Hobart to Cairns in seven Livistonas

[Bennz]

Hey Jonathan,

How far south did you see bangalows? Last time I drove that way I remember seeing some on the VIC side of the border growing up through bush. At the time I remember thinking they don't grow this far south naturally, so must be naturalised. Been wondering ever since if maybe it was a natural stand... no way to tell now I guess.

I want some of those northern bangalow seeds too! I must go back and visit one day, not during a -6C though.

Tyrone, rainforest temp usually drops more than open country by altitude, that 1280m could possibly be up to 10C colder than sea level. I think in the interests of science I should try growing both species here and see what happens.

[The Palm Nut]

I forgot to mention there are coconuts growing in Coffs Harbour south of Grafton

There are five growing well south of Coffs in Port Macquarie, one is over 30 feet tall!.

Cheers

Mike

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

I can't believe I missed this thread until tonight.

Amazing images from an amazing country!

Thanks for posting them Jonathan.

[Jonathan]

Yes enjoyed it immensely Jonathan.

Those Bangalow seeds seemed to have broken all the "rules". They're definitely smaller than the alex's in the area. Bangalow's generally are round and have the thick fibres on the outside and your seeds certainly do. Alexanders can be round or ovoid and can be small, but the fibres are narrower and finer than the Bangalow, and normally smaller than the Bangalow.

Another question, when you saw the Bangalow's how far away approximately were the alex's? Were they growing together, were they 100's of metres apart or a few km's. You said they were growing at different altitudes so this kind of tells me that they wouldn't exist together naturally. I think those Eungella Bangalows are special little things.

At 1280m asl, their habitat would consistently be 6 or 7C cooler than the lowlands according to my calculations.

Best regards

Tyrone

Tyrone - they were probably 1 or 2 km apart as the crow flies, but I cant honestly remember noticing a point where one stopped and the other began. The Bangalows were very much more in an open and exposed environment than the Alex's, which were all within the forest, if that makes sense. But that may be a misleading impression, as I only saw the Bangalows from the road, rather than along a walking track.

Cheers

J.

[Jonathan]

Hey Jonathan,

How far south did you see bangalows? Last time I drove that way I remember seeing some on the VIC side of the border growing up through bush. At the time I remember thinking they don't grow this far south naturally, so must be naturalised. Been wondering ever since if maybe it was a natural stand... no way to tell now I guess.

I want some of those northern bangalow seeds too! I must go back and visit one day, not during a -6C though.

Tyrone, rainforest temp usually drops more than open country by altitude, that 1280m could possibly be up to 10C colder than sea level. I think in the interests of science I should try growing both species here and see what happens.

I'm almost ashamed to answer this Ben, because I sort of managed to miss out on the Bangalows after a couple I saw near the Myall Lakes! It all got a bit rushed towards that end of the trip.....

Can you explain how the temperature in rainforest dropping more than in open country theory works? I'd have assumed the opposite, as the radiational loss in open country should be greater, shouldn't it?

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Jonathan]

I forgot to mention there are coconuts growing in Coffs Harbour south of Grafton

There are five growing well south of Coffs in Port Macquarie, one is over 30 feet tall!.

Cheers

Mike

I thought you might chip in here Mike - you've done very well indeed!!

You live in a great part of the world.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Jonathan]

I can't believe I missed this thread until tonight.

Amazing images from an amazing country!

Thanks for posting them Jonathan.

Its a pleasure Jeff, thank you.

[richnorm]

Vintage "Palmtalk" Jonathan!

Palms, travel, and an escape with the family. Great stuff.

I think I know that Kiwi to which you refer (and so do you) so hopefully more photos will follow.

Those shots of Livistona fulva were of particular interest and have forced me to rethink their cultivational requirements. Fortunately I have a spare bagged plant!

cheers

Richard

[Jonathan]

Vintage "Palmtalk" Jonathan!

Palms, travel, and an escape with the family. Great stuff.

I think I know that Kiwi to which you refer (and so do you) so hopefully more photos will follow.

Those shots of Livistona fulva were of particular interest and have forced me to rethink their cultivational requirements. Fortunately I have a spare bagged plant!

cheers

Richard

Sorry I didn't see this earlier Richard...I've been up at my fathers farm in NW Tas, picking his barn, workshop and dairy up out of the paddocks - they got a bit of wind up there at the weekend!

From what I could gather, L. fulva seems to grow pretty much in pockets of soil between rocks, in mostly full sun or very light forest. There's no real rainforest habitat on the Blackdowns, only dry open woodland. But its much cooler than down on the plains, so probably not as extreme as it would appear (although still bloody hot in summer, I'd bet). For a supposedly winter rainfall climate (according to some locals I spoke to at the nearby town of Dingo) it was very dry when we were there in early Sepetember, in fact bone dry. I dont know how these palms survive - they must be very tough customers.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Walter John]

The ratpack stopped at Dingo as well Jon, that's where I bought a sausage roll. I wonder what was in it ? who cares, it sure tasted good.

Tassie has copped a hiding of weather it seems of late, lotsa rain and winds. I so want to visit NW and W Tasmania. Someday, good luck with the farm.

[Jonathan]

Thanks Wal - it was one helluva mess up there....luckilly the old man was away in the US on holiday, so he couldn't go outside and try to save anything - he'd have been sliced to ribbons by flying steel. Gives me a good idea of what the aftermath of a cyclone must look like.

Yep - our weather has been nutsoid down here. Highest rainfall in 60 years, winds up to 175kmph, swells to 15m. What a place to grow palms!

Might post some photos of the storm damage in the off topic section.

Dingo? You were brave to buy a sausage roll there! I only bought beer (XXXX Bitter was my prefered drop whilst in QLD.).

Speaking of dogs - did you see the fence along the Blackdown National Park road with all the dead wild dogs hanging off it? There must have been 20 or so when we went past....very Gothic!! Not Dingos, I think....

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Walter John]

Yep, I saw the hanging dogs of blackdown and I was the only one who noticed them. I thought they were roos as I only caught a quick glimpse, none of the others saw them, just me. I think they make sausage rolls out of these guys.

Did ya watch "getaway" last night ? A couple of fine looking Livistonas in the Kimberleys. That's the place to visit.

[Alicehunter2000]

Does anyone know where to buy Queensland Bottle Trees, Brachychiton rupestrishere here in Florida....or elsewhere in the states. It might be an interesting addition to zone 9a and above (maybe even 8b).