John&Jacq~s Garden

Amazing evergreen foliage of Podocarpus macrophyllus var. Maki

Podocarpus macrophyllus var. Maki

Japanese Yew was added to our garden in early 2003, given by a neighborhood friend! About a foot tall then, it is now almost 4 feet in the same pot we first planted it in! It would have been much taller if I had not trained its single trunk to grow in a spiral fashion. However, what’s really amazing is its longevity where untrimmed leaves are as evergreen as we first saw them and still around after almost 5 years, truly remarkable!

Even though, we’ve never seen its flowers or fruits, its beautiful foliage is enough to fascinate us, especially the contrasting bright lemon-green young terminal shoots against the very deep green matured leaves!

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation -:

• Botanical Name: Podocarpus macrophyllus var. Maki
• Common Name: Shrubby Japanese Yew, Buddhist Pine, Yew/Chinese Podocarp, Podocarpus.
• Family name: Podocarpaceae
• Plant type: An ornamental woody foliage shrub or tree, native to Japan and Southern China.
• Light: Full sun for best performance, though can tolerate partical sun to full shade.
• Moisture: Needs regular watering and moderately.
• Soil: Grows best in fertile, slightly acidic and well-drained loamy soil.
• Propagation: Can be propagated from semi-hardwood cuttings which is easy to root or germination of seeds which take up to 2 years to germinate!
• Features: As compared with the species Podocarpus macrophyllus that can grow up to 20-40 feet tall, this cultivar ‘Maki’ is smaller and more shrubby, hence commonly know Shrubby Japanese Yew. This evergreen columnar shrub or small tree is slow-growing and reaches 6-8 feet in average landscape gardens or when unsheared as high as 10-15 feet, and about half of that in spread. Like the yew shrub, it features glossy flattened needle-like leaves 1.5-3.5 inches long that are deep green and smooth-textured, and densely arranged spirally along its upright branches. Flowers are inconspicuous and its small fleshy reddish-purple fruits are edible and attractive to birds too.
• Usage: Very ideal as a foundation shrub, courtyard tree or an attractive outdoor specimen in gardens, landscape, pavement, street or along highway median.
  Excellent too as a screen or sheared hedge because of its dense evergreen foliage and slow-growing nature.
  Besides being an ideal plant for bonsai cultivation, this cultivar ‘Maki’ is also great as an indoor specimen in containers or as a patio container plant as it is smaller, slow-growing and tolerates low-light. It can serve as a good coastal plant as it is heat and salt tolerant. Its beautiful and long-lasting cut foliage can be used in flower arrangements, especially funeral basket.
• Care: A low maintenance shrub or tree that requires minimal care with easy culture. Light pruning if necessary to keep it bushy or trimming simply to shape into a round, square or conical shrub or as a topiary or hedge. Scale and aphids may appear on indoor plants, otherwise no serious insect or disease problems.
• For temperate zones: Hardiness – USDA Zone 8-10. To know more, view this fact sheet from the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

Sharing here is an image of our second potted plant propagated by semi-hard branch cutting from the first plant. This was captured about a year ago and still thriving very well. Though I’ve to admit that since it was topped late last year, no new vertical growth is seen beneath the cut to continue its climb. The lower branches though are growing splendidly longer, lush and almost vertical at 45 degrees. Humph!…this pattern of growth is so different from other trimmed plants. An undeniable mistake done here, ignorance is no bliss! :( What should I do? So, following my intuition about six months ago, I’ve uprighted and trained one of its topmost branch to take over its climb as the main trunk and hopefully all goes well as envisioned. I’ve just checked the branch, and it’s still not as stiff and upright as I want, so remains tied to a stake! We’ll see! ;)

Update: Sept 8, 2008 –
These potted Podocarpus trees are really tall, about 18 feet. Lovely examples of topiary art where the branches/stems were clipped and trimmed to create decorative roundish shapes. Seen at Wisma Lourdes, Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang, Malaysia.

Another Podocarpus image. An amazing bonsai (dwarfed) creation seen at a garden center with a hefty price tag of RM2,500.00!

Last edit: May 29, 2016

Tags: foliage plants, indoor plants, outdoor plants, perennials, shrubs, trees