Podocarpus

Podocarpus (Podocarpus) Gardeners in the South and West think of the podocarpus as a dual-purpose plant. It’s a handsome evergreen for the garden, where it is some- times called “southern yew,” and it is a fine, versatile, durable houseplant as well. In fact, it’s hard to find a single negative thing to say about it. It tolerates a wide range of light conditions from full sunshine through bright indirect light (its preference) to deep shadows; the darker the spot it grows in, the deeper green is the foliage and the slower- growing the plant. Its new foliage is always a paler green than the old, and the combination of colon is very striking. The podocarpus is a semitropical tree from Japan and thrives as well in cool spots as in warm ones; it can stand night temperatures as tow as 40 degrees and days as High as 85. Ordinary potting soil is perfectly suitable; keep it constantly barely moist, and feed the plants twice a year, once in the early spring and again at the beginning of the sum with any Mild houseplant fertilizer. — -

When podocarpuses grow wild in the native habitat they’re often used as forest trees because they reach maturity quickly with a minimum of branches. When they’re grown indoors, though, they move very slowly arid can be pinched back and made to branch repeatedly into dense, bushy plants. This requires both time and effort on the part of the commercial greenhouse staff; as a result, large well- grown plants are often expensive. (Small plants, which do very well in a terrarium, are sold very reasonably.) Some times, in an effort to out down on cost and still produce a good-sized plant, growers overfeed podocarpuses. The excess nitrogen does indeed produce large plants fairly quickly, but not strong ones; often they’re too weak to support their own weight without a stake. My advice is to stay clear of these and buy a smaller, well-grown plant. Help it keep its shape by pinching back the tips (the cuttings will root easily in the fall), and pruning it in the spring before the new growth starts. The primary variety for indoor culture, P. macro- phyllus maki, grows so leisurely that it can be left in the same pot for years.

  

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