Posted: Fri Feb 25, 11 6:55 pm Post subject: Torreyana nucifera (kaya)
Still on my quest for nut producing conifers, this species fruits prolifically in the UK (according to PFAF):
"A tree at Wakehurst Place was 11 metres tall in 1970[185]. A shrub growing in the shade of coniferous trees at Kew was about 2.5 metres tall and 4 metres wide in September 1993[K], it was carrying a very heavy crop of fruit[K]. No fruit was formed in 1994[K]. A specimen at Cambridge Botanical Gardens was 6 metres tall and 6 metres wide, it was carrying an enormous crop of seed in the late summer of 1996[K]. This plant has an excellent potential as a nut crop in Britain[K]. Sometimes cultivated for its edible seed in Japan, the variety 'Shibunashigaya' is considered to be the best for seed production[46]."
Needless to say I haven't been able to find a supplier of the trees, anyone know where I might be able to get hold of it? Failing that would anyone here have one in the collection and oblige me with some seeds at harvest time so I can have a crack at propagation:
"Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Some of the seed should germinate in the following spring though much of it might take another 12 months. Stored seed requires a period of cold stratification and can take 18 months or more to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as growth is observed and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least the next couple of winters, making sure to pot them on into larger pots as and when required. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer when the plants are at least 20cm tall. Cuttings of half-ripe shoots in late summer[1]. Cuttings do not grow well[11]. Layering."
For anyone that might still be interested I now have:
I will ask the man who supplies us. He does grow from seed as he has collected from here but don't hold your breath on it as it's very unlikely. He is very interested in tree species, you probably should meet.
Hi Tahir, just found this forum and have been particularly interested by your tree experiments. Batsford Park has a very large Torreya sp. (which I think is nucifera). When I last visited (well over 10 years ago), I got the impression they might be willing to hook people up with rooted cuttings of their rarer stuff. Might be worth trying them.
Please let me know if you get a result from them or anyone else, the more I think about it the more I think maybe I should absolutely definitely have one....
View Latest Posts