When I was a kid my mother used to give us a dime every time we spotted a monkey puzzle tree. Two years ago a local nursery was having a half price sale on trees and I bought this little rascal for $40. Don't know if that was a good deal or not, but better than the original $80 price tag. In the past 2 years its grown about one section, about a foot. Slow growing tree. And it has a nasty temper. Bites me when I pull the weeds around it. I guess I should throw a dime into my piggy bank every time I walk past and look at it! My monkey puzzle tree ( photo / image / picture from whistler's Garden ) Monkey puzzle tree in front yard ( photo / image / picture from whistler's Garden )
What a cool looking tree. First I ever heard of or saw one was in the old movie "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" Capt Gregg had one planted in front of his house and Mrs. Muir thought it was a horrible looking thing. She had it dug up and replaced with a rose bed. For years I wondered if it was a real tree.
You can find these trees growing in gardens over here in Scotland. As a child I always wondered why the monkeys were puzzled by this tree and would look out for one sitting looking confused on the ground beneath them. Needless to say I'm still waiting to see a monkey!!
HAhaha, we have lots around here also Eileen. The poor old Monkeys can't climb the tree to get the lovely fruits they produce becuase of those horrid spikey leaves. They are really slow and when we moved into our house 10 years ago, a house on our journey to school had a baby one in their front garden, and the kids loved it as they new the story of why it was called a Monkey Puzzle. Over the years, on our walks to school, we have watched it grow, and yup, as slow as can be, and yup, it seems to grow a section a year. I guess when the kids leave home, it will be a decent sized tree!
There is a huge old monkey puzzle tree down on the main street. I always wondered if the tree was as sticky as it looked, but never stopped to find out. Looks like they are best viewed from afar. :-o
I've never seen one or heard of one either but it's a neat looking tree. I like the story. It's fun to hear the memories and associations that some of you have to it too. So Whistler, do you figure you collected enough dimes from your mom to cover the $40 you spent on the tree?!
Eileen, my mother was from Scotland. So I guess she saw a few over there before moving to Canada! No, I doubt I got more than a couple of bucks in dimes growing up for spotting these trees! I'm posting another thread with photos of some other monkey puzzle trees for those who haven't seen them locally.
