Andrea’s Monkey Puzzle tree

Monkey Puzzle trees in Southern Chile with the Lanin Volcano in the background

Of course the photograph above is not Andrea’s Monkey Puzzle tree. Unlike the ones we see in large parks or sometimes small suburban gardens, this is a Monkey Puzzle tree growing wild on the Southern Chile, Argentinian border. When the idea for this plant story first appeared, I had no idea how fascinating it would become and how it would take us on a journey from Andrea’s front garden to Chile with the help of Chilean botanist Eduardo Olate, who took the photograph above.

Andrea and I first met when studying for our RHS Level 2 exams, some years ago. She has listened patiently as I explored the idea for this podcast. I discovered she has a Monkey Puzzle tree in her front garden, when one day I went round to her house and we stuck big white planning sheets to her kitchen window as we worked out the bits I could do (nice bits) and the bits I didn’t know how to do (scary bits). So that Monkey Puzzle just tucked itself in a little corner of my mind.

Fast forward to a conversation with a horticulturalist I met on a Perennial event in Richmond Park. Eduardo Olate is from Chile and somehow our conversation turned to Monkey Puzzle trees and suddenly a plant story has found its way out. Like many stories, facts and myths become entwined over the years and they take a bit of untangling and that process can also, as you will hear in the Offshoot, take many years.

I am sure Andrea is not the only person who has in reality bought a garden rather than a house - the latter just comes with the former which is the real selling point. On the flip side of this, selling a garden (and house) when you have poured your heart and soul into it, is also tough. You have to hope that the new owner will take care of your treasures. In the case of this plant story, the owner need not have worried. The very large Monkey Puzzle that was planted for her late husband on his 50th birthday is still there. You can see some photographs of the tree in its early life on the episode page here.

The story of how Monkey Puzzles came to the UK involves a banquet (to be discussed in an Offshoot episode!) at which Archibald Menzies possibly ‘stole’ the Monkey Puzzle nuts from the dinner table (to be discussed in the Plant story and Offshoot!) and propagated them. The extraordinary shape of this tree attracted a lot of attention, Queen Victoria wanted one for Prince Albert and as over the ensuing decades more seeds were gathered from Chile, the trees became available from nurseries. They were planted in large arboretums, we’ll be returning one of those, Dropmore near Windsor, in the Offshoot. In some places they were planted as avenues and of course they were also grown in smaller spaces where perhaps the gardener wasn’t quite aware how big they might grow. They are very spikey though I have now heard two stories of people who have climbed them - maybe never again! There are Facebook groups of gardeners sharing their love of Monkey Puzzle trees. I’ve seen adverts selling them on Facebook Market Place but perhaps those are from people who no longer want or have room for them? This episode may sound just a little note of caution if you are tempted to buy one but of course as always, we do learn how to grow them.