Morning garden august 2014

[doranakandawatta]

In december I stupidly planted too small seedlings in the ground, then the neighbors felled some big trees which shaded our land and next came a 4 months drought.

so we lost many babies…. but gladly we had others in pots, so we didn't loose any species we had.

Since april when it started to rain again, the garden recovered quite well:

our 3 years old Kerriodoxa:

a bamboo which Lilikoilee knows the name but I don't remember (2 years old too…. the bamboo, not Lilikoilee)

unidentified Areca ( bought in Peradeniya tourist garden center at the botanic garden entrance)

Carpoxylon ( 2 years from the seed)

Carpenteria, they start to trunk

see also: http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/34991-palms-in-the-morning-garden/?hl=%2Bmorning+%2Bgarden

and compare: the growth we have in Sri Lanka really makes me happy

[Pedro 65]

The Schizostachyum brachyladum ( Bamboo) is a beauty Philippe, imo, the most desirable of all Bamboo's, when a culm ( stem) goes into seed, cut it off at ground level to keep the clump looking good, I didnt keep ours tidy and it turned from beautiful to very scraggly went backwards and then died.

Pete

[Cedric]

Looking good Phillipe. What are those palms in the third to last photo, they grow here uninvited in the deepest shade, I like them with their thin green trunks that shine in the rain but never knew what they are.

Schizostachym brachyladum is a nightmare on stalk to grow. I have had three large healthy robust clumps stall and go into decline. Im just not sure what they want? Tried everything, shade water fertiliser sun soil......they seem to respond beautifully and robustly for a three or four years then just when they are looking magnificent stall. While they are known for flowering almost continually it never seems a problem up until a point then its tickets. Its not so much that they collapse and die but just stop growing. I've long removed mine and replaced with a far more robust healthy and attractive Thai bamboo species, not yellow sadly.

Pedro if you remove the flowering culms very quickly there wont be anything left but new shoots, will that be enough to keep them growing?

It puzzles me. I collected mine on Bali and Thailand an both behaved the same yet on Bali itself I saw the most tremendous example I think in existence. It was wild growing at quite an elevated situation (from the coast) at the foot of a very steep ravine with a small stream coming out of it onto the road. This thing was huge when I mean huge it had culms the size of a giant timber Bamboo but taller and dead straight of course. It wasn't flowering either at that size......which makes me wonder if the "sacred bamboo" has better cultivars out there that don't flower and stall at least not until a good old age perhaps?

Good luck with that one Phillipe perhaps you can discover the secrete.

[doranakandawatta]

Cedric,

What are those palms in the third to last photo : ​
These are our lovely weeds; Areca concinna and Areca catechu. We don't weed them,

Good luck with that one

Thanks, this bamboo is only 2 years old, we'll see how it get old.

...they grow here uninvited

Here in Hong Kong, or in South Africa? which climate do you have?

[Cedric]

In Hong Kong I should've said. In South Africa I only have three species of palm all native/indigenous, its a conservation area and I only grow natives of any plant. This is to prevent escapees turning into noxious weeds which can become a real problem for the environment. Also the sense of place on my property is immaculately of the region exotics jar so just don't look right.

It's not Areca catechu here in Bonkers, while this will grow happily its not generally self seeding, though I noticed due to the mild dry season a lot are heavy with fruit at this time. Im almost sure its Areca though, its seems to like full on shade, very slender green trunk long internodes, could be concinna I will look it up, though mine are not clumping rather solitary palm. Thanks.

[doranakandawatta]

In Hong Kong I should've said. In South Africa I only have three species of palm all native/indigenous, its a conservation area and I only grow natives of any plant. This is to prevent escapees turning into noxious weeds which can become a real problem for the environment. Also the sense of place on my property is immaculately of the region exotics jar so just don't look right.

It's not Areca catechu here in Bonkers, while this will grow happily its not generally self seeding, though I noticed due to the mild dry season a lot are heavy with fruit at this time. Im almost sure its Areca though, its seems to like full on shade, very slender green trunk long internodes, could be concinna I will look it up, though mine are not clumping rather solitary palm. Thanks.

or could it be Areca triandra?

Do you post pictures of them and your garden?

[Cedric]

A .triandra is very much clumping, unless this is an unusual population of all solitary triandra it's not it. Yes I will take some pictures one of these days when I set up my new phone which I know takes brilliant pictures as my partner has a new Samsung too. I cant believe how good the pictures are for a phone these days.

I think it could be the one from the Philipines A. hutchinsoniana as A.concinna is also clumping. Very dark green leaves and thrives in the shade.

[Mandrew968]

That Bamboo looks awesome--never seen it before. Is it as thirsty as all other Bamboo? Very nice.

[doranakandawatta]

Andrew,

Since ( when everything goes well) it's raining almost every day, I can't say if it is thirsty.

Anyway we never water the garden and this bamboo resisted well in the drought period we have had from december to april this year.

I think you can see better pics of better plants in Lilokoilee 's threads.