Like all did,even i got a parcel !

[Kris]

Dear Friends

I want to share my joys with you all by saying that this year a parcel did reach me from france,and it had one of my favouriate palm which i had really missed to collect it when the seeds were avaliable online.Though i must say on 2 ocassions a respectable gentleman of this forum living in Africa did send me over dozen seeds of this palm,but unfortunately none of then germinated for me.

And i feel that Santa was more kind to me in giving my christmas gift even before the advent of the christmas... And this has really been a very beautiful & surprising year full of joys.

Okay let me let the cat out of the bag,I received a parcel of Tahina Spectabilis.as gift from our forum friend Jean-bernard (Succulentum).And iam very greatful for his kind gesture.And when i received his parcel & while opening it,i was in cloud 9. A simple thank you want be doing any justice.

And i must say that our forum has the distinction of having some of the finest palm lovers as members.

I know i have talked enough & you are all eager for the visuals...It will follow from the following post.

Once again a big thank you to you Jean,

Lots of love,

kris

[Kris]

Here are the visuals...

...

[Kris]

On the same day we tried to repot this palm,using a terracotta pot.And the weather at the moment is very pleasent & rains have stopped and the atmospheric air is not warm either.And its cloudy through out the day.

Temperatures are around 80 to 84 degress farenheat during the day indoors.And at nights its drops to 77 to 78 degress farenheat indoors.

And i will monitor the outdoor temperatures in days to come !

Coarse grade perlite at the base of the pot..

Coarse grade washed river sand is used as the potting medium..

This is how the palm looks finally,And i have dusted mild 'Sulfur' based fungicide..

...

[Kris]

And this palm water gently watered,later the pot was shifted to indoors.And is placed in one of our bed rooms... And i must say the plam reached me from france well in time.So the palm looked great & brimming with green freshness which gives us lot of hope that this palm would have least effect of transport shock.

And its almost 3 days now,it is doing just fine and as i have told you before that the present weather is fine !

And if you have any suggestions as to how i can safe guard this palm,kindly help me.Since i can not imagine lossing this palm.

And i want to know wheather this palm like shaded outdoors & can i keep it outdoor rightaway or should this palm be indoors for a week or so ? Since in indoors the soil does not dry fast & its very humid.

Thanks & Love,

kris

[BS Man about Palms]

Kris- I suspect others will pipe in, but I have observed these to be tolerant of dry soils if a little cool and do take sun from an early age. I would ask Jean-Bernard where it was growing, if under shadecloth, maybe acclimate a little.

Best of luck!

Bill

[Kim]

Aw, I love reading this! C'est formidable, Jean-Bernard! Kris, I know you have been wishing for this palm for a long time, congratulations! And thanks for the excellent visuals! I should think Tahina will do well in your location, it appreciates heat and humidity.

Score another international coup for Palmtalk!

[Succulentum]

Kris you are welcome, I 'm so happy than this guy went to india without problem.

the little words was not for you my friend it was for the customs.

yes Bill, it was growing under a greenhouse shadecloth, and I have kept the soil a little dryer than other palm seedling.

Kim, thank you for your words, i know you speak french and you must be died laughing reading my word to word translation. :floor:

good luck Chris, but don't worry I have others to replace it if it died

you distribute the love around the (palm) world, I find normal to make the same with you.

jean-bernard

[PalmatierMeg]

Congratulations, Kris. I can't think of anybody who deserves such a fine gift more.

[Al in Kona]

Yes Chris, I'm very happy for you too. Accolades to Jean-bernard for being so thoughtful and taking the action to send it to you. I can only agree with you Chris in stating that there are some great people here on Palmtalk.

[Lowey]

fantastic Kris, I hope it recovers from the trip and thrives for you

[Gileno Machado]

Congratulations brother, and welcome to the Tahina club...

...and also Cheers to Jean-Bernard. Sharing Tahina seedlings worldwide is a very gentle gesture...Alberto was my donor, for the only seedling I have...

[Tyrone]

Kris, I'm so glad that you and India now have a Tahina. That is excellent.

Best regards

Tyrone

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Kris, this is fantastic news! I remember when Tahina seeds were first made available and you declined. I knew it wouldn't take long for you to change your mind and you would be hunting for this lovely species... I know how much you love large palmate leaved palms! Congratulations on your acquisition! Good luck growing this lovely plant!

[Kris]

Thanks Friends !!!

Here's an update,this baby is doing fine and since its raining regularly this guy is staying indoors in one of the bed rooms and the ceiling fan is running always..And the 4 Feet floresent tubeis also keep on.To help this palm push new leaves.

Only old leaf has started to dry slowely.While the entire palm is in good shape.And we have placed few sticks around the palm.To act as a stay from the gentle breeze from the ceiling fan.And i do not water this palm,but when the pot goes dry,i simply carry this palm to our roof top garden and bask in the rain,both the palm & myself get sufficiently charged up. And when i feel its sufficient for the palm...i bring this little guy indoors and place it under the ceiling fan.So the water used here is only fresh rainwater..

And here are the visuals..

Lots of Love to you all,

kris

[BS Man about Palms]

Excellent, Kris!!

[FRITO]

Nice Kris! Very generous of Jean-bernard to send this special gift!

I look forward to watching this 'big mama' grow for you! Even I will be looking to get one of these palms to grow in the future!

Luke

Edited December 17, 2009 by FRITO

[iamjv]

So happy for you Kris!!! Santa comes in many forms... kudos to Jean-Bernard! Gifts like this mean the world to collectors and palm lovers like Kris.... Joy and Peace to ALL! Jv

[Succulentum]

Hi Chris,

nice visuals,

gives you a lot of work for this little guy.

I hope that your efforts will be rewarded. it seems to me that the new palm grow up.

jean-bernard

[Kris]

So happy for you Kris!!! Santa comes in many forms... kudos to Jean-Bernard! Gifts like this mean the world to collectors and palm lovers like Kris.... Joy and Peace to ALL! Jv

Well Said Dear Jv

And i wanted to post this still right in the begining of this thread but could not find where this still was..but now i did ! And christmas season is still not over...

Dear Bill,Luke thanks for the encouragement !

Hi Chris,

'nice visuals',

gives you a lot of work for this little guy.

I hope that your efforts will be rewarded. it seems to me that the new palm grow up.

jean-bernard

Dear Jean

Its clear that you read my posts often... And by the way i love to work for the little guys...here iam refering to my new born,my brother's new born & your T.S baby.For me those who germinate & give life are always considered as parents of that being ! And Jean i must say your effort here is phenomenon,Since your handling and packing of the T.S palm is on par with packing of glass items.

So if this palm grows up into a huge tree,all the credit should only go to you.

And i must even thank the nature God's they are very friendly & flexiable towards this palm.

Every 2 days we get nice rains & followed by equally dry days..And this palm seems to love it.And the atmosphere is very plesent.Warm enough to dry excess moisture in air.

Wish you all a merry christmas & a happy new year 2010.

Lots of love to you all,

kris

[Kris]

Here's an update !

And the old leaves are slowly drying up but the new leaf is opening up fully.It seems the palm has stabilised fully.Though now its placed outdoor.But it does not receive any direct sunlight.May be next month i will try moving it to a filtered sunlight area..then gradually to full sunlight in 3 months time.

And friends here are the visuals..

Lots of love,

kris

[Rafael]

Here's an update !

And the old leaves are slowly drying up but the new leaf is opening up fully.It seems the palm has stabilised fully.Though now its placed outdoor.But it does not receive any direct sunlight.May be next month i will try moving it to a filtered sunlight area..then gradually to full sunlight in 3 months time.

And friends here are the visuals..

Lots of love,

kris

Your palm looks great!

What kind of soil mixture did you use?

I have some seedlings for a month and a half, and they dont seem to be growing.

I dont know why.

[Kris]

Your palm looks great!

What kind of soil mixture did you use?

I have some seedlings for a month and a half, and they dont seem to be growing.

I dont know why.

Hai

First of all i must tell you that i live in hot tropical zone,with coastal influence having high humidity year round.

And the soil that i use most of the time for palm seedlings are coarse grade sandy soil(washed river sand) with coarse grade perlite mixed in that potting soil.

And i also add seaweed in granulated form in that mix.After a month's time iam contemplating of using growth tablets.This releases nutrition very slowly without any burn effect.

And in my observation this palm is showing high traits of a 'normal tropical palm'.

i.e good sunshine and regular watering..

And you can always refer my present climate & local weather forecast in my signature.Its almost one to two degrees up or down.

And let us not forget that this 'Guy'_T.S palm has travelled from france to south india by Air-Mail.But it has not shown any serious transplant,transport shock of any nature,So i draw my conclusion that this palm is a very sturdy palm ideal for warm tropical regions of the world.And those living in malayasia,indonesia & phillipines should be able to shed more light on this palms growing pattern.

And our forum member gene has few growing in his garden and the upward & downward growth rate of his T.S palm seem to be the maximum compared to the grouth of all other members growing this same palm.

Thanks & Love,

kris

[Kris]

Here's a update...a new spear is opening up !

And i have noticed they love our climate here.. Hot wet hot...throughtout the year.

Lots of love,

kris

[Z4Devil]

Hey, Kris, my dear -

what a beautiful gift that is. I believe it reached a kind person, absolutely. Did not note this thread before, sorry for this. Kris, did I read something over or am I blind? Which kind of palm this plant is? Anyway ... it grows and is doing well, very good. Pleas keep us informed about this little beauty. All fingers crossed for it.

Love, Verena

Edited February 15, 2010 by Z4Devil

[Succulentum]

Grow up baby grow !!

thanks for update kris.

[Kris]

Dear Verna

Thanks for those kind & sweet comments..The palm in discusion here is "Blessed Palm _ Tahina Spectabilis.It a very rare palm found in Madagascar.I request you read some intreasting articles about it written in our forum,posted by some very emminent palm journal writers & botanist.

And like corypha's they too produce seeds only at the end of there life cylce.So naturally their seeds are not readily or easily avaliable on monthly or yearly basis from any proffesional seed collectors or online sellers.So it was a kind of dream palm for me.. And more happy now because it has adopted effortlessly to our hot wet tropical climate.

Grow up baby grow !!

Dear Jean-Bernard

Thanks for the encouragement...

Lots of love,

kris

[Kris]

An update !

And its clear now that this palm has stopped growing,and the palm is trying to lift itself up from the small pot,ones the rainy season is over i would love to give this baby a big barrel to grow freely for a couple of years before planting it in our garden.

Love,

kris

[Nick L]

Nice Kris,

This one’s back from the dead.

It was a single leaf starting it’s second (you can see brown tips) and never showed any progress after receiving it (two years ago?) most likely due to over watering. I repotted it back when Bill posted pics of his and their lack of root development. I sat it aside and paid it no attention until recently. What a pleasant surprise now that our summer time temps returned.

Thanks

Nick

[Kris]

Here's a video Update !

Love,

Kris Achar.

[Peter Pacific]

Kris, it's nice to see you again! Your Tahina looks great and so do the rest of the palms on your rooftop garden. I wish I could see them in person. The Borassus seeds you sent me are great and one of the Coryphas is over six feet tall! I need to do an update myself!

warm regards, Peter

[Kris]

Dear Peter,

Very happy to hear from you.And kindly update your threads time to time.It will help us all know region wise how they are growing and their survival rate.

Here is a still of that palm,for the sake of friends who could not view the above video in their mobile phones...

Lots of love to you,

kris.

[Succulentum]

happy to see that the baby has done a good growth, it's 2 time more bigger than his brothers here in france.
thanks for the update Kris.

jean-bernard

[palmislandRandy]

Kris, Your Tahina looks magnificent is ready to come off it's pedestal & into the ground. Keep the videos coming.

-Randy

[Kris]

Dear jean bernard

Glad you visited our thread.this palm

Behaves more like the palmyra and coryphas genetically.I.e it does not grow much In small sized pots.once the summer heat wave is over.I might shift your baby into bigger barrel.

Since you sent me a ready made palm

I was a bit hesistant to put her in over sized container as I cannot monover it to shade or full sunlight

Area.

Once again spl thanks for sending this palm to me.

Lots of love to you

Kris.

[Kris]

Dear randy

Very happy to know you liked the video.I will update it as and when we have any activity.

Thanks for visiting

Love

Kris

[Mark Heath]

Looking good Kris!

I am happy that you were the one to receive a parcel for a change! I'll take a pic of your babies that you sent me the next time I am at the ranch.

[Kris]

Thanks Mark and very happy to hear from you.

Love,

kris.

[Succulentum]

I always enjoy to see photos of your palms Kris.

lot of love to you too Kris,

jean-bernard

Dear jean bernard
Glad you visited our thread...
Kris.

[doranakandawatta]

Kris,

I enjoyed watching the pic you posted on the 19th of May, your Tahina spectabilis is spectacular! you should post more pics of your palms in India,

I like to compare with what we can do in Sri Lanka, but your climate is different, more hot, more dry, I think?

Do you also grow Bismarckia?

Jean-Bernard Succulentum, bonsoir! amicalement. A bientôt sur Palmtalk, Philippe

Kindest regards

[Kris]

Hi Philippe.

Iam glad you enjoyed visiting this thread.Yes South india is mostly hot & dry.

And we have a bismarkia growing,you have visit that thread sometime back,And here is the link to it.

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/8179-palm-maintenance-work/

Love,

kris.