Growing palms- Melbourne OZ

[Miccles]

Hi all,

After spending countless hours over many months looking at the wonderful pictures of peoples gardens throughout the USA and indeed the wider world, it finally inspired me to take some random photos of some of the palms I have collected here in Melbourne, Australia.

Melbourne is the southernmost mainland capital in Australia, situated about 38 degrees south. We have hot, dry summers and long, cool winters. I characterise our winters as having "a lack of warmth", rather than absolute, bone-chilling cold. Mind you, some of the northern suburbs and areas towards the hills can drop to 0 c (32F) or lower at night quite a few times throughout winter. In that regard, I am lucky being situated close to the bay, whereby I get no frosts and it is very rare for night-time temps to drop below 4C. As some of you would know, Melbourne is home to a only a few palm enthusiasts - we are small in number, but dedicated nonetheless !

Please enjoy some random shots !

I have been collecting palms for roughly 4 years. This was the house and yard when I moved into it in 2004. Not a palm to be seen.

[Miccles]

And now...... some 3 1/2 years later

[Miccles]

Some of the species planted in the front yard. The yard was created only 8 months ago - in October last year - just in time for our summer

Dypsis sp "dark stem"

[Miccles]

My little allagoptera arenaria (with coccothrinax barbadensis in the background )

[Tyrone]

Very good Miccles. Is that a Wodyetia in your front garden??

Best regards

Tyroen

[Miccles]

The local nurseries do not really stock a huge variety of palms here. You have the choice of Syagrus (queens), washies, phoenix (canarys), and maybe some ravenea rivularis. So my quest was to search far and wide for different species, that could tolerate our local conditions.

L.Decora on left, with 2 Foxtails (they are marginal here, but giving it a go)

[Tyrone]

Let us know how the foxtails take the winter. Your a zone pusher I see.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Miccles]

Hi Tyrone,

Yes - have planted out two foxtails.... the largest one went in the ground in february... is pretty big (for here)...got it trucked down from brisbane in a handshake deal

[Tyrone]

All the best with it. It's in a nice sunny spot, which looks north facing which is a big plus. Try to keep the cold winds off it, maybe even put rocks round it's base, with pebbles etc to really heat up the soil. Just a thought.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Miccles]

I am even trying a Dypsis leptocheilos down here....crazy ?? probably...but there is only one way to know how it will go - and that is to try it. So far it is doing ok.... it won't win any beauty contest, but is continuing to thicken in the trunk. This front yard is north facing (for max sun exposure for us in the southern hemisphere), shielded from the winter southern winds and hopefully gets some heat reflection of the rendered house)... all these things count when you're at 38 deg south !

[Miccles]

Here it is:

[Miccles]

Other species planted along the front fence include Dypsis baronii, Trachycarpus Fortunei (one decent sized one), a Sabal Palmetto and Dypsis Decipiens.

[Miccles]

Close-up of the trunks

[Miccles]

My tiny Dypsis Decipiens. After burning initially when it was planted out, it has adjusted, the newer leaves are nice and green. It's slow of course, but I am very proud of it. The soil here is hopelessly sandy (almost beach-like), I had to do a lot of ammending with mushroom compost etc......added a lot of mulch and autumn (fall for our U.S friends) has provided a lot of leaves.

[Tyrone]

Nice plants. If you can grow a Wodyetia, you'll be able to grow a D leptocheilos. I'd treat them exactly the same, with rocks and pebbles etc around the base.

You have entered into a large unofficial club of zone pushers. Well done.

If your foxtail and rednecks do well, you might want to try a Hyophorbe indica, or a Carpoxylon which for me is not noticing cool weather and growing the same speed it did in summer.

My zone pushing plants are Cocos nucifera, Adonidia, Areca catechu, Satakentia liukiensis, A vestiara(my sister has a large one looking great), and some Carpoxylon's which don't appear to be acting marginal at all.

Keep us posted Miccles

Best regards

Tyrone

[Miccles]

Thank you Tyrone.

I appreciate your encouragement, and always enjoy reading your posts !

I will try and find some of those smooth black river pebbles to put around the base of the foxtails and the lepto - thats a great idea.

[Miccles]

The centrepiece of my front yard is a sandstone ring, in which I have planted my Parajubaea Torallyi - this palm found its way to me via a gracious exchange with Adam (fellow Melb palm nut on here). It was planted in November, and has taken off and doubled in size.

[Miccles]

Close-up

[Bags]

Some of the species planted in the front yard. The yard was created only 8 months ago - in October last year - just in time for our summer

Dypsis sp "dark stem"

Nice yard! I love seeing the before and after pics. This looks like the true Dypsis Ambositrae......Aaron

[Miccles]

Other species growing in the front yard include Ravenea Glauca, Trithrinax acanthacoma, Caryota Mitis and Guihaia Argyrata.

[Miccles]

Tiny little Guihaia Argyrata... can you make out the tiny little sucker at the base on the right hand side ???

[Miccles]

Thanks Aaron - it's great to see "before/after" shots.......especially if you are the one having done the work - it's all too easy to forget how things were previously.

[Miccles]

I am yet to do much work on the backyard... that is my NEXT project, which I will do in September when things warm up a little. Inspired by you guys, I want to get rid of the lawn, and transform the backyard into a jungle with a winding path through it. I want a pond and a footbridge in there as well.

My big problem is lack of canopy. If anyone can suggest some super fast growing trees I can plant that will spring up and provide some canopy, and then easy to remove in 5-8 years time, I would be grateful !!

The best thing I have done for a lot of my potted palms is construct this pergola, which has clear plastic on the sides. It traps heat well, and keeps the cold winds out. Even on a cool winters day (eg 16C) it can be 35C inside there, as long as the sun is out. My potted collection resides in here awaiting the backyard make-over....well most....some will never leave the pergola as they are too tropical for outside (but don't tell them that........).

The pergola is 5m x 5m and about 4m high at the highest point.

[Miccles]

Some of the larger potted things inside include:

a 9' tall C.Macrocarpa, a 6' tall H.Indica, A 5' tall R.Regia, a 6' tall P.Macarthurii, a 5' tall Spindle and a 4' tall L.Ramsayi...

Lots of smaller stuff too...

Ptychosperma Burretianum:

[Miccles]

And as per my avatar: Areca Vestiaria. I have had this for 2 years... it has grown slowly but steadily, and now has a small sucker with 2 leaves. On cold nights I bring this into the laundry..... it sits atop the washing machine next to the hot-water heater - it doesn't get below 16C in there....I hope that's not cheating !

Sadly, this is one I will never be able to plant out.

[Miccles]

Temperate, shade-loving palms: from L to R : Livistona Chinensis, Orianopsis Appendiculata and Rhopalostylis Sapida... all awaiting planting out...

[Miccles]

My Pritchardia Hillebrandii...with two smaller Pritchardia affinis behind it on the right.

Directly behind it is a sulking Carpentaria (Sorry Ari...)

The small pots on the stand on the right are Sabal Mauriitiformis seedlings, which are doing fine.

[Miccles]

My "seedling table" inside the pergola. In no particular order we have Dictyosperma Album, Livistona Benthamii (both courtesy of my trip to Darwin in February..), Caryota sp "Himalayana", several "Foxy ladies", Licuala Grandis and others.

[Miccles]

From L to R:

Licuala Elegans, Dypsis Amboza, Dypsis Scottiana and Pinanga Coronata (just started suckering).

[Miccles]

I bought this 2 weeks ago.....couldn't help myself: It's a 9" Chambeyronia Macrocarpa. The new leaf is just about to open....

The tip of the spear is 2 inches from the top of the roof......it really needs to be planted out a.s.a.p

I have a smaller one planted out in the front yard, alongside it's brother C.Hookerii

[Miccles]

That should be 9'...rather than 9" !!!

[Miccles]

Well folks... that'll do me for now. I hope you've enjoyed some of the pics......Melbourne could loosely be described a z10a I guess...today is the first day of winter here !

I enjoy the forum immensely, it's fascinating to see what people are growing, and the local conditions in which they grow them.

Thanks all.

-Michael.

[chris.oz]

Miccles,

Good to see your palms at last.

Knock me down onto the swooning couch with a feather.....

I have never seen a C. macrocarpa that BIG.

Dont worry about canopy.... here you need all the sun you can get, or your palms will grow very slowly !

[ariscott]

Haven't you been busy???? I think there are a lot more palms in your yard than what you showed me in February!! Good to see those palms you picked up from here doing all right.

It never ceases to amaze me all these people that push the boundary!! I think if I live in Melbourne, I would be growing tulip and roses .

Good on you and please post some more as they are mature.

Regards, Ari

p.s. you should've taken the P. kuhlii. I have way too many now.

[Miccles]

Thanks Chris & Ari

Chris: Yes - that macrocarpa was too beautiful to pass up. I got it from a nursery up in Tullamarine...they have one more that size ...if you're interested

Ari: yes- I guess I have been busy. I am still willing to swap you a P.Caryotoides for one of your Kuhli's. I didn't take you up on your offer when I visited you as i didnt know how difficult it would be to bring plants back. I went and saw the N.T quarantine dept the next day, and things didnt look good. But then I saw the photo of the Essendon football club on the guys wall, and that happens to be my team..... 20 minutes of footy chat later, and all the documentatin I needed was signed and stamped

[Kris]

Dear Miccles

lovely collection of palms and they all look happy under your care ! keep us all updated on their grouth rates...

thanks for the visuals & lots of love,

Kris

[Miccles]

Thanks Kris - aka "Mr Phoenix"

Phoenix like Melbourne's mediterranean-type climate. There are many P.Canariensis around town - many are well over 100 years old and very stately. I have also seen a wonderful towering clump of P.Reclinata in the city itself. Not to mention the botanic gardens which also has big clumps of P.Reclinata which were planted by dignitaries around 1905 or so.

I have a 5' single P.Reclinata, which I hope will speed up a little once it is planted in the ground. I have a few P.Roebelinii planted, the largest is only 4' tal, but the trunk is very stout. I also have a tiny P.Rupicola yet to be planted.

[Tyrone]

You have quite a collection there Miccles. You may be surprised how many will survive in the garden, but it's nice to grow them extra tropical in a hothouse like you have. A vestiara would love 16C mins, but they can handle much colder than that. If you're getting to 35C on a sunny day, they're getting enough daytime heat. A vestiara will go down to 3 or 4C before it's starting to get risky. They just need daytime warmth.

As for canopy, Chris is right. A lush dark rainforest may be tempting, but if heat is lacking, you won't grow much. If you want to plant some large tall things, plant them on your southern boundary. That way the winter sun gets into you garden at a sideways angle and warms everything. Also if the southern canopy plants are thick enough, they'll block a lot of the cold wet winds and hail from the cold fronts. It all depends what you like, but bamboo is a fast hedging plant that can be used for canopy as well. The leaves can be a bit messy, but deciduous trees are messy too. I know some may mock what I'm about to say, but Syagrus rommies are fast canopy builders, just don't plant too many like I did. Admittedly you can plant a heap then cut them out after a few years like you said. What I would do in your situation if you want to establish some canopy is, for every Syagrus you plant, plant maybe 4 Howeas around it. Once the Syagrus is finished you'll have a Howea grove coming up. Though much slower, they look tremendous when they get going.

Also since you have a clean slate out the back, build that soil up with anything organic to as much depth as you can afford. It will help you in summer when the water aint falling from the sky. Any water you give them will be soaked up like a sponge into your compost mix you've made, and not just run through a sandy mix. I've over many years built my beach sand block up, and now it's all just black worm castings. The ground is literally a big organic sponge.

If you do want a dark rainforest area, you can still have it at 38S, just choose plants that don't need heat, like Rhopalostylis, which look good in the cool dark shady forest. That's how they grow in NZ. Also many Chamies will love that sort of thing too. Linospadix monostachya have no probs in the cool dark areas, as well as Howea, Laccospadix and Hedyscepe. Imagine them all planted around a pond, along with soft ferns. The advantage to having all of that under canopy with a pond is you keep the humidity higher in summer, and cooler when the temps approach 40C.

Well that's enough of my landscape tips. Keep us posted on how it all turns out. Also your Parajubaea will love it there, and I do think that blackstem Dypsis is in fact the real Dypsis ambositrae which should love your climate too, being a mountain palm.

Best regards

Tyrone

[ariscott]

Thanks Chris & Ari

Chris: Yes - that macrocarpa was too beautiful to pass up. I got it from a nursery up in Tullamarine...they have one more that size ...if you're interested

Ari: yes- I guess I have been busy. I am still willing to swap you a P.Caryotoides for one of your Kuhli's. I didn't take you up on your offer when I visited you as i didnt know how difficult it would be to bring plants back. I went and saw the N.T quarantine dept the next day, and things didnt look good. But then I saw the photo of the Essendon football club on the guys wall, and that happens to be my team..... 20 minutes of footy chat later, and all the documentatin I needed was signed and stamped

Essendon??? That is mine too... pathetic this year though .

Well... if you want them, you just have to come and get them. I told you qt won't be any problem .

Regards, Ari

[Kris]

Thanks Kris - aka "Mr Phoenix"

Phoenix like Melbourne's mediterranean-type climate. There are many P.Canariensis around town - many are well over 100 years old and very stately. I have also seen a wonderful towering clump of P.Reclinata in the city itself. Not to mention the botanic gardens which also has big clumps of P.Reclinata which were planted by dignitaries around 1905 or so.

I have a 5' single P.Reclinata, which I hope will speed up a little once it is planted in the ground. I have a few P.Roebelinii planted, the largest is only 4' tal, but the trunk is very stout. I also have a tiny P.Rupicola yet to be planted.

Can we all have the pleasure of some visuals of those phoenix beauties that you have mentioned_Please !

thanks & love,

Kris