By February 2023 my plans were progressing well for the development of the Kauri forest. The only part missing was the Kauri trees! I knew that all would come to nought if I couldn’t source Kauri cones from which to extract the seeds. The season to collect mature cones was upon us, and if I missed it, my program would be set back a year. 

Scion‘s Greg Steward stepped in and provided me with potential supplier contacts. When I told each of them my plans, they were all supportive, and all came through for me.

Forest Floor
Simon Valling from Forest Floor is a dedicated indigenous flora promoter, Manuka specialist and rock climber. He also collects Kauri cones for propagation. Simon went out to the bush around Whangarei and further north to the Mungamuka forest to collect the cones. After drying the cones and sorting the seeds most likely to germinate, 18,000 arrived at Ribbonwood Nurseries in Dunedin at the end of March 2023. These 18,000 seeds weighed just 900 g. Now, how much does a mature Kauri tree weigh? Simon expects 90% germination rate. Let’s see what happens.

Silcock Stand
Joe and Mary Silcock’s property in the Kauaerengna Valley (east of Thames in Waikato), has a unique stand of 600 Kauri trees. The seeds for the stand were selected by NZ Forestry Service from the best trees growing in a plantation in Hawkes Bay. The Hawkes Bay plantation was established from seeds chosen from selected trees in the Waipoua forest in Northland. 

The Silcock trees currently don’t produce any male cones, so the seeds have been pollenated by male cones from existing Coromandel trees. This cross-bred variety will provide useful genetic diversity for the subsequent Kauri trees.

At the beginning of April 2023, 10,000 seeds arrived at Ribbonwood Nurseries. Joe Silcock expects a 60% germination rate from his sorted seeds. Let’s see what happens.

Te Puna Stand
NZ Seeds receive cones from a stand of Kauri trees planted in Te Puna, near Tauranga. The third and final batch of 6,000 seeds arrived at the end of April 2023, lifting the total to 34,000 seeds.

Propagation
Kauri seeds don’t have a long life expectancy. They need to be germinated within a couple of months of maturity. With 34,000 seeds at hand Phil Dunn and his staff at Ribbonwood Nurseries prepared the seed trays and spread the seeds.