Livistona benthamii

[Phoenikakias]

Anyone growing this sp outdoors in a warm  temperate or cool subtropical climate? It is not the most adaptable Livistona to a temperate climate. In fact I have been gifted this juvenile by a UK grower who was striving to keep it elementarily happy indoors. It took me two growing seasons (i.e. two summer seasons) to acclimatize the palm in the conditions of my cold frame and make it able to withstand a transplant in to a bigger pot with richer, heavier soil.

[Phoenikakias]

And a close up.

[Josue Diaz]

I'm just beginning to become acquainted with this genus. I don't grow this specific one, great looking palm though!

[Sanips]

It looks very healthy, good work!

[greysrigging]

Without any specific knowledge of cold hardiness I can only speculate that it would struggle outdoors in your area / climate. I have several mature specimens in my back yard, but of course the species is native to Northern Australia and the Darwin region in particular where they are a common sight in local monsoon vine forests. A Mediterranean climate of cool wet winters and hot dry summers is the complete opposite of their natural habitat climatically. They would not ever experience night temps below 10c nor daytime temps below 25c. Having said all that, your specimen looks very healthy !

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Livistona_benthamii

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

3 hours ago, greysrigging said:

Without any specific knowledge of cold hardiness I can only speculate that it would struggle outdoors in your area / climate. I have several mature specimens in my back yard, but of course the species is native to Northern Australia and the Darwin region in particular where they are a common sight in local monsoon vine forests. A Mediterranean climate of cool wet winters and hot dry summers is the complete opposite of their natural habitat climatically. They would not ever experience night temps below 10c nor daytime temps below 25c. Having said all that, your specimen looks very healthy !

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Livistona_benthamii

Wow, never below 10C in situ!  Thats amazing...I'd like that climate.  I have a small one here in central FL.  It has been down to about -2c, maybe -3c.  It loses most of its foliage when that happens, though its never lost a spear leaf, and it usually keeps the most recently expanded one too.  But mine is languishing here.  I'm sure the cold in winter is partly to blame, but I also think our lousy soil is a factor.  Our rainy season is also the warm season so i think that's similar to its native environment.  I've noticed some Australian palms, especially Livistonas, from tropical places have quite a bit of cold hardiness.  Maybe thats some left over cold hardy genes from when Australia was cooler and wetter?

 

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

9 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Anyone growing this sp outdoors in a warm  temperate or cool subtropical climate? It is not the most adaptable Livistona to a temperate climate. In fact I have been gifted this juvenile by a UK grower who was striving to keep it elementarily happy indoors. It took me two growing seasons (i.e. two summer seasons) to acclimatize the palm in the conditions of my cold frame and make it able to withstand a transplant in to a bigger pot with richer, heavier soil.

Whatever you are doing, keep it up.  Thats a nice looking little palm.  Hopefully it continues to grow slow so you can keep it for a long time.

[greysrigging]

6 minutes ago, Keith in SoJax said:

Wow, never below 10C in situ!  Thats amazing...I'd like that climate.  I have a small one here in central FL.  It has been down to about -2c, maybe -3c.  It loses most of its foliage when that happens, though its never lost a spear leaf, and it usually keeps the most recently expanded one too.  But mine is languishing here.  I'm sure the cold in winter is partly to blame, but I also think our lousy soil is a factor.  Our rainy season is also the warm season so i think that's similar to its native environment.  I've noticed some Australian palms, especially Livistonas, from tropical places have quite a bit of cold hardiness.  Maybe thats some left over cold hardy genes from when Australia was cooler and wetter?

 

Benthamii is possibly the most 'tropical' of the Australian Livistonas ( along with Humilis ). Other northern tropicals like Mariae, Rigida, Nitida and Alfredii certainly see colder overnight temps, even frosts in the case of Palm Valley and Canarvon Gorge. Australis, although an eastern coastal species, would certainly see some cold wet and gloomy winters ( by Australian standards ) in fact their range just extends as far south as far eastern Victoria. 

[elHoagie]

I've tried to grow most of the NT Livistona in my cold climate. As for L. benthamii, I have one plant that's been in the ground for maybe 8 years at this point. It never really gets bigger, and the center spear seems to pull out most years. Not too inspiring. However, I have one in a container that's been outside for the past few years, and it seems to grow well and always looks pretty good. So, I'd say mixed success.

As for the other species. L. humilis is hopeless for me, and completely impossible to grow after many attempts. L. inermis isn't far behind in terms of difficulty, although I do have one plant that's still struggling along. L. victoriae is somewhat slow, but it's a reliable grower that won't die. L. mariae and L. rigida are somewhat faster growing and seem to do well here.

[Eric in Orlando]

It is hardier than Saribus rotundifolius or Livistona endauensis but more tender than L. chinensis, L. decora or L. saribus. But it needs lots of water, not much drought tolerance. It is the thirstiest Livistona I have grown, needs constant moisture on our poor sandy soil here in Central Florida.

[Phoenikakias]

4 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

It is hardier than Saribus rotundifolius or Livistona endauensis but more tender than L. chinensis, L. decora or L. saribus. But it needs lots of water, not much drought tolerance. It is the thirstiest Livistona I have grown, needs constant moisture on our poor sandy soil here in Central Florida.

The comparison between the various Livistona spp is very helpful to someone who has tried to cultivate many of the above spp. Decora and chinensis have become weeds in my garden (especially the latter since it fruits profusely). I have never managed to keep allive a rotundifolia for more than a couple of months on the other hand. So I think benthamii will be a very thrilling endeavour.

[tropicbreeze]

L. benthamii is mainly a floodplain or river/floodplain margins plant where it often sits in water for much of the year at least. A couple of small ones at my place are in a seasonal swamp which get totally dry during the dry season. They need irrigation to get them through to the next wet season. A couple of L. mariae ssp rigida in the same swamp are growing great without any additional water.

L. benthamii growing on floodplain at Indjuwandjuwa. Pretty much a "bog plant".

[greysrigging]

Yes, I concur regarding the water regime required for Benthamii. I went for a bit of a drive and walk down to Holmes Jungle today, an area of remnant monsoonal vine forest less than 2klm from suburban Darwin ( Karama ) and only 4klm from my house in Leanyer. Benthamii don't particularly like the full shade of the jungle, they thrive on the outskirts of the creek lines rather than in the deep shady interior that the Carpentarias like. Having said that, they try to colonize ground further away from the spring fed water at Holmes Jungle, with some success ... but then again we have how had two very long 'dry' seasons of 5 month spells without rain and I noted today that fires  ( deliberately lit it seems ) have encroached on the Holmes Jungle Nature Reserve this year...

[greysrigging]

10 hours ago, elHoagie said:

I've tried to grow most of the NT Livistona in my cold climate. As for L. benthamii, I have one plant that's been in the ground for maybe 8 years at this point. It never really gets bigger, and the center spear seems to pull out most years. Not too inspiring. However, I have one in a container that's been outside for the past few years, and it seems to grow well and always looks pretty good. So, I'd say mixed success.

As for the other species. L. humilis is hopeless for me, and completely impossible to grow after many attempts. L. inermis isn't far behind in terms of difficulty, although I do have one plant that's still struggling along. L. victoriae is somewhat slow, but it's a reliable grower that won't die. L. mariae and L. rigida are somewhat faster growing and seem to do well here.

Humilis is not easy in cultivation even in Darwin.... A mate of mine in my suburb has them on his verge/nature strip. I always thought they were a remnant from the sub-division development of 30 years ago, that is, not cleared by the developers. But no, he tells me he grew from seed and planted out. The only ones I know of in cultivation, however I'm sure there must be others out there.