Hi, my name is John and I have an addiction....I'm spending way too much time, money, and energy on building a nice little backyard palm garden that I can enjoy. So, as I'm looking at all the postings on PalmTalk....I guess I'm probably in the right place here.

I've ordered seedlings of Orania Trispatha and Orania Ravaka...one of each should arrive on Wednesday. Does anyone have information on growing these palms? These are both distichous (leaves arranged like a traveler's palm). Do you know if their leaves grow this way in their early stages of life? Do they twist as they grow or will the leaves always remain oriented in the same way? I'm also wondering this about wallichia distichas...because my seedlings don't look very distichous.

If you have any growing tips or first-hand growing knowledge of any of these palms...I could certainly use your advice.

John (Satellite Beach, Florida)

Hi John, and welcome to Palmtalk

I can not be of much help with the Orania Trispatha and Orania Ravaka, but the wallichia distichas will remain oriented in the same way once it is established, I am sure others will be able to help more.

Hi John,

This is one palm that I percieve to be pretty root sensitive, so be as gentle as you can if you need to move them into a bigger container. They seem to be more on the tropical side than I can grow well here in SoCal. I would also keep them out of harsh full sun when small. They're interesting seedlings (remote germinators). Very cool palms!

Bret

Hello John,

I bought 10 seeds of O.Ravaka 8 years ago and they grow at a snails pace! I have one in a sheltered shady place and it took the harsh winter we had last year. I was told once germinated w/ a radicle, put into the final spot where you plan it being for good. It has a very deep and sensitive root system as the fellow poster said. I'll take a pic if you like but it is'nt a big palm right now, i have never fertilized it and it is on it's own. I am sure it would speed up w/ some TLC.

Mark

Thanks for the very helpful first-hand info everyone! I'll take care not to disturb the Orania roots too much....and, I'll plant it in the ground right away when it arrives. I hope it survives the flight. The Wallichia disticha was helpful too....I'll plant in in the ground without worrying too much that it might twist as it grows. But, I know these things don't always do what they're told.

Mark, I'm happily surprised that the Orania ravaka withstood the duration of cold temps this past winter. I'm really excited about these palms and I'd hate for them to burn-up during the first cold snap. As we probably all did, I lost some palms during this very unusual winter that I've decided to give a second try....N.storckii, V.splendida, A.vestiaria, Satakentia, B.hapala, and more. If you have a picture of your O.ravaka, I'd love to see it to compare to mine as it comes in.