Licuala Garden Startup

[LilikoiLee]

Mike and I have been overwhelmed with family and work related activities lately so garden time (and Palm Talk) time have been squeezed out of our lives but we’ve promised to several people to post pictures of our new Licuala garden so here is a brief look at it until we have time to do a better post.

A Bit of History:

We’ve bought a few Licuala here and there over time but recently came down with a case of Licuala Fever and decided we wanted to dedicate part of our garden just to Licuala so we cleared an area that has a diameter of roughly 25’ and is located on a gentle slope. The garden is located among some earlier palm plantings and can be seen from several surrounding trails as well as our (future) pond.

We spent a week clearing the area and had to remove several pre-palm plantings including crouton, hibiscus etc. which wasn’t bad because we ended up with ready-made holes. The stakes with the orange flags on them remind us of where the holes are located.

We have a few more Licuala waiting to get their roots in the ground and will post again with the identities of each of the palms.

Lee

Before clearing

Removing previous plantings

[Jeff Searle]

Can't wait to see this collection in a few short years.

[Kim]

Wonderful collection! I like your jungle look, complete with jungle cat.

[doranakandawatta]

Oh Mon Dieu !!!!!

are they real?

[wanti]

omg, visiting this in real life would be like when the bear is finally let in to the honey shop

[doranakandawatta]

Lee,

What is this reddish vegetable in the middle of your Licuala?

[Peter Pacific]

Congratulations Lee, your Licuala garden is lovely!

Continued success,

Peter

[rthink]

Hi Lee,

It must be so much fun building Licuala garden. Enjoy!

[doranakandawatta]

Hi Lee,

It must be so much fun building Licuala garden. Enjoy!

Hi Lee and Rthink,

So much fun that I'll do the same as soon as I can News soon.

[ariscott]

Very nice... I have a 'so called' Licuala bed.... although now it has more other stuff than licuala and my collection is nowhere near as impressive. Maybe one day...

[doranakandawatta]

I too wanted to start a Licuala garden .

But where?

So we noticed that there was a place where Licuala grandis seeded himself under the canopy of mangusteen trees grove.
Then we bought the land, first in order to protect the old mangusteen trees, second to get the space for our Licualas:

shade, semi-shade, some clearing in the middle of the land, one spring and two streams...

We planted the first palms last week and brought there a part of the nursery which was too crowded in the first garden.

I have been lucky it was mangusteen season at this time so I had one mangusteen after each palm

What did we plant already?

3 Loxococcus, 3 Actinorhytis, 1 Bentinckia condapanna, 2 Licuala distans, 34 Licuala grandis (weeds)… some Verschaffeltia, Phoenicophorium, Drymophloeus, 6 Areca guppyana, Euterpe oleracea, Dypsis rivularis, Hydriastele rheophytica, Kerriodoxa ...

What is in the waiting lounge (nursery)?

Licuala orbicularis, Licuala ramsayi, aurantiaca, dasyantha, peltata-peltata, peltata sumawongii, petiolulata, longipes, mapu

Lilikoilee,

If your Licualas don't feel well, you can send them to Manguswatta

[Alcibiades]

Hello Philippe,

a Licuala garden is a great idea. Do you know any kind of Licuala that can be grown indoor in northern Europe? My first try was a disaster. The humdity is the main problem i guess. I get the seedlings to grow to 2 or 3 leafs using plastic bags and steam. But after a while they need a dose of reality. I was literally able to watch them dying when outside of the bags for a couple of minutes.

Jakob

[Bismark]

Lee I would love to see updates of this garden.

Waiting in anticipation.

[doranakandawatta]

Lee I would love to see updates of this garden.

Waiting in anticipation.

Lee,

Yes we do!

[LilikoiLee]

Lee I would love to see updates of this garden.

Waiting in anticipation.

Bismark, Thanks for remembering our garden and asking for an update. Unfortunately we've had so many other things to do we haven't been able to spend as much time as we'd like. Here are a few pictures of new plantings and two pictures of previous plantings. Everything in the Licuala garden is growing well despite being neglected. We hope to have time to clean it up and post some good pictures of it soon.

Lee

New planting of L. khoonmengii

New planting of L. mapu

L. cordata

L. ramsayi and Sommieria sp

[doranakandawatta]

Looking forward to seeing new pictures...

Lee,

Your Licuala garden in Kailu Kona has now a twin brother in Manguswatta (under the mangusteen trees grove, nice fruits!)

You know already that I copy what I see from the hawaiian gardens and that I am so jealous .

[LilikoiLee]

Philippe,

The jealously goes both ways! Did you post pictures of your garden? Mike and I have been away from PT for some time and have a lot catching up to do.......

Lee

[Pedro 65]

Lee and Mike, wow the 3 Licuala khoonmengii will be a very beautiful sight indeed, pls keep us updated as they fill out.

Pete

[doranakandawatta]

 

Philippe,

 

The jealously goes both ways! Did you post pictures of your garden? Mike and I have been away from PT for some time and have a lot catching up to do.......

 

Lee

Ayubowan Lee and Mike,

While you're traveling oversees I am hijacking your thread Licuala-garden-startup.
Or I prepare the garden before you come and visit so you won't be disappointed : 

So here are pictures of our srilankan Licuala garden last august:

uber common Licuala grandis

big hopes with that Clinostigma:

Sunny space; some Euterpe, Archontophoenix, Loxococcus  building the canopy

Licuala grandis and some Drymophloeus

Licuala distans

Licuala grandis and the stream bank:

Hydriastele beguinii and Phoenicophorium with spontaneous Areca sp.

 

Verschaffeltia splendida:

Licuala babies waiting :

Borassodendron just planted:

Areca triandra:

As you can notice, we don't had so much a visible Licuala garden, I hope I am not wrong but I planted these other species in order to build the frame of the Licuala collection, hoping for good contrasts between them. I am glad we still have space between these first palms, and L. grandis as many as we need:

 

These are the 3 first Licuala grandis, maybe 7 years old and self sowing everywhere. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kim]

Stunning Licuala grandis!   

[doranakandawatta]

Stunning Licuala grandis!   

Yes Kim,
They are srilankan Licuala, happy to grow, known in the country since the old time, so we can see them in many rural village gardens . 

Here a photograph of H.F.Macmillan book in 1910:

 

Edited October 7, 2015 by doranakandawatta

[Josh-O]

awesome Philippe 

[Moose]

Love Licuala, its easy to catch the fever. Spotted a Croton too. That is a very addictive combination, they coexhist very nicely.

[doranakandawatta]

Lee,

Would you post lovely pictures soon? Looking forward to seeing your next post.