I don't have either of those but I would love to try the Franklin tree. Saw the article in the Tennessee Gardener. Very interesting that it's so rare!

Brandon, there used to be a large, old monkey puzzle tree on the UT Ag campus that was cut down several years ago to make way for construction. Also, there supposedly is a large one at the governor's mansion in Nashville

Hey Brandon,
Where was the monkey puzzle tree at UT? Was it in the tree area of the UT Gardens?

Brandon- about 20 years ago I planted 2 Franklinia's. One died due to lack of water on my part during its first summer and the other grew poorly for a few years and also died due to lousy placement on my part. I've not attempted to grow them again, but I don't see any reason why they wouldn't do okay.

There is a Araucaria araucana at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. Haven't seen it personally but have seen pictures of it. I THINK there may be a few people with small ones in the I-75 corridor.

The monkey puzzle at the governors mansion: again I don't have first hand knowledge but I've heard from several people that it is a Cunninghamia, which in the south is commonly called monkeypuzzle.

Many Franklinia growers, especially in this part of the country, have found them difficult to grow. Even quite a few professional growers consider them a challenge. The reason I asked about them was mainly to see if anyone was having much luck with them. I've heard a few people say they got theirs to last a year or so, but can't think of anyone that's every thought of them as being easy to grow long term here. I've heard different reasons that people believe the tree has trouble growing here, but I think it may come down to a combination of things.

I'm going to guess that if Cunninghamia is called monkey puzzle, it's due solely to misidentification. Google seems to have no record of such an association. The closest thing I see is a reference to Araucaria cunninghamii (not related to Cunninghamia except for the similar name).

I have no idea what's at the governor's mansion. I did a Google street view round the mansion, but couldn't see anything that I thought would be a good candidate for a monkey puzzle tree.

Brandon, I have read that Franklinia is VERY susceptible to phythoptera (sp) and that due to extensive cultivation of cotton in the past most soils are infected with it. I know it is a naturally occurring pathogen, infecting a diverse number of species. They are certainly not common in MidTenn, I don't believe I have seen one here. The largest one I've ever seen is (was?) at a nursery in Fairfield County CT. Probably 12-15' tall in the early '80's. At that size the plant was kinda open and a little lanky, but overall healthy and bloomed heavily from August to hard frost.

As far as monkeypuzzle/China fir, I think that is a local thing. Cunninghamia was fairly common in these parts before the '85 freeze took most of them out.I think the average person just knew them as monkeypuzzle, and probably never heard of Araucaria araucana- the 'real' monkeypuzzle.

Due to the number of large, old specimens in Knoxville, I would argue that the 85 freeze did not take most of them out, at least not in Knoxville. Brandon, it was located where the new design labs are located now. If you are interested in growing one, they are for sale at the Mayos near Pellissippi and Kingston Pike. It would definitely make an excellent arboretum specimen.

In my experience, a franklinia from a cheaper company was not worth bothering with. I grow some things nursed back to health from cheap and abused seedlings/cuttings but if you buy a franklinia it must be very well-rooted and detectably healthy. Mine died at once.