long lived tree to plant for birth of grandchild

willow

Hi all, I live in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Aust. on 2 acres and have my 3rd grandchild arriving in a few months, and would like to plant a tree to mark the event and give them something to care for as they grow. For the first two I planted a Qld kauri pine and a black booyong, any ideas for the third?. There is plenty of space so size isn't a problem, and a long lived species would be the go. thanks.

dov

http://tiny.cc/02yaS Wollemi Pine

http://tiny.cc/ec9pR nice growth habbit

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willow

Thanks Dov, I did plant a wollemi pine a few years back but it didn,t survive, perhaps too wet and got root rot?. I could try a different spot. Thanks, it would certainly be a long lived tree.

Tilia

hey willow. i assume based on your last two choices your only interested in natives.

Crows ash- Flindersia australis. very interesting shaped seed pod.

Bunya pine- Araucaria bidwilli. it is in the same family (araucariaceae) as Qld Kauri. but you being located on the s-caost, its likely you might already have some.

Silky oak- grevillea robusta. a bit common, but beautiful yellow flowers in december-ish.



Eucalyptus sp. when a gum is planted with plenty of room they can look quite wonderful with a broader than usual crown and long low branches.

Euc. grandis-flooded gum. white trunk and branches with rough brown bark at base.

Euc. saligna- sydney blue gum. similar to flooded gum but alot less common on the s-coast. uccuring in sunday creek area.

Grey gum- Euc. propinqua. best feature is after bark shed trunk and bark turn orange.

Blackbutt- Euc. pilularis. rough brown bark 2/3 up trunk with white branches.

Tallowwood- Euc. microcorys. brownish orange bark all over. in a subgenus(Alveolata) all on its own.

Forest red gum- Euc. tereticornus. bark white to silver grey



Ficus sp.- broad spreading and often has aerial roots.

Hill's weeping fig- Ficus microcarpa car. hillii

moreton bay fig- Ficus macrophylla

white fig- Ficus virens



Toona ciliatis- red cedar. (don't know if they are long lived)

Blue quandong- eleocapus grandis. blue berries and occasional red leaves.(maybe too fast growing)

black bean-castanospermum australe. red flowers, boat-shaped seed pods

many more options. i live on the sunshine coast hinterland and most of these are some of my readily occuring favourites.

black booyong is in sterculiaceae family and other trees in this family are very beautiful but aren't a large tree. (flame tree, bottle tree, lacebark)

but theres many other suited options native to other areas of OZ, and if exotics are included in your options than the list is endless.

it is a good idea to consider looking for rare and less occuring species of tree just so they are that much more unique.

dov

Some nice trees in that list!

I was thinking to suggest the Bunya Pine also and they live long enough. The Grevillea Robusta is pretty fast growing as well - don't know how long they live.

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AWF

Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair Tree)

One of my favourites!

willow

Thanks Tilia for that great list, it sure gives me something to work on.Yes I was thinking of natives and as it will be down on the creek flat some of the figs look interesting. I am presently doing a revege along our creek bank and have planted some of the trees you have mentioned, we are just in behind Nambour. Thanks again, appreciate your help and thanks to Dov and AWF as well.