Howea fosteriana

[happypalms]

An easy palm to grow and propagate if you have 12 months or more to spare waiting for them to germinate the wife wanted some to grow so I had a few sitting under the gun trees to give to the wife they sit for years  in containers give them a little attention and they respond well.

[Harry’s Palms]

They are a very nice palm. They grow moderately slow-fast. I think I have a couple coming up from seed I planted over a year ago. One of my mature Howea F. produced a good amount of seed so I put a few in the ground. The first time it produced viable seed , I got two volunteers and that was 7-8 years ago. Here in Southern California the speed of growth can vary from one to the other. I have one out of all my Howea that I call Super Kentia that towers above the other and has a huge elephant foot . I had brought it home from a trip to a Kentia farm where it was a stand out seedling in a group of hundreds that were growing next to the greenhouse . It has grown so fast and very robust. I planted two seedlings at the same time in my courtyard . Now they look at least 5 years apart in age. Harry

[Kim]

Oh, cute babies! You will have a forest of Howea for your wife to enjoy!

Several Howea forsteriana grace my tiny California garden. They were tall potted palms in 2015 on either side of the arch at my daughter's wedding, and soon after went into the ground at my home. As is typical, they were sold with 3 in each pot and of course one takes the lead and develops faster than the others. I lost one very soon from one group, but the remaining 5 continue to grow well, and I don't mind that they are relatively slow growing palms. That gives me the pleasure of enjoying the elegant fronds on a human scale for many years.

[Harry’s Palms]

This is about a year or so from shoving the fruit in the ground! I was stoked when I saw it first pop up. I thought it could be a C. Radicalis when I spotted it because I have so many popping up around the garden , but the second little frond confirmed  what it was . Chamaedorea are not as leathery thick at this age. I will let it grow for a while then move it to a suitable spot in the yard. I just love free palms! Harry

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

This is about a year or so from shoving the fruit in the ground! I was stoked when I saw it first pop up. I thought it could be a C. Radicalis when I spotted it because I have so many popping up around the garden , but the second little frond confirmed  what it was . Chamaedorea are not as leathery thick at this age. I will let it grow for a while then move it to a suitable spot in the yard. I just love free palms! Harry

Looks like a howea by the petiole being thick Radicalis are a lot thinner.                       
Richard 

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, Kim said:

Oh, cute babies! You will have a forest of Howea for your wife to enjoy!

Several Howea forsteriana grace my tiny California garden. They were tall potted palms in 2015 on either side of the arch at my daughter's wedding, and soon after went into the ground at my home. As is typical, they were sold with 3 in each pot and of course one takes the lead and develops faster than the others. I lost one very soon from one group, but the remaining 5 continue to grow well, and I don't mind that they are relatively slow growing palms. That gives me the pleasure of enjoying the elegant fronds on a human scale for many years.

I think my wife teases me by saying she wants a palm nursery they it works at the moment is I grow them and the wife takes for keeps but still have to remind her to get the palm dart grub that eats the leaves kentia are so common in my area it was one of the first palms along with the cocos to get sold by every nursery and backyard grower with lord Howe island a few hundred kilometres south of the coast in Australia sold by the thousands to the indoor plant hire industry they are such a lovely when I was 17 I gave two to my mother it was the best gift she said I ever gave her your daughter knew how to impress by having them at her wedding the bellmoreana is getting rare with fosteriana given the main attention I have a thousand bell seeds on order I try to distribute a few hundred then germinate the rest.

Richard 

[Harry’s Palms]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

Looks like a howea by the petiole being thick Radicalis are a lot thinner.                       
Richard 

Thanks Richard , I hadn’t considered that but you are right. Harry

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Thanks Richard , I hadn’t considered that but you are right. Harry

I have germinated them by the thousands in the past I was given 20 hessian potatoe bags full it was a lot of seeds I just  dug a ten very long trench’s in the ground and poured them into I had thousands of them.

Richard 

[happypalms]

19 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

They are a very nice palm. They grow moderately slow-fast. I think I have a couple coming up from seed I planted over a year ago. One of my mature Howea F. produced a good amount of seed so I put a few in the ground. The first time it produced viable seed , I got two volunteers and that was 7-8 years ago. Here in Southern California the speed of growth can vary from one to the other. I have one out of all my Howea that I call Super Kentia that towers above the other and has a huge elephant foot . I had brought it home from a trip to a Kentia farm where it was a stand out seedling in a group of hundreds that were growing next to the greenhouse . It has grown so fast and very robust. I planted two seedlings at the same time in my courtyard . Now they look at least 5 years apart in age. Harry

They grow so slow it takes around 20 years for them to set seed I have seen the same seeds from the same tree with total different growth rates planted all in the same area I think the runts is what you compare them against I always keep the first palms that germinate for my collection keeping the best of the best if i purchase palms of the same varieties I like to get at least two so you can judge the growth you just can’t tell If you have one.

Richard 

[Tyrone]

My favourite “bread and butter” palm and so beautiful

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, Tyrone said:

My favourite “bread and butter” palm and so beautiful

 

1 hour ago, Tyrone said:

My favourite “bread and butter” palm and so beautiful

There a winner I have placed an order for 1000 bellmoreana seeds there the rare one now even better than the fosteriana.

[Tyrone]

4 hours ago, happypalms said:

 

There a winner I have placed an order for 1000 bellmoreana seeds there the rare one now even better than the fosteriana.

I bought in 1000 belmoreana seed a few years back. I’ve now got 700-800 plants now doing well. Time to mass plant an area in the garden. 

[Kim]

Belmoreana would be choice! There is a really old one up the hill from me planted in front of a 1930s Spanish revival house. At least I think that's what it is. Neglected but taller than the 2-story house. Maybe I can get a street view... curious if it really is a H. belmoreana. What do you think?

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, Kim said:

Belmoreana would be choice! There is a really old one up the hill from me planted in front of a 1930s Spanish revival house. At least I think that's what it is. Neglected but taller than the 2-story house. Maybe I can get a street view... curious if it really is a H. belmoreana. What do you think?

Hi Kim it’s definitely a bell it has that punk look and an old tall one as well like  the ones in Sydney Australia.

Richard 

[Harry’s Palms]

6 hours ago, Kim said:

Belmoreana would be choice! There is a really old one up the hill from me planted in front of a 1930s Spanish revival house. At least I think that's what it is. Neglected but taller than the 2-story house. Maybe I can get a street view... curious if it really is a H. belmoreana. What do you think?

That is very old and looks great to me. Harry

[Darold Petty]

A very easy and foolproof way to distinguish between adult palms of this genus is the number of spadices. 

H. forsteriana has 2 to 5 spadices joined together at the base (like the fingers of one's hand) at each leafbase scar.

  H. belmoreana has only a single spadix at each leafbase scar. 

[Tyrone]

On Lord Howe Island, forsteriana prefers the sandy limestone soil areas nearer the beach, but belmoreana prefers the more acid, volcanic formed gravelly loams especially along creeks. In the rainforest areas the belmoreana get tall with large full crowns. Both species cross over and appear together in places but that they prefer slightly different conditions to each other. At the higher elevations of belmoreanas range on Mt Gower you start to see Hedyscepe and belmoreana and Hedyscepe tend to be happy buddies in these crossover points. 

[Tyrone]

7 hours ago, Kim said:

Belmoreana would be choice! There is a really old one up the hill from me planted in front of a 1930s Spanish revival house. At least I think that's what it is. Neglected but taller than the 2-story house. Maybe I can get a street view... curious if it really is a H. belmoreana. What do you think?

Definitely an old belmoreana. Fully sun hardened by now. Lol

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, Tyrone said:

On Lord Howe Island, forsteriana prefers the sandy limestone soil areas nearer the beach, but belmoreana prefers the more acid, volcanic formed gravelly loams especially along creeks. In the rainforest areas the belmoreana get tall with large full crowns. Both species cross over and appear together in places but that they prefer slightly different conditions to each other. At the higher elevations of belmoreanas range on Mt Gower you start to see Hedyscepe and belmoreana and Hedyscepe tend to be happy buddies in these crossover points. 

Hi Tyrone for an island so close to my home I haven’t been there yet it might be time for an Australian holiday iam more keen on seeing the Hedyscepe though and no customs I might be lucky enough to buy some seeds and import them without customs.😂

[Tyrone]

2 hours ago, happypalms said:

Hi Tyrone for an island so close to my home I haven’t been there yet it might be time for an Australian holiday iam more keen on seeing the Hedyscepe though and no customs I might be lucky enough to buy some seeds and import them without customs.😂

Just go as soon as you can. Climb Mt Gower. Lord Howe Island is just pure heaven. 

[happypalms]

41 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

Just go as soon as you can. Climb Mt Gower. Lord Howe Island is just pure heaven. 

I will have a look at the flights it could be my own little ips biannual 😄

[peachy]

When I went there many years ago as a tiny child, you had to go to Rose Bay and get on a really old plane that took off in the harbour.  It was a very noisy bumpy ride too.

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, peachy said:

When I went there many years ago as a tiny child, you had to go to Rose Bay and get on a really old plane that took off in the harbour.  It was a very noisy bumpy ride too.

Hi peachy at least the trauma of that experience has finally surfaced some 50 years later you can now let go of that trauma and know that you can now successfully grow kentia palms so don’t blame your parents for your failure in growing kentias for traumatic experiences in planes just  breath deeply and think calm blue ocean serenity before insanity 😁

[Tyrone]

22 hours ago, peachy said:

When I went there many years ago as a tiny child, you had to go to Rose Bay and get on a really old plane that took off in the harbour.  It was a very noisy bumpy ride too.

I wish they still had that there. They have a runway now. 

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I wish they still had that there. They have a runway now. 

I looked up the price for a plane ticket there cheaper to fly to Thailand then lord Howe I guess you gotta pay for the new runway.

[Tyrone]

11 hours ago, happypalms said:

I looked up the price for a plane ticket there cheaper to fly to Thailand then lord Howe I guess you gotta pay for the new runway.

Nothing is cheap about Lord Howe Island, but it’s worth it. You’ve got to climb Mt Gower. 

[happypalms]

12 hours ago, Tyrone said:

Nothing is cheap about Lord Howe Island, but it’s worth it. You’ve got to climb Mt Gower. 

Yer the islands have you trapped with your credit card and they are out to fleece it using technology to do it with the good old key card.