Shopping in Darwin, NT

[Miccles]

Hi all,

On Sunday, I managed to get a full day in Darwin in transit on my journey home from Manila to Cairns. Set myself on getting some nice palms from a few nurseries in the area. Unfortunately Cairns only has a limited number of suppliers selling anything but the ultra common stuff. Grabbed a hire car, went to the local box store and bought some plastic crates, some tape and some plastic cling wrap.

Arrived early morning, and by 8.00am the sun already had a sting to it. It was going to be a hot day.

[Miccles]

Darwin was really hot and dry. Hadn't been any rain to speak of for months, and it certainly looked like it.

Out of town, just south of Palmerston.

[Pip]

Not fair your teasing!

[Miccles]

Folks from the Northern Territory ("Territorians") are renowned as a tough breed. Read the article to see what I mean.

[Tyrone]

Folks from the Northern Territory ("Territorians") are renowned as a tough breed. Read the article to see what I mean.

LOL.

So what did you get then? You're so lucky to A.) be in Darwin, B.) Live in the tropics (Cairns) C.) Be able to take palms home across the border.

[Miccles]

A few palms on offer....

1. Livistona rigida

2. Livistona alfredii

[Miccles]

Not fair your teasing!

haha - I will try not to!! Promise.

[Kennybenjamin]

Nice to see you posting again Micheal! I'm looking forward to seeing what you found up there!!

Btw I really hope your condopanna is going ok since it's introduction to the ground?? Please say it is!!

[Miccles]

Salacca magnifica

Corypha utan

[Miccles]

Nice to see you posting again Micheal! I'm looking forward to seeing what you found up there!!

Btw I really hope your condopanna is going ok since it's introduction to the ground?? Please say it is!!

Hi mate.... will post my loot now.

That little condapanna is very happy. Hasn't missed a beat and settled in well. Thanks again!

[Miccles]

Hydriastele ramsayi relishing the hot, dry conditions.

[Kennybenjamin]

I'm very relieved to hear your condopanna is happy....

Anyway back onto your topic... Please post all pics you have of every palm you saw... I have never been palm hunting in the territory and keen to know what they have up there!!

Btw that salacca is likely to be wallichiana or S. zalacca I think?? Would look great in your garden but tricky to get home on the plane!!

[Miccles]

Went to see Helen Cobb in the suburb of Nakara. Helen has been there many years, and has a fabulous assortment of mature palms and cycads throughout her gardens. She was only too happy to sell me some good stuff to take back to Cairns.

Helen's place from the street.

[NApalm]

H. ramsayi! Holy moly. That's not something on here every day!

[Miccles]

After buying enough stuff to fill my two plastic crates, I spent some time carefully wrapping and packaging the palms. I was a bit concerned about the weight aspect, as i definitely did not want to bare-root anything for the trip. Even though the pots were small, some of them had used a solid soil mix, and were really heavy.

With a bit of time on my hands, I drove over to Dripstone point and took in the view. Must be hugely tidal there, as the water was a long long way out. It was stinking hot, and most people were wisely under the shade.

[NApalm]

Where's the haul? The suspense is killing me. Haha. Ahem, excuse me

[comic097]

What's all the commotion about, Hey Kenny,NApalm and Miccles how are we all, I see you've been stocking up Michael, how'd ya go mate, any goodies ?

[Miccles]

I must have nodded off in the shade for an hour or so...glanced at my watch and decided I better get myself to the airport.

I looked at what I had to check in, and realised that I probably needed to talk the good talk to get all this on board.

Certainly got a lot of curious stares in the airport wheeling the trolley around!

[Miccles]

Arrived home just before midnight - tired but happy. Unpacked the palms, and gave them a good drink. Amazingly, I got everything on the plane without a hitch. It cost me around $150 in freight, but this was way cheaper than the $245 I was quoted for road freight (which would have taken several days and only gone to Townsville, 350km away).

So...... here's what I got.

1. Livistona benthamii

2. Copernicia baileyana

3. Copernicia macroglossa

[Miccles]

2 x Hydriastele ramsayi....

Caryota zebrina

[Miccles]

Calyptrocalyx sp "Kal Ketiyik"

Areca ipot

Areca guppyana

[Miccles]

Also got a few nice alpinia's and gingers to add to the collection. Overall, a day well spent, and a good way to make use of my transit in Darwin.

Thanks for viewing.

-Michael.

[Mandrew968]

That's not a baileyana(or at least not a pure one) and that Salacca is not a magnifica--split leaf is a dead giveaway. Awesome Hydriastele! Wish I had one to grow...

[Miccles]

That's not a baileyana(or at least not a pure one) and that Salacca is not a magnifica--split leaf is a dead giveaway. Awesome Hydriastele! Wish I had one to grow...

Only going by the labels on the plants mate.

[comic097]

Nice thread Michael, looks like you had a ball with a few benefits along the way, there all gonna look great in your garden, thanks for posting, look forward to more future threads mate

[Kennybenjamin]

That's not a baileyana(or at least not a pure one) and that Salacca is not a magnifica--split leaf is a dead giveaway. Awesome Hydriastele! Wish I had one to grow...

What makes you say it's not a baileyana Andrew? Have you grown them in Darwin before?

Thanks for posting Micheal!! It's nice to see palms from a place not many people have posted from before!!

[Pip]

Hydriastele ramsayi relishing the hot, dry conditions.

This has to be one of my favorite Australian native palms but for where I garden Howea belmoreana has a similar look and is probably more suited to the climate

[Mandrew968]

That's not a baileyana(or at least not a pure one) and that Salacca is not a magnifica--split leaf is a dead giveaway. Awesome Hydriastele! Wish I had one to grow...

What makes you say it's not a baileyana Andrew? Have you grown them in Darwin before?

Thanks for posting Micheal!! It's nice to see palms from a place not many people have posted from before!!

Hey, if you don't want my opinion, fine. Just telling you how it is--I have hundreds and hundreds and seen many more than that.

[NApalm]

Nice palms miccles! Some cool arecas, copernicias etc and dont get me started on the H. ramsayi! Awesome

[Sandy Loam]

Great finds, Miccles. Why is Darwin such a palm shopping mecca? I had no idea.

[Tyrone]

Nice haul Michael. Well done.

[comic097]

I'm liking the look of those arecas Michael, gonna have to add them to my list, that guppyana looks fantastic

[Pedro 65]

Michael, thanks for the fun coverage of your thread, it kept me amused last night and glad you ended up posting your goods you drove around to find and look fwd to seeing updayes on them inground, esp the H ramsayi.

Yes Darwin is certainly "Very Dry" in the dry season , hope its a good long Wet season before IPS visitors land in June/July ( not sure which mnth.

Andrew, I can see why you doubted the Baily, I did too but can only think its from Darwins heat which is "all year" and made it stretch? Here below is Darwins climate.

Michael, thanks for the heads up with your pm

Pete

Darwin Ap Climatology Darwin Ap Long-term Averages Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ann Mean Max. (°C) 31.8 31.4 31.9 32.7 32.0 30.6 30.6 31.4 32.6 33.3 33.3 32.6 32.0 Mean Min. (°C) 24.8 24.7 24.5 24.0 22.1 19.9 19.3 20.4 23.0 24.9 25.3 25.3 23.2 Mean Rain (mm) 423.8 374.7 322.1 101.2 21.3 1.9 1.2 5.0 15.5 70.6 141.7 250.8 1729.7 Mean Rain Days 21.3 20.4 19.7 9.2 2.2 0.6 0.5 0.7 2.3 6.9 12.4 16.9 113.0

Edit.. Sorry it came out like this but , the lowest o/night temp in Darwin is 19.3c in Winter

[Kennybenjamin]

That's not a baileyana(or at least not a pure one) and that Salacca is not a magnifica--split leaf is a dead giveaway. Awesome Hydriastele! Wish I had one to grow...

What makes you say it's not a baileyana Andrew? Have you grown them in Darwin before?

Thanks for posting Micheal!! It's nice to see palms from a place not many people have posted from before!!

Hey, if you don't want my opinion, fine. Just telling you how it is--I have hundreds and hundreds and seen many more than that.

I highly respect your knowledge of palms Andrew, I asked a simple question.... What makes you think it's not a baileyana?? I was referring to any morphological points of interest you noticed? I assume you were saying it is a hybridised specimen, are these frequent among copernicia, I don't believe I have heard of them before.

As Pedro has pointed out Darwin is a very warm place hence my question about growing palms in Darwin.... No need to get the grumps!

[rhapis]

Nice finds there Miccles ,I remember when I started collecting palms in Cairns about 20 years

ago I got my collection up to about 250 species and all were sourced here although I dont have that

many now as I have moved a couple of times but I'm sure I could do it all again if I had the space

[Tropicgardener]

Some nice palms there......... Yes Cairns can be a little disappointing these days. When I lived there (left in 2000) there were a few nurseries where I could obtain some rare palms. Much like you 'rhapis' a couple of moves later I simply don't have what I used to.

[Mandrew968]

That's not a baileyana(or at least not a pure one) and that Salacca is not a magnifica--split leaf is a dead giveaway. Awesome Hydriastele! Wish I had one to grow...

What makes you say it's not a baileyana Andrew? Have you grown them in Darwin before?

Thanks for posting Micheal!! It's nice to see palms from a place not many people have posted from before!!

Hey, if you don't want my opinion, fine. Just telling you how it is--I have hundreds and hundreds and seen many more than that.

I highly respect your knowledge of palms Andrew, I asked a simple question.... What makes you think it's not a baileyana?? I was referring to any morphological points of interest you noticed? I assume you were saying it is a hybridised specimen, are these frequent among copernicia, I don't believe I have heard of them before.

As Pedro has pointed out Darwin is a very warm place hence my question about growing palms in Darwin.... No need to get the grumps!

I didn't like the whole, ever grown them in Darwin, remark. I am not going to go into details, but I have a few like the one in the pictures and it may very well have baileyana in it... but it's not pure. It will never look like a baileyana--heat has nothing to do with anything except to make them grow faster--you can't give a Copernicia too much heat(unless you subtract water from the mix). Pete, heat wouldn't make it stretch, only shade can do that. I also never said it was not a nice palm. Hybrids are cool.

[Pedro 65]

Andrew, I agree with the heat factor and yes it does look stretched from being in too much shade in Darwins heat, I should have written that this morning.

Re Baileys, ours doesnt look near as good as all the same age Baileys in Florida or the 1 Ritchie posted a few weeks back, the leaflets on ours seem very long and after very strong winds they flop down,( and its a "very" windy nt here 2nt) do you think ours is a real Bailey or maybe hybrid, and will the end long leaflets get shorter as the palm ages.

Wish we had Copernicia's on tap like you do in Florida, "love em"

Pete

[Mandrew968]

Pete, I am interested to see the petioles of your Copernicia up close, or from about a couple feet away. That seems to be one of the best ways for me to narrow it down. As for the older floppy leaves--that's not uncommon at all for a bailey. They also come in two colors--green and blue/silver. From the image above, my guess would be a pure green bailey, but let's see those petioles, if you can?

[Pedro 65]

Pete, I am interested to see the petioles of your Copernicia up close, or from about a couple feet away. That seems to be one of the best ways for me to narrow it down. As for the older floppy leaves--that's not uncommon at all for a bailey. They also come in two colors--green and blue/silver. From the image above, my guess would be a pure green bailey, but let's see those petioles, if you can?

Ours is certainly a pure green Andrew, wish it was the other but happy I have a Bailey thats now on the move.

Michael, is your Bailey or BaileyX inground yet ?

Pete