Here are some of my favourite trees, or trees I'd consider growing. There's a block of land near Kyneton we're allowed to grow trees on, and I may also gift a few to my dad. The trees I'm keenest to grow right now are probably the taiwania cryptomerioides (impossible to find in nurseries - will have to find my own seeds), glyptostrobus pensilis (a fine addition to my collection of cypresses), quercus rubra (good shape and colour), and eucalyptus regnans (big, tall, and fast-growing).
Ginkgo Biloba
- Maidenhair tree
- I've dug up saplings from underneath the Liriodendron Tulipfera outside Wilson Hall at the Uni, and in the south-east corner of South Lawn
- China/Japan
- Tallest are 50m, but more typically 20-35m
- Rating: 4/5
- Buy tree:
Cupressaceae
Sequoiadendron Giganteum
- giant sequoia/redwood
- USA
- 50-85m
- Rating: 5/5 - everything a tree should be
- Buy tree: Seeds of Plenty | Australian Seed
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
- Dawn Redwood
- China
- Tallest ever recorded was 50m, more typically 30-40m
- Rating: 3.5/5 could be taller
- Collect seeds from these two examples outside BioSciences 2 on Unimelb campus in late/mid autumn.
- Buy tree: Seeds of Plenty
Glyptostrobus pensilis
- Chinese swamp cypress
- China
- 30m
- Rating: 4/5
- Buy tree: Yamina Rare Plants (Monbulk, Mt Dandenong)
- There's supposed to be one at UniMelb Burnley campus, but I couldn't see it when I visited. It's perhaps been removed since 2018. There's two notable examples in the Sydney RBG here and here.
Taxodium Distichum
- Swamp/Bald cypress
- USA
- 25-40m (50m by 3500 years old unless it gets burned down by a floridian meth addict)
- Rating: 3.5/5
- There are a few examples of this tree around
- in the Royal botanic gardens on the Northern lawn, and a couple more up the hill on the east side of the lake.
- in the Unimelb System Garden, which I've gathered some seed from this year, and I'm preparing similar to what's outlined in this video from Grow New Plants on YouTube
- Buy tree: Can't find a non-ebay source currently in Australia.
Taxodium Mucronatum
- Montezuma Bald cypress
- USA/Mexico/Guatemala
- 25-40m
- Rating: 3.5/5
- There's an example of this in the Unimelb System Garden, which I've gathered some seed from this year, and I'm preparing similar to what's outlined in this video from Grow New Plants on YouTube
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
- Celerytop Pine
- TAS
- 20m-ish tall
- One specimen in systems garden.
- Can be grown from cutting. When grown from cuttings, some of the soil in the cutting mix needs to be from a Celery-topped Pine stand. This is because the roots need certain types of mycorrhizal fungi to help absorb nutrients from the soil.
- Taking cuttings: https://www.rhs.org.uk/propagation/semi-ripe-cuttings
- Rooting hormone: https://www.bunnings.com.au/yates-50ml-purple-clonex-rooting-hormone-gel_p3012537
- Rating: 4/5 unique and cool
- Or just Buy tree: Sequoia Valley Farms
Cryptomeria japonica
- Japanese Cedar
- The national tree of Japan
- Can reach 70m in height
- Rating: 4/5
- Buy tree: Seeds of Plenty | Conifer Gardens Nursery
Chamaecyparis obtusa
- Hinoki / Japanese Cypress
- Grows up to 35m and smells real nice
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: Seeds of Plenty
Taiwania cryptomerioides
- Taiwanese tree "resembling cryptomeria"
- Tallest examples ~80m high. In Australia, there seem to be trees in Mt Lofty gardens in the Adelaide Hills, NSW: Mt Tomah (Bot. Gds). VIC: Dandenongs (Mt Dandenong Arboretum); Melbourne (Royal Botanical Gardens, edge of Western Lawn). There's one in Christchurch botanical gardens NZ of good height.
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree:
Athrotaxis laxifolia
- Tasmanian Summit Cedar
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: Seeds from Tasmania | Sequoia Valley Farms
Athrotaxis cupressoides
- Pencil Pine
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: Seeds from Tasmania | Sequoia Valley Farms
Athrotaxis selaginoides
- King Billy Pine
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: Seeds from Tasmania | Sequoia Valley Farms
Eucalypts
Eucalyptus Regnans
- Mountain Ash
- VIC
- grows up to 100m
- Rating: 4.5/5 - real tall
- Buy tree: Sequoia Valley Farms | ATSC seeds | eBay from Living Green and Feeling Seedy
Eucalyptus globulus
- Tasmanian Blue Gum
- TAS
- Grows up to 90m
- Rating: 3.5/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus viminalis
- Manna gum
- VIC
- Tallest is 89m
- Rating: 2/5 tis common
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus Fastigata
- Brown Barrel
- VIC
- Rating: 2.5/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus Delegatensis
- VIC
- Woollybutt / Alpine Ash
- Tallest is 88m
- Rating: 4/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus Macrorhyncha
- VIC
- Red Stringybark
- grows up to 35m
- Rating: 2.5/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus obliqua
- Messmate / Stringybark
- VIC/TAS
- Tallest is in Tas at 86m
- Rating: 2/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus Nitens
- Shining gum
- VIC
- Tallest is in VIC at 85m
- Rating: 2.5/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus cypellocarpa
- Mountain grey gum
- VIC
- Tallest is 71m in VIC
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree:
Eucalyptus amygdalina
- Black Peppermint
- TAS
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Eucalyptus lacrimans
- Adaminaby Snow Gum
- NSW
- 12m tall max
- Rating: 2.5/5
- Buy tree:
Eucalyptus pauciflora
- Snow gum
- VIC/NSW
- 30m tall max
- Rating: 4/5
- Buy tree: ATSC seeds
Oaks
I like most oaks, but my ranking is probably:
- Quercus canariensis (Algerian Oaks) - just so big! Collect acorns from Kyneton botanical gardens
- Quercus Rubra (Red oaks) - good colour and shape - See specimens listed in RBG HortFlora and buy at Yamina Rare Plants
- Chestnut/Swamp Chestnut White Oak quercus montana or Quercus michauxii. See Specimens listed in RBG HortFlora.
- Quercus Robur (Not fastigiata - those ones are bad). These are everywhere. Acorns galore.
- Quecus Suber (Cork Oaks) - something different. Find acorns in Kyneton Botanic Gardens
- Mossy cup/burr oaks
Other
Liriodendron Tulipfera
- Tulip tree
- USA
- Rating: 4/5 very pretty
- Buy tree: I already have a few.
Atherosperma moschatum
- Blackheart Sassafras
- Vic/Tas
- up to 25m, tallest in Tas 40m
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: Sequoia Valley Farms
Eucryphia lucida
- Tasmanian Leatherwood
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: Sequoia Valley Farms
Eucryphia moorei
- Pinkwood/Eastern Leatherwood
- Rating: 3.5/5
- Buy tree: Sequoia Valley Farms
Nothofagus cunninghamii
- Myrtle Beech
- Rating: 3/5
- Buy tree: Sequoia Valley Farms
Daphnandra johnsonii
- Illawarra Socketwood
- NSW
- Rating: 3/5
Nyssa sylvatica
- Black Tupelo
- Northeast USA
- Rating: 3.5/5
- Buy tree: Australian Seed
How can I find trees to collect seeds or cuttings from?
In Victoria, here are a few ways I've found to find examples of trees.
- One novel way to find trees is by looking through the National Trust heritage database, finding a species you like, and a public access example of it, then waiting til autumn and paying it a visit to collect seeds.
- You could also painstakingly filter through all the trees in the Melbourne Urban Forest dataset to find examples of trees you like
- Uni campus tree surveys like UniMelb's
How have your seeds been going?
In 2024 I've been trying to keep better track of what I'm growing. Here's a table of everything that's germinated so far - new seedlings are coming up every day (as of 09/08/24)
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Seed Source | Cold Strat Date | Seedling Tray Date | Batch No | Tree No | Birthday | Days to germinate | Pot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 1 | 2/08/2024 | 15 | Hospital Peaches |
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 2 | 2/08/2024 | 15 | Measuring Cup |
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 3 | 2/08/2024 | 15 | Dosing Cup |
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 4 | 2/08/2024 | 15 | Dosing Cup |
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 5 | 5/08/2024 | 18 | Black Square |
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 6 | 5/08/2024 | 18 | Black Square |
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 7 | 5/08/2024 | 18 | Black Square |
| Chamaecyparis obtusa | Hinoki Cypress | Seeds of Plenty | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | H1 | 8 | 5/08/2024 | 18 | Black Square |
| Cryptomeria Japonica | Sugi Cedar | Seeds of Plenty | 24/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | C1 | 1 | 9/08/2024 | 22 | Pink Square |
| Cryptomeria Japonica | Sugi Cedar | Seeds of Plenty | 24/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | C1 | 2 | 8/08/2024 | 21 | Black Square |
| Cryptomeria Japonica | Sugi Cedar | Seeds of Plenty | 24/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | C1 | 3 | 6/08/2024 | 19 | Black Square |
| Metasequoia Glyptostroboides | Dawn Redwood | Collected from Tree | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | M3 | 1 | 8/08/2024 | 21 | Black Square |
| Metasequoia Glyptostroboides | Dawn Redwood | Collected from Tree | 23/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | M3 | 2 | 9/08/2024 | 22 | Black Square |
| Taxodium Distichum | Swamp Cypress | Collected from Tree | 19/05/2024 | 18/07/2024 | D1 | 1 | 9/08/2024 | 22 | Black Square |