Fokienia hodginsii

Cultivation Details

Fokienia hodginsii is native of warm temperate and subtropical forests in southern China and Indochina where winters are generally mild .It is found in areas where the mean annual precipitation is 1,200 mm or more^[1]. The plant is found wild in acidic (with a pHof 5 - 6), yellow or brown loamy sands over sandstone, shales, granite, or rhyolite and well drained^[1]. This conifer is cultivated in cemeteries and parks in China, but is rare elsewhere despite its relative hardiness and suitability in parts of the world with similar climates such as New Zealand, Atlantic SW Europe, northern California and Oregon and southern Japan^[1]. Fokienia has recently been used for climatic studies aimed at improving our understanding of past variability in the SE Asian monsoon and El Nino events. Its great longevity (ca. 1,500 years at least) and sensitivity to moisture makes it an ideal candidate for such studies^[2].