I'd still call it zone 8 at best, more likely even zone 9. Wait until it gets hit by a severe winter and see what happens. People seem to think that because it can survive an occasional -10°C, that it will survive a zone 7 climate. Not true. A -10° freeze can hit in a severe winter in zone 9. Why they call it a pine? The same sort of ignorami who call junipers, thujas and cypresses 'cedars'. All they seem to be interested in is promoting confusion and inaccuracy. They really ought to know, and do, better! Resin

Arlene, seeds I avoid winter sowing at all are tender annuals, vegetables or any seed that only needs 7 to 10 days warm temperatures to germinate. Down here that would be not only a waste of time but a sure recipe for failure because we have stretches of mild winter days with periods of very warm temperatures and very little snow. I sow tiny seeds by picking them up with a barely damp finger and pressing them into the soil and then firm it gently down but I make sure its firm. I use 4" square plastic pots with snack bags on top, those fit real tight and are short enough to keep from sagging down on the soil. You can pick up the whole pot by the tight fitting bag. Its real easy to sow too thickly so I do these seeds more carefully than larger ones, those I just space out on the top and use a dull pencil to bury to the correct depth and then firm down the soil. Otherwise you end up with crowded seeds coming up in a solid mass thats a mess to deal with in spring and plants that are competing or need pricking out. For me, this is much easier than messing with milk jugs when sowing and even more convenient when transplanting. Each pot might have 4 or five plants which I just tamp out and divide in spring. These pots fit nicely into flats which makes carrying them easier and if they dry out, I simply set them in shallow water. Usually I only have to do that once or twice in winter. I keep them under our car port where it stays clean and cool on warmer days. Its all a matter of what fits best for each person and their climate. I just store seeds in a dark dry place in a box, not the refrigerator, especially not for fresh seeds that only need to be stored a couple months.

Novaplantguy, I do not know which nursery the earlier poster referred to, but the Ironmongers imported these plants several years ago and were propagating and selling them in Southern CA. I had thought they were planning on returning to Australia but perhaps I misunderstood. Anyway the signature line on a recent email, dated 31 Oct 2010, from them posted on a Cycad site came from the email address listed below: Bruce & Suzi Ironmonger The Cycad Center Cycads, Brachychitons and Wollemi Pines PO Box 754 Bonsall CA 92003 (760) 723-8092 cycadcenter@msn.com I am not sure I would spend the money for one of these plants to be grown unprotected in VA, but if you are willing to put the effort into protecting the plant you may want to try contacting them. Mike McG near Brenham TX

Tony, yes you are right, however, population size doesnt provide a greater insight into the reasoning of a restricted occurence, it only illustrates that the refuge is slightly larger for that species. I have thought for a while that the three variables water, fire and competition all act independently and codependently to account for the biogeography in Australian plants. These variables be they a result of Aboriginal or natural climate change they have a massive bearing on species occurences and associated speciation. Wollemia would undoubtedly be suited to the highlands of the Wet Tropics however previous climatic deterioration has led to the demise of Nothofagus and the main element of temperate rainforests 'Eucryphia' is only represented by a single population on one mountain peak (which happens to be the highest in the Wet Tropics). Reiterating, Wollemia would grow in the current days climate as it is cool and wet however the competition from large mesophyll species would undoubtedly bump it out of the habitat. I once grow a Nothofagus cunninghamii in the lowlands of NE NSW where it grew amazingly well attaining a height of 2m in less than 2 years. I planted it in the ground where it quickly died due to a lack of water. This suggests that this species is restricted to sthn Vic and Tas because of milder lower evaporation rates and constant moisture. In the warmer subtropics it is unlikley to control is stomata as efficiently as required and thus it looses water to quickly. A friend has a N .cunninghamii growing well in a wetter site than where I planted mine- thus bolstering my presumption that it isnt temperature its water availability that restricts this species to sth locations. Nothofagus moorei is only common in locations where the forests leaf size is reduced to Notophyll and is wet AND the species only recruits following disturbance and freedom from the notophyll saplings/trees. Thus I think that all three variables are at play and possibly if fire wasnt an element of Australian landscapes that competition is more so a determinate than water. Wollemia has small leaves and thus competition with larger leaved species has undoubtedly resulted in its restricted occurence too, as well as fire because Eucalypts are so common in this area now. Maybe it has become restricted to this locality during a really bad climate deterioration event however hasnt been able to escape and re-expand due to the advance of Eucalypts and associated fire-phylic habitats. Now Im rambling.... From Kris