Pines to broadleaf on Sand Dunes
rossde at acm.org
Fri Jan 2 01:27:41 EST 1998
D J Roberts wrote [in part]:
> I have 15-yr old pines (P. Thunbergii) and marram grass retaining shoreline
> sand dunes in southern Japan, and want to move a stage further forward by
> varying the planting, introducing underplanting.
> Climate is warm temperate (0-40¡C, 2 months summer rain, 3 months summer
> dry, rain in winter, 40 inches/100cm annually).
> First ideas are eucalypts, poplars (alba/tremula>, chestnut (C. sativa),
> sycamore maple (acer pseudoplatanus), hawthorns, etc.
> Another problem: - does anyone have any experience of importing plants into
I suggest you import the eucalyptus into Japan the same way they were
originally imported into California: as seed. That way, you do not
import any insect or soil pests with them. Eucalyptus grows very fast
from seed; unlike other fast-growing trees, however, they are
You might also try importing Populus as fresh cuttings. They might have
to be fumigated, but the "sticks" do not carry soil pests. Cuttings
from Populus species root easily and grow fast.
Chestnuts (Castanea) might be a problem because of the blight, which is
now found west of the Rocky Mountains more than a century after it
started killing trees in the eastern U.S. Although the blight afflicts
primarily C. dentata (American chestnut), it has also been observed in
C. sativa (Spanish chestnut) in Europe. Certain cultivars of C. sativa
seem resistent to the blight, so you might be able to obtain certified
plants for import.
Your best approach would be to inquire at whatever Ministry is
equivalent to the U.S. Dept of Agriculture.
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
Gardening pages at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6727/garden.html
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