Palms in Sydney botanical gardens

[happypalms]

A recent visit to Sydney I thought I should visit the botanical gardens they have a palm collection some very nice specimens on display the collection has improved over the past few years well worth visiting 

[kylecawazafla]

Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing!

[Darold Petty]

You should thank Colin Wilson, Kiama NSW,  for the palm upgrades.    

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

You should thank Colin Wilson, Kiama NSW,  for the palm upgrades.    

Colin certainly knows his palms well he has done a wonderful job being so far south in the cold climate 

[peachy]

Lovely photos.  The place has really improved since I lived in Sydney as a teenager. Colin has done so much for the place over the years and judging by the photos it really shows too. I didn't think Joeys would live in Sydney,  looks like I was wrong as usual. I hope you pulled up a couple of those C. metallicas while you were there.

Peachy

[tim_brissy_13]

One of my favourite places in the world. An inspirational temperate climate palm garden. As above, Colin deserves a lot of the praise. From what Colin says, Wollongong is fast overtaking Sydney in terms of the palm collection, I’ll have to visit sometime soon. 

[happypalms]

9 hours ago, peachy said:

Lovely photos.  The place has really improved since I lived in Sydney as a teenager. Colin has done so much for the place over the years and judging by the photos it really shows too. I didn't think Joeys would live in Sydney,  looks like I was wrong as usual. I hope you pulled up a couple of those C. metallicas while you were there.

Peachy

Yes the collection certainly has changed but I wish they would open hold original Palm house and i would have dug up one Metallica for you peachy but some how I did not think they would have appreciated it Sydney has changed so much in the recent years it’s not the same it’s all traffic and tear the old down and up with the new 

[happypalms]

9 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

One of my favourite places in the world. An inspirational temperate climate palm garden. As above, Colin deserves a lot of the praise. From what Colin says, Wollongong is fast overtaking Sydney in terms of the palm collection, I’ll have to visit sometime soon. 

It is good to see that the palms have improved in Sydney Colin has done his homework and limited to the cold climate conditions up against Mother Nature but with so many new varieties available now it will look like a tropical oasis in time 

[peachy]

20 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

One of my favourite places in the world. An inspirational temperate climate palm garden. As above, Colin deserves a lot of the praise. From what Colin says, Wollongong is fast overtaking Sydney in terms of the palm collection, I’ll have to visit sometime soon. 

Last time I was in Melbourne, everyone was wandering around the botanic gardens with their dogs on leashes. They would have a stroke if you tried to take a dog in the botanic gardens here. In the dry climate part of the Melbourne gardens (it's a word that starts with X) is a nice Bismarkia that looked very happy there. Also in the garden at Ripponlea House are some huge old golden canes. There used to be a nice Licuala elegans in the Exhibition Gardens too but someone told me it was vandalised. Don't know if it recovered or not.

Peachy.

[peachy]

6th photo from the top ... is that man doing something distasteful to that big cycad ?

[tim_brissy_13]

36 minutes ago, peachy said:

Last time I was in Melbourne, everyone was wandering around the botanic gardens with their dogs on leashes. They would have a stroke if you tried to take a dog in the botanic gardens here. In the dry climate part of the Melbourne gardens (it's a word that starts with X) is a nice Bismarkia that looked very happy there. Also in the garden at Ripponlea House are some huge old golden canes. There used to be a nice Licuala elegans in the Exhibition Gardens too but someone told me it was vandalised. Don't know if it recovered or not.

Peachy.

Yes Peachy in the Guilfoyle Volcano section of the Melbourne gardens there are 3 old Bismarckia. One looks good, one grows well in summer but always looks damaged and the other is still small and severely stunted. Bismarckia can grow well though. There’s a few good ones in my neighbourhood and my own is doing well albeit slowly.
 

I’ve been told about the golden canes at Ripponlea before but have never found them. I’ve been through the gardens a few times, if you can guide me to where they are I’d love to check them out! Very rare to see old lutescens here. There’s a nice big Oraniopsis at Ripponlea gardens in the fernery which is just about my favourite palm specimen in all of Melbourne.  
 

Don’t want to hijack the thread, but it probably all adds to the fact that 100s of species can be grown in the temperate south east despite popular opinion. 

[happypalms]

3 hours ago, peachy said:

Last time I was in Melbourne, everyone was wandering around the botanic gardens with their dogs on leashes. They would have a stroke if you tried to take a dog in the botanic gardens here. In the dry climate part of the Melbourne gardens (it's a word that starts with X) is a nice Bismarkia that looked very happy there. Also in the garden at Ripponlea House are some huge old golden canes. There used to be a nice Licuala elegans in the Exhibition Gardens too but someone told me it was vandalised. Don't know if it recovered or not.

Peachy.

Never really had a look in Melbournes botanical gardens cold climate gardens are a challenging place for me just not tropical enough for me and how could someone vandalise a palm they need there head examined to do just such a thing and no I don’t think the photo number 6 the man is up to no good just looking I presume 

[peachy]

I know CIDP are a menace in Melbourne and seedlings pop up everywhere. I was always pulling them up from my garden in Acland St Miccles had some amazing palms in his garden  in Seaford too. Not to mention Troy in Hobart ! A lot of the time we believe what we are told or have read and don't even try to give something tropical seeming a go. The staff at Palms for Brisbane, when it was still going,  were amazed at the palms that survived at my place and that they had told me had no chance of survival in Ipswich. There is a garden out on the Scenic Rim area, that gets dreadful frosts in winter but they have huge Cuban Royals growing happily.  The fronds get a bit sizzled but come back with a vengeance every year.

 

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, peachy said:

I know CIDP are a menace in Melbourne and seedlings pop up everywhere. I was always pulling them up from my garden in Acland St Miccles had some amazing palms in his garden  in Seaford too. Not to mention Troy in Hobart ! A lot of the time we believe what we are told or have read and don't even try to give something tropical seeming a go. The staff at Palms for Brisbane, when it was still going,  were amazed at the palms that survived at my place and that they had told me had no chance of survival in Ipswich. There is a garden out on the Scenic Rim area, that gets dreadful frosts in winter but they have huge Cuban Royals growing happily.  The fronds get a bit sizzled but come back with a vengeance every year.

 

True I don’t believe the books or if they say you can’t grow that I will try to to grow it but I have had a lot o losses in the plant department to cold but on the other side some absolutely beautiful winners it comes down to availability and how rare it is a new palm you by the hundreds just throw them in the in the ground but a super rare geonoma we baby along in fear of cold weather I have been in minus 30 and that’s cold there are a couple of Canadians on palm talk in zone 2 that would be so frustrating wanting the tropical look and the struggle to find plants in that area 

[tim_brissy_13]

9 hours ago, peachy said:

I know CIDP are a menace in Melbourne and seedlings pop up everywhere. I was always pulling them up from my garden in Acland St Miccles had some amazing palms in his garden  in Seaford too. Not to mention Troy in Hobart ! A lot of the time we believe what we are told or have read and don't even try to give something tropical seeming a go. The staff at Palms for Brisbane, when it was still going,  were amazed at the palms that survived at my place and that they had told me had no chance of survival in Ipswich. There is a garden out on the Scenic Rim area, that gets dreadful frosts in winter but they have huge Cuban Royals growing happily.  The fronds get a bit sizzled but come back with a vengeance every year.

 

You’re right Peachy. In general, palms are tougher than they are given credit for, especially if you put some thought into planting placement and exposure and soil conditions. I’m pushing up towards 200 species in the garden now, and I don’t really grow any of the common species that I can enjoy locally elsewhere (no Phoenix, Syagrus rom, Washingtonia, L australis, chinensis, Butia etc). I’d guess 500-800 species would do fine here considering I’m only scratching the surface of unusual cold hardy Syagrus, Trachycarpus, Ceroxylon, Butia and Livistona species, among others. 

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Thank you for your nice words on The RSBG collection.

After a break from the RSBG for about 5 years due to management changes and Covid I have been asked to come back and replace the species that died during that period. The collection that had not been planted out reduced during that time but new species are now being planted out.

Sydney has in its collection 118 red listed species in its collection.

Wollongong botanic gardens palmetum started on the 13 Nov 2012.  Some palms are 16m tall.

Many palm rescued species are there.

It is why the palmetum looks much older than it is.

Last week dug out 37 palms from a collectors garden who is selling up.

Tomorrow for 3 days we will be planting another 70 to 80 palms there. There is over 300 species there now.

A Palmetum is being established at Hunter region botanic garden now.

Always looking for rare species for all 3.

I do not work for them or paid to consult, just trying to preserve as many species as possible

More hands on at the WBG.

Look forward hearing your comments after you visit them. 

Regards

Colin

 

 

 

 

[happypalms]

50 minutes ago, palmtreesforpleasure said:

Thank you for your nice words on The RSBG collection.

After a break from the RSBG for about 5 years due to management changes and Covid I have been asked to come back and replace the species that died during that period. The collection that had not been planted out reduced during that time but new species are now being planted out.

Sydney has in its collection 118 red listed species in its collection.

Wollongong botanic gardens palmetum started on the 13 Nov 2012.  Some palms are 16m tall.

Many palm rescued species are there.

It is why the palmetum looks much older than it is.

Last week dug out 37 palms from a collectors garden who is selling up.

Tomorrow for 3 days we will be planting another 70 to 80 palms there. There is over 300 species there now.

A Palmetum is being established at Hunter region botanic garden now.

Always looking for rare species for all 3.

I do not work for them or paid to consult, just trying to preserve as many species as possible

More hands on at the WBG.

Look forward hearing your comments after you visit them. 

Regards

Colin

 

 

 

 

Hi Colin i would like to say your doing a wonderful job with the palms in all the gardens you work in i would like to personally thank you for your dedication and knowledge with palms in giving your time to such a great thing to be involved in for future generations to see 

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, palmtreesforpleasure said:

Thank you for your nice words on The RSBG collection.

After a break from the RSBG for about 5 years due to management changes and Covid I have been asked to come back and replace the species that died during that period. The collection that had not been planted out reduced during that time but new species are now being planted out.

Sydney has in its collection 118 red listed species in its collection.

Wollongong botanic gardens palmetum started on the 13 Nov 2012.  Some palms are 16m tall.

Many palm rescued species are there.

It is why the palmetum looks much older than it is.

Last week dug out 37 palms from a collectors garden who is selling up.

Tomorrow for 3 days we will be planting another 70 to 80 palms there. There is over 300 species there now.

A Palmetum is being established at Hunter region botanic garden now.

Always looking for rare species for all 3.

I do not work for them or paid to consult, just trying to preserve as many species as possible

More hands on at the WBG.

Look forward hearing your comments after you visit them. 

Regards

Colin

 

 

 

 

Ps i may have some rare species of palms iam a collector of rare and exotic plants if you’re looking for something rare iam not sure what I might have that you don’t 

[JasonD]

It's inspiring to see the array of palm species at Sydney. Many of the most useful books about palms in the 80s came from Australia and were illustrated with photos from RSBG so it's nearly legendary in my imagination.

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, JasonD said:

It's inspiring to see the array of palm species at Sydney. Many of the most useful books about palms in the 80s came from Australia and were illustrated with photos from RSBG so it's nearly legendary in my imagination.

Hi JasonD I was amazed at the variety selection they had colin is doing a wonderful job he knows his palms well RSBG are a beautiful garden right in the middle of Sydney the books you speak off are pretty well much in my eyes a palm bible and a go to for research prior to the internet I often challenge my brain and grab a palm book and see how long it takes  to look up a palm in comparison to the internet search the book is faster