Update on Chatham Islands Rhopalostylis seedlings

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Update

I now have 25 of Pogobobs monster Rhopys so i boldly planted 1 in its permanent position near my back fence ,of course i covered it with 70% shadecloth and the soil moisture is checked every day.

here is my first one in the ground --stand back

[Tassie_Troy1971]

more potted in shady area !

The mother Rhopy Oceana !

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Sol (Nomolos ) has 5 up out of 20 seeds i gave him and i have some spare seedlings for Jonathan - let the RACE begin first growers Rhopy to trunk gets a carton of beer ! (how much will that be in 10 yrs LOL )

[nomolos]

Sol (Nomolos ) has 5 up out of 20 seeds i gave him and i have some spare seedlings for Jonathan - let the RACE begin first growers Rhopy to trunk gets a carton of beer ! (how much will that be in 10 yrs LOL )

Unfair your one in the ground is just about to trunk

[fan palm]

nice work troy! is that your garden in the pic? love the fireplace

[Tassie_Troy1971]

nice work troy! is that your garden in the pic? love the fireplace

No i wish LOL ! the garden in the last picture is where the palm seeds were sent from San Clemente Ca to Hobart Tasmania

My new garden is only 18 months old and is a work in progress. I posted it to show the sheer size of the Chatham island Rhopalostylis.

[fan palm]

ah i see

[Bennz]

Looking good Troy, not bad for a 5 year old palm. bad joke, they are not that slow. What kind of relative humidity do you get there?

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Looking good Troy, not bad for a 5 year old palm. bad joke, they are not that slow. What kind of relative humidity do you get there?

Hi Ben

except on the warmest summer days usually 60-85 % accordinbg to my weather station . In an ideal climate like dowm here for this palm in perfect soil with lots of decomposed organic matter and well watered ,regular seasol + power feed how long before it starts trunking ??

[Jonathan]

Sol (Nomolos ) has 5 up out of 20 seeds i gave him and i have some spare seedlings for Jonathan - let the RACE begin first growers Rhopy to trunk gets a carton of beer ! (how much will that be in 10 yrs LOL )

Yeah, yeah...because none of mine germinated....dont rub it in....

[Tassie_Troy1971]

There might be some seeds just starting to shoot have a dig in the peat Jon ! none of the wapatiki bay are shooting here yet ??

[nomolos]

Looks like I'm winning the bet

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Looks like I'm winning the bet

That Rhopy is really taking off this year Sol !

[Bennz]

Looking good Troy, not bad for a 5 year old palm. bad joke, they are not that slow. What kind of relative humidity do you get there?

Hi Ben

except on the warmest summer days usually 60-85 % accordinbg to my weather station . In an ideal climate like dowm here for this palm in perfect soil with lots of decomposed organic matter and well watered ,regular seasol + power feed how long before it starts trunking ??

HI Troy,

These palms in picture were taken from Waipatiki Beach as seedlings and planted in this site at Waimarama Beach (50kms South) about 15 years ago. Waimarama is slightly cooler and significantly drier than Waipatiki, and these palms have had limited care, full coastal exposure, and beachsand soil. With the care you mention, you will have trunks within 10 years. And by then the total height should be 3-4m of leaf easily.

[Jonathan]

They look a bit burnt around the edges Ben - is that normal when they're out in the open over there?

10 years to trunking sounds encouraging....the legend of painfully slow growth is a bit of a stretch then?

Troy - I've got truckloads of the Waipatiki's coming up now, so we'll have to do some swapping soon.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Tassie_Troy1971]

They look a bit burnt around the edges Ben - is that normal when they're out in the open over there?

10 years to trunking sounds encouraging....the legend of painfully slow growth is a bit of a stretch then?

Troy - I've got truckloads of the Waipatiki's coming up now, so we'll have to do some swapping soon.

Cheers,

Jonathan

Your on ! Put some of your Chathams outside in a shadey area mine are outside now and still germinating .

Yes ten yrs sounds fantastic - Rhopalostylis have to be my favorite palm (that we can grow here) close 2nd being Hedyscepe.

[Bennz]

They look a bit burnt around the edges Ben - is that normal when they're out in the open over there?

10 years to trunking sounds encouraging....the legend of painfully slow growth is a bit of a stretch then?

These Waimarama palms are almost right on the beach, so this is primarily coastal wind damage. But also we have insects that attack nikaus here. It is frustrating that pictures of nikau in California almost always look better than they do in gardens here. Concensus seems to be that it is the insects that make the difference.

These palms below are some of the very rare Nikau street plantings in Napier. This time the browning is caused by dry conditions, as this part of Napier is in a rainshadow area and receives less than 700mm rain. Still, potential for good appearance is still there. They look good with the Puka (Meryta sinclairii).

[JasonD]

Darold Petty has found Chatham Island nikau to be fastest-growing among the varieties he's grown.

Sad that street plantings of nikaus in Napier are so rare! That's a pretty puka. They can get sunburnt here during dry heat waves. Much underused in San Francisco.

Squirrels at the San Francisco Botanical Garden have discovered the tastiness of nikau petioles and the value of crown real estate. They've disfigured a number of nikaus there with their rude incisors. The tight matrix of leaflets and accumulated duff offers a perfect hiding place for the buggers. Scofflaw garden visitors feed them peanuts, ensuring explosive growth and more damage. They also gnaw off the gorgeous flower clusters of the North Island rata trees in bloom (Metrosideros robusta).

Thus, some nikaus look shapely and green here, and others have collapsing leaves ruining the crown symmetry.

[Jonathan]

They look a bit burnt around the edges Ben - is that normal when they're out in the open over there?

10 years to trunking sounds encouraging....the legend of painfully slow growth is a bit of a stretch then?

These Waimarama palms are almost right on the beach, so this is primarily coastal wind damage. But also we have insects that attack nikaus here. It is frustrating that pictures of nikau in California almost always look better than they do in gardens here. Concensus seems to be that it is the insects that make the difference.

These palms below are some of the very rare Nikau street plantings in Napier. This time the browning is caused by dry conditions, as this part of Napier is in a rainshadow area and receives less than 700mm rain. Still, potential for good appearance is still there. They look good with the Puka (Meryta sinclairii).

Good shot Ben, with the towering Washies behind.

700mm sounds like a lot of rain to me unfortunately.

Theres a nice Puka at the Botanical Gardens here (or it used to be nice, till it got vandalised by the gardeners), wish we had the Nikau's to go with it!

Jason - sounds like squirrels are your version of our damn possums - cute, but very destructive. They found our orchard this year, but havn't tried any palms yet, touch wood.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Tassie_Troy1971]

10 months later - powering away in the ground ! same lattitude as Chatham Islands so they should feel at home

Have another 45 to plant out !!

[dalmatiansoap]

I have some extra space to plant a few to help U out

[nomolos]

growing well

[palmcurry]

It's doing well Troy. Hope the warm season down there this year is better than what we got.

[pogobob]

Nicely grown Troy, I'll be sending the Barrier isle seeds soon!

[Tyrone]

10 months later - powering away in the ground ! same lattitude as Chatham Islands so they should feel at home

Have another 45 to plant out !!

That's very fast mate. None of my Rhopies are that quick, not even my Chathams which are faster than my standard ones. My summer heat must slow them down a tad. I had some seed of the purple crownshaft Nikau and rats ate every single seed.

Best regards

Tyrone

[MattyB]

That thing is gonna be a monster since you planted it so young.

[pogobob]

10 months later - powering away in the ground ! same lattitude as Chatham Islands so they should feel at home

Have another 45 to plant out !!

That's very fast mate. None of my Rhopies are that quick, not even my Chathams which are faster than my standard ones. My summer heat must slow them down a tad. I had some seed of the purple crownshaft Nikau and rats ate every single seed.

Best regards

Tyrone

Tyrone, how'd you get the purple sapidas seeds? PM your address and I'll send some more

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Another update taken today ! growing twice as fast as the other Rhopalostylis . - goingto be a real monster for sure !

This palm really loves my climate . It has a cage over it normally and 30 % shade mesh .

[nachocarl]

Nice looking palm. I've got to get my 5 gal in the ground soon!

[Jastin]

Nice looking palm. I've got to get my 5 gal in the ground soon!

Get yours in the ground now! I have two 5 gal that I bought at the same time and the spears were the same height, now the one in the ground is much fatter and has a spear that is 3 times the size, and that's just in one growing season!

[Jastin]

This first picture is of the one I have in the ground, you can see the length of the new spear compared to the second picture which is still in the pot.

[Jastin]

Second.

[Jastin]

Troy, yours is a rocket! It looks great! I'm pushing the sun tolorance on mine and after last years fertilizer burn it's not looking the best! Congrats, you have a winner!

[MattyB]

I've got an overgrown 5 gal that I just dont know where to plant it. I might have to go full all day sun

[Jastin]

I've got an overgrown 5 gal that I just dont know where to plant it. I might have to go full all day sun

Doooooo it! Put it in prison!

[nachocarl]

I've got an overgrown 5 gal that I just dont know where to plant it. I might have to go full all day sun

How about my yard?

[MattyB]

sorry carl, I just planted it! Pics tomorrow

[nachocarl]

You work fast! Is it in full sun? If so, should be a good test.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

This palm loves foliar feeding with liquid kelp mine get sprayed every fortnight !

Matty it's about time you planted yours out !

[Cedric]

Wow such a stunningly beautiful palm I love those stiff dark upright shuttle cocks, I wonder if its at all a subtropic waiting to be let loose? Feeling reckless, Troy any spare seedligs you would like to part with? These have such a distinct look its tremendous. Aparently baueri can be grown in the sub tropics though how well Im not sure, are these the same species?