{"title":"Podocarpus \u0026 Yew Pines","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe name is a small piece of botanical honesty: \u003cem\u003epodos\u003c\/em\u003e, a foot, and \u003cem\u003ekarpos\u003c\/em\u003e, a fruit. What looks like a berry on a podocarp is no fruit at all, but a naked seed carried on a swollen, brightly colored fleshy stalk, and the old Greek compound describes the arrangement better than anything the nursery trade has managed since. Yew pine is the usual name across the American South, which manages to be wrong twice over. These plants are neither yews nor pines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat they are is older than both. The Podocarpaceae are a Gondwanan family, the great conifer lineage of the Southern Hemisphere, still centered on Chile, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the southern Andes, with a handful of species that drifted north into Asia. Set beside a spruce or a fir the podocarps look almost broadleaved: flat, strap-shaped leaves held in dense spirals along the stem, and at a distance the effect is a soft, deep, near-textureless green that reads more like a wall of yew than anything you would call a conifer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Southern gardens the workhorse is \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus macrophyllus\u003c\/em\u003e, native to southern China, Taiwan, and Japan, where the tree is kusamaki and a fixture of temple planting. Few evergreens take shearing so obligingly, which is how yew pine became the default clipped hedge of the Gulf Coast a century ago. Left unpruned, the same plant builds a fine loose column to twenty feet and more. Drought tolerant once settled, notably untroubled by salt, and hardy through zone 7 given the sharp drainage this genus insists on everywhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe rarer species are the reason a collector reads this far. \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus parlatorei\u003c\/em\u003e, the pino del cerro, holds isolated ridges in the Yungas cloud forest on the eastern flank of the Andes in Bolivia and northwestern Argentina, and carries real conservation interest. \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus acutifolius\u003c\/em\u003e comes from the South Island of New Zealand, finely built and sharply needle-tipped, a plant we have seldom been able to offer at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo honest cautions come with the genus. Podocarps are dioecious, so fruit wants a female plant with a male within reach; on a female the ripe receptacle swells purple and draws birds through the autumn. The seed sitting atop that fleshy stalk is toxic, however, and while the receptacle is eaten in parts of Asia, this is not a plant to graze absent-mindedly or to site where small children pick things up. Give sun to light shade, sharp drainage, and patience: growth is steady rather than quick, which is exactly why a well-grown podocarp hedge still looks right forty years on. Find more evergreen structure among our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/conifers\"\u003eConifers\u003c\/a\u003e, and the rest of the screening plants in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/large-shrubs\"\u003eLarge Shrubs\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"podocarpus-acutifolius","title":"Podocarpus acutifolius","description":"\u003cp\u003eA refined and rarely offered evergreen from New Zealand, \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus acutifolius\u003c\/em\u003e forms a dense, finely textured silhouette of short, sharp-tipped leaves that give the plant a crisp, architectural presence. Heat-tolerant and well suited to the southern United States when properly sited, this uncommon conifer offers structure, restraint, and year-round depth in the landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCommonly known as the needle-leaf totara, \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus acutifolius\u003c\/em\u003e is native to New Zealand's South Island, where the species grows on well-drained slopes, rocky outcrops, and forest margins. Unlike the towering totara trees of the homeland, this podocarp typically stays a compact, dense shrub or small tree, with a tight branching habit and a naturally composed form.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe foliage is the signature: short, narrow, and sharply pointed, usually under an inch long, arranged along slender stems in a layered, fine-textured effect. The deep green color holds beautifully through southern heat and humidity, and a subtle gloss lends quiet sophistication without flash. Up close, each leaf reveals the acute tip that gives the species its name, an effect crisp but not coarse, especially effective in modern or restrained planting schemes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrow the needle-leaf totara as a fine-textured evergreen specimen, a low hedge, or a screen in full sun to part shade and sharp, well-drained soil, giving room for a slow, dense grower to fill in over the years. Salt and heat are taken in stride, and deer tend to leave the rigid foliage alone. A collector's conifer for gardeners who value texture and form over flash.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhoto: University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, Vancouver, June 2023. Image by John Grimshaw.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057943908467,"sku":"PODO-ACUT-01G","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/podocarpus-acutifolius-johngrimshaw.jpg?v=1771619306"},{"product_id":"podocarpus-parlatorei","title":"Podocarpus parlatorei","description":"\u003cp\u003eA conifer of mist and mountains, \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus parlatorei\u003c\/em\u003e comes from isolated cloud-forest ridges just east of the Andes in Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. Rare in the wild and scarcely seen in cultivation, this CITES-listed species is one of the most unusual evergreen introductions Woodlanders has ever offered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNative to scattered high-elevation forests between roughly 1,000 and 3,000 meters, the pine of the mountain grows in humid montane country where cool air, persistent mist, and sharp drainage define the ecosystem. Those forests are biologically rich but geographically fragmented, one reason the species stays uncommon and is protected under international trade agreements. In habitat the tree can reach forty to sixty feet or more in a narrow, upright to conical crown, though a garden plant, especially in warmer temperate regions, is expected to develop more modestly while keeping the composed, vertical habit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe foliage is distinctive: narrow, elongated, leathery leaves arranged along the stems, deep green and subtly glossy. Where the needle-bearing conifers of the north carry stiff needles, the podocarps bear flattened, strap-like leaves, which give the plant a refined, almost yew-like look with a distinctly subtropical character. As a member of the ancient Podocarpaceae, \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus parlatorei\u003c\/em\u003e belongs to a Southern Hemisphere lineage reaching back to Gondwanan times, and the presence of the species in South American cloud forests reads as a living relic of ancient continental drift. Like other podocarps, the plant bears fleshy, often colorful seed structures rather than the woody cones of pines and spruces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe species is CITES listed, a reflection of limited and vulnerable wild populations, and the plants Woodlanders offers are legally propagated and responsibly sourced. Woodlanders is likely the first nursery to make \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus parlatorei\u003c\/em\u003e available in the United States, continuing a long tradition of introducing uncommon and botanically significant plants into cultivation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor collectors of rare conifers, botanical institutions, and adventurous gardeners, the appeal is real: exceptional rarity, strong vertical evergreen structure, deep evolutionary history, and a genuine cloud-forest provenance. Give sharp drainage, consistent moisture without waterlogging, and shelter from severe freezes, ideally on an elevated site with good air movement.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057943974003,"sku":"PODO-PARL-01G","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/PodocarpusparlatoreiStefansauzuk.jpg?v=1771619805"},{"product_id":"podocarpus-macrophyllus-okina","title":"Podocarpus macrophyllus 'Okina'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePodocarpus macrophyllus\u003c\/em\u003e, the yew pine, is a familiar evergreen conifer grown as a shrub or small tree across the southern United States, valued for dense, dark, strap-like leaves several inches long and a tidy, upright frame. 'Okina' is the variegated form, a relatively recent introduction from Japan, whose new growth emerges creamy white before settling to soft green.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe variegation is the whole point. Each flush of growth opens near-white and matures slowly, so the plant carries a layered, two-toned effect through the season, pale at the tips over deeper green within. The narrow, fine-textured foliage reads as refined and composed, a quiet, luminous version of a plant usually grown for plain green structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLittle known in the United States, 'Okina' has been offered elsewhere only in very small sizes at a high price. Woodlanders is pleased to make the plant more widely available, and thanks Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery for the original start.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrow 'Okina' as a specimen, a low hedge, a screen, or a container plant in full sun to part shade and well-drained soil, giving a little afternoon shade in the hottest gardens to spare the pale new growth from scorch. Slow and dense, evergreen and shearable, the plant suits both formal and naturalistic plantings and pairs beautifully with darker evergreens that throw the variegation forward.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057944301683,"sku":"PODO-MACR-OKIN-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1996.jpg?v=1720140199"},{"product_id":"podocarpus-macrophyllus-low-growing","title":"Podocarpus macrophyllus (low growing)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis low-growing form of \u003cem\u003ePodocarpus macrophyllus\u003c\/em\u003e is a compact, spreading evergreen with flat, needle-like leaves that spiral tightly around the stems. Where the ordinary yew pine climbs into an upright shrub or small tree, this selection stays low and horizontal, building a dense, glossy green mat of steady year-round texture and structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe habit is the value. A low, wide, spreading frame makes the plant a natural for the front of a border, a foundation planting, a shaded garden edge, or a bold evergreen groundcover where height would only get in the way. The fine, dark foliage holds through southern heat and reads as refined and composed in both formal and naturalistic settings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNative to Japan, this low-growing form was sourced by Woodlanders from a rare specimen in Alabama, and remains a dependable choice for gardeners seeking form and simplicity without height dominance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrow the plant in full sun to part shade and well-drained soil, giving a little afternoon shade in the hottest gardens. Water to establish, then enjoy a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance evergreen that takes light shearing, tolerates salt and sandy ground, and is generally passed over by deer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057944334451,"sku":"PODO-MACR-LOW-GROW-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-471.jpg?v=1720140203"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/podocarpus.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}