Licuala mapu

[PalmatierMeg]

I'm looking to get a larger one of these uber tropical palms and I hope growers of this highly prized palm can give me some advice on how to keep it healthy, happy and growing once it arrives. I've tried seeds with little success. The 1- and 2-leaf seedlings go nowhere, then fade away. I'm hoping with size comes a better chance at life.

I will, of course, watch over it like I do my lipsticks: no nights under 50F, monthly treatments of mancozeb from Nov to March, shadecloth, fresh outdoor air but no high wind. What else? What about planting medium? Are they pest magnets? Thanks for your help.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I had a large one under 70%, watered daily in extremely free draining medium... It saw temps lower than you'd expect (mid 30's no prob)... The important thing for me was to just leave it alone, moving the pot or prematurely trimming leaves would set that slow poke back for months.

[Tingtongthai]

I'm looking to get a larger one of these uber tropical palms and I hope growers of this highly prized palm can give me some advice on how to keep it healthy, happy and growing once it arrives. I've tried seeds with little success. The 1- and 2-leaf seedlings go nowhere, then fade away. I'm hoping with size comes a better chance at life.

I will, of course, watch over it like I do my lipsticks: no nights under 50F, monthly treatments of mancozeb from Nov to March, shadecloth, fresh outdoor air but no high wind. What else? What about planting medium? Are they pest magnets? Thanks for your help.

My Friend in Thailand keeps them in permanent quite dark shade but you have to be careful with too much/too/little water thery are a bit temperamental but they grwo well for him. He has given me some of this size for my own garden. he has about 12 this size

[Peter Pacific]

That's a veru nice gift Tingtongthai! Meg, I have trouble with this one. I germinated seeds and only one made it. It's in a pot and literally has not done anything in three years. There are four leaves (three with brown tips). Mapu is a choice little specimen and I wish I had more luck...I'm not sure what it needs. It has water, shade, periodic fertilizer, fast draining medium but excrutiatingly slow growth, makes the Gastrococos and Copernicias look like a speed demons!

[palmislandRandy]

Good luck Meg! This is your goal. My 2 leaf seedling is ready to open leaf #3.......some day.

Randy

[PalmatierMeg]

I had a large one under 70%, watered daily in extremely free draining medium... It saw temps lower than you'd expect (mid 30's no prob)... The important thing for me was to just leave it alone, moving the pot or prematurely trimming leaves would set that slow poke back for months.

Bill, sounds like potting up this palm would be a major mistake - unless I receive it bareroot. I will plan on keeping it in the same pot as long as possible.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I wouldn't buy one bareroot. You've got the right idea on keeping it potbound for long as possible. When you do step it up, be super careful, don't root trim, use the same media (size, density, etc.) if possible so there is no transition root growth (Ok, seriously, when I potted up mine from Hawaii, I had someone send me some volcanic cindersoil mix from HI), and a nice little secret to think about is watering in with 80-85F water. Don't know for sure, but I think it helps ease the transition on some sensitive palms. A tough one to grow, but worth the agony for sure.

[palmislandRandy]

I've been watering this one with bottled spring water or rainwater only.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Good point Randy... Our alkaline calcified water in SoFla is a no no for this one. I forgot. (Sorry Meg, RO in my shadehouse when I grew this palm)

[PalmatierMeg]

Thanks, guys. We do have a carbon filtration system for our water but no RO. I'll have to use spring water or collect rainwater - when it starts raining again. I wonder if my water is the reason I've had problems with Licuala seedlings.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I wonder when rain season is gonna return

[Central Floridave]

"alkaline calcified water "

Is this true for all licualas? I thought I read where they like high ph. But, definitely could be wrong. thanks for any info. Nice photos on this thread!

[Dr. George]

These articles may be of interest - gmp

Licuala Horticulture 1.pdf

Licuala Horticulture 2a.pdf

[Jeff in St Pete]

Meg, here are a couple photos of my one and only L. mapu. I ordered three bare root seedlings 3 years ago ($70 each!) and two of them promptly died. This is the only one that survived. When they arrived they were tiny 2 leaf seedlings and were so small that I was afraid to handle them with my big clumsy fingers! As you can see, it took 3 years to grow to this size (in a one-gallon bag). I don't give it any special care (no fertilizer) and the soil is constantly wet for 8 months a year during the rainy season. It was originally in a shady spot, but due to the changing angle of the sun it now gets a couple hours of mid-day sun and has not burned at all. These palms can handle a lot more sun than I originally thought they could. It's never had any problems with pests or diseases even though other palms nearby were infested or died. I would like to transplant it into a nice decorative pot, but so far I have been afraid to.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

That is great growth in the time period compared to here Jeff. I am mottled green with envy.

[ariscott]

I just potted all my L. mapu before the wet season. They seem to be doing ok even with the amount of rain we have been getting. Of course well drained mix is the key...

Regards, Ari

[Manolitus]

Meg,

You sure you wanna go through this ??? Those articles a couple of posts ago were really informative.

Good luck !

manny

[aussiearoids]

mmmm no wonder they do so well here ..

just read both pdfs [thanks george ]

my high humidity and tropical location

explain the excellent growth ..

from 3 leaf tiny seedlings ..

to nice little plants with proper leaves in a few years .

gonna plant one out in mucky boggy soil

[PalmatierMeg]

I read both articles with great trepidation. But I've committed myself to trying this palm. For the next couple months the biggest obstacle it faces is dry season and its accompanying lower humidity. I am thinking of sitting its pot on a rock-filled tray of water. Would that possibly raise humidity levels to a more acceptable level?

[ariscott]

you don't have shadehouse, Meg? I have a big shadehouse with a couple of bath tubs full of water lily. It seems to work well with dry season.... We get a long & dry one too here....

[PalmatierMeg]

Ari, I do have a 2m sq. shadehouse we converted from a greenhouse. I thought about putting licuala in that but I wondered whether it would get enough airflow. But I guess it will as everything but the ends is shadecloth - about 70% shade I reckon. We do get a lot of wind, esp. during the dry season. So maybe I will put it there and put my large green tub filled with water inside for added humidity. Hmmmm - a lot to think about. If I end up killing it my husband will have a conniption fit. I'm trying to post as much as I can on eBay to replenish our Paypal account. Palm fever can be a !@(&^%$ sometimes.

[ariscott]

Mine is a big shadehouse with open ends as well, otherwise everything will rot in the wet season without airflow. But putting the 2 bathtubs there definitely halps in the dry season. Whenever I go there, I start sweating straight away, it is so humid. Good luck, Meg.

Regards, Ari

[aussiearoids]

The biggest seedling , recently potted up into 200mm pot , and getting late afternoon sun under a bench . Think I have had it for 4 years , maybe less .

[cobra2326]

These articles may be of interest - gmp

Licuala Horticulture 1.pdf

Licuala Horticulture 2a.pdf

LOL: "Some liken Licuala culture to the conditions and constant care necessary to raise orchids." I don't know about anyone else, but orchids are the EASIEST thing I grow currently. Knowing when to water is easy, and they are fairly tolerant of drying out if I forget.

With palms, minor changes can cause fungus, insects quickly cause a plant to decline, humidity becomes an issue, etc.

[cvb7873]

Meg,

Did you get the palm off of ebay? A seller has posted a few this past week. If so, I got this beauty from him today (the seller lives a few miles from me and dropped it off at my house). I will keep my fingers crossed for both of us!

[PalmatierMeg]

Meg,

Did you get the palm off of ebay? A seller has posted a few this past week. If so, I got this beauty from him today (the seller lives a few miles from me and dropped it off at my house). I will keep my fingers crossed for both of us!

Yes, I think I did get it from him. Cost me a fortune. But he's my main source for palms now. His stuff is always good. L. mapu looked really good when it arrived, considering the USPS used the box for soccer practice. How do they know when a box contains something valuable? Anyway, I have it in the shadehouse on the lanai, with a plastic tub of water to raise humidity. I also spray down the outside of the shadehouse to create a mist inside and wet the concrete for extra humidity. I hope it makes it and grows so my husband doesn't have a heart attack because I spent so much money, then killed it.

[cvb7873]

Yes, I think I did get it from him. Cost me a fortune. But he's my main source for palms now. His stuff is always good. L. mapu looked really good when it arrived, considering the USPS used the box for soccer practice. How do they know when a box contains something valuable? Anyway, I have it in the shadehouse on the lanai, with a plastic tub of water to raise humidity. I also spray down the outside of the shadehouse to create a mist inside and wet the concrete for extra humidity. I hope it makes it and grows so my husband doesn't have a heart attack because I spent so much money, then killed it.

Don't feel bad, I spent a fortune too. I think the only reason my girl hasn't suffocated me with a pillow in my sleep is because we just got married last weekend. I told her it was a wedding gift to myself, for putting up with bride-zilla for the past few weeks. She still may suffocate me.

I agree with you about that seller though, has great stuff.

[Stethoscope]

On 3/23/2011, 11:13:02, PalmatierMeg said:

 

 

Yes, I think I did get it from him. Cost me a fortune. But he's my main source for palms now. His stuff is always good. L. mapu looked really good when it arrived, considering the USPS used the box for soccer practice. How do they know when a box contains something valuable? Anyway, I have it in the shadehouse on the lanai, with a plastic tub of water to raise humidity. I also spray down the outside of the shadehouse to create a mist inside and wet the concrete for extra humidity. I hope it makes it and grows so my husband doesn't have a heart attack because I spent so much money, then killed it.

Meg how is your mapu doing? 

[Missi]

*bumping up* for more Mapu growing tips, please! Anything from basics to detailed care. 

[PalmatierMeg]

I’ve given up on this species. I gave it 3 tries, failed 3x (my golden rule) and moved on to more amenable rare palms.

[Missi]

I'm going on my second try lol I plan to fuss over it. It's a larger plant than my first one, so it will catch my attention to remind me to check on it more often. Still, my tiny tiny seedling from Floribunda was doing okay until I over-fertilized it.

[tropicbreeze]

I bought 2 but luckily only paid $20 each. Planted them carefully in the ground but one lasted 3 years and the other only 4 years. For the first couple of years I thought I'd found the secret to their success. But they never grew any larger and when the end came they went down hill very suddenly. The heat and dry air of the dry season doesn't go well with them. You need to give them a year round wet season.

[Missi]

Since it is a slow-grower and stays relatively small and squat, perhaps I'll get my second try a glass terrarium. Hmm. Has anyone tried it in a terrarium, or am I the nuttiest palm nut?

Something like the one below (they come in different dimensions), without the frog and its furnishings, of course. It has built-in ventilation and a screen top. 

[XYZ]

Missi:

They actually don't appear to stay small and squat very long after the seedling doldrums. I have seen a 14-16" diameter mapu in a high tech terrarium at a friend's place in this area, but it was starting to spread its wings and rapidly outgrowing his space.

Exoterra's 24" and 39" tall vivaria are great places to start delicate palms from first-leaf size and I grew a Geonoma epetiolata to flowering size in one a couple years back. But there are not many palms that can spend long periods in Wardian Cases. Photo below of palm when it had been in one of these for a couple years. It got moved out and into a greenhouse in 2015. The challenge for most people are all the add-ons required to succeed with tricky plants in vivaria; computer fans for ventilation, T5s or high-end LEDs (what I use), misting gear, automatic timers, etc. You may find that with your climate, tall clear plastic cloches or hoods are better value and far more practical. I have dozens of very rare & delicate chamaedoreas, geonomas and pinangas under Mondig100 hoods over standard flats and they are excellent for greenhouse use for the first 18 months of these things lives. I highly recommend them for starting humidity sensitive small palms. Available on you-know-where.

J

[Missi]

1 hour ago, stone jaguar said:

Missi:

They actually don't appear to stay small and squat very long after the seedling doldrums. I have seen a 14-16" diameter mapu in a high tech terrarium at a friend's place in this area, but it was starting to spread its wings and rapidly outgrowing his space.

Exoterra's 24" and 39" tall vivaria are great places to start delicate palms from first-leaf size and I grew a Geonoma epetiolata to flowering size in one a couple years back. But there are not many palms that can spend long periods in Wardian Cases. Photo below of palm when it had been in one of these for a couple years. It got moved out and into a greenhouse in 2015. The challenge for most people are all the add-ons required to succeed with tricky plants in vivaria; computer fans for ventilation, T5s or high-end LEDs (what I use), misting gear, automatic timers, etc. You may find that with your climate, tall clear plastic cloches or hoods are better value and far more practical. I have dozens of very rare & delicate chamaedoreas, geonomas and pinangas under Mondig100 hoods over standard flats and they are excellent for greenhouse use for the first 18 months of these things lives. I highly recommend them for starting humidity sensitive small palms. Available on you-know-where.

J

Awww Look at that froggie!  Beautiful set up! A popular reptile supply company recently came out with an 18" x 18" x 36" tall glass "Skyscraper" terrarium. I bet many will try growing C. renda in them! 

My new Mapu on the way is 12" tall, I'm told. I will be keeping it out on my roofed lanai in its terrarium, not indoors. I hope I will not need a little fan for it in this case. I thought about a large glass cloche. Would you just occasionally lift it for circulation? I want to just grow it well, not experiment, since its such a fussy plant.  I guess that's just the risk I have to take!