Planting Parajubaea torallyi vt in Real Clay.

[Adam from Oz]

Hi All,

This palm has a history. J. Australis bought seeds about 15 years ago and gave them to me to germinate. A few weeks ago, after the near-death experience of my little tor tor in the front, I got Jo's spare spare that I had germinated through manipulation and "favours". Here it is, "home" again after all that time. Needs to be put into the ground:

I don't have soil. I have muck called clay that is high in nutrients but low in interest in letting water pass through it. I dug a deep hole in it over a period of weeks, put Claybreaker in it filled the bottom of the hole with bags of compost and put together a rather large garden bed.

Then I bought something called, "sandy loam" (with extra sand thrown in). An entirely new concept for me - soil that looks great and feels sensual and drains!

Part two coming up!

[Adam from Oz]

Part Deux:

The potted palm meets its new sand box Notice how sides of planter mean that 98.7% of the plant will be above the existing soil line and still have that, "French Drain" effect from the hole:

The plant slipped easily out of its pot - NOT! I had to carefully remove the pot with a surgical scalpel. Here's my brother being brotherly and adjusting:

As I hold back my tears, remembering the year or so I had this little seed germinating under my bed, it is again in my garden, and about to go cocosoid-bananas. Ignore the Yucca ubiquitensis. Watered it in with Seasol and will mulch tomorrow as rain stopped play.

It has a lot of room to grow in, drainage is perfect, lots of sun all year round and is poking over the fence to annoy my annoying neighbour.

A happy day's palming. And it was a full day.

Thinking of putiing in some plants around the edge of the box - something not too palmy, don't want to have to compete with tor tor goodness, but will probably just leave as is because it is so cute!

I can hear it growing...........

Cheers,

Adam

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Adam - thats a great looking Parajubaea tvt . It should do really well for you in that raised bed setup . In my front lawn i have para cocoides , para torallyi, Parajubaea torallyi microcarpa . I fertilize mine in summer every week with a mix of thrive , seasol and powerfeed in a 9 lt watering can .

BTW my soil is 1m deep natural sandy loam very lucky strike for me !

[Alberto]

Congratulations! You did a good work there. The tortor will certainly respond to this care!

My ten tortors only began to grow when planted out. So will yours!!!

[Adam from Oz]

Thanks guys,

@ Alberto - am pretty confident this will take off - there were some surprisingly thick, fleshy roots at the sides of the plant groaning to get into something nice......

@Troy - would love to see pics of your Parajubs!! You may have sandy loam naturally but do you have "sandy loam" (with extra sand thrown in)?

If you look hard in the last pic, you will see that there is a tiny P. cocoides. It had done nothing for years because it was only 2m away from the MONSTER Eucalypt that my evil neighbour poisoned. This tree was felled by people whose chains don't aim for the nearest palm on auto about 7 weeks ago and the cocoides has sprung to life with the loss of competition chucking out two leaves.

It too is taking off

I will keep this forum nauseatimgly updated on the growth of this plant. It's still a month until Spring so what will it be like in 6 months? tee hee hee.

Special thanks to Jo for looking after the little darlin' so well for all these years and letting me have it. MWAH!

[Kumar]

What a great read Adam, with the flowing documentation and commentary. Taking step by step photos makes the reader really feel he or she is present at the planting.

By the way, I have really dense clay myself - alluvial origin - and my planted palms seem to really like it.

[DoomsDave]

WHOA!

ADAM!

[ran screaming out the front door]

[DoomsDave]

[pant pant pant pant etc.]

whew! {slam!]

[PLOMP! into the chair of terror, type feverishly . . . . ]

That is one HELLUVA tor-tor, mate! How old is it from seed?

Hmm.

I've got 8 in the Clay of Doom, mostly thriving, with LOTS of amendment.

Keep us apprized of your plant's progress!

(Yes madam officer, next time I'll wear my . . . . )

[Nigel]

Jo deserves gold medal for that one !

[DoomsDave]

So, how is Jo?

Let us know . . . .

[Adam from Oz]

Jo deserves gold medal for that one !

She certainly does. Gold stars, kudos, thanks and platonic hugs this time Seriously though, Jo is in great shape, as witty and generous as ever and her garden is a jungle crammed full of mouth-watering palms. I urged her to post some pics here.

The plant is about 15 years old from seed germination- Jo got half the seedlings, I think, and has one MASSIVE one that was planted out straight away and another that is a little smaller. I'll be a little honest here and tell you that when I saw hers I got pretty emotional - kinda like seeing your adopted out child doing extra well with the adoptive parents. The one in the pics was her, "just in case" tor tor in a pot and shows these guys like to be thrown into the dirt ASAP - I turned out to be her, "just in case" charity case.

@Dave, this Parajubaea tvtvt had to be gotten right. There's some sort of attachment with a palm that you have grown from seed, especially when it it took over a year to do so and, as usual, Parajubaea tvt cannot be bought in Australia. I have other stuff thriving in clay as well. This one needs drainage above all else so I went all out.

Thanks for the comments. As I said, I will keep you updated on this one until you start thinking, "Oh My Deity, he's bloody well bumped this thread again!"

Cheers,

Adam

[DoomsDave]

15 years

dang

not a fast crop

[Adam from Oz]

15 years

dang

not a fast crop

I'll be making up for that, no worries!

[DoomsDave]

ye haw

"I know she's restless . . . .

Like cotton candy clouds that sail the day . . ."

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Good Morning Adam

I just slipped outside and did a quick photoshoot of my 3 Parajubaeas for you !

1) Parajubaea torallyi microcarpa

Was a 2 strap leaf seedling 2 yrs ago . It started going pinnate this year .

Parajubaea cocoides

18 months from seed

and Parajubaea torallyi

cheers Troy

[DoomsDave]

BLEAH

in the good sense

[J. australis]

Hi everyone, it's old Mrs 'And-Here's-One-I-Prepared-Earlier'.

Never knew quite why I hung onto one potted tortor, until Adam turned up. (You know, Adam with the floppy, undersized specimen). Understandably, he was whimpering as he stood beneath my mighty canopy of happy tor-tors. It just wasn't fair that the germinator ended up with a stumpy write-off after all these years - but we fixed that problem!

Adam gave me lots of great plants back when the palm bug first bit a decade ago. He patiently shared my 'discoveries' ("Heya Adam, look at this wheel thingy - cool huh!)and went on at least one wild Jubaea chase.

So the lesson here is encourage newbies - you never know when the investment will pay off.

[Miccles]

I LOVE a feel good story...(wiping eyes)....I'm not crying....my eyes are just sweaty !!

Regards

Michael

[J. australis]

Good morning young Miccles. I know you hankered for that tor tor, you raging dendrophiliac, but the paternity test went Adam's way.

I like this pic - looks like the tortor's been inching its way across the yard to the planting hole:

[Miccles]

Haha... nah, tis at it's rightful place for sure.

The more locations around Melbourne we can have these babies planted, the better

Regards

Michael

[J. australis]

I'll head down to Geelong Botanic Gardens this week and take pics of the P tortor and P coco I donated in '07. Perfectly Presented Public Parajubs. Priceless!

Edited July 31, 2011 by J. australis

[Adam from Oz]

@Troy - thanks for the pics – they're about to rocket! You using any mulch?

@Dave, I had to look up, “Bleah” in the “Murkan/Australian" dictionary – it came up with:

1. slang, US) Expresses negative feeling. The quality of the emotion expressed is more negative than that of 'blah' and has a slight feeling of disgust, verging on nausea .

So thanks for your qualification!

@ Jo – I may be floppy and undersized but it's how I use it.......when are we going to see pics of your now “Open Garden” status, um garden?

@Miccles – remind me never to watch “Titanic” with you.

Here is the latest update: less than 12 hours after insertion. Updates won't be that frequent! Plant has been mulched in Miccles-approved-neighbour-killed-shredded-Eucalypt (ask for it in your local "Big Store") and is enjoying the beautiful Melbourne morning Winter sun. I go awww and sniff. Maybe I could watch Titanic with Miccles?

[J. australis]

Maybe I could watch Titanic with Miccles?

And I know that my palm will go on...

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Adam it looks great.

No i never mulch my Parajubaeas because they can be prone to root rot .at least push the mulch back 15 cm from the trunk . The best Parajubaeas i saw in California had no mulch this allows the soil to warm up quicker and dry out between watering . I water mine with one dripper for 2 hrs every 5 days (from Nov - March ) .

Here is a lovely Parajubaea in the garden of Gary Levine that i took last Sept.

[Miccles]

Hey - gimme a break - I'd just been chopping onions when I read this topic......

[Adam from Oz]

That's a nice tortor Mr. Levine has there, Troy - I actually saw a picture of it on a French website.

Whatever you say Miccles, whatever you say.

Now, Troy and Miccles - could you kindly debate the mulch question?

Options:

1. Leave as is.

2. Move mulch 15cm away from plant base.

3. Cover 15cm area with pebbles which absorb heat.

4. Get Titanic and Schindler's List on DVD and watch Miccles closely.

[peachy]

Well I deeply and most sincerely despise you all with a passion. Been buying seeds (to no effect) begging, pleading, offering my only slightly tarnished virtue and still live in a para free zone. The dieties must have it in for poor Peachy as even when I scored a large amount of seeds, just when they were ready to pop, the place got flooded and they are now somewhere between here and Rotarua. Adam I am on clay too. Black gooey muck. Like brick when its dry and chewie when its wet. I spend more on gypsum, compost and fresh manure than I do on palms.

The green eyed monster.

[peachy]

Haha... nah, tis at it's rightful place for sure.

The more locations around Melbourne we can have these babies planted, the better

Regards

Michael

Wrong Miccles they would look so much nicer in Ipswich

Peachy

[J. australis]

Wrong peachy, they belong in our climate. Don't be so intemperate.

[peachy]

Hey temperance is my middle name ! Besides you havent been through one our below freezing winter nights !

Peachy

[J. australis]

I'll see your freezing winter night and raise you a balmy 48 C afternoon.

37 degrees South: latitude with attitude.

[peachy]

Enough with the latitude platitude, show some gratitude. 48c is a perfect temperature to thaw the permafrost.

[Adam from Oz]

Hey temperance is my middle name ! Besides you havent been through one our below freezing winter nights !

Peachy

I just checked out your climate averages. You might like Parajubs but I don't think they'll be too thrilled with your Summer nights' warmth and humidity and all that rain!

Any tor tors in Sydney near the coast where it's warm and sticky all Summer? Any Sydney members? Do we really care? Of course we do! Warm hugs!

me again

[peachy]

I am the Peach, no para would dare not to enjoy my delightful climate.

[J. australis]

I am the Peach, no para would dare not to enjoy my delightful climate.

Good thinking Peach! Let me try that.. Oh, sorry, have to nip outside now - my Socratea herd is galloping toward my Satakentia grove at an alarming speed!

[DoomsDave]

Hello, Jo!

Nice to see you again!

Hmm.

So, maybe you, Adam, the Peach et al could tell us what palms can't be bought in Oz?

I feel a holy mission coming on . . . .

[Adam from Oz]

Hello, Jo!

Nice to see you again!

Hmm.

So, maybe you, Adam, the Peach et al could tell us what palms can't be bought in Oz?

I feel a holy mission coming on . . . .

Quicker to tell you what can be bought, Dave. It's different in each city, obviously. Like comparing New York with LA. In cities further north, there is a much larger variety.

Chain stores in Melbourne:

P. canariensis, roebelenii.(the latter as an INDOOOR plant!)

W. robusta but NEVER filifera

Syagrus r______________

Howea fosteriana.

Livistona chinensis.

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana.

That's what I saw in Bunnings today.

and that's about it.

There's about one specialist nursery left here so throw in a few more:

Ravenenea rivularis, glauca.

Trachy............I can't continue.............

Rhopalostylis sapida

Butia capitata

Common Chamaedoreas.

Chamaerhops humilis.

Dypsis lutescens.

Rhapis something or other.

So, we are starved for palms! 4 million people in this city, reasonable climate and no choice.

Cheers,

Adam

[palmcurry]

Adam,

A touching story. That palm got 5 star platnuim treatment and deserves no less. That palm will thrive and sing.

[BS Man about Palms]

Well done Adam.. to continue you on with what troy said, You are a combo (I think) of what I and Gary Levine have... Gary and you have HEAT, but I have no heat and Clay!

So, with that, I would have done exactly what you did EXCEPT, put the mulch BETWEEN your ground and your "sandy loam"... that way, the mulch starts working on your clay, and no mulch to worry the trunk about..

[Adam from Oz]

Well done Adam.. to continue you on with what troy said, You are a combo (I think) of what I and Gary Levine have... Gary and you have HEAT, but I have no heat and Clay!

So, with that, I would have done exactly what you did EXCEPT, put the mulch BETWEEN your ground and your "sandy loam"... that way, the mulch starts working on your clay, and no mulch to worry the trunk about..

Thanks, BS. I appreciate your input.

My clay was treated many times with an Aussie product called "Claybreaker" - an evil smelling liquid that works faster than gypsum. For example, before treatment, the hole took two days to drain and after one dose, it took a day, after the second 6 hours, after the third 3 hours and after the last it was about the same. And the stuff is still working its magic.

I plan to still use this product around the base of the planting square for a good, long while............................

Also, the plant is on the top part of my garden where the soil wasn't excavated to build the house so the clay is not as bad as below (more compacted than clayey) and there is a natural slope of about 1m directly on the right of the plant when viewed in most pics.

Best I could do. Plant had to go in as the weather is warming up quite quickly with some days now getting to around 20C. Too late to dig up all that soil (or is it? - don't won't to disturb those thick, fleshy roots) and put down mulch.

Are you saying that the top of the soil should not be mulched?

No heat and clay for you, huh? I feel your pain.

Best.

Adam.

Edited July 31, 2011 by Adam from Oz