Wollemi Pines, like other Araucariaceae, grow in warm temperate rainforests and are adapted to a climate with low frost intensity and frequency, and warm summer temperatures. Wollemi Pines are the most frost tolerant and least heat tolerant of the Australian Araucariaceae, a response that is consistent with its current location and climate in a deep, protected gorge.
Understanding the natural growing environment, including light levels and temperature, of the Wollemi Pine has been important in ensuring cultivated and translocated plants will survive and thrive in their new locations. For example, cultivated plants thrive in protected positions, with exposed plants showing yellowing and leaf drop due to irreversible photoinhibition (light damage). This damage occurs with a combination of temperatures that are too high or low (exacerbated by wind chill and low soil moisture), and strong sunlight exposure to foliage (especially young delicate leaves).
Plants in more protected positions, especially those slowly adapting to lower temperatures going into summer or winter, will be more likely to survive with minimal damage. Our research has shown that Wollemi Pines grow best in climates with temperatures as low as -10o
C in winter and up to 37o
C in summer.
Find out more: Expert advice on growing your Wollemi Pine
For more detailed scientific information on this topic, see Growth of the Wollemi Pine in the Wild
and Growth of the Wollemi Pine in cultivation