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Is this Livistona chinensis or australis


Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)

Is this Livistona chinensis or australis  

16 members have voted

  1. 1. Livistona chinensis, australis, or something else

    • chinensis
      15
    • australis
      1
    • something else
      0


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I've always assume it was L. chinensis, but it was badly burned by temps in the low-mid 20's with frost. The new fronds look good and it's loaded with fruit/seed right now so it's in full recovery mode but it's still pretty ugly. For comparison purposes, a smaller L. chinensis nearby had much less damage as did Acoelorraphe wrightii. Phoenix roebellenii right next to this Livistona was 75% defoliated. I just thought L. chinensis was hardier than this particular plant seems to be.

post-192-1247874850_thumb.jpg

Land O Lakes FL, a suburb on the North Side of Tampa, FL

Summers are great, 90f/32c in the day & 70f/21c at night with plentiful rain & sun

Winters are subtropical with occasional frosts and freezes. Tropical cyclones happen.

We have a few Royal palms in the warm microclimates but Coconuts freeze.

I am a Kayaker, Hiker, Bicyclist, and amateur Photographer that loves the outdoors.  

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Sorry, forgot to hit the upload button. Here's the photo!

post-192-1247874784_thumb.jpg

Land O Lakes FL, a suburb on the North Side of Tampa, FL

Summers are great, 90f/32c in the day & 70f/21c at night with plentiful rain & sun

Winters are subtropical with occasional frosts and freezes. Tropical cyclones happen.

We have a few Royal palms in the warm microclimates but Coconuts freeze.

I am a Kayaker, Hiker, Bicyclist, and amateur Photographer that loves the outdoors.  

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Thats looks to be a chinensis. this year was cold for us in north florida. there are specimens around town that look similar to your picture as far as cold damage goes. The more exposed they are the more damage they recieved.

its the leaf tips that burn first on this species and with so many droopy leaflets very mild damage can make a large mature specimen look quite "ratty."

they reliably take to about 20 degrees for a low with moderate damage. this is a cool palm for oak understory and wouldnt plant a palm fully exposed in north florida. might as well do Sabals or other hardier Livistona for that requirment.

Luke

Tallahassee, FL - USDA zone 8b/9a

63" rain annually

January avg 65/40 - July avg 92/73

North Florida Palm Society - http://palmsociety.blogspot.com/

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australis would have taken the cold better

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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I agree with Frito. Exposed L. chinesis do poorly in the open, makes a great understory palm for oak trees, pine trees or any other large N. Fl. tree that keeps its winter leaves.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

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I've always assume it was L. chinensis, but it was badly burned by temps in the low-mid 20's with frost. The new fronds look good and it's loaded with fruit/seed right now so it's in full recovery mode but it's still pretty ugly. For comparison purposes, a smaller L. chinensis nearby had much less damage as did Acoelorraphe wrightii. Phoenix roebellenii right next to this Livistona was 75% defoliated. I just thought L. chinensis was hardier than this particular plant seems to be.

The supple nature of the leaflet tips(smoothy curved) says chinensis to me, looks just like mine. The austrailis I've seen here dont weep as smoothly, they are more "floppy".

Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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L. australis is also usually a darker green color, not the dull green like L. chinensis

Here is a good lineup of 3 Livistona, from left to right is L. chinensis, L. australis, L. decora

102_0140.jpg

  • Upvote 1

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Thanks everyone. I had always thought chinensis and we have consensus. I'll have to try australis too. I like Livistonas, though L. chinensis sure isn't among my favorites.

Land O Lakes FL, a suburb on the North Side of Tampa, FL

Summers are great, 90f/32c in the day & 70f/21c at night with plentiful rain & sun

Winters are subtropical with occasional frosts and freezes. Tropical cyclones happen.

We have a few Royal palms in the warm microclimates but Coconuts freeze.

I am a Kayaker, Hiker, Bicyclist, and amateur Photographer that loves the outdoors.  

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Mine got burned here in Jax also probably as mcuh from the drought as the cold. Its generally older leaves that have been on the tree for a few years.

Australis got burned as well but under canophy--- I lost the one australis I had in 89 but all the L. chinensis survived so it is definetly more bud hardy than L. australis

Best regards,

Ed

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Ed, I find your experiences with Livistona and other palms through the 1980s here in Jacksonville extremely valuable. Thanks for your comments. My L. chinensis stands in a very wet site (think swamp!). It seems to thrive on the water, but I wonder if it's more vulnerable to freeze damage when it's living with wet feet. Making things worse, I think the cold air drains down the NE roof slope right onto the L. chinensis. Thus it's in a wet spot in one of the coldest sites I have. Probably should have planted S. palmetto there instead. Oh well, too big to move now (in the practical sense). I would like to aquire a big L. australis one of these days. I just don't have the space for small plant to spread out any more. It needs a decent trunk to get it up and out of the way. Hope all is well up your way. I've had more rain than I know what do with down here in Mandarin. I swear we're getting 4-6 inches every week (and I'm only exaggerating a little bit!).

Land O Lakes FL, a suburb on the North Side of Tampa, FL

Summers are great, 90f/32c in the day & 70f/21c at night with plentiful rain & sun

Winters are subtropical with occasional frosts and freezes. Tropical cyclones happen.

We have a few Royal palms in the warm microclimates but Coconuts freeze.

I am a Kayaker, Hiker, Bicyclist, and amateur Photographer that loves the outdoors.  

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Mine got burned here in Jax also probably as mcuh from the drought as the cold. Its generally older leaves that have been on the tree for a few years.

Australis got burned as well but under canophy--- I lost the one australis I had in 89 but all the L. chinensis survived so it is definetly more bud hardy than L. australis

Best regards,

Ed

If australis got burned under canopy, it must have been antartic like.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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Wal, thats when a real arctic blast penetrated the whole penninsula of FL. The record low at the local airport was -14C. In the neighborhood where Ed and I live, it was more like -12C, but still quite challenging for virtually all palm species (except for our local natives). Here in North America our landmass is connected to the Arctic so we don't have the benefit of water to modify the air when it decides to flow southward. This makes us vulnerable to the occasional horrendous freeze event. Are there palms in the areas of Australia that get that cold? If so, I'd like to try growing them.

Land O Lakes FL, a suburb on the North Side of Tampa, FL

Summers are great, 90f/32c in the day & 70f/21c at night with plentiful rain & sun

Winters are subtropical with occasional frosts and freezes. Tropical cyclones happen.

We have a few Royal palms in the warm microclimates but Coconuts freeze.

I am a Kayaker, Hiker, Bicyclist, and amateur Photographer that loves the outdoors.  

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Are there palms in the areas of Australia that get that cold? If so, I'd like to try growing them

Nothing at all Keith, it doesn't get that cold here unless you're lost up in the snowy mountains in winter at night without a Saint Bernard. This is a sunburnt country not a frostbitten one.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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Keith, L.nitida grows near Injune, which has recorded -8C in town. It is possible it has experienced lower temperatures than that, although our cold events are wimpy compared to nth America.

Daryl

Gold Coast, Queensland Latitude 28S. Mild, Humid Subtropical climate. Rainfall - not consistent enough!

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I didn't think cold temps like our arctic outbreaks occurred in Australia except at high elevation. Wal, you confirmed that. Daryl, I have what I believe is L. nitida and indeed it came through last winter without incident. It's at least an urban legend that L. nitida is the hardiest species of Livistona. It has endured winter freezes in Savannah GA 145 miles (200km) north of me with little more than some cosmetic damage to old fronds. It's also supposed to grow quickly which would be nice. L. decora is the pace setter here in my yard so it'll have to grow real fast to keep up with them. L. decora also seems quite content enduring frosty freezes without complaint.

Land O Lakes FL, a suburb on the North Side of Tampa, FL

Summers are great, 90f/32c in the day & 70f/21c at night with plentiful rain & sun

Winters are subtropical with occasional frosts and freezes. Tropical cyclones happen.

We have a few Royal palms in the warm microclimates but Coconuts freeze.

I am a Kayaker, Hiker, Bicyclist, and amateur Photographer that loves the outdoors.  

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Here is a couple of pix of my seedling in So Cal. It gets about an hour of sun all day and is in full shade all winter. I am trying to get it to stretch.

DSC05118.jpg

DSC05053.jpg

Mike Hegger

Northwest Clairemont

San Diego, California

4 miles from coast

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