Hi all, lifelong Palm afflicted Aussie on the down under west coast. Some of you may know me as Phil :)

[philthypalms]

I am very happy to finally get around to joining Palmtalk. I have some real gems here 😊

Included is an older photo of some Basselinia gracilis seedlings that are now off heat and in an unheated box outside now. Not much of a photo I know, just getting my presence here rolling 😊 

[Tyrone]

Hi Phil. Welcome to Palmtalk. Glad to see you on the forum. Good to have another Aussie here and from WA. What took you so long to join? Lol

Nice looking Basselinia gracilis you got going there. Ive had zero success germinating them, even from around 1000 seed. Its a bit hit and miss this germinating from seed thing but worth all the effort when you succeed. Its the only way to get good and unusual palms in WA. What else have you got going? Did that Tahina you got from Mark transplant well? Show us some pics. :)

[Frond-friend42]

Welcome Phil. Thy palms look great. This is a good place to share your germination secrets. I'm curious about some orange material in your pots there. ..

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Good to see another good Australian germinator, welcome to palmtalk. Well done with the Basselinia gracilis.

Regards

Colin

[philthypalms]

On 3/19/2023 at 7:05 PM, Frond-friend42 said:

Welcome Phil. Thy palms look great. This is a good place to share your germination secrets. I'm curious about some orange material in your pots there. ..

Thanks, that is very coarse sand and red scoria rock with pumice added to premium potting mix. Inorganics help fight damping off.

[philthypalms]

On 3/20/2023 at 3:54 PM, palmtreesforpleasure said:

Good to see another good Australian germinator, welcome to palmtalk. Well done with the Basselinia gracilis.

Regards

Colin

Thanks Colin, inorganic matter and bottom heat/LED set up worked wonders.

[philthypalms]

On 3/19/2023 at 3:11 PM, Tyrone said:

Hi Phil. Welcome to Palmtalk. Glad to see you on the forum. Good to have another Aussie here and from WA. What took you so long to join? Lol

Nice looking Basselinia gracilis you got going there. Ive had zero success germinating them, even from around 1000 seed. Its a bit hit and miss this germinating from seed thing but worth all the effort when you succeed. Its the only way to get good and unusual palms in WA. What else have you got going? Did that Tahina you got from Mark transplant well? Show us some pics.

The Tahina just pulled the spear it is still hard and will leave it potted until it falls apart, it hasn't yet. It held on this long.

The Basselinia seemed to really respond to a lot of inorganic matter in the mix. I will.be getting some Pseudo ekmannii next week and will try the same mix. Had trouble with them damping off in the past too. Apart from the pumice the red coarse sand, red scoria and baileys premium all come from bunnings.

[palmad Merc]

Good to see they are doing well 😝🤯☺️😚

[philthypalms]

17 hours ago, palmad Merc said:

Good to see they are doing well 😝🤯☺️😚

B. favieri were looking very happy too last time I checked as well mate!

[Tyrone]

20 hours ago, philthypalms said:

The Tahina just pulled the spear it is still hard and will leave it potted until it falls apart, it hasn't yet. It held on this long.

The Basselinia seemed to really respond to a lot of inorganic matter in the mix. I will.be getting some Pseudo ekmannii next week and will try the same mix. Had trouble with them damping off in the past too. Apart from the pumice the red coarse sand, red scoria and baileys premium all come from bunnings.

It’s in good hands with you but it will be a shame if it dies. I germinated that one. Maybe a bit of preventative peroxide down the top may stop any possible fungal growth. 

My germination mixes are basically inorganic components with coconut coir. I avoid most potting mixes now. They’re too variable and don’t drain properly I find. 

[DoomsDave]

Nice to meet you @philthypalms!

Sane, mate?

Hope not!

[philthypalms]

8 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

Nice to meet you @philthypalms!

Sane, mate?

Hope not!

Mad as a bat when it comes to plants.

 

9 hours ago, Tyrone said:

It’s in good hands with you but it will be a shame if it dies. I germinated that one. Maybe a bit of preventative peroxide down the top may stop any possible fungal growth. 

My germination mixes are basically inorganic components with coconut coir. I avoid most potting mixes now. They’re too variable and don’t drain properly I find. 

Yeah, I don't think it is dead yet, but we need to see a leaf before winter or it is not looking good.

[philthypalms]

9 hours ago, Tyrone said:

It’s in good hands with you but it will be a shame if it dies. I germinated that one. Maybe a bit of preventative peroxide down the top may stop any possible fungal growth. 

My germination mixes are basically inorganic components with coconut coir. I avoid most potting mixes now. They’re too variable and don’t drain properly I find. 

Ah, I haven't used coir but I see the merit in it. I have some Cyphosperma naboutinense here needing potting up, I know you dabbled in some Cyphos back when you were in Perth, did you ever have nabouti? This species is not presenting any problems at all!

[Tyrone]

1 hour ago, philthypalms said:

Ah, I haven't used coir but I see the merit in it. I have some Cyphosperma naboutinense here needing potting up, I know you dabbled in some Cyphos back when you were in Perth, did you ever have nabouti? This species is not presenting any problems at all!

I tried Cyphosperma balansae without success. C naboutinense sounds really exotic. I know nothing about them. Well done getting them to go. 

[philthypalms]

1 hour ago, Tyrone said:

I tried Cyphosperma balansae without success. C naboutinense sounds really exotic. I know nothing about them. Well done getting them to go. 

Something else I have also got going and surprising is Areca hutchinsoniana. Four of five damped off at first spear stage. The survivor has taken all before it since and the info I have found suggests it will be hardier than catechu. It will be it's second winter without cover this year. Keen to share how it goes.  I also have a few Lanonia sp. all exposed to the elements and they are indestructible in Greenwood. Take the heat and the wet and cool.

[tim_brissy_13]

7 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I tried Cyphosperma balansae without success. C naboutinense sounds really exotic. I know nothing about them. Well done getting them to go. 

C. naboutinense going quite well so far for me in Melb. I think I’ll bring them indoors for a couple of months this winter to be safe, but they seem tougher than their origin would suggest. 

[tim_brissy_13]

By the way, welcome to Palmtalk @philthypalms! 

[Tyrone]

9 hours ago, philthypalms said:

Something else I have also got going and surprising is Areca hutchinsoniana. Four of five damped off at first spear stage. The survivor has taken all before it since and the info I have found suggests it will be hardier than catechu. It will be it's second winter without cover this year. Keen to share how it goes.  I also have a few Lanonia sp. all exposed to the elements and they are indestructible in Greenwood. Take the heat and the wet and cool.

I had a Areca catechu do well for a few years in Belmont before the garden grew too much and shaded it from the winter sun after which it died. So if A hutchinsoniana is hardier you may actually get success with it. Well done. I have some L dasyantha doing ok down here but in a grow box that I’m trying to get some size too before I release them. They would be a nice patio plant for a while. Kerriodoxa elegans is a great patio plant down here. However I want to build a hothouse tunnel house arrangement and the Kerriodoxa and Lanonia would do great in the ground in a structure like that. Winters can be a bit too cool for them. Acanthophoenix rubra has surprised me. I just planted them out this year after they have been in a pot for 9 years and they’re going great. The books say they are a lowland tropical plant but we saw them at 1200m on Reunion island doing really well where it was cloudy, wet and about 12C colder than at sea level. It reminded me of an Albany winters day. As we descended the mountain pass they came back into peoples gardens right where Archontophoenix alexandrae came back and were above where the coconuts came back. They’d do well in Perth with enough nutrient and soil moisture. 

[philthypalms]

4 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I had a Areca catechu do well for a few years in Belmont before the garden grew too much and shaded it from the winter sun after which it died. So if A hutchinsoniana is hardier you may actually get success with it. Well done. I have some L dasyantha doing ok down here but in a grow box that I’m trying to get some size too before I release them. They would be a nice patio plant for a while. Kerriodoxa elegans is a great patio plant down here. However I want to build a hothouse tunnel house arrangement and the Kerriodoxa and Lanonia would do great in the ground in a structure like that. Winters can be a bit too cool for them. Acanthophoenix rubra has surprised me. I just planted them out this year after they have been in a pot for 9 years and they’re going great. The books say they are a lowland tropical plant but we saw them at 1200m on Reunion island doing really well where it was cloudy, wet and about 12C colder than at sea level. It reminded me of an Albany winters day. As we descended the mountain pass they came back into peoples gardens right where Archontophoenix alexandrae came back and were above where the coconuts came back. They’d do well in Perth with enough nutrient and soil moisture. 

I tried a batch of Acanthophoenix rubra from RPS not that long ago. The seeds all rotted off.

Never had Kerriodoxa grow past first leaf stage either. They appear fussy at that stage, at least for me anyway. I have 3 or 4 green joeys atm, all still first few leaves though. One has seen two winters outside of a box now. Have a magnifica seedling too, but will need to winter that one in a suitable microclimate.

[philthypalms]

8 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

C. naboutinense going quite well so far for me in Melb. I think I’ll bring them indoors for a couple of months this winter to be safe, but they seem tougher than their origin would suggest. 

Excellent work! It would be amazing to see something from the Pacific adapting to Melbourne.

[Tyrone]

28 minutes ago, philthypalms said:

I tried a batch of Acanthophoenix rubra from RPS not that long ago. The seeds all rotted off.

Never had Kerriodoxa grow past first leaf stage either. They appear fussy at that stage, at least for me anyway. I have 3 or 4 green joeys atm, all still first few leaves though. One has seen two winters outside of a box now. Have a magnifica seedling too, but will need to winter that one in a suitable microclimate.

I think I tried over the years around 1000 Acanthophoenix rubra seed and only got two to germinate. Those two are the ones I still have now planted out. I think super fresh seed is needed to get good germination. I had good germination with Acanthophoenix crinita but killed them all bringing them south to Albany when it was 42C on the drive down. Real shame. 

All the best with your Joeys.