening facts about Araucaria araucana plant

How to Grow Araucaria araucana

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