We are relatively windy, especially in spring and mine seems fine.

Hi all . It's nice to hear about the Wollemia again -the craze from a few years ago having died down all of a sudden, apparently.
Just wondering how good an investment it is proving to be. Maybe the time-span is still too short for proper evaluation. Not having planted one myself,( or,rather, having resisted at forking-out a lot of hard-earned cash for a fancy box containing a weedy sapling) ,it would be nice to have some feedback from those who have. Thanks Blue and Form T.

Surprising, considering its native habitat must be among the least windy of anywhere in the world.

Resin

Didn't mind the sub-freezing temps (high 20s), didn't mind the dry summer, and doesn't seem to mind the wind. This seems to be a pretty tough plant, with nice, rich green foliage and good structure.

"Didn't mind the sub-freezing temps (high 20s), didn't mind the dry summer,"
Well, not to be pedantic, but you are watering it, right? So you helped it not to mind! It is a moist-summer climate plant, though probably somewhat drought tolerant when established. For example I doubt the Araucaria angustifolias at Sonoma Horticultural Nursery are specifically watered, but they presumably get runoff from the watering of the rhododendrons, which most definitely do need summer watering in that climate. Are you in that same general area? (I see they are listed as Sunset 15, too) If so, lucky you! I think it's the best climate in the US. CA cycles of drought notwithstanding - when I win Powerball I'll just buy a lake in the region LOL.

"Surprising, considering its native habitat must be among the least windy of anywhere in the world. "

Yes, I was about to say that. I can't remember where I read it, but I knew that most of Australia isn't very windy, except during storms, and in coastal or elevated regions. Here's a useful map, which also illustrates how most of the UK is much windier than the PNW. A friend of my parents moved from Montana to Seattle and said she missed the wind the most.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:646956}}

I absolutely water it but what I really mean is that the ambient humidity here in summer can be in the high teens. That's DRY! And while I do water, I use drip irrigation.

I'm pretty close to Sonoma Hort but in a different microclimate - they have a bit more marine influence (fog). They also have the large redwoods which shade and drip moisture.

Sara

"I can't remember where I read it, but I knew that most of Australia isn't very windy"

I was actually thinking of its specific location in a deep gorge, which will be even less windy than Oz in general.

Very interesting map, thanks! I'm surprised how non-windy the PNW is. But even odder, how windy Somalia and southern Morocco / Mauretania are.

Resin

One theory is that the numerous giant conifers (and other kinds of trees) of the Pacific Coast are possible here because we don't have hurricanes or typhoons with any frequency - unlike parts of the Atlantic Coast, SE Asia etc.

Another thing Wollemia will not have to put up with in its southerly habitat is low humidity in combination with low temperatures. This is what nails so many southern hemisphere plants in northern hemisphere planting sites, even when the temperatures are not that low.

I live in a bit of an odd location for the Pacific Northwest- at the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge. Gale force winds are a regular feature of the winters here, and hurricane force winds do occasionally occur.

I do have a Wollemia that I keep outside in all but the coldest temperatures here. Granted, it is only about a meter tall, so it doesn't have to contend with the forces that a larger tree might. Still, it has been completely unaffected by powerful winds while a few other conifers of the same size or smaller have been broken...

That's my two cents from Troutdale, OR :)

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