pritchardia napaliensis

[gcf]

is anyone familiar with, growing or have pictures of pritchardia napaliensis? I have a small one and am wondering what it will be like with time.. thanks

[Cedric]

No but thats a score, I like all the Pritchardias, napaliensis looks like a nice interesting one too.

Trying to remember which was the cold hardiest lovely, there is one. I want to try again at the soonest opportunity.

I have tried pacifica, got some well grown plants from Mumbai during their wet warm season ,took a chance and planted them out in Hong Kongs dry cool season and they seemed to be fine, then bang a freak rain and that was too much, wet and cool about 13%C and the leaf spike went about rudder. They had put out a new leaf each in the wrong season too, that was also killed.

Think it was the abrupt change in temps plus the rain because they are only "marginal at around about 5%C" (Chris king, Palms, Pritchardia pacifica PACSOA) however like a very dry winter, tropical dry winter palms.

Couldnt find out that much about napaliensis in cultivation.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Cedric

[peachy]

There's a photo of a grown one on the PACSOA website. I am not brave enough to swipe a copy and post it here for you.

Cedric, P. thurstonii look a lot like pacifica but are much tougher palms. I have a couple of them here and they survive my brutal winters so you should have no problems with them.

Peachy

[mike in kurtistown]

Happy to oblige. Here are some pics from the P. napaliensis colony at the NTBG on Kauai.

[mike in kurtistown]

The first pic in the last post is actually from the Amy Greenwell garden in Captain Cook. Here are some pics of an unlabeled pritch in the Hilo Arboretum that I am almost certain is napaliensis, including pics of fruits and a closeup of a leaf. Leaves can be folded - I suspect this may be a response to windy conditions. Fruits are small and there always seem to be some ripening.

[Cedric]

Oooh nice pictures, much appreciated Mike. Wonder what happened to gcf from Santa Barbs.

Peachy Thurstonii does indeed look a lot like a little pacifica thanks for that tip.

When you say "brutal winters" (aren't they all) are you meaning min9%C for just a few days at a time? Think parts of Queensland probably have a very similar climate to Hong Kong. Truly and monsoonaly tropical wet and sub tropical cool/warm dry. Bit of everything besides prolonged single figures or frost snow that end of things.

I use Australia as my climate zone reference as im quite familiar with the basics and as a reference Australia is far more apt than America or Europe for many palms and I. Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. If its a doer in Melbourne then Im extremely and pleasantly surprised and almost wonder if its worth it, if Sydney its a cinch for me and if only as far as Brisbane then yes it might be a bit sulky but chances are it will be fine with or without added precautions ,might turn a bit yellow and dry at times. Beyond Brisbane till Noosa...... then up can be iffy unless proven otherwise.

So Peachy where might we find Toady of Toad Hall, His eminence Sir Frog-Mouth Sweetie-Chops of Charcuterie Loversville etc etc and Budgie residing?

[gcf]

thanks everyone.. haven't checked in for a few days, appreciate the info.. anyone in california have any experience with napaliensis?

[peachy]

gcf, of course you realise that you have sparked off another palm craving and I wont rest now till I have tracked down a napaliensis. Pritchardias are my favourite genus and I always buy them if its one I dont have. (even species I have never heard of)

Cedric, most of the New Caledonian palms will live in Melbourne. In fact they can grow an amazing variety of palms and cycads there. The day someone dies and leaves me enough money ( hint to bo-goran) that is where I intend to relocate to. You forgot Tasmania too...the blokes down there have all sorts of pretty palms growing and you havent seen anything until you experience the sight of palms under the lights from the aurora.

I exist in the rat infested slums of Brisbane, winter days average 20C and winter nights on my side of town usually around 0C but jump around either side of 0. Since I have been in this house (15 years) -5C is the coldest I've experienced, when my whole garden was fried by frost. Luckily I dont get frost here unless its below -3C and that has only happened 3 times since I have been here. I have a lorikeet, not a budgie btw.

Peachy

[Cedric]

Thanks for all that info Peechie,

You are of course absolutely right about Melbourne, that was pure rubbish on my part. I remember very well now having a delicious fish dinner at a restaurant a bit out of town along a beach road lined into the distance and beyond with absolutely and utterly lovely huge mature palms, think they were Phoenix. Also a lovely park across the way from my apartment full of interest.

Most of those tremendous New Caledonians will of course not grow lovely for me here as our summers are too tropical steamy but they would love our winters. Im trying Kentiopsis oliviformis thought it might work. I would love a few Howea forsteriana do they make it in Brisbane? Sickening how cheap and common they are in London as dusty neglected pot plants. I've managed to kill off a few here in the garden that cost in the thousands for nothing but four leaves, sure there is way I just dont seem to get it right.

Thats very interesting about Brisbane I had no idea it could get so cold at night, this opens up all sorts of avenues for me now. Im constantly seeing things I drool over on PACSOA that have their pictures taken in tBrisbane bot .

We never ever get minus anything, at around 9%C (48F) people here rush out and buy Alpine gear, lots of fur trimmings on boot and collar and even more than just the odd ski rack on the roof of the 4X4 with ski's and all! There is a serious gap in the market for snow chains. The ultimate accessory. Thing is people here do go for at least one in a life time packaged tour to Japan to try the slopes out but like to drive around with the skis on their roof all month in Hong Kong before they leave, warm up.

The climate thing is a little troublesome as you get hotter day time temps on average than us for a month or two hmmm the sub-tropics is certainly not easy to generalise about there are many shades of grey. Oh the Northern territories would be good for me I think, I would give my eye teeth to be able to grow Nymphaea immutablis or carpentariae, violacea any of em.

I liked Brisbane and the botanical gardens with those wonderful fruit bats and university not a sign of slum did I spy, lucky you think you have the best of both worlds climate wise.

Tasmania is not on my radar too cold all year. OK thats an exaggeration but it is true Im always freezing there especially after 3pm everyday, and thats often as my lovely 82year old Mum decided thats exactly where she would like to up and move to when she turned 80. The bird life is tremendous I have to give her that but she couldn't have found a more distant isolated ice cap place to go if she tried. Now she thinks Bruny might be better, something about quiter than Hobart, lord.

Lorikeets are stunning and naughty looking birds I fed some with grapes before in Sydney? I have been thinking about getting some parrot type birds in an bird aviary for the longest time. I think a group or flock set up, maybe a few love birds, anything little and quite but active. This has been on the burner for as long as I can remember and this year Im going to go for it. Bird flu or not.

[Matt in OC]

Is this one of the tougher grow Pritchardias in SoCal for anyone else? My seedlings looked terrible after winter and my one in the ground is easily my slowest and appears to have nutritional deficiencies, but maybe it's just me.

[pietropuccio]

My young plant has never shown signs of suffering in winter in Palermo, Italy (38°6' N, zone 9b).

[Frond-friend42]

This introduces a controversy I've come across in Hodell's Loulu. According to Hodell, P. Limahulensis is not distinct enough, and he has lumped them in with P. napaliensus. But at Limahuli gardens they are insistent it is its own species.

[Frond-friend42]

The first three pics are from Limahuli...(I think Limahulensis) and the others, for comparison, are P. maideniana,  P. Pacifica, and P. glabrata (all found on Kauai) I find the loulus to be very hard to pin down as to identification, but that challenge kind of draws me in more to want to master them.

If any of you has further info with regards to any of this, or I have mis-IDed anything, please do share.

[Matt in OC]

Here’s my napaliensis. Note the larger P. Minor to the left which was planted the same time and same size. 

[Darold Petty]

Matt, could your slow growth rate be from too little water ?  The  Power Line Trail is one of the wettest areas anywhere in the whole state of Hawaii.  

[Matt in OC]

Well, I feel dumb. I know it had a dripper at some point but there isn’t one now that I could find under the mulch. It was bone dry under there. I’m currently soaking it and will add another dripper. Thanks @Darold Petty!

[akamu]

For what it's worth here is a picture of my Napaliensis it had half the roots eaten off 6 months ago buy a gopher but it  still keep trucking along 

[Frond-friend42]

From Hodel's Loulu: P. napaliensis is similar to P. Minor, also from kauai, for its nearly flat leaf blades and both have flower/fruit stalks less than or equal to length of leaf stalks (petioles). They differ in that P. napaliensis has green leaf undersides and hairless fruit branchlets, whereas P. Minor has silvery grey or white undersides and fruit branchlets that are covered with dense, pinkish-brown wooly hairs . 

[Matt in OC]

I found the original dripper today (pointed in the wrong direction) and added another one. Check out this root that it sent out looking for water! 

[Big Eye]

Here is a couple pictures of my small napaliensis that was taken some time ago. It has the deepest divided leaf tips of any loulu that I have. It's a looker for sure!

[Tracy]

On 8/14/2020 at 8:19 PM, Darold Petty said:

Matt, could your slow growth rate be from too little water ?  The  Power Line Trail is one of the wettest areas anywhere in the whole state of Hawaii.  

I have been taking care of these three for about 18 months now, acclimating them to Southern California and getting them big enough to go into the ground.  Darold knows more of their origination story.  I still want to get them a little bigger.  Last 3 photos shows what they look like when Darold left them in my care showing the growth in 18 months.  Edit.... you can see which photos are older and newer, photos reordered themselves when I posted (little pots older photos, bigger pots current photos).

[Big Eye]

55 minutes ago, Tracy said:

I have been taking care of these three for about 18 months now, acclimating them to Southern California and getting them big enough to go into the ground.  Darold knows more of their origination story.  I still want to get them a little bigger.  Last 3 photos shows what they look like when Darold left them in my care showing the growth in 18 months.  Edit.... you can see which photos are older and newer, photos reordered themselves when I posted (little pots older photos, bigger pots current photos).

Good luck with them, @Tracy. Looks like they're doing great! Do you have any updated photos of your flynii? Very curious to see how it's maturing!

 

Thanks!

Keenan

[Matt in OC]

My napaliensis is still a malnourished runt, but aside from adding the second dripper, I haven’t done too much to try and fix it. Nice job, Tracy! I have some seedlings and they appear to enjoy lots of water.

[Palm Tree Jim]

13 hours ago, Tracy said:

I have been taking care of these three for about 18 months now, acclimating them to Southern California and getting them big enough to go into the ground.  Darold knows more of their origination story.  I still want to get them a little bigger.  Last 3 photos shows what they look like when Darold left them in my care showing the growth in 18 months.  Edit.... you can see which photos are older and newer, photos reordered themselves when I posted (little pots older photos, bigger pots current photos).

These are looking real good Tracy!