My Garden - Melbourne Australia

[Tyrone]

12 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Thanks Tyrone. The soil is really sandy for the first 700mm then it hits clay (I know from when we did our front fence posts). When we did the concrete landscaping, it raised the surface level up by the thickness of the concrete(about 150mm) so I topped up with about 30 cubic metres of topsoil enriched with mushroom compost and other organics (at least for the backyard, front yard didn’t need extra soil because we dug out the driveway and replaced existing think concrete). I’ve also added 9 cubic metres of pine bark mulch twice in the 4 years. I think the extra organic material really makes a difference. As Peachy said, the sandy bayside soil can be hard to get things to grow in unless amended, but it also has allowed me to grow some of the marginals here because of the good drainage. 
 

By the way, I definitely take inspiration with what you’ve done over the other side of the country! Just not quite on the same scale. 

It sounds like you have what we call over here a duplex soil, which is really a good combination with good drainage in the top and moisture retention in the heavier soil beneath. Building up the top soil, though expensive is going to pay dividends forever I reckon. 

I have friends in Perth who planted up a magnificent palm garden after seeing my Perth rainforest garden and they have duplex soils too being right alongside the Canning River, so poor sand above and red rich clay about 800m down and their garden is magnificent. It seems like a great combination to have.

Here where I am now, I have heaps of rich thick moisture retentive soil and not enough sand for drainage. I’ve had to bring sand in to create a duplex profile. I’m having much better success with improving drainage like this. I could probably do with 100m3 of coarse sand here for future garden areas. Coming from sandy old Perth the idea of bringing in sand sounds totally laughable. 

Your garden is fantastic. Keep posting updates.

[PalmCode]

That's a nice collection of palms you have and they're all looking really good, Well done.  That trunking Archontophoenix myolensis is awesome.

[tim_brissy_13]

A few photos from Autumn and Winter 2023. The 2023 Winter was relatively kind. Only a few light frosts with a min temp of exactly 0.0C/32F freezing. 
 

Chrysalidocarpus decipiens

 

Archontophoenix alexandrae. This new frond kept its colour for about 3 months in the cooler weather. 

 

Traxhycarpus princeps starting to get some size and really show off that bright white. 

 

Chrysalidocarpus arenarum. Always gets slightly beaten up by winter but is growing stronger every season. 

Chrysalidocarpus pembanus x madagascariensis producing clean trunk.

 

Dypsis rosea growing much faster than I anticipated (I didn’t really expect it to survive long term at all)

 

My largest Chrysalidocarpus baronii Black Petiole from a 2018 batch starting to split. 

Pritchardia hillebrandii and Chrysalidocarpus lanceolatus. Probably planted too close for the taste of some, but I like the contrasting foliage.  This little corner is probably the most protected from frost anywhere in my garden.

 

Ceroxylon ventricosum getting some good size.

 

Chamaedorea oblongata with C tepejilote in the background.  C oblongata is very fast, was a tiny seedling in 2020.

 

Bentinckia condapanna about to tackle its first winter.

 

More to come…

 

[tim_brissy_13]

Spring 2023. As always, some new plantings for the new growing season, and also some progress shots of the existing garden:

Cyphophoenix elegans producing clean trunk. This one is much faster and more robust than my other specimen (which has been transplanted multiple times)

 

Chamaedorea liebmanii (triple planted).  Hoping to get this group to produce seed one day.

 

Chamaedorea metallica 

 

Chamaedorea elatior transforming into its climbing adult form.  This double planted group has been fast for me. They are from a 2018 seed batch.

 

Brahea Super Silver just starting to show some colour.


 

Chambey macrocarpa var flavopicta doing its thing again.

 

Hyophorbe indica breezed through winter. Barely even a brown tip which is amazing considering I can’t avoid it on some relatively hardy species like C baronii.

 

One of my Archontophoenix myolensis showing a slight hint of blue/aqua on the crownshaft.

 

Chamaedorea hooperiana. Not really known for being a showy species but it gets comments from non palmy people on the bright orange inflorescences.

Rhopostylis sapida var Oceana getting large.

C baronii Black Petiole starting to accelerate.

A ‘plain’ C baronii producing clean trunk.


The mystery of the Ceroxylon parvifrons RPS 2018 seed batch. The forms in the back you might be able to see is slightly irregularly arranged and plumose, whereas the most recent is more regular and arranged on a flat plane.  This doesn’t seem to be turning out to be like previous C parvifrons batches from RPS (likely C vogelianum) with large, upright and irregular plumose fronds. Equally, it’s looking unlikely to be true C parvifrons. Could C parvifrons and vogelianum hybridise?

 

The house looking very different from the street to when we moved in.

 

It’s not all smooth sailing; Beccariophoebix alfredii blew over in a Spring storm with wind gusts over 100kph (over 60mph). It was already wobbly and staked, but clearly not well enough. I’ve since straightened and tied up stronger and it seems to be fine.

 

 

[tim_brissy_13]

Summer 2023/24.  Wet and fairly average temperatures, but with absolutely nothing over 35C/95F which is really nice, everything is loving it.

Trachycarpus princeps really becoming a feature.

 

Chamaedorea glaucifolia producing clean trunk.

 

Chamaedorea anemophila doing the same. 

This Chambeyronia oliviformis is really taking off now. The last new frond is about 3m/10’ long. It always opens up a really nice blue colour with a waxy coating.

 

Chambey macrocarpa var flavopicta showing its watermelon colours.

 

Hedyscepe starting to shown the white crownshaft it is known for.

 

Arxhontophoenix purpurea glowing at night.

 

Chambey macrocarpa var flavopicta behind a bromeliad (Vriesea Maroochy Smooch).

 

Hyophorbe indica only just over 24 months from seed.

 

Dypsis rosea

 

I usually get some browning on the tree ferns at this time of year, but the rain and humidity has helped them to stay nice and lush.

[tim_brissy_13]

And we’re now up to date. I’ll continue to post updates when anything interesting happens, or if anyone wants to see updates on particular specimens just let me know!

Chrysalidocarpus lanceolatus fronds in sync

Caryota obtusa

 

Pritchardia maideniana

 

Pritchardia napaliensis

 

Bentinckia condapanna - no concerns with its first winter in the ground.

Archontophoenix myolensis really bulking up.

 

Chamaedorea elatior growth rate is hard to keep up with in the warmer months now that is is starting to climb. I may need to move these elsewhere under a large palm.


 

Parajubaea torallyi var torallyi behind a succulent display.

 

Some general shots of the garden to finish up…for now. 

[Tyrone]

You’ve got the gift. I couldn’t keep Bentinckia condapanna or any Ceroxylon alive here. Well done. 
You should try a Spindle palm. I reckon it would grow well for you there. 

[tim_brissy_13]

46 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

You’ve got the gift. I couldn’t keep Bentinckia condapanna or any Ceroxylon alive here. Well done. 
You should try a Spindle palm. I reckon it would grow well for you there. 

Funny you mention that Tyrone. Spindles were one of the first palms that gave me the palm bug when I was a kid. I’ve got memories of seeing them in Surfers Paradise and wanting to grow them. When I was about 13 I spent everything I had on a good sized specimen and planted it at my parents’ house just not too far from here. It survived for about 2 or 3 years but just slowly declined and eventually died. It was planted out in the open and was exposed to quite damaging winds. It wouldn’t have really seen frost in that time, but it wasn’t a warm spot and just didn’t get the heat it needed. 
 

Knowing what I know now, I’d be fairly confident I could keep one alive on a north facing wall here, but not sure I’d get it looking anything like what they should. I’ve got very little space left in my north facing gardens now and want to keep a spot free for a foxy lady. Outside of that, I’m focusing more on the rarer temperate species that don’t tend to be grown up north. 
 

 

[Meangreen94z]

Your garden looks amazing, thanks for posting 

[BayAndroid]

This was very inspiring to see. Melbourne appears to have similar temperatures to my location and the palms you are growing give me a lot of confidence. Thank you for listing the names of everything, very detailed and great looking garden! 

[Aussiepalm]

Simply amazing Tim, what a beautiful collection and garden. An inspiration to the potential of what is possible down here, love it and thanks for sharing.

[BenSydney]

Amazing collection you’ve got there! Well done! Where do you source your palm trees from? I find it hard to get unusual ones in Sydney…

[TropicalGardenSpain]

Great work Tim, a very nice variety of palms you have planted! Great to see what's possible as we have a similar climate too! Looking forward to further updates 👏

[cobra2326]

Amazing garden. Well planned and it’s fun to see the progress over just a few years. I’m so thankful for people like you who share their experiences! I almost feel like I’ve visited your garden and enjoyed it in person!

[tim_brissy_13]

A few more recent updates:

Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus hybrid (probably x cabadae)

 

Euterpe edulis Orange Crownshaft

 

Lanonia dasyantha

 

Chamaedorea anemophila

 

Chamaedorea elatior

 

Chambeyronia macrocarpa var flavopicta

Archontophoenix purpurea

 

Chamaedorea woodsoniana 

 

Dypsis rosea

 

Archontophoenix myolensis

 

Trachycarpus sp Nova new planting

 

Chrysalidocarpus decipiens

 

Bismarckia

[happypalms]

Mmmmm I don’t see a Johannesteijsmannia Altifrons on that list tim as it so happens I have a Joey or two to spare just so you can add a Joey on that list to add to that already lovely collection of natures chorus line the wonderful palm 🌴

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

A few more recent updates:

Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus hybrid (probably x cabadae)

 

Euterpe edulis Orange Crownshaft

 

Lanonia dasyantha

 

Chamaedorea anemophila

 

Chamaedorea elatior

 

Chambeyronia macrocarpa var flavopicta

Archontophoenix purpurea

 

Chamaedorea woodsoniana 

 

Dypsis rosea

 

Archontophoenix myolensis

 

Trachycarpus sp Nova new planting

 

Chrysalidocarpus decipiens

 

Bismarckia

Nice garden tim making good use of all that thermal protection with all that brick wall around you just another brick in the wall (pink Floyd) or is that comfortable numb another great song 😄

[tim_brissy_13]

4 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Nice garden tim making good use of all that thermal protection with all that brick wall around you just another brick in the wall (pink Floyd) or is that comfortable numb another great song 😄

On the Pink Floyd theme, I’d also say a lot of Time and Money has gone into the garden so far 😆. 
 

Great band, maybe they were palm enthusiasts conscience of how to retain some extra warmth. 

[HolyNewBee]

It is really exciting to see these palms growing in Melbouren. And it inspires me to try more palms! Your garden is extremely great looking! How are these palms now?

[tim_brissy_13]

1 hour ago, HolyNewBee said:

It is really exciting to see these palms growing in Melbouren. And it inspires me to try more palms! Your garden is extremely great looking! How are these palms now?

Winter has been hard on some of them this year. The worst is over now so it’s probably time for an overall update but I’ll post a few updated shots now. Late winter/early Spring has actually been much warmer than average so active growth has resumed for many palms. 
 

Hyophorbe indica - somehow breezed through winter despite a couple of below freezing events. 

 

General front yard shot. Some cosmetic damage and yellowing to the more tender Chrysalidocarpus sp and hybrids

 

Hedyscepe canterburyana - any imperfection is from sunburn in summer rather than frost  

 

 

Bentinckia condapanna - copped it pretty hard despite being under filtered canopy. Growth point seems strong though so I’m hopeful it will recover.

  

Chamaedorea radicalis tree form reaching for the sky and sending out spathes. This one is a male. 

 

Chamaedorea liebmanii group of 3 is now down to 1. I initially suspected nematodes were behind the sudden death of 2 of them so I did some digging (literally). From what I saw on the roots, it doesn’t seem to match what I see online so I’m thinking it may have actually been drying out. I don’t water the garden at all over Winter and early Spring and it’s typically not an issue at all since it’s so cool and often damp. This group of three are on a South facing wall however and don’t really receive much natural rainfall. I wonder whether, being cloud forest species, they just give up if not moist enough? The remaining specimen is perfectly fine but it always was the largest and most robust of the 3 so possibly better prepared to survive a slight drying out…?

Arenga engleri very slowly starting to become photo worthy. Only 2 fronds on each stem in 4 years since planting!

 

Chrysalidocarpus sp. bef received some significant spotting from freezing temps. Not as hardy as some of its close relatives. 
 

 

Damage on the top of my Chrysalidocarpus pembanus x madagascariensis. You can see it is worse on foliage and the spear protruding over the gutters. Not sure what will become of this once the crown grows away from the retained warmth of the brick wall (we’ll find out very soon at its current growth rate, it’s a rocket in the warmer months). 

Chamaedorea elatior double planting simultaneously maturing (one male and one female!)

That’s all for now but I’ll be more active with updates now that the weather motivates me to get out there more. 

[Phoenikakias]

Just few thoughts of mine, I had also several Chamaedorea plants dying and microscope examination revealed rhizoctonia. I would thus recommend a preemptive application of trichoderma fungi. 

Arenga engleri loves clay soil but only in the ground.

Keep on posting mate, I love your dare in growing so many Dypsis in a clearly temperate climate. You give me inspiration and courage.

[Jonathan]

11 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Chamaedorea liebmanii group of 3 is now down to 1. I initially suspected nematodes were behind the sudden death of 2 of them so I did some digging (literally). From what I saw on the roots, it doesn’t seem to match what I see online so I’m thinking it may have actually been drying out. I don’t water the garden at all over Winter and early Spring and it’s typically not an issue at all since it’s so cool and often damp

Tim, this is a problem I've had in the past in our sandy soil in winter. Even frequent light rain often doesn't penetrate far enough into the soil to reach the root zone, getting held up in the mulch above. Watering in winter is  dark art that I'm still learning.

I've also read in various places that keeping plants well hydrated in winter gives the cells better resistance to frost but its a delicate balance unless your drainage is perfect...or unless the palms are swamp monsters like L australis. I've had an experiment running for about 10 years with a bunch of P reclinata's growing in a kiddies paddle pool with their pots almost fully submerged, all year round, they seem to love it. Palms are weird! One day I'll plant them out as a reward.

[tim_brissy_13]

5 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Just few thoughts of mine, I had also several Chamaedorea plants dying and microscope examination revealed rhizoctonia. I would thus recommend a preemptive application of trichoderma fungi. 

Arenga engleri loves clay soil but only in the ground.

Keep on posting mate, I love your dare in growing so many Dypsis in a clearly temperate climate. You give me inspiration and courage.

Thanks! Does this look anything like rhizoctonia root damage? Here’s the latest C liebmanii to suddenly die. 

Interesting about the A engleri. I suspect you’re right. This area of the garden is very dry as moisture gets sucked up by my neighbours’ ornamental pears and Eucalyptus. Soil is quite sandy too at least down to 700mm. 
 

1 hour ago, Jonathan said:

Tim, this is a problem I've had in the past in our sandy soil in winter. Even frequent light rain often doesn't penetrate far enough into the soil to reach the root zone, getting held up in the mulch above. Watering in winter is  dark art that I'm still learning.

I've also read in various places that keeping plants well hydrated in winter gives the cells better resistance to frost but its a delicate balance unless your drainage is perfect...or unless the palms are swamp monsters like L australis. I've had an experiment running for about 10 years with a bunch of P reclinata's growing in a kiddies paddle pool with their pots almost fully submerged, all year round, they seem to love it. Palms are weird! One day I'll plant them out as a reward.

I think you’re right for Melbourne too. We, just like you I suspect, get quite regular drizzle but almost never heavy rain in Winter. I’ve also got a decent layer of mulch on most of the garden. Probably because I’m zone pushing so much, I’m very wary of root rot in Winter and it means I keep things on the dry side in general. I really don’t tend to water at all for about 5-6 months of the year as in summer my automated sprinkler system gets everything quite evenly. I probably need to put in a bit more effort with treating each species individually as I’m sure I could get some of my cloud forest type species happier with extra moisture and attention over winter. I suspect this is why I’m struggling with some Arenga micrantha and Ceroxylon quindiuense seedlings at the moment. They e gone into my standard 50% perlite mix where they probably need something heavier to retain moisture. Of course time is at a premium with 2 kids under 6 so easier said than done to individualise treatment of a collection of about 200 species!

 

Thanks for all the input everyone, very helpful. More updates to come soon. 

[HolyNewBee]

Thank you for sharing, According to your palms behavior, I'm gonna buy Hyophorbe indica and Hedyscepe and see whether they can handle cool winter from December to February.

[BayAndroid]

I was wondering, how many days were you below freezing and also, what was the lowest temperature you saw? I'm hoping this winter will be relatively mild.

[quaman58]

Tim, not sure how I missed this previously. Fabulous garden & a great walk through. I’m drooling over your Hedyscepe in particular. For whatever reason, I’ve found it to be a very difficult palm to get to size. Ditto the Trachycarpus princeps; they seem to hate being near the coast around here. Thanks for the tour!

[HolyNewBee]

By the way, is it possible to try to plant a Clinostigma savoryanum?

[happypalms]

Nice little lanonia dasyatha tim! You gotta publish a book on cold climate palms. You got it  Sussed out well. Better yet the cold climate guru 🙏

[Phoenikakias]

Ever tried to grow also Chrysalidocarpus lutescens? Mine grows near house wall but house does not get artificial heating during winter. So far by mid spring my Chryso looks awful, but I am not sure if it is cold soil, cold air or lack of irrigation during winter. Up to now I lost 3 big stems but this one looks still holding. Perhaps bebeficial mycorrhiza played their part.

[tim_brissy_13]

5 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

I was wondering, how many days were you below freezing and also, what was the lowest temperature you saw? I'm hoping this winter will be relatively mild.

3 mornings below freezing and 1 right on freezing this winter. Lowest of -1.3C/29F which is almost as low as it’s been in the 5 years I’ve been here (-1.4C in 2022). This year’s worst freeze was about 7 hours below freezing from memory which is about as bad as it gets here. 

[tim_brissy_13]

5 hours ago, quaman58 said:

Tim, not sure how I missed this previously. Fabulous garden & a great walk through. I’m drooling over your Hedyscepe in particular. For whatever reason, I’ve found it to be a very difficult palm to get to size. Ditto the Trachycarpus princeps; they seem to hate being near the coast around here. Thanks for the tour!

I think our cool nights all year round help with these species. Even in summer, our average night is around 15C/59F so Hedyscepe, Trachycarpus, Ceroxylon, Rhopalostylis, Parajubaea etc seem to love it other than the occasional extreme heat we get. 

[tim_brissy_13]

5 hours ago, HolyNewBee said:

By the way, is it possible to try to plant a Clinostigma savoryanum?

I hope so. I’ve never grown one but I’m on the look out for one. Based on other’s experience, I’d say one would be a chance in my east facing garden where I have Hyophorbe indica, Bentinckia condapanna, Burretiokentia hapala, a couple of Pritchardia, Chambeyronia and Cyphophoenix sp all growing. Only problem is I’m running out of space! 

[Harry’s Palms]

Nice going , Tim . You have done and are doing a fabulous job. It seems your temps are similar to mine here in Southern California . I am about 20 miles from the ocean . Howea are right at home here as well as a lot of other sub tropical or temperate palms . Some years up to 28” of rain but most of the time 15-18” in a short winter , frost is non existent or very rare on my lot. Harry

[tim_brissy_13]

36 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Ever tried to grow also Chrysalidocarpus lutescens? Mine grows near house wall but house does not get artificial heating during winter. So far by mid spring my Chryso looks awful, but I am not sure if it is cold soil, cold air or lack of irrigation during winter. Up to now I lost 3 big stems but this one looks still holding. Perhaps bebeficial mycorrhiza played their part.

I’ve got one in the ground planted 4 years ago. It has actually done quite well so far. In all of Melbourne, I know of only a handful of surviving specimens and the general consensus is that they don’t grow here. There have probably been millions bought from Bunnings (Australia’s chain hardware store) and planted and yet it is rare to see one, though I’m sure there are plenty in hidden protected courtyards over the city. 
 

I’ve got this one on a west facing brick wall so it received full afternoon sun. Only gets minor spotting from the worst winters. I don’t really take many photos of it - it’s the mess of fronds to the left of the Chrysalidocarpus decaryi x leptocheilos in the centre of the shot. Will try to take a better photo but it is a bit hidden in the background.  
 

For reference, here’s a photo from 2021 after its first winter in ground (to the right of the Bismarckia).

[Phoenikakias]

12 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Thanks! Does this look anything like rhizoctonia root damage? Here’s the latest C liebmanii to suddenly die. 

 

You need microscopic inspection of root samples. If it is rhizoctonia the culprit, you will get following picture in the microscope. The description of the picture in Greek I bet it will easily translated in your home😉

[quaman58]

3 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I think our cool nights all year round help with these species. Even in summer, our average night is around 15C/59F so Hedyscepe, Trachycarpus, Ceroxylon, Rhopalostylis, Parajubaea etc seem to love it other than the occasional extreme heat we get. 

Tim, you might have mentioned this previously, but what's your average humidity like? 

[tim_brissy_13]

6 hours ago, quaman58 said:

Tim, you might have mentioned this previously, but what's your average humidity like? 

Usually very high in winter coupled with cool temperatures. In summer, on clear, dry days it is usually very low, especially when we have hot Northerly winds. There’s probably only a handful of days a year where we have tropical air blown down from the tropics which result in the combination of heat and humidity. 

[Tyrone]

22 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Thanks! Does this look anything like rhizoctonia root damage? Here’s the latest C liebmanii to suddenly die. 

Interesting about the A engleri. I suspect you’re right. This area of the garden is very dry as moisture gets sucked up by my neighbours’ ornamental pears and Eucalyptus. Soil is quite sandy too at least down to 700mm. 
 

I think you’re right for Melbourne too. We, just like you I suspect, get quite regular drizzle but almost never heavy rain in Winter. I’ve also got a decent layer of mulch on most of the garden. Probably because I’m zone pushing so much, I’m very wary of root rot in Winter and it means I keep things on the dry side in general. I really don’t tend to water at all for about 5-6 months of the year as in summer my automated sprinkler system gets everything quite evenly. I probably need to put in a bit more effort with treating each species individually as I’m sure I could get some of my cloud forest type species happier with extra moisture and attention over winter. I suspect this is why I’m struggling with some Arenga micrantha and Ceroxylon quindiuense seedlings at the moment. They e gone into my standard 50% perlite mix where they probably need something heavier to retain moisture. Of course time is at a premium with 2 kids under 6 so easier said than done to individualise treatment of a collection of about 200 species!

 

Thanks for all the input everyone, very helpful. More updates to come soon. 

A similar story over here this winter, not so much with inground stuff possibly because I’m on peat and loam not sand, but we’ve had below average rainfall and more of the drissle wispy stuff than actual heavy rain which when combined with high winds leaves a lot of my potted stuff that is in the shadehouse needing water in winter. It’s a dark art watering in winter even for me at 35S. I watch the formation of high pressure zones as they produce nice sunny days but the coldest nights so I avoid watering just before a cold event. I will water in the day just before a front is expected to arrive. It may sound weird as you’re likely to get rain soon, but if you’re not getting enough extra watering doesn’t matter and the night temps are elevated. 

[Cindy Adair]

Wow!

I would have never thought you could grow so many great species without much more land.

Wonderful collection. 

You have created your own jungle!@

[HolyNewBee]

Do you have Kerriodoxa elegans in your garden? I'm really curious about its behaviour this winter. I buy one seedling this month, and not sure if it can handle cool winter. I got one two years ago, but it got bud rotten in late winter.