The araucaria, also known as the monkey tree, originally comes from Chile and is therefore often offered as the Chilean araucaria. The conifer is comparatively maintenance-intensive. What you need to consider when caring for an araucaria.
How do I properly care for my araucaria?
For proper araucaria care, you should water regularly, avoid waterlogging, use lime-free water, fertilize the pot every 14 days and avoid cutting and transplanting if possible. Pay attention to diseases, pests and brown needles as well as winter care.
How do you water an araucaria correctly?
In the first few years, you should water an araucaria growing outdoors more frequently, although you must always avoid waterlogging.
When caring for the pot, water as soon as the top layer of the substrate has dried.
Use lime-free water, as too much lime will cause the monkey tree needles to turn brown.
Does the araucaria need fertilizer?
Fertilizing is not necessary outdoors. Grow the monkey tree in the pot and fertilize it at fortnightly intervals with a little liquid fertilizer (€6.00 on Amazon).
Do you need to trim the monkey tree?
If possible, you should not cut an araucaria at all. A cut destroys the shape and prevents the development of new shoots.
If you absolutely have to cut, always shorten branches directly at the trunk and do not leave any stubs. Cutting is only done in warm, dry weather.
What should you consider when transplanting?
Transplanting is also not necessarily advisable. If it is absolutely necessary to transplant the araucaria, the best time to do it is spring or early summer.
What diseases and pests do you need to watch out for?
Diseases and pests almost exclusively occur when the ornamental fir is not cared for properly. Waterlogging is the biggest problem. This causes the roots to rot and the tree to collapse.
Too much moisture in the soil also promotes the appearance of fungi. An araucaria with fungal infection can almost never be saved.
Why do the needles turn brown?
- Too cool / warm location
- too much wetness
- dryness in winter
- Draft
How should monkey trees be overwintered?
In the open field, you especially need to winterize young trees. Apply a layer of mulch to prevent the soil from drying out. Cover the araucaria with fleece or jute to protect the needles from frost or too much winter sun.
Araucarias in pots are overwintered in a bright, frost-free place. Water little and do not fertilize during the winter.
Tip
In contrast to other conifers, the araucaria prefers bright locations that like to be sunny. However, strong winter sun causes problems for the needles.
