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Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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Posted by artiew QLD Aust (My Page) on Tue, Sep 28, 04 at 23:33
| Hi All,
As many of you would be aware, I am trying to ensure that the majority of my garden is composed of natives, but thats not always easy when it comes to palms. The majority of Aussie palm species seem to be of the 'spindle' variety : a single tall trunk capped by a crown of foliage. Is there a native palm similar to the 'Cascade'/'Parlour' palm (clumping, good screening all the way to the ground) ?
Secondly, I have two Bromeliads in large plastic pots : whilst they seem OK, their flowers have dimmed noticeably since planting. Do I need to fertilise them, and will this upset the Birds Nest ferns that they share their respective pots with ? I suspect that each plant should be in its own pot, but the ferns seem happy enough :)
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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| Artiew, Very few Australian native palms form clumps but you could try Ptychosperma macarthurii (Macarthur Palm). It is a clumping palm from Cape York, it is very attractive and will form a screening effect. Also Hydriastele wendlandiana is a native clumping species from North Queensland. It grows mainly in swampy areas so appreciates a lot of water. I have one and it is growing very well but it is not as thick a clumper as P. macarthurii. With regard to your bromeliads, I have over 200 varieties of broms in my garden and they hardly ever (some never) get fertilised. Neos in particular seem to produce a better display if grown harshly. The flowers will naturally dim and the mother plant will produce pups and then eventually die. Andrew. |
RE: Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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| Thanks Andrew - I am seriously considering removing every palm that I have and giving it away. Without trying terribly hard, I've managed to plant golden-canes (and cascade palms) in the midst of things like Xanthostemon, Grevillea, Callistemon and Lillipilles, only to realise how incongruous it all looks. In the heat of a Rocky summer, I tell myself that I dont care what it is, as long as it throws shade, but I wonder if I'll still feel that way in 5 years time ..... |
RE: Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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| Well, a golden cane will take some time to grow tall enough to give you enough shade, better to use some other palms such as Alex, Bangalow, the Macarthur palm as Andrew mentioned, Arenga australasica, Foxtail palm, etc. for shade since they grow tall, especially when given enough water. |
RE: Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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Of course, if you want clumps, you can wait till your palm is a couple of metres high and plant a couple of babies around its base, and 2-3 years later repeat the pprocess.
After all, gardening is a lifelong hobby, not something you do one Saturday arvo then forget about it.
Tony |
RE: Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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[Is there a native palm similar to the 'Cascade'/'Parlour' palm (clumping, good screening all the way to the ground) ? ]
Try the Atherton Palm |
RE: Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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| Tony said: After all, gardening is a lifelong hobby, not something you do one Saturday arvo then forget about it. All too true, and I had to ask myself if it was all worth it as I struggled to pierce the clay in 33 deg heat yesterday, but the sight of my latest acquisitions in their new bed made it all worthwhile. I've decided to progressively replace the golden canes with Lillipillies. I'll keep the Cascade and bamboo palms, and I'm still undecided about the Spindle palms I have planted - they grow far too large for their current position. Yes, an ounce of planning would have saved a pound of cure .... |
RE: Two questions - palms and bromeliads
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There is a clumping form of Laccospadix australasica. However these are slow and require a shady spot.
There are few native clumping palms. You could try Ptychosperma elegans, planted as a group of different initial heights. |
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