How to grow Monkey Puzzle

Araucaria araucana

Be sure you have enough room for this tree, it is quite tall, but fortunately grows very straight up.
Nearly always dioecious.

Growing Monkey puzzle from seed

Collect fresh seeds in early autumn, and select heavy seeds. Soak in water overnight. Select for planting the seeds that have sunk to the bottom. Plant pointed end down in gritty or compost with added vermiculite and leave about a quarter of the seed above ground. Germination is slow

Soil temperature should be kept higher than 10°C / 50°F to ensure good germination.

Transplanting Monkey puzzle

Tall and straight, so choose a site well away from overhead interference. Not a great spread on these trees so you may be able to squeeze on in your garden, neither do they do not cast much shade.

As Monkey puzzle is half hardy, ensure temperatures are mild enough to plant out (around -10°C / 14°F as a guideline) - wait until after your last frost date to be on the safe side.

Harvesting Monkey puzzle

Grown in isolation you may not be able to harvest the edible nuts on female trees. Two years for the seed to ripen, that then fall naturally from the tree in early autumn. The seed resemble Brazil nuts and are best eaten roasted, or better still germinate them and grow some more trees.

Seed Saving Monkey puzzle

Plant seed fresh

How long does Monkey puzzle take to grow?

These estimates for how long Monkey puzzle takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

Days to Germination How long does it take Monkey puzzle to germinate?
days

Average days | Min days | Max days (0)

Days to Transplant How long until I can plant out Monkey puzzle?
+ 365 days

Average 365 days | Min days | Max days (0)

Days to Maturity How long until Monkey puzzle is ready for harvest / bloom?
+ days

Average days | Min days | Max days (0)

Total Growing Days How long does it take to grow Monkey puzzle?
= days

Monkey puzzle Etymology

The name comes from the native people of its country origin in Chile.

Monkey puzzle Folklore & Trivia

It is said that the seeds were collected from the Governor’s dinner table and returned in the pocket of Archibald Menzies who germinated them on his return voyage.

Other names for Monkey puzzle

Monkeypuzzle tree, Chile Pine

Araucaria araucana (Molina) K. Koch

Footnotes


< Previous Plant Guide

Agastache

Next Plant Guide >

Opuntia