My rare 10 week old Pigafetta Elata seedling Report

[Slifer00]

So here is my Pigafetta elata seedling, a.k.a the 'Black Wanga Palm', apparently known as one of, if not THE fastest growing palm trees in existence. Currently it is sitting in my makeshift acrylic greenhouse, where the humidity is kept at a constant 80-90%, as well as temperatures reaching up to 32C or 90F in direct sunlight. They truly do love their soggy soils, in fact I made a hole on the side (which you can see is kept shut with a bismarckia seed), to monitor moisture levels, keeping the very bottom of the pot just about waterlogged. Soil is a mix of regular compost, and coco coir, topped with sphagnum moss with biweekly fertilising to keep the roots nutrient rich -- just like in the palms native environment in Sulawesi, Indonesia. I nearly lost the seedling 14 days after germination when the initial frond (which you can see is about 70% dead), turned to a crisp after leaving it in my 40% humidity sunroom @28C for a measly *3 hours*. It is also forming microscopic spines on the trunk, which are surprisingly spiky on touch. I was also recently away for 3 weeks, at which point I had to place it by a heavily glazed North-Facing bathroom where it got very little sunlight, to prevent the humidity from dissipating in the sunlight. Despite all of that, it has still grown to approximately 11cm (4.3in) over 70 days. I expect even faster growth over the coming weeks, as the next emerging frond is showing 3 splits, instead of 2. Soon, I will have to transplant it into a larger pot, which is something I am definitely not looking forward to, because of how notoriously sensitive Pigafetta is to root disturbance. I will likely have to do it over two stages, first freeing the edges carefully with a fork or butter knife, and only after a week (or two) will I attempt to lift it. Not sure what I will do for winter, as we average a measly 56 hours of sunlight in December here in Dublin... If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions for care, please let me know

 

 

[JohnAndSancho]

Nice to see super rare tropical stuff in places it doesn't belong! As for lighting in December, I posted a review the other day of a grow bulb I got off eBay for $1 US. I absolutely do not recommend that one 😂 but there's plenty of good ones out there. I'm having success with GE and Sansi and Barrina lights in my indoor jungle.