Skinny Normanbya

[Kumar]

I planted this Normanbya in Sep'2010. At the time it was, like many other plantees, in 90% shade getting an hour or two of direct sunlight.

Here it is today after 3 years, 8 months. It seems healthy enough and has grown to be about 9 feet high at the crownshaft and possibly 12 feet at the spear, with a long stretched out look (leaf internodes are 6-8 inches each). The leaves are showing no signs of being plumose yet but are not showing the yellow deficiency in stripes that used to be there earlier). Is there any reason for worry?

There are relatively few photos of normanbya on PT, and I'm very curious to know what to expect in a couple of years .... so please share if you have any!

[Kostas]

From what I know,this species starts trunking early in shade with small leafs and skinny trunk and fattens up as it grows towards the sun. Plumose leafs come when it emerges and gets sun. So yours seems fine and typical for growing in the shade.

[Daryl]

Looks perfectly healthy and normal to me...in fact it looks very well grown!

Normanbya is unusual in that young plants will develop a ringed trunk only 3-5cm thick and several metres tall, then eventually it fattens up to 15cm +

Daryl

[tropicbreeze]

I have a small one, been small for years (bought in April 2009). It's in shade and only has 2 to 3 fronds at a time. Another I bought in 2010 was planted in more light and better soil. Within a couple of years it was dead. Some local expert palm growers told me not to bother with them as they just won't grow here. But my first is still surviving, if only just. Their big requirement seems to be very high year round humidity. So congrats on getting yours to grow so well.

I've got dozens of photos of them in habitat, in all sizes. Although they are sometimes referred to as "Rich Man's Foxtail" they don't develop a massive trunk or the very plumose look of a Foxtail. Small they're very spindly, even with a tallish trunk while still in the under storey. When tall you see them a good twice the height of the tallest Foxtails. The trunk is still fairly slender. The crown is not all that large. The indigenous people used them for spear shafts, something long, strong but thin.

[doranakandawatta]

Hello Kumar,

In Samarakoon's garden, near Peradeniya-Kandy , Normanbya are quite tall and healthy:

Do that skinny trunk issue happen on young Woodetya too?

[NApalm]

Hmm. They don't look like normanbyas to me Philippe. Maybe Ptycho elegans. Someone with more experience than me might be able to help. Beautiful healthy palms though

[O'o Bar Master]

This triple planting went in the ground about 3' tall in 2010. They stand about 15' tall today. They were planted on the crest of a solid rock lava tube, on the dry side of Hawaii Island, have never been fertilized, get direct sun from noon on and receive a minimum amount of water. They seem to be among the toughest of our palms.

Mike and Lee

[NApalm]

Yep. Thats what I'm talking about

[doranakandawatta]

Sorry NApalm,

I mixed the photos: here they are; the tall Normambya in Samarakoon's garden:

[NApalm]

Woah! They might just be the tallest I've seen!

[comic097]

They look very healthy Philippe, I saw some very very big ones around christmas time, could not believe the amount of canopy they produce, so i went out and bought a few.

[Kumar]

Sorry NApalm,

I mixed the photos: here they are; the tall Normambya in Samarakoon's garden:

P1080905.JPGP1080907.JPG

The crownshafts look very white -- is that common Phillipe ?

[doranakandawatta]

I think so,

Here in Thabit's garden in Piliyandala, quite skinny trees!

[rhapis]

The local Aborigines used the Normanbaya as spears as they are very thin and

have very strong wood so that would indicate that they are a relatively slim palm

in the early years