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Adonidia merrillii Sydney winter experiment


palmad Merc

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Back in March I collected 130 Adonidia merrillii seeds from Samoa at a resort I was staying at, since then around 110 have germinated in my greenhouse. 

I've pulled 2 out as you can see in the photo; one germinated faster than the other. I've placed these two outside against a north facing brickwall with full sun exposure. Next month on average is our coldest month, and on the northern beaches of Sydney  average low temps get to around 11 celsius, sometimes but not often around 8 celsius. Day temps around 17 to 18 average. 

Seeing they are up against a north facing brick wall full sun exposure. 

Im hoping this experiment stands a chance. 

 

20170617_115034.jpg

20170619_170704.jpg

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5 minutes ago, jardinierpalmiertrat said:

Thanks you for this interesting expérience.:greenthumb:

I will keep posted on either the success or failure 

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I planted one in spring in a north facing spot a couple of years ago. It grew really fast and looked like it was doing really well. But didn't make it through the winter. I hope you have better luck with yours.

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I did the same thing this past winter (northern hemisphere where the south side of homes are the sunny side). I sprouted two coconuts (from my mother palm) by placing the nuts up against the south facing block and stucco wall of my house. This spot got full sun most of the day to fully warm the coconuts up, and the soil and block wall absorbed and stored the heat from the direct sunlight. At night I could go outside and feel the heat radiating out from the wall. The coconuts got the full benefit of this heat, probably the warmest spot on my property. The coconuts germinated over the winter (one about one month ahead of the other). Once I saw the nuts were germinating I pulled them up and potted them up, as they had already sunk a couple of roots about 20 cms into the soil.

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Mad about palms

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Thanks for the feedback guys

With these, I'll leave them in pots for the experiment,as its a loose mix, which I think may help them in the cooler months.  

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I think at that age they will die, but get them to sunhardened 1m tall plants and it may work. Worth a try nonetheless.

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Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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I did the same when i went to Cuba last October I collected hundreds of seed from Veitchia merrillii (Adonidia) and Roystonea regia, I planted the seeds in my green house February 2017 and only few (arround 30-50) germinated, probably i overwatered the seeds....

I will transplant them in individual containers next week and try to keep them as long as i can in the green house since the winters in Morocco are little cold, this year the minimun temperature recorded in my garden was 3 C maybe for 2 or 3 day, few hours during the night.
I will probably try to plan some of them in my garden when they will get bigger and more robust.

Roystonea regia are more cold tolerant they probably have more chance to survive during the winter, for me growing Veitchia merrillii (Adonidia) in Morocco is like growing a coconut palm, the chances are low but we will see ....

QO57tUh.jpg

 

LD9DzyW.jpg

 

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Yeah I know im pushing it being just germinated. 

I've got a thermometer next to the brick wall and its pushing 26 deg Celsius when the sun's out.

I'll update every 2 weeks, with photos. 

 

 

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After 10 days I've noticed what I think is sun scorching, they received around 8 hours direct sun per day,so I've brought them back in the greenhouse and starting another test outside with less sun exposure.

IMG_20170627_071657.jpg

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  • 11 months later...
On 2017-06-19, 4:27:54, palmad Merc said:

Back in March I collected 130 Adonidia merrillii seeds from Samoa at a resort I was staying at, since then around 110 have germinated in my greenhouse. 

I've pulled 2 out as you can see in the photo; one germinated faster than the other. I've placed these two outside against a north facing brickwall with full sun exposure. Next month on average is our coldest month, and on the northern beaches of Sydney  average low temps get to around 11 celsius, sometimes but not often around 8 celsius. Day temps around 17 to 18 average. 

Seeing they are up against a north facing brick wall full sun exposure. 

Im hoping this experiment stands a chance. 

 

20170617_115034.jpg

20170619_170704.jpg

I just bought more adonidia seeds. Seedman.com days pull the husks off and plant 1 1/2” below the surface and water. No pre soak. Previously a few months ago I put them in the baggy with soil and moisture and have no luck. What did you do??

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Hi Robby Bob,

I put mine in deep pots community ( bunched in together)

Make sure the pots are at least 6 inches deep as they have a relatively long tap root, and give them plenty of heat.

Heat will seed germination up and increase your overall rates.

Medium was equal parts coco coir, perlite. Don't over water.

Once they are around 4 inches tall separate and put in single pots.

Edited by palmad Merc
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12 hours ago, palmad Merc said:

Hi Robby Bob,

I put mine in deep pots community ( bunched in together)

Make sure the pots are at least 6 inches deep as they have a relatively long tap root, and give them plenty of heat.

Heat will seed germination up and increase your overall rates.

Medium was equal parts coco coir, perlite. Don't over water.

Once they are around 4 inches tall separate and put in single pots.

Ok I did that last night with new seeds. So no pre soak for 24 hours 

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I planted them on their side with them being just exposed.

As they grew they came out.

Where I collected them in Samoa at my friends surf resort, they were just in the soil in deep grass.

I collected 106 seeds, 100 germinated.

If they are fresh, they are easy germinaters.

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On 07/06/2018 à, palmad Merc said:

It's been almost a year, here they are now.

IMG_20180608_102456.jpg

Mine are almost same size as yours after one year (I have planted the seeds in late february 2017), but they are not green like yours, my geen house is not heated, 

Is your green house heated ? 

kPK5oQa.jpg


I have recorded the min and max temp during this winter in the green house (Temps in °C), I opened the sides of the greenhouse and I installed a shade net last month.

sPINAhr.jpg

Also I have a new bach of seedling this year :) I will use then as indoor plants (I think this way I have more chance to keep them alive) I will probably also try some outdoor maybe next year... 

 

 

Edited by dwimss
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I have them all outside now, min winter temp northern beaches Sydney lowest I've seen is 5 deg Celsius, average around 8 mid winter.

Days around 15 to 18 c

Are they plastic grow bags?

Make sure you have good drainage, if you can add some perlite or similar to increase drainage.

Keep the doors open as mold issue's.

I have fed mine liquid fert  half strengtg every week in summer.

You could have yours outside with those temps.mine are in full winter sun now,so you may need to sun harden them slowly.

 

Edited by palmad Merc
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37 minutes ago, dwimss said:

Mine are almost same size as yours after one year (I have planted the seeds in late february 2017), but they are not green like yours, my geen house is not heated, 

Is your green house heated ? 

kPK5oQa.jpg


I have recorded the min and max temp during this winter in the green house (Temps in °C), I opened the sides of the greenhouse and I installed a shade net last month.

sPINAhr.jpg

Also I have a new bach of seedling this year :) I will use then as indoor plants (I think this way I have more chance to keep them alive) I will probably also try some outdoor maybe next year... 

 

 

What soil mix have you got in there? 

And what are your outside winter temps min and max?

Edited by palmad Merc
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1 hour ago, palmad Merc said:

What soil mix have you got in there? 

And what are your outside winter temps min and max?

I haven't used commercial soil mix, I used natural compost of dead leaves, outside winter temps are usally arround (3-4C for the min and 20-24C for the max) we have very rarely frost here since Rabat is a coastal town but in the morning we always have dew during the winter.

Is your greenhouse heated ?

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I have a thermostat controlled heater in there, which is currently set up yo turn on if it dips below 13 deg, nights and turns on when dips below 18  in the day.

 Also have a controlled humidifier which also turns on automatically when humidity dips below set parameters.

But I don't have Merrilliis in there, I have it overloaded with Areca vestiarias, pinanga caesea.

They should be OK outside, in the sun if you don't have frost, maybe test a couple first.

Edited by palmad Merc
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8 hours ago, palmad Merc said:

I have a thermostat controlled heater in there, which is currently set up yo turn on if it dips below 13 deg, nights and turns on when dips below 18  in the day.

 Also have a controlled humidifier which also turns on automatically when humidity dips below set parameters.

But I don't have Merrilliis in there, I have it overloaded with Areca vestiarias, pinanga caesea.

They should be OK outside, in the sun if you don't have frost, maybe test a couple first.

Ok that's good and maybe thats why yours looks better than mine,
I'm happy they survived this winder without heat :)
 

How big is your green house and how it is heated, using heating cables ?? 

 

 

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1 hour ago, dwimss said:

Ok that's good and maybe thats why yours looks better than mine,
I'm happy they survived this winder without heat :)
 

How big is your green house and how it is heated, using heating cables ?? 

 

 

It is a 1.3 metre  by 3.2  sproutwell green house 6 mil polycarbonate they call a lean to( made in Australia). It has thermo gas struts that open on heat.

 

PhotoGridLite_1528840680889.jpg

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I use a 2kw heater that run's on the thermostat with my home made humidifier with 12 headed mister I purchased from house of hydro.

PhotoGridLite_1528840846488.jpg

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You have a very nice set up, nice job :greenthumb:

What you will do will all these good looking areca's, you will be out of space soon.
You will use them as indoor plams ? I think they are too tropical for your area outdoors, no ?

I have a plastic tunnel greenhouse 7m x 3.5m and I'm looking for an economic way to heat it during the winter time for my seedlings.

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I know a few people that have been growing them in the ground for around 6 years now, slow growing though.

I have a few outside in pots to see how they grow over winter.

 I have a very free draining mix which helps keep the roots in good shape.

Equal parts composted pine bark, coco coir medium grade, perlite and hydro corn(expanded clay pebbles)

And I don't water them much in winter.

Just damp is best, till things heat up.

And nice bright warm spot away from our colder southerly winds.

Maybe for your tunnel, get some big barrels filled with water and paint the barrel's black, with the sun maybe get heat from thermal mass. With the day sun heating the barrel's of water, the heat retains during the night.

Anything is worth a try.

Edited by palmad Merc
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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Just over 2 years from germination, up against a north facing brick wall full sun (southern hemisphere) for the 2nd winter running, I can confirm that at seedling stage they do sustain some cool damage over winter, lowest temps we got here was 6 degrees Celsius, there were 40 minimum night temps below 10 degrees Celsius averaging 8 to 9 degrees Celsius. They do bounce back with good growth in spring as pictured below. Ps this is coastal Sydney, Northern beaches, as as Western Sydney minimum temps vary greatly. 

Screenshot_20190930_082125_com.android.gallery3d.jpg

Screenshot_20190930_082146_com.android.gallery3d.jpg

Screenshot_20190930_082137_com.android.gallery3d.jpg

Edited by palmad Merc
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39 minutes ago, palmad Merc said:

Just over 2 years from germination, up against a north facing brick wall full sun (southern hemisphere) for the 2nd winter running, I can confirm that at seedling stage they do sustain some cool damage over winter, lowest temps we got here was 6 degrees Celsius, there were 40 minimum night temps below 10 degrees Celsius averaging 8 to 9 degrees Celsius. They do bounce back with good growth in spring as pictured below. Ps this is coastal Sydney, Northern beaches, as as Western Sydney minimum temps vary greatly. 

Screenshot_20190930_082125_com.android.gallery3d.jpg

Screenshot_20190930_082146_com.android.gallery3d.jpg

Screenshot_20190930_082137_com.android.gallery3d.jpg

Incredible! What a great experiment!

I lost two merrillii right after winter. One single survivor.

To be fair, all three were in the same pot. Who knows if that had anything to do with what happened. At least in my experience, A.merrillii are two ticks more cold sensitive than cocos.

Here's a pic of how it recovered. You can see the old leaf which went through winter and the three subsequent leaves. 

 

 

15697970762119154835903590254615.jpg

15697971023496931791483634526069.jpg

Now that I think about it. If you can handle Christmas palms, you could handle Cocos nucifera.

 

Edited by GottmitAlex
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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/29/2019 at 11:44 PM, GottmitAlex said:

Incredible! What a great experiment!

I lost two merrillii right after winter. One single survivor.

To be fair, all three were in the same pot. Who knows if that had anything to do with what happened. At least in my experience, A.merrillii are two ticks more cold sensitive than cocos.

Here's a pic of how it recovered. You can see the old leaf which went through winter and the three subsequent leaves. 

 

 

15697970762119154835903590254615.jpg

15697971023496931791483634526069.jpg

Now that I think about it. If you can handle Christmas palms, you could handle Cocos nucifera.

 

@GottmitAlex I've tried cocos Nucifera in méditerranéen climate (Rabat, Morocco) they all dies, But Adonidia's still doing well for me !!

@palmad Merc Have you tried some in the ground ? I will share some pics, mine still doing good I've lost only 2 on 20, will plant some in the ground next spring. 

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6 minutes ago, dwimss said:

@GottmitAlex I've tried cocos Nucifera in méditerranéen climate (Rabat, Morocco) they all dies, But Adonidia's still doing well for me !!

@palmad Merc Have you tried some in the ground ? I will share some pics, mine still doing good I've lost only 2 on 20, will plant some in the ground next spring. 

Everyone keeps saying the same (especially folks in northern Florida) : adonidias are cold hardier than cocos.

 

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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