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Peumus - Growing Guide
Growing Peumus boldus
Boldo
We have been growing this interesting evergreen Chilean tree in the gardens at Caerhays Castle for around 15 years. For a time it remained a dense rounded shrub but has recently put up a tall leading shoot and appears to be becoming more tree-like.
The leaves are leathery and packed tightly on the tree. The reference books say that P. boldus flowers in the summer but, with us, the flower buds appear in late autumn and the flowers open progressively in the new year as you can see in these photographs. The white flowers appear in terminal cymes and are supposedly followed by sweet and edible fruits although this has yet to be a feature of our plant which may be growing in too much shade.
Boldo is a settlement in Arauco Province in Chile named after this tree. It has a variety of medicinal properties and the leaves are used to make tea which is taken medicinally to aid digestion. The bark is used in tanning and dyeing.
This appears to be a perfectly hardy plant in the UK although, as yet, little known in gardens. We propagate it from autumn hardwood cuttings which seem fairly easy to root.
