Here is the CA state Champion Afrocarpus gracilior tree, in Alameda Park, Santa Barbara, CA. I took this picture in 2019. It is about 87ft tall with a canopy diameter of about 68ft. The trunk is over 4ft in diameter at breast height. It is about 100 years old. It is neither a "monster" nor a "nightmare". It is a happy, healthy, beautiful, drought-tolerant, disease-resistant shade tree that just happens to require more space at maturity than most residential yards have. If you plant a row of 1-gallon Afrocarpus container stock to make a hedge in a narrow space then they will oblige you handily in just a few years. But it will be on you to prune them every year from now until forever and keep them in the allowable space, because this is what they will try to become if allowed to grow unchecked. You might do well to remove every other tree after a few years to give the remaining ones more room to fill in. Removing the whole hedge and starting over every 25 years or so might be a reasonable thing to plan for. If you want a hedge that will remain bush-sized then plant bushes, not baby trees with leafy dreams of being a glorious 100 foot tall urban forest. And don't call them "monsters" if you break the pact and drop the ball on maintenance. If you have room to let one grow for several decades and begin to fulfill its genetic destiny then you will have a gorgeous big specimen tree while you are still young enough to enjoy the shade. I have a 75 year old male tree growing 3 feet from my house (yes, that is closer than I would recommend) and it has not caused any appreciable damage to my foundation. In fact, it has helped keep my house from slipping downhill like most of the other houses on my street are doing. Thanks, big tree!

G'Day monkeytreeboy, I have over 200 seedlings of Araucaria araucana, so I think I might be in love with them too LOL G'Day Jaro Certainly those species depicted in the wild are present in the gardens as well as an exemplary selection of both Northern and Southern Hemisphere conifers, too many to list. There are numerous places to visit within easy access of Hobart (Tasmania's capital) and in particular Mt Field National Park which is only an hour from the city. Over 30% of Tasmania's flora is endemic and of the 11 conifers present here, 9 species are endemic. Unlike many European countries, the diversity in our flora increases with altitude. There are too many places of interest to mention but if you are ever over this way I will certainly be happy to show you around. G'Day Sluice, thank you, thats no problems! Cheers Tasmanii

Hi Basic, "The tag says its a native to N. India. I recall reading somewhere that India only has one native conifer--would this be it?" Nope, the quote isn't correct, it should be "only has one native conifer south of the Ganges River", and the answer is Nageia wallichiana (Podocarpaceae), which occurs in the Western Ghats in southwest India (and also in Burma, Thailand, etc., so it isn't endemic). The Himalaya (i.e., north of the Ganges) has plenty of conifers (6 pines, 2 spruces, 2 or 3 larches, 3 or 4 firs, a cedar, a hemlock, 2 cypresses, several junipers, a yew, an Amentotaxus, and probably some others I've forgotten of off-hand - at least 25 species). The technical point of the quote is that the Indian Tectonic Plate lost all of its conifers a fair few million years ago when it drifted across the South Pole, long before it collided into the Asian continent (to create the Himalaya). That Nageia wallichiana isn't endemic there shows that it is a recent colonist (within the last few million years), presumably by migrating birds with the seeds in their guts. Resin

Hello again Rodaf, I've done a little research and come up with the following list. A couple reinforce my previous thoughts. I think you may already have considered and discounted some of the others, and some may be long shots. But if I was in your position, I would try them all and see how I went. Cheers, Frank Angophora floribunda Geijera parviflora Brachychiton populneus ssp. Populneus Brachychiton rupestris Brachychiton australis Petalostigma triloculare Flindersia maculosa Flindersia australis Atalaya hemiglauca Pittosporum phylliraeoides Pittosporum rhombifolium Santalum lanceolatum Ficus platypoda var. platypoda Erythrina vespertilio Agathis robusta Grevillea robusta Euroschinus falcata var. falcata Callitris glaucophylla syn. C. columellaris var. campestris Araucaria cunninghamii Syzygium corynanthum