Leppidorachis mooreana in my garden

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Had this one in the garden since a strap leaf seedling in 2010 it's very close to trunking now. This area gets full sun in the afternoons but temperatures here in coastal Tasmania rarely exceed 30c  88f or below 2c  34f. 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

Gorgeous! My impossible dream palm. It’s the biggest Leppidorhachis I’ve ever seen. Thanks for posting the photo, Troy.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

On 7/18/2024 at 12:21 AM, PalmatierMeg said:

Gorgeous! My impossible dream palm. It’s the biggest Leppidorhachis I’ve ever seen. Thanks for posting the photo, Troy.

Thanks I have climbed Mt Gower and seen them in person 

[Jonathan]

These are my two, same age as Troy's, from the same lot of seedlings I got from LHI nursery before they stopped sending plants. These were sent as single leaf bare rooted seedlings with seed still attached. Of the 20 I ordered, my two and Troy's are the only two survivors that I know of for certain. Troy's has outgrown my bigger one, which is not surprising as he's a far better grower than me! The other 17 were either given away and perished or died in their pots before I could plant them out. 

As anyone who has tried growing these would probably agree, they are very temperamental, particularly in pots. I have multiple survivors of a later seed batch but how many will survive to be planted out is the great unknown, as they have a habit of turning their toes up for no apparent reason. Fingers crossed.

[Tyrone]

Awesome specimens guys.  The Tassie growers should be able to grow these very well. I’ve found they hate dewpoints above 20C especially if the temps are 35C or above. In that situation it doesn’t matter how much shade or water you give them, seedlings will just instantly die. Older plants will just melt leaves. They’re not quite a Juania but they’re not far off. Definitely a difficult cloud forest palm that in my area loves the normal climate here especially winter but hates a heat wave or a humid subtropical period. 

[Alberto]

Congratulations both growers for the beautifull grown palms ! It' s certainly a rare species. In the past it crossed my mind to give this a try here, but after reading that it also doesn't tolerate well negative temperatures, I gave up the idea

[Jonathan]

9 hours ago, Alberto said:

Congratulations both growers for the beautifull grown palms ! It' s certainly a rare species. In the past it crossed my mind to give this a try here, but after reading that it also doesn't tolerate well negative temperatures, I gave up the idea

Almost impossible to get them now, which is unfortunate, as ex situ conservation is probably their only hope of long term survival given that increasing temperatures and reduced cloud  cover have already started killing trees in the mossy cloud forest on LHI.

Lepidorrachis grows right at the top of the mountains so has nowhere left to go if the climate warms significantly. The species is listed as critically endangered yet the conservation advice gives no indication of how they will be protected from climate change. The establishment of cultivated breeding populations in suitable ex situ habitats seems the only logical solution to me...the IPS should be applying pressure on the Australian government to make this happen, assuming there are no steps already being taken.

6388-conservation-advice.pdf

[coops 3214]

I had 2 small ones in my raised garden bed which is well composed sand and both grew well for a couple of years here in geelong just 50 klms south east of Melbourne until a fire torched them shattered to say the least lost a really good size hedyescepe at the same time

[Jonathan]

1 hour ago, coops 3214 said:

I had 2 small ones in my raised garden bed which is well composed sand and both grew well for a couple of years here in geelong just 50 klms south east of Melbourne until a fire torched them shattered to say the least lost a really good size hedyescepe at the same time

Bummer, sorry to hear that...not easy plants to replace. Would be nice if the NSW government could be persuaded to release some seed into cultivation. Don't hold your breath though.

[Darold Petty]

Jonathan;  your plant looks great ! 

I have lost two, both with about 1 m of trunk and multiple spadices.  The first one had seeds almost mature, but still with green epicarp.  That was my first,  terrible loss. 

Now, my attitude is that every palm death is an opportunity to refine my garden design.  Grow or die, whatever !

I had the ambition to be the first to produce seeds ex situ, but I am already 74 years old, so this now seems most unlikely.   

[Jonathan]

5 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Jonathan;  your plant looks great ! 

I have lost two, both with about 1 m of trunk and multiple spadices.  The first one had seeds almost mature, but still with green epicarp.  That was my first,  terrible loss. 

Now, my attitude is that every palm death is an opportunity to refine my garden design.  Grow or die, whatever !

I had the ambition to be the first to produce seeds ex situ, but I am already 74 years old, so this now seems most unlikely.   

Darold- the solution is to live to 150!

My attitude towards Lepidorrachis is that I don't expect them to live, so if they do it's a bonus. The ones in the pics above are in deep shade under a Blackwood tree, Acacia melanoxylon, the soil is beach sand but with six inches of leaf litter mulch from the tree. Never been fertilised.

So far so good.