The Arderne Tower Tree

The spectacular Norfolk Island pine (Auraucaria heterophylla) of the Arderne Gardens, in the cool, leafy suburb of Claremont in Cape Town, is the tallest of South Africa’s Champion trees.

As Christmas is with us once again, we thought it appropriate to feature this majestic, distinctive conifer, which represents a gargantuan Christmas tree as our iconic tree of the month.

Native to Norfolk Island in the Pacific ocean, situated between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia these magnificent trees are members of the ancient Auraucariaceae family.

On first seeing the amazing trees on Norfolk Island, Captain James Cook reported that these tall, straight trees would be most suitable for masts for the sailing ships of the day. After some time however, it was found that the Norfolk Island pines were not flexible or resilient enough for the rigours that sailing ships masts had to withstand with the result that the industry was abandoned.

Nowadays the Norfolk Island pine is well represented throughout the world and is the most common species of Auraucaria in Cape Town where it is popular as a garden and street tree.

The aristocratic Arderne Tower Tree was planted in the mid 1800’s by the founder of the Arderne Gardens, John Arderne and his son, making it over 160 years old. This superb specimen is exceptionally tall, even for it’s kind, reaching 44,8 metres or 8 stories high. The diameter of the trunk is 2,11metres.

This Christmas, why not consider a live Christmas tree such as the splendid Norfolk Island pine which can be enjoyed by your family and friends for many years to come while contributing to the greening of our fragile environment.

 

 

 

Meeting up with Kayden - Global Wheeling

A couple of months ago we wrote a story about Global Wheeling, a truly incredible concept that plants one tree for every kilometre that Kayden Kleinhans, Environmental Activist and Founder of the organisation, cycles.

We spoke to Kayden recently when he visited TreeCo to touch base with how we was doing and how the project was coming along. “I have cycled through 20 countries covering Europe and Africa. The second leg of the journey begins in 2012 when we continue this journey through South Central and North America – to end off that second leg in Nevada” says Kayden.

Nominated as a top six finalist in the Eco-Logic awards, in the Eco-Warrior category – there is no doubt that the efforts of Kayden and Global Wheeling are being noticed.

With over 31 000 kilometres travelled, Global Wheeling are constantly looking for sponsors to enable them to plant a tree for every kilometre travelled and achieve their objective of not only raising awareness regarding climate change, but importantly to plant those much needed trees.

TreeCo is proud to support Global Wheeling in the provision of trees. We wish him all the best in his next leg of this journey.

Please visit the Global Wheeling website to find out more: www.globalwheeling.org. The video below (also available on the Global Wheeling website) provides some great insight into this exceptional project.A couple of months ago we wrote a story about Global Wheeling, a truly incredible concept that plants one tree for every kilometre that Kayden Kleinhans, Environmental Activist and Founder of the organisation, cycles.

We spoke to Kayden recently when he visited TreeCo to touch base with how we was doing and how the project was coming along. “I have cycled through 20 countries covering Europe and Africa. The second leg of the journey begins in 2012 when we continue this journey through South Central and North America – to end off that second leg in Nevada” says Kayden.

Nominated as a top six finalist in the Eco-Logic awards, in the Eco-Warrior category – there is no doubt that the efforts of Kayden and Global Wheeling are being noticed.

With over 31 000 kilometres travelled, Global Wheeling are constantly looking for sponsors to enable them to plant a tree for every kilometre travelled and achieve their objective of not only raising awareness regarding climate change, but importantly to plant those much needed trees.

TreeCo is proud to support Global Wheeling in the provision of trees. We wish him all the best in his next leg of this journey.

Please visit the Global Wheeling website to find out more: www.globalwheeling.org. The video below (also available on the Global Wheeling website) provides some great insight into this exceptional project.

Get our latest Availability List for December - and see what tree we have on special!

This month we feature Erythrina caffra as our ‘spectacular monthly tree”. We have 10 magnificent specimens of this stunning garden tree available. Erythrina caffra is widely known for the spectacular large clusters of orange / red flowers that appear at the ends of thick fleshy stalks towards the end of winter and well into spring, before the appearance of the light green leaves. This medium to large deciduous tree has a round spreading canopy and will grow well in almost any type of soil with good drainage. The magnificent and easy to grow Coast coral tree is hugely popular with gardeners throughout the country as it gives year round interest; shade in summer, an interesting sculptural look in winter and when the flowers appear it’s beauty is unsurpassed. This superb tree is an absolute must for every South African garden!

 

 

Botanical Name	Erythrina caffra
Common Name	Coast coral tree
Bag Size	1000kg
Quantity Available	10
Average Tree Height & Trunk Thickness	5-6m  15cm

 

 

 

 

 

Should you require any further information, such as pricing details or should you wish to place an order, please contact Rudi on 082 829 5543 or Leske on 072 385 0270. Alternatively you are welcome to email us with your enquiry at info@treeco.co.za.

 

Availability List for December 2011

TreeCo provides our readers with a downloadable, updated Availability List every month.

Please note that should you not find the tree that you are looking for on this list, TreeCo will readily source what you require, on your behalf. Rudi and Leske Neethling personally ensure that all trees supplied by TreeCo, conform to our high quality standards.

 

Please CLICK HERE to download our latest Availability List.

 

Peltophorum africanum (African wattle)

Peltophorum africanum is one of our most wonderful flowering indigenous trees. With it’s dense, spreading, rounded crown and showy golden yellow flowers the African wattle is a must for dry or windy situations. The spectacular flowers of this hardy tree provide a high yield of pollen and nectar which is perfect for bee keeping. One of the common names for this charming tree, ‘Weeping wattle’, refers to the moisture that drips from the branches before the first rains. This is caused by nymphs or small frog hoppers called spittle bugs that suck sap from the trees which they excrete as almost pure water. Butterflies, bees and birds are all attracted to this lovely tree which provides them with food and shelter in an urban setting.

 

TREE DETAILS
Botanical Name	Peltophorum africanum
Common Name	African wattle
Genus	Fabaceae
RSA National Tree No’	215
LANDSCAPING USES
The strikingingly beautiful Peltophorum africanum is unsurpassed as a street tree when planted as an avenue, creating a breathtaking display when flowering in summer. These beautiful trees are perfectly suited to hot parking areas and courtyards in the urban landscape where they provide welcome shade on hot summer days. The hardy African wattle is an excellent choice for dry or windy gardens as it will provide year round interest with minimum maintenance. In winter when the tree loses it’s leaves, the low branching habit and interesting tracery of branches is almost sculptural and when the leaves appear in spring, this lovely tree soon creates dense shade followed by the spectacular bright yellow flowers. These wonderful trees are true all-rounders and can be used to great effect in almost any setting.
TREE SPECIFICATIONS
Height	5 – 7 m
Spread	4 - 7 m
Deciduous/Evergreen	Deciduous / semi deciduous
Growth Habit	The lovely peltophorum africanum is commonly found at medium to low altitudes in wooded grassland as well as along marginal valleys
Bark	On older trees the grey – brown bark is grooved while on younger branches the bark is smooth and grey
Foliage	The twice compound, dull green leaves have a feathery appearance and consist of 4 – 9 pairs of pinnae with between 8 – 22 pairs of leaflets per pinna.
Flowers	The bright yellow flowers with crinkled petals appear at the ends of the branches in showy upright sprays from November to February
Fruit	The 100mm long, dark brown to black seed pods are borne in clusters after flowering. The pods taper at both ends and have a wing like margin
Seed	The seeds are dark brown to black and are dispersed by birds, game and domestic stock
GROWING REQUIREMENTS
Growing regions	In South Africa, the lovely African wattle occurs naturally in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Kwa Zulu Natal and North West
Growing conditions	Peltophorum africanum will grow in most  well drained soil types including sandy soil and enjoys a sunny position
Best season	Summer
Hardiness	This beautiful tree is both drought and frost resistant but should be given some protection from severe frost when young.
Propagation	African wattle can be very successfully propagated from seeds. The seedlings transplant easily
Growth rate	Fast, up to 1m per year
INTERESTING FEATURES
The roots and bark of Peltophorum africanum  have long been used in traditional African medicine. Amongst the many ailments that are treated with parts of this marvellous tree are eye infections, venereal disease, tooth ache, digestive problems, abdominal pain, sores, rashes, blisters and coughs….the list is endless. The wood is hard and is suitable for turning and carving. It is used to make furniture, grinding blocks, wooden buckets, tool handles and wagon parts.

 

 

               P. africanum Flowers               P. africanum Bark               P. africanum Seed