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Cupressaceae FAMILY Endangered

Cunninghamia konishii

Cunninghamia konishii

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

Cunninghamia konishii is native to mountainous regions in the subtropics to tropics and is not very cold-tolerant. It dislikes temperatures falling below -4°c for any period of time and only succeeds outdoors in the milder regions of the temperate zone[1]. The climate in Taiwan is cool and very moist, with cloud-cover resulting in fog and rain for much of the year and a very high precipitation exceeding 4,000mm per year. In Laos the climate is monsoon tropical associated with mountains, the mean annual temperature is 16 - 22°c with annual rainfall above 1,500 mm[2]. The plant requires a rich warm soil and a sheltered sunny position[3, 4]. It dislikes soisl with free lime, otherwise the pH is unimportant[1]. Soils in its native habitat are relatively deep and well-drained loams or loamy sand[2]. Unlike most conifers, this species readily resprouts from the base and so can be coppiced[5].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter in a greenhouse[6]. If the seed does not germinate within 8 weeks then 3 weeks cold stratification may speed up the process[4]. Germination usually takes place in 1 - 6 months at 18°c[4]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Vegetative propagation of this species is relatively easy, and at one time most planting stock was produced from coppices from basal stumps after felling[7]. Nursery seedlings, however, have faster early growth and better survival than coppice sprouts. Since the 1980s, techniques have been developed to produce planting stock from root cuttings[7]. The cuttings are collected from the root collar when they reach a height of about 10 cm and placed in rooting beds. These cuttings have a survival rate of 90 - 95% and the quality is similar to that of seedling stocks[7]. Cuttings from lateral shoots are not suitable[7]. Division of suckers[8]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Cunninghamia+konishii>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]Growing from Seed. Volume 4. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1990 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
  5. [5]A Handbook of the World's Conifers Vol. 1 (Second revised edition) — Farjon A. · Brill; Leiden, The Netherlands · 2017 · ISBN 978 90 04 32449 7 ↩︎
  6. [6]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  7. [7]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  8. [8]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.