Rhopalostylis Sapida (Oceana) Chatham Island Nikau Palm

[surferjr]

Here's a pic of POGOBOB and his Bohemian Rhopalostylis Sapida (Oceana) Chatham Island Nikau Palm show us yours.

Truly a killewr palm :drool:

[surferjr]

Here's a pic of POGOBOB and his Bohemian Rhopalostylis Sapida (Oceana) Chatham Island Nikau Palm show us yours.

Truly a killewr palm :drool:

Does no one have one of these?

[Bags]

Here is mine. I got it from Clark so I guess this is one of Pogo's offspring. This is also my favorite Rhopalostylis. Clark do you have any pictures of the whole plant? Aaron

[MattyB]

Dang, that looks a lot like the palm that my uncle has. Look how it looks like a R. baueri when young, with the redish coloring and the petioles. Then it gets older, fattens up, and stiffens up like a sapida, but very robust. It's the larger one that I'm leaning on. The other smaller palm is a regular R. baueri.

[MattyB]

Here's how the offspring look when young. Very similar I'd say. Maybe the unknown Rhopalostylis in my Uncle's yard is actually a R. sapida Oceana. Hmmmmmmm Any thoughts by the experts?

[DippyD]

hey matt do you have a picture more of the leafs? this would probly give a better idea of what you have.. both palms are awesome! deff. one of my more favorite palms in pogos yard!

[pogobob]

Here's a pic of POGOBOB and his Bohemian Rhopalostylis Sapida (Oceana) Chatham Island Nikau Palm show us yours.

Truly a killewr palm :drool:

Does no one have one of these?

I'll have another Bohemia!

[surferjr]

Here's how the offspring look when young. Very similar I'd say. Maybe the unknown Rhopalostylis in my Uncle's yard is actually a R. sapida Oceana. Hmmmmmmm Any thoughts by the experts?

Hey Matty frizzbee B,

I'm not going to say your is not! But the crown on a Oceana....POGOBOBS...is like a beach ball. Many have thought that this species might not even be Chatham Oceana but a different species hybrid. POGOBOBS and the legendary Phil Morgan have the same trees from the same seed litter and this palm has been in many discussion as to its true origin.

Pogobob has a few R. baueri in his yard also which look very much like your uncles fatty!

One things for sure ..... it's one of the best cold hardy palms in the world, mind bowering in appearance and don't miss a beat in my yard at 22 degrees, also she looks just like coconut trees.

Great for planting in ocean front properties too, as there salt tolerant.

[Ken]

holly cow pogo, your chathum sapida has a beer belly, I guess that's what happens when you keep trippin and spillin those bohemia's!!! Let me know when you get ripe seeds from that gluten pig

[Tyrone]

What an awesome palm!!!! I'm going to grow more Rhopies. All of them.

Best regards

Tyrone

[surferjr]

What an awesome palm!!!! I'm going to grow more Rhopies. All of them.

Best regards

Tyrone

A wise man speaks!!

[pogobob]

I have been to New Zealand for the flora and I never saw a sapida very fat! Most of them looked almost runted, I think they grow in Southern California best

[pogobob]

I have been to New Zealand for the flora and I never saw a sapida very fat! Most of them looked almost runted, I think they grow in Southern California best

At the risk of offending our Kiwi brothers, I should mention that South Island has some robust Nikaus, and the Barrier Islands also. Most of the palms on the North Island were not as robust with the exception of the Taranaki region.

[Tyrone]

I would say our Kiwi friends would likely agree with you. I've heard it said that So Cal grows better looking fatter Nikaus than NZ from NZ palm growers. It's a bit like NZ grows better Howea belmoreana's than Lord Howe Island as I read the other day.

Best regards

Tyrone

[surferjr]

I would say our Kiwi friends would likely agree with you. I've heard it said that So Cal grows better looking fatter Nikaus than NZ from NZ palm growers. It's a bit like NZ grows better Howea belmoreana's than Lord Howe Island as I read the other day.

Best regards

Tyrone

I think it's in the brew mate!

[YorbaLindaPalmsAndCycads]

Here's a pic of POGOBOB and his Bohemian Rhopalostylis Sapida (Oceana) Chatham Island Nikau Palm show us yours.

Truly a killewr palm :drool:

Just got mine from Clark - a DOUBLE! And for those who haven't yet seen Clark's yard, you're in for a treat.

--

Mark Byrne

waytogomark@gmail.com

[Pivi]

Clark, can you tell us how old are those from seed?

Thanks

[Tyrone]

Here's a link describing this one's condition in the wild. It's not good. This is a species that should be cultivated for seed production to establish it strongly in cultivation.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/sc...ical/cas283.pdf

Best regards

Tyrone

[pogobob]

Thanks for the link, Tyrone, should be required reading for all palm growers so they know how endangered and special these palms are. Before I went to New Zealand I was under the impression that the country was pristene and unspoiled. I drove around both islands and couldn't believe the small amount of forest remnants left between mind numbing endless tracts of land cleared for pasture land, timber production with introduced pines, and farms. It was sad to see the old senile nikaus with little regeneration occuring in the gullies. Even in the forest reserves the offroad enthusiasts (fast growing pastime) are destroying habitat faster than chainsaw trackter scraping farmers...Bob

[surferjr]

Here's a link describing this one's condition in the wild. It's not good. This is a species that should be cultivated for seed production to establish it strongly in cultivation.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/sc...ical/cas283.pdf

Best regards

Tyrone

Holy S#&T....what a nightmare!

This is not good. We need to do our part...plant more!

[Pivi]

Surfer, how old are those rhopies that Mark posted (last photos).

Edited October 29, 2008 by Pivi

[surferjr]

Surfer, how old are those rhopies that Mark posted (last photos).

They're not as slow as everyone is saying they need water and in the begining shade but love the sun when 5+ years old!!

These are 6-7 year plant from seed, here's one planted from the same seed litter planted in the ground 3 years ago. Rhopies have massive root systems and hate bucket!

For size it's next to a 15 gallon Chambeyronia houailou that is 12 years old.

They need to be planted in the ground....thous who visit see the differences from ground to bucket grown, huge differences. So run and plant them in the ground!!

[Pivi]

Thanks Clark. Really a huge difference.

[surferjr]

Thanks Clark. Really a huge difference.

Twice to 3 times the size

[Jonathan]

Here's a link describing this one's condition in the wild. It's not good. This is a species that should be cultivated for seed production to establish it strongly in cultivation.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/sc...ical/cas283.pdf

Best regards

Tyrone

Holy S#&T....what a nightmare!

This is not good. We need to do our part...plant more!

Unfortunately conservation through cultivation is generally pointless - UNLESS there is no other option.

The problem is that unless you select seed from a large number of different trees, the gene pool gets reduced to a fragment and any eventual reintroduction could do more harm than good - ie, the diversity needed to create mutations capable of evolving with changing conditions could be altered.

So although Pogobobs amazing palm looks great - it may not be the answer to a warmer or wetter or drier environment in the Chathams.

You could put money on all of the Nikaus in California being descended from a handful of parent trees.

Its hard to believe that in a country as civilised and wealthy as NZ that this could be allowed to happen - governments need to be held responsible for environmental damage that occurs on their watch.

I know the IPS is not a political body but is there any way we can apply pressure (through PACSONZ? maybe) or provide a grant for fencing or something?

Pay the locals to not use the bush as a pig hunting reserve....set up an export nursery like on Lord Howe, run by locals. Ban the export of seed to create a monopoly to make it pay.

I know there are people in NZ working on this - but theres nothing like international exposure to get a government hopping.

Same old story, unfortunately....live for now, **** the future.

[Tyrone]

[Roaringwater]

Here is a pic of my biggest Rhopalostylis 'Oceana'. It has been in the ground for four years now, and is really beginning to take off. It hasn't managed more than three leaves a year, but each leaf is considerably bigger than the last. So far, I've planted seven, obtained from several different sources, so I'm hoping that in time I can do something for the ex-situ conservation of this palm. I am not planting any other Rhopalostylis here, and there are no others nearby. My location is a long-term zone 10, but with a cool and windy maritime climate.

This palm is indeed very good at resisting salt winds. Mine are growing just a few hundred metres from the sea, and took the full force of an 85 km/h gale from that direction last winter, with no other trees for shelter. Apart from some brown leaftips, they were fine.

It does seem incredible that so little is being done to restore the unique habitats found in the Chatham Islands, and NZ and Aus generally. I also live in a place where all native vegetation has been decimated by cattle and mismanagement of the land, but there are virtually no endemic species here.

[Tyrone]

Michael, well done growing such an awesome specimen in Ireland. When I was in the UK a few months ago, I was expecting to see a Nikau somewhere along to coast near Exeter or Torquay. I'm sure they'd grow there, but I didn't find one. How does your climate compare to south coast Devon?

Best regards

Tyrone

[nachocarl]

R. sapida (not sure of the variety) but the beer by the palm tree thing was appealling.

[surferjr]

R. sapida (not sure of the variety) but the beer by the palm tree thing was appealling.

Well put Carl.....beer my mate! :drool:

[garrin]

Twenty-five years ago I lived in a mild valley about 16 miles east of San Francisco. I planted there a seedling rhopalostylis Which was said to come from the very southernmost of habitat of the palm. So I assuming from this and the fact that it looks exactly like the Chatham Islands palm that it is indeed that. It is also exceptionally hardy having survived nearly a week of nightly freezes, some days barely above freezing, and low temperatures slightly below twenty degrees F.

That palm was not even fazed! I'm glad that happened after I moved away -- it would have paniced me to see my cherimoya tree, my delicious avocados, my beautiful Hong Kong orchid tree, my large jacaranda tree, etc. freezing into pulp before my eyes. Actually the jacaranda had only small limbs damaged, and looked as good as ever by that fall. The avocado tree grew back from the main trunk and looked as good as ever and was fruiting again by three years later. Also I had a seeding Archontophoenix cunninghamiana about 20 feet tall which lost every leaf and grew out completely in about two years. Since then I have ceased visiting there,

[Gary]

Here's a link describing this one's condition in the wild. It's not good. This is a species that should be cultivated for seed production to establish it strongly in cultivation.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/sc...ical/cas283.pdf

Best regards

Tyrone

It is not all as bad as you read in that document as they are talking DOC controlled land who will not allow the collecting of 1 seed off the land they control.There are many palms on private land and I get quite alot of seed that way.At least seed supplied via me to Tobias is habitat collected and the real thing.There is alot of seed producing palm in cultivation on the mainland as well that may or may not cross with mainland form.There is no great demand for seed wether habitat or mainland cultivated of this species in local nz or abroad.Someone I know living on the island tells me of the carpets of seedlings there and has on occassions offered me these but I have enough already without worrying about wild collected.This palm can not be considered rare in nz.For those in Australia can check nz trade me and see the number of them on there.

[Tyrone]

Twenty-five years ago I lived in a mild valley about 16 miles east of San Francisco. I planted there a seedling rhopalostylis Which was said to come from the very southernmost of habitat of the palm. So I assuming from this and the fact that it looks exactly like the Chatham Islands palm that it is indeed that. It is also exceptionally hardy having survived nearly a week of nightly freezes, some days barely above freezing, and low temperatures slightly below twenty degrees F.

That palm was not even fazed! I'm glad that happened after I moved away -- it would have paniced me to see my cherimoya tree, my delicious avocados, my beautiful Hong Kong orchid tree, my large jacaranda tree, etc. freezing into pulp before my eyes. Actually the jacaranda had only small limbs damaged, and looked as good as ever by that fall. The avocado tree grew back from the main trunk and looked as good as ever and was fruiting again by three years later. Also I had a seeding Archontophoenix cunninghamiana about 20 feet tall which lost every leaf and grew out completely in about two years. Since then I have ceased visiting there,

I remember a Gardening show on Oz TV that had a NZ special, and they showed a south island garden with Chatham Ilsnad Nikaus that would have been maybe 1m tall covered in snow. They were said to not even mark up at all, and just kept growing. Obviously snow is a bit of insulation from further cooling effects, but the tissue would have been below zero. This is an amazing species.

Tyrone

[Roaringwater]

Hi Tyrone, the average climate in Torquay is perfect for Nikaus, but about once every thirty years they would get just a bit too cold for this species (down to -8c). I've heard of Nikaus surviving -6, but never -8. Still, there's no reason they couldn't grow great Nikaus there if they were prepared to give them a little protection once in a blue moon. I do know of someone (Dave P, who posts here occasionally) growing some Nikaus in Torquay, as well as many other interesting palms, like Chamaedorea costaricana and plumosa.

The mildest spots around the south coast of Ireland have a greater long term freedom from frost (and heatwaves) than the mildest parts of the UK. Some places here have never gone below -4c, and should be perfect for the long term survival and even naturalisation of Rhopalostylis.

Garrin, just below 20f is a very low temperature for a Nikau to survive, though of course much depends on the duration of the frost. The Chatham Islands are the southernmost place that Rhopalostylis occurs, but I don't think they ever see frost, so I wouldn't necessarily expect 'Oceana' to be the hardiest strain. The hardiest strain ought to be those from the interior of North Island, which sometimes see -7c in habitat. I believe these are also much more robust than the coastal North Island forms. I sometimes wonder whether this strain might be in cultivation in California, when I hear about some of the low temperatures that Nikaus there have survived. Apparently, some of the more robust mainland strains do closely resemble 'Oceana'.

Of course, it's also probable that the climate of the Chatham Islands was considerably colder during the last ice age, so 'Oceana' can survive lower temperatures than it ever sees today in habitat. The ancestors of these palms grew on the continent of Antarctica, at a time when it had a much warmer climate, but they still had to withstand many months of cold and complete darkness in winter!

[Gary]

Twenty-five years ago I lived in a

that was probably Larnoch castle in Dunedin

mild valley about 16 miles east of San Francisco. I planted there a seedling rhopalostylis Which was said to come from the very southernmost of habitat of the palm. So I assuming from this and the fact that it looks exactly like the Chatham Islands palm that it is indeed that. It is also exceptionally hardy having survived nearly a week of nightly freezes, some days barely above freezing, and low temperatures slightly below twenty degrees F.

That palm was not even fazed! I'm glad that happened after I moved away -- it would have paniced me to see my cherimoya tree, my delicious avocados, my beautiful Hong Kong orchid tree, my large jacaranda tree, etc. freezing into pulp before my eyes. Actually the jacaranda had only small limbs damaged, and looked as good as ever by that fall. The avocado tree grew back from the main trunk and looked as good as ever and was fruiting again by three years later. Also I had a seeding Archontophoenix cunninghamiana about 20 feet tall which lost every leaf and grew out completely in about two years. Since then I have ceased visiting there,

I remember a Gardening show on Oz TV that had a NZ special, and they showed a south island garden with Chatham Ilsnad Nikaus that would have been maybe 1m tall covered in snow. They were said to not even mark up at all, and just kept growing. Obviously snow is a bit of insulation from further cooling effects, but the tissue would have been below zero. This is an amazing species.

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

Gary I think the place was in Dunedin somewhere. It was an old mansion grounds that they showed on TV.

Best regards

Tyrone

[surferjr]

I remember a Gardening show on Oz TV that had a NZ special, and they showed a south island garden with Chatham Ilsnad Nikaus that would have been maybe 1m tall covered in snow. They were said to not even mark up at all, and just kept growing. Obviously snow is a bit of insulation from further cooling effects, but the tissue would have been below zero. This is an amazing species.

Tyrone

Is anyone hearing what this palm can take.....start planting these in San Francisco! !!

[Rafael]

BUMP.

My 50 cents.

Planted this little guy, couple of days ago.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Thats a big Bump mate ! between us we have 175 Chatham Island Rhopys off Pogos Palm ! down here in Tasmania . now where to plant them all !

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Oh by the way where is Clark these days - maybe he is sheep farming in the Chatham islands