HUON PINE EXPERIENCE©
TONY WATTON
1994 to 2000
In 1994, while working at the Huon Valley Council, I bought four potted huon pines (Lagarostrobos franklinii) from the Geeveston Heritage Centre, intending to keep them as pot plants
I had varying degrees of success with that plan but, by 2000, it became obvious to me that these plants were not going to survive in pots because one of them had already gone to meet its maker. It is now an ornament. In retrospect, I should never have attempted to keep them in pots as they are true forest trees and need constant dampness to thrive. Also, I wasn't going to be around for very much of the following 990 years to see them reach maturity!
I decided the most appropriate thing to do was to plant them as close to their natural environment as I could. So, in July 2000 I took the last three plants, in their large earthenware pots, down to the Picton River and planted them on the damp river bank just past the concrete bridge over the river.
During the following two or three years I went down to the Picton River a couple of times to check on their progress. They seemed to be coping with their new surroundings, even though the undergrowth was getting more dense each time I went.
More recently Matthew, my son, has since found it impossible to reach the trees because of the extremely dense undergrowth. I hope they have survived.