In 2005 the Wollemi Pine was first offered to the public at auction to several botanical gardens.  Later in 2005, the Wollemi Pines were also offered to the general public. There were only a handful of trees available at first, but the propagation efforts quickly made more individual trees available to the general public, in addition to botanical gardens.

World wide distribution took place, and National Geographic offered the Wollemi Pines for sale in the USA.  National Geographic sold out fairly quickly.  The tree specimens were expensive, and small, and people complained about their size and condition.  This rare tree had only recently been propagated - a task that took ten years to come to fruition, so it should be no surprise that the trees would be small. They are brand new, after all...  It is also a rare tree - the operative word here being "rare". People should have expected it to be expensive.

Yearling Wollemi Pine trees can appear a bit thin and scrawny, by nature, and it is unfortunate that people were unhappy with the results.  First impressions can last a long time. In time, and a little care, the trees grow to become quite beautiful, and are so unusual and different, that it is more than well worth the wait for them to get bigger.  And they grow very fast!

I was out of touch with a family emergency for a while, and missed the announcement that they were up for sale through National Geographic here, and by the time I realized it, National Geographic had sold out.  There had been a lot of complaints, and they were not going to be carrying anymore, at the time of my inquiry.

So the search was on, to find out who else was going to be selling the trees in the US. Tune in for the next installment of my Wollemi Pine adventure.

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