Meryta balansae

[LJG]

I took this picture today of my three Meryta balansae. They are growing well and one is now branching. I hand pollinated them this year and ended up with seed. I have 90 plants growing up now I will eventually sell. This is a great plant from New Cal and does well in the SoCal and San Fran.

[ellidro]

Len nice work pollinated these. It sounds like these are pretty hard to come by.

[BS Man about Palms]

were those the ones Matt took? I finally threw mine in the ground about 2-3 weeks ago..

[ariscott]

Oh.... so pretty Len... looking forward to mine. If only they are not SO SLOW!!! How old are yours?

Regards, Ari

[LJG]

I bought these as 6 inch tall seedlings for $50 each from Leon 4 years ago. They are slow in pots but take off in the ground.

[Gbarce]

gorgeous leaves. they look like bird's nest anthuriums

[Peter]

Looking great Len. They'll only get better as they get larger too. Here was my biggest one before gophers took it; it was about 10' and the leaves were about 3' long. I managed to get pollen off of it before it was killed and I pollinated the smaller one on the left. I believe Matt got the seeds and had some germinate. I'm glad you're propogating this as our source in New Cal has dried up and we only got seeds that one time back in either '04 or '05. Great plant!

[ariscott]

Oh.... I forgot about that gopher attack!!! I hope the gopher will leave the other one alone... New Caledonia stuff!!! I forget how slow they are... If they are tabebuia or Jacaranda, they will be 4m in 4 years .

BTW, Peter... there is hope for my Barringtonia... it has leaves on it!!!!!

[LJG]

Peter, that seed did not germinate. The seed I gave Matt did. I still have tons of seed but I heard it must be fresh. Not sure.

[Bags]

Len,

Nice plant. Keep me in mind when they are ready to sell. Aaron

[richnorm]

I have Meryta denhamii about to flower. Any tips on hand pollination? I might even try to hybridise with our local Meryta sinclairii if I can find one in bloom.

cheers

Richard

[Peter]

Richard, when I hand pollinated mine I cut the flowers off of my male plant, held them over a piece of white paper, and shook out the pollen. The white paper makes it easy to collect as you can see it plainly. From there, I took a Q-tip and painted the pollen onto the flowers of my female plant. Also, I had frozen the pollen for a year until my female plant was mature. Seemed to work fine.

[richnorm]

Thanks Peter, I didn't even realise they were dioecious. I have three plants so better check the other two for flowers or else a hybrid attempt it will be! Very helpful to know the pollen freezes well.

cheers

Richard

[Tracy]

I picked up my Meryta balansae from Matt a while back and waited to get It in the ground a while.  I finally planted it a few months ago.  It is getting established and appreciates being released from its tall citrus pot.  I noticed it is branching already too.  

I bought a couple more this spring at a Palm Society auction because Matt donated them.  One is in the ground and my third remains on a pot for now.  If you got some of this seed batch, update this thread on how they ate growing for you as well as information on light exposure you are giving yours.

[PlantMorePalms]

I planted two 6" plants just over a year ago here in SF. One gets a lot of direct midday/afternoon sun and gusty wind, the other is in all day shade.  They're both 4-5' tall now and are pretty trouble free in our mild climate. First pic is the shade grown plant, second is the sun/wind exposed plant. At this point I'd say that the main difference between them is that the plant in the shade as slightly larger and darker leaves. 

[Billeb]

@Tracy , here’s both my Balansae I got from the same litter as you from Matt. The one planted 6 months earlier has gotten substantially bigger than the other. The larger is over 7ft tall and has 26” leaves so it seems very happy. South exposure, protected by the West from a Patio so it’s ideal. (Pictures #1,2) 

The smaller one is in my from yard facing North so it’s protected from the South by another patio cover. It doesn’t get the sun. It’s 5ft tall with 18” leaves. (Pictures #3,4,5)

I want to thank you for making me go look at the plants because the smaller one looks to be infested with tiny bugs. Probably wouldn’t have seen them for awhile if I didn’t go out and snoop around better. 
 

Both seem to be happy and have grown leaps and bounds in 1yr. Last picture was taken Aug 2023 before I planted the one in my front yard  

-dale 
 

[Tracy]

19 minutes ago, Billeb said:

@Tracy , here’s both my Balansae I got from the same litter as you from Matt. The one planted 6 months earlier has gotten substantially bigger than the other. The larger is over 7ft tall and has 26” leaves so it seems very happy. South exposure, protected by the West from a Patio so it’s ideal. (Pictures #1,2) 

The smaller one is in my from yard facing North so it’s protected from the South by another patio cover. It doesn’t get the sun. It’s 5ft tall with 18” leaves. (Pictures #3,4,5)

I want to thank you for making me go look at the plants because the smaller one looks to be infested with tiny bugs. Probably wouldn’t have seen them for awhile if I didn’t go out and snoop around better. 
 

Both seem to be happy and have grown leaps and bounds in 1yr. Last picture was taken Aug 2023 before I planted the one in my front yard  

-dale 
 

These clearly benefit from getting into the ground.  Looking good Dale!

[Darold Petty]

Dale, you have too much grass !   

[Billeb]

1 hour ago, Darold Petty said:

Dale, you have too much grass !   

Sore subject Darold. I recently got spanked for cutting into the backyard grass to make a 9ft circle planter. I literally gave her the old ..….. “have you ever heard it’s easier to ask for forgiveness, than permission?” 

She didn’t find the comedy in the statement. 
 

To add to your observation…..I’m aware. I’m playing the long game. 
 

-dale 

[iDesign]

Any more of these beauties still around? I saw one at the Oeur Garden tour, and was tempted at the auction (but had already blown that day's plant budget). I think about it sometimes, so of course that means I should have fought for it. 😅

[Billeb]

Was looking at my largest Balansae today and noticed it was trying to produce seeds. I would assume they will not be viable but good to see it trying. Pretty sure it’s 2yrs from a tiny strap leaf. 
 

-dale