A few new acquisitions

[Kumar]

Hello everyone - I found a new nursery that has an enviable collection of palms. After a gruelling two hour journey in the summer heat, these are what I brought home.

Dwarf Golden Coconut (C. nucifera) -- I just can't get enough of the yellow leaf bases

Bottle Palm (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis)

Carpentaria acuminata

Triangle Palm (Dypsis decaryi)

And finally... an african oil palm -- though I'm having second thoughts since I read online that these get pretty huge.

I wanted to get a few spiny species too but it's too dangerous to plant in my lawn.

[JASON M]

Cool, I'm with you on the whole yellow leaf base. Better than just green!

[PalmatierMeg]

Nice collection. Yes, African oil palms get quite large so don't plant it near the house. The D. decaryi comes from a drier part of Madagascar, so be sure it doesn't end up in a swampy spot. I made that mistake and mine rotted. Plant it on a mound or in an area that has great drainage.

[Kumar]

Nice collection. Yes, African oil palms get quite large so don't plant it near the house. The D. decaryi comes from a drier part of Madagascar, so be sure it doesn't end up in a swampy spot. I made that mistake and mine rotted. Plant it on a mound or in an area that has great drainage.

Thanks Meg. I was intending to plant the Dypsis in the lower part of my lawn thinking it needed lots of water. We get a lot of rain here and it tends to get waterlogged 2-3 days a week during the monsoon - which is just about to start.

Re the size of te oil palms - would you say they're larger than R. regia ? unfortunately i bought two oil palms since the saplings looked so vigorous - i'm having second thoughts now - and there's no way i can discard one.

[PalmatierMeg]

Nice collection. Yes, African oil palms get quite large so don't plant it near the house. The D. decaryi comes from a drier part of Madagascar, so be sure it doesn't end up in a swampy spot. I made that mistake and mine rotted. Plant it on a mound or in an area that has great drainage.

Thanks Meg. I was intending to plant the Dypsis in the lower part of my lawn thinking it needed lots of water. We get a lot of rain here and it tends to get waterlogged 2-3 days a week during the monsoon - which is just about to start.

Re the size of te oil palms - would you say they're larger than R. regia ? unfortunately i bought two oil palms since the saplings looked so vigorous - i'm having second thoughts now - and there's no way i can discard one.

Oil palms can top 60 feet. I've been up close with one and they are much "bulkier" than royals which are tall columns topped with fronds. Oil palms are sometimes called the poor man's CIDP (but I'm not saying you are poor) because they are cheaper and faster growing than CIDP's. Maybe that will give you some idea the size of it.

As for the triangle, definitely do not plant it in any area that collects standing water during rainstorms.

[paulgila]

nice selections,they look healthy.

any pix of the garden?

[Peter Pacific]

Hello Kumar, the oil palms are huge. I have two that are at least 25 feet wide (about 8 meters) but they also love water if you decide to plant them. The carpentaria also loves tons of water. Good Luck, Peter

[Kumar]

nice selections,they look healthy.

any pix of the garden?

Sure. Here they are. I'm afraid it's right after the dry season so the grass cover is all gone though.

The East // My two faithful royals.

The North // My New Arrivals (including a traveller's 'palm') all waiting in queue to be planted

The West // L to R (excluding potted plants): Araucaria columnaris, Mango, dwarf cocount, and Polyalthia longifolia

The South // Mostly Murraya koenigii, Mango, and Syzygium cumini (jamun)

Also, an uninvited Areca seedling spouts beside my succulents

And my caryota urens (fishtail) palm sandwiched between two unpruned Ixora marquesensis

Edited June 2, 2010 by Kumar83

[mpiodi]

Hello everyone - I found a new nursery that has an enviable collection of palms. After a gruelling two hour journey in the summer heat, these are what I brought home.

And finally... an african oil palm -- though I'm having second thoughts since I read online that these get pretty huge.

I wanted to get a few spiny species too but it's too dangerous to plant in my lawn.

Yes, it's true. Elais are getting huge. Here are a pic of some of mine in different ages.(I have more than 60 of them in my compound). The two small in the foreground I planted myself about 4 or 5 years ago. In my yard they are growing like weeds - everywhere. And they tolerate exteme drought (4-5 months without water) and full sun even as seedlings.

Regards

Mpiodi

[Kumar]

Hello everyone - I found a new nursery that has an enviable collection of palms. After a gruelling two hour journey in the summer heat, these are what I brought home.

And finally... an african oil palm -- though I'm having second thoughts since I read online that these get pretty huge.

I wanted to get a few spiny species too but it's too dangerous to plant in my lawn.

Yes, it's true. Elais are getting huge. Here are a pic of some of mine in different ages.(I have more than 60 of them in my compound). The two small in the foreground I planted myself about 4 or 5 years ago. In my yard they are growing like weeds - everywhere. And they tolerate exteme drought (4-5 months without water) and full sun even as seedlings.

Regards

Mpiodi

Mpiodi - you have 60 of these?? Thats a LOT!

This one seems to have an average rate of growth, if that specimen you photographed in the foreground is 5 yrs.

[Alberto]

Congratulations Kumar!

It begins with a few palms,then some more, one more, a few here and you will end in a jungle:rolleyes:

I´m trying also a triangle palm here on a very sheltered place against a wall and in very well draining sandy soil.

So far it´s fine in our wet and cold. I hope yours can cope with a monsoon!

[paulgila]

the royals look great! are those common in your area or did it take a 2 hour drive to get them?

[Kumar]

the royals look great! are those common in your area or did it take a 2 hour drive to get them?

Thanks Pohon ! Royals were a rare sight till a few years back. Now most of the new multistoried building complexes have them so it's no longer an 'exclusive' club to have one. They don't spread naturally at all over here so a trip to the nursery is still required. I bought these two in March 2000 from the Horticultural Society of India when they were a year old - it was a lot of trouble finding healthy seedlings at that time.

Incidentally, I've finished planting my new palms. Here's are some photos

(1) At the very beginning: The coconut is waiting on the left

(2) A 2 foot deep hole is dug : Notice the exposed mango roots

(3) The sapling is placed and flooded

(4) The Oil Palms are placed beside the towering Royals

(5) The Traveller's Palm is placed along a wall.

(6) The Dypsis is planted

(7) And finally, to each his own place (L to R : Hyophorbe, Coconut, Dypsis and Carpentaria)

[paulgila]

that soil looks very "chalky."

frankly i am a bit frightened by it.

[John in Andalucia]

Looking good, Kumar. The natural light in your garden makes everything look tranquil!