Which Blue Palm ?

[chris.oz]

OK so if you live at 38 degrees South, and tried Bismarckia, you probably gave up.

I did. I tried to raise them from seed. Good levels of germination, but none survived the first winter.

However, here is an example of a Bismarckia planted almost in the centre of the city . Its just near Princes Bridge. It gets morning sun only.

There is more to a microclimate than just all day blazing sun. Its about prtotection, and a massive rockwall behind it, a raised sloping site

[chris.oz]

There are other examples of Bismarckia growing in ordinary gardens. This one is in a bayside garden Its been there about 5 years to my knowl;edge. It is in a north facing aspect, with little root competition, and a house wall some 3-4 metres to the south of it.

Edited January 23, 2013 by chris.oz

[paulgila]

beautiful!

[chris.oz]

But after my disasters with growing from seed, I decided to go wioth a proven palm for this region: Brahea armata.

5 years ago I found a very poor specimen in a nursery, languisdhing in a pot of sand, with a base about 50 mm across.

I planted it in sand in a raised planter bed with north aspect, and a garage wall within 1 metre of it.

Now it is about to trunk, and it is about 450 mm ( 18 inches) across at the base.

In my opinion, Brahea are not slow under the right conditions. This palm grows about 6-8 leaves per year. At the peak of summer it pushed 3 leaves in one month.

So here its about microclimate. Get it right and results may be surprising. However, how many good microclimates do we have in our gardens. In my case, unfortunately, not many.

[Miccles]

Wow Chris ! That armata has really cracked along since last summer when I saw it. It was impressive then, sensational now.

Well done mate.

Regards

Michael

[Perito]

Brahea clara is a much quicker grow than B. armata, and that may be what you have there Chris. Either way it's lookin' great!

[sonoranfans]

I had brahea armatas(6) in the AZ desert, and brahea clara(2) in florida now. the speed of brahea armata is all about hot summers and dry winters. Wet winters can cause root systems of armatas to die back and that stunts growth. Similar to bizzies, they are much faster in the heat. My armatas put out more than 12 fronds a year in arizona when their overall height exceeded 5'. the claras are definitely faster at the small size. Claras also tend to have longer petioles, notably thinner trunks, and take ambient humidity much better. I tried an armata in florida, it was not happy, I couldnt keep the spot mold off it(even with no overhead water). My claras are growing quite fast, the biggest from strap leaf seedling to 30" overall in just under 2 years. And these claras, now in the ground for 1 year, get overhead water from the lawn sprinkler system 2x a week, amazingly it doesnt bother them...

Edited January 23, 2013 by sonoranfans

[chris.oz]

Brahea clara is a much quicker grow than B. armata, and that may be what you have there Chris. Either way it's lookin' great!

Maybe it is B. clara......... I will have to try and find the differences. Or is it just thata B clara is a form of armata that grows fast ?

The petioles on this palm are not what I would call long. But the palm is in full sun for 6 hours a day. The trunk is about 18"

or will be. If it gets bigger than it is, it may bust the planter box, which I dont want to even think about !

[Jim in Los Altos]

Brahea clara is a much quicker grow than B. armata, and that may be what you have there Chris. Either way it's lookin' great!

Maybe it is B. clara......... I will have to try and find the differences. Or is it just thata B clara is a form of armata that grows fast ?

The petioles on this palm are not what I would call long. But the palm is in full sun for 6 hours a day. The trunk is about 18"

or will be. If it gets bigger than it is, it may bust the planter box, which I dont want to even think about !

That doesn't look like a B. clara to me. B. clara have very droopy leaf tips. The ones on the pictured palm are stiff. B. clara can be really fast growers. I planted a two foot tall specimen for a client and in two years it was eight and a half feet tall and very wide and trunking.

[chris.oz]

Jim, Perito.

Right, the leaves are very very stiff, right to the end. It is also a lot bluer than the image shows. The tree in the background is a ti tree. Leptospermum , with blue leaves.

Green leaves are seen for comparison on the agaves underneath.

[sonoranfans]

chris,

here is a brahea clara of mine that is just under 2 years from a 2 leaf strap leaf palm. this is quite fast compared with armata. Note the relatively slender trunk forming. My armatas had thick trunks, at 3'clear trunk some were about 30" thick including leaf gases.

Edited January 24, 2013 by sonoranfans

[sonoranfans]

here is a healthy 15 gallon size armata in the ground for 9 months after planting, note the thick trunk and thicker petioles. This is a bigger palm than my current clara, but it never had those relatively thin petioles of the clara. In my experience the armatas are slow to the 15 gallon size, faster thereafter once in the ground as long as they get HEAT, they like it HOT.

Edited January 24, 2013 by sonoranfans

[Sutter Bob]

Both armata and clara like it here in the heat of the Sacramento valley on the other side of the equator at 39 degrees north.

Bismarcks, on the other hand, continue to torment me (trying for 4 or 5 years).

I've got 100 seeds scattered all over the place hoping to get lucky with one.

[DoomsDave]

CHris.oz:

Whoo-ee, you can certainly use some Braheas, brah.

I have one that I think is a hybrid between armata and brandeegii, and the girls, boys, and wombats all scream for this one.

Click on the link below, and get close enough and you'll see the Monster in the extreme upper right-hand corner. That thing was a 30 cm strap-leafter in pure sand about 7 years ago. The trunk's got to be an easy 2/3 M across, many more.

Cold? Ain't scared o' no steekin' cold!

https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=11142+canasta+drive,+la+habra,+ca&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x80c2d54e8b9cb47f:0xb85704c0d4b14e0,11142+Canasta+Dr,+La+Habra,+CA+90631&gl=us&ei=08IAUdbECO3xigLx1oCoBA&ved=0CDMQ8gEwAA

P.S. That's me visible beneath the green car of doom.

PM me with your address, and I can mail you some brahea seed from armatas grown in the for-real, butt-kickin' water-water Palm Springs Desert.

[DGP]

Wow, Dave, there's a big difference between the aerial shot and the street view shot from 2007!

[ILoveWhitePalms]

Its good to hear that even in Melbourne some are really growing well, I'm just started growing from seed in Sydney

[DoomsDave]

Wow, Dave, there's a big difference between the aerial shot and the street view shot from 2007!

Aerial is much more recent, 2010 I think

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Didn't expect to see a healthy Bizzy in Melbourne like those ones Chris .

Your Brahea armata looks sensational !

[richnorm]

Chris, try again. You too Troy! I have had good luck starting with strap-leaf seedlings in the ground Not a difficult palm for cool wet Auckland let alone Melbourne with the extra heat. Maximum sun is the key here. Took this shot just now, looks a little green 'cos the sun is behind it.

cheers R

[AlekLO]

Beautiful palms......i search seed of bismarckia but i cant find in my country....

[NApalm]

Not to get off topic, but try rare palm seeds every now and then Aleklo. They should have seed frequently.

[David Clulow]

Have any of you thought of Nannorrhops ritchiana? Rare Palm Seeds says it is hardy to -10°C. It looks like a multi-trunked Bismarckia. My one and only seedling rooted into the ground and when I tried to transplant it into the arboretum - it died. The photo shows my specimen at 6 years and 8 months from sowing the seed.

Edited January 26, 2013 by David Clulow

[richnorm]

Very nice David! They are very slow to get going in cooler climates and can be tricky. My only success was with standing a deep pot on the ground in full sun and letting the roots choose where to go. Just recently built up around it with rocks and scoria grit and seems to be growing at a reasonable pace at last but still a small seedling after several years from seed.