Frankly I think it would be out of the reach of the normal garderer
On the website below they say up to $1.500 for one so I will give it a miss
But I sure will be watching to see how much they go for.
Maybe in a few years they will have dropped down in price when supply meets demand.
April 2006 they will be avaible from some Nurseries. Cheers...MM.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wollemia Nobilis.

Wasnt the whole premise of securing the location and then doing mass propagation to make the plant available for every Australian garden??? At $1500 I dont think that I will keep a space for it in my garden unfortunately. So once again a special and precious icon is only able to be admired and appreciated by the elite.... both financially and scientifically..... Any wonder people just stick to roses and camellias....

It is a shame but at the moment we really need to be looking at the conservation of species new and exsisting
If it means that the rich buy the first round it will mean more money for the conservation and research into this project and hopefully could be used as a business model to protect more rare and threatened species from the wild
(I have read that the japanese are really going to snap them up)
I hope that some of the more obscure plants from more established genus group such as the grevillea cayleyi etc etc benefit from looking at the business models used for the pine

I wish I could spend $1500 on a tre but the scrooge in me says that I could buy 100 t.specissomossia (waratah for the non latin public)and have more enjoyment from them

It will get cheaper, don't worry. I think the initial price is some kind of charity thing.

(It will get cheaper if only because if they are so desirable every nursery propagator will spend time working out how to grow them; and apparently they grow readily from seed, cuttings and division)

Last night's 7.30 Report indicated that the initial auction and subsequent sales are designed to pump money straight back into the conservation effort. The main nursery area has electric fences and 24-hour patrols : understandable when you consider that the first example to be placed on public display was promptly stolen. They didnt say what measures they have put in place to prevent poaching within the remaining 'wild' grove (number given was 100 plants, not the 40 previously reported). If only we had been this careful with the Thylacine (population 0) and the northern hairy-nosed wombat (less than 100 left) ..

As gardeners, I think we need to take a step back and consider that the initial rush on these plants will be huge, and the $1500 price tag will probably prove to be a bargain. They will be resold all over the world while the supply remains limited, but last night's story indicated that the nursery was having no problems propagating new trees : 100,000 per year is their target.

As a living fossil, the appeal goes way beyond traditional horticulture, and it will doubtless become *the* pot plant for the wealthy in 2006. Inevitably, they will move on to something else, the nurseries will get more stock, and (hopefully) the Wollemi will begin popping up everywhere from suburban frontyards to public parks.

From a personal point of view, I'd consider one as a pot specimen, but I have an aversion to conifers in the garden. I think I'll stick with my rainforest trees - grand survivors in their own right.

footfullofbindis (!),

Whilst I appreciate the thrust of your argument:

Any wonder people just stick to roses and camellias....

I disagree. Large numbers of Australian do stick to Ye Olde English (or Mediterranean) garden for a number of reasons, but I'm not sure that selling the Wollemi for 6.95 down at K-Mart will change that. We've all seen Bunya/Hoop/Norfolk Island pines towering over houses, planted years before the owners realised what they had on their hands - large conifers arent for everyone. As I said in my earlier post, the price will come down, but I'd be wary of unleashing this 40m tree on a suburban 1/4 acre block. I know that many of the forum members have significantly larger blocks, but they are the privileged few - the rest of us have to make do with under 1000 sq m.

I will be waiting until they get cheaper- maybe also watching for experience of others on the NW Slopes of NSW.

I'm sure that with the general release next year they will be sold at competitive prices, and with a 1 ha block containing all the other species of Australian Auraucariaceae I will certainly be looking at including Wollemia nobilis in my collection. I've certainly got a spot reserved.
Tony

hi i am waiting for the U.K release. i wont be able to afford the £8000-£15000 extimated pricetag for the first generation though, but given a few years i hope to have my very own piece of history. i am hoping to visit kew gardens soon to see the recently planted specimen there.
you have some of the coolet plants

Goodness at that price you could book a flight over here 1st Class and stay in a five star Hotel,
Buy one plant, pay for all the Taxes on it take another flight home and still have some change..MM.

Very funny MM and most probably accurate!
I suppose we'll be seeing stevethelizard at the auction then.
I'll keep an eye on the tele.
A

LOL 1 think i can be patient im only 23. there going to get cheaper and hopefully im going to get more money i would love to visit aus one day though you have such great flora and fauna and the climate. oh well ill sit here looking out the window at the rain
steve

Sheeesh!!! $3000 for a WP!!!!! Did anyone take out a second mortgage to buy one??? You would want to hope that your dog doesnt take an interest in it, like my 2 would......
I will just have to wait for the general release when all of us unwashed get a chance to purchase one...

Some simple facts that maybe of interest to those who donÂt have the time to research what they are commenting on.

Basic Facts:
- As the Wollemi Pine is a naturally occurring species there is no way to protect the IP (intellectual property) with a PBR etc (Plant Breeder's Rights are exclusive commercial rights to a registered variety).
- It does not produce a lot of seed and is difficult to collect
- Said to be reasonably easy to propagate from cuttings
- Understand in-vitro propagation also being trialed for international exports

What does this mean and why the big marketing spin ?
 Basically, once the plants are sold anyone with the right experience can propagate the Wollemi Pine and sell it.
 This is why there is a strong marketing effort by the Wollemi Pine Foundation.
 By having an established brand they hope to be able to continue selling plants under their name and thus raise funds for conservation

Why would you want a Wollemi Pine:
 Besides contributing to the conservation of this and other rare species, you would have a great subject for conversations with friends!
 They grow in a wide range of conditions, including extreme temperature ranges (see below)
 Grow in very low light and in pots  so a great indoor plant
 Etc, etc ..

You will be able to buy one at reasonable dollars sometime after April 2006

Additional Information:
Tim Entwisle (Executive Director Botanic Gardens Trust) talks to Sarah McDonald on 702 ABC Sydney  18 October 2005
http://www.rbgsyd.gov.au/information_about_plants/Talking_Plants
 Eleven years ago the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) was discovered by National Parks Officer David Noble in a remote canyon in the Wollemi National Park near Sydney. It was a plant thought to be extinct, with fossils going back to the age of dinosaurs.
 This weekend the first ever cultivated Wollemi Pines (Wollemia nobilis) will be auctioned by SothebyÂs from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. The auction will be worldwide, and bids will be taken by telephone and absentee forms.
 Every Wollemi Pine sold will return a royalty to fund the conservation of the Wollemi Pines in the wild and other threatened and endangered species.
 These first 292 trees to be sold are the first generation of Wollemi Pines, grown from the first cuttings taken from the wild population. Each tree comes with a pedigree tracing it back to its parent tree in the wild. The auction will include 148 lots, ranging from single trees to an avenue of 20 trees from the same parent. The trees are mostly 5 years old and 2-3 metres tall.
 Proceeds from some lots will go entirely to conservation through organisations like the Botanic Gardens Trust here in Sydney and Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England.
 ÂWollemi AustraliaÂ, a joint venture between the Qld Government Department of Primary Industries and Birkdale Nursery, won a tender six years ago to propagate this tree under licence from the...

Wow Tony you certaily gave us a bit of info !

What I keep thinking about, is, all these WPines that have been propagated, are all clones.

Is it good environmental practice to have a bunch of clones all over the place, what about diversity of species.

I guess there are already a lot of plants that are clones already, like all the cultivars.

The recent New Scientist article (22 October edition) says of the original stand that there is 'virtually no genetic variation among them'. The article also says that 15 of the original 100 or so trees are the source of the cuttings material, so these 15 clones represent nearly all of the variability available - the entire genetic diversity of the species carried in a handful of individuals.

Well I would assume that with the limited genetic diversity that perhaps the individuals that are left were the ones with the greatest adaptability, all others that were not as 'fit' have died off. Maybe this is why they are so able to cope with extremes that they dont seem to need to face in their particular habitat at this time. I wonder also if this limited variation is a factor hindering sexual reproduction. At what age could we expect to see them set seed in cultivation - maybe that will be the only way of increasing the genetic diversity of the species.
Does anyone know what the pollinator is? insects? wind?

'the individuals that are left were the ones with the greatest adaptability.'

More likely a 'founder effect' I'd have thought, with those individuals in the gorge as the climate changed around them probably already being related and then losing more variation due to chance.

'I wonder also if this limited variation is a factor hindering sexual reproduction.'

Since they are producing viable seed, inbreeding depression doesn't seem to be a real problem at the moment. Establishing a seed bank should preserve the present diversity almost indefintely and with each tree being capable of living up to 1000 years they won't dwindle away to nothing too soon.

I note on the news this week that one tree in the wild is now infected with Phytophthera cinnamoni- my guess is it will go through the whole colony in a few years, and the only specimens left will be those artificially propagated.

Here is a link that might be useful: ABC news report

Hi All,
they are just beautiful, we have one at Southbank Parklands shall get a photo, soon but its inside a huge steel compound, to keep out hoons and people wanting to touch it, get cuttings etc, they will be released shortly, they were propergated and grown at a secret nursery location, here in Qld. It will be worth the wait. Peter r

I just got the newsletter and the WP will be available for the great unwashed in April 06 at a very reasonable $55 for 140mm pot, and $95 for a 250mm pot.
At that price I will be able to buy 2 - one for the garden and one for a nice tub.
I wonder if it will be able to cope with a tropical climate though.
At $55 it will be worth the risk...

Moreton, the secret nursery location isn't so secret as it is often mentioned in the paper but the security is supposed to be very tight.