Palms   Growing Palms in Darwin

In Darwin its local knowledge that you can establish a full-blown garden with mature plants and palms within four years of initial planting. I'd even go as far to say that you could just about plant a dead stick and during the wet it would either grow or have something growing off it!

Having been born in Adelaide my fondness for palms resulted from visiting a family friends block in Humpty Doo, Northern Territory which is about 40km south from Darwin City. On a 7 acre block my friend has planted over the last 20 years thousands of palms. His driveway has over 800 alone!

My block is not quite that large, in fact its only 600m including the house, but the house is positioned well enough that I could plant around it with room to spare. Now, firstly I must admit that I'm no horticulturist but I like to think that I've got some local knowledge about how to plant and get results. In fact its so easy in Darwin that unless you run out of water youd never kill anything that youve planted.

Darwins soil is generally very poor. Its rocky, imbedded with limestone and coffee rock and generally during the dry its similar to southern soils that I have experienced that remain concrete-like during summer and boggy during the rainy periods. My bare space of paradise was just that, a space of dirt and spear grass. Normally, one would be trucking in loads of topsoil and gypsum but I have to admit that I've done neither and have grown wonderful, healthy palms.

Local nurseries have the usual run-of-the-mill varieties that just about everyone mass plants in their gardens, but if you search around hard enough youll find nurseries tucked away in the rural area that have exotic palm varieties and thats exactly what I was after and the price savings are in the range of 25-50% cheaper than commercial outlets.

I'm a firm believer that nature does not have a rule that you have to dig holes two metres apart when planting. I've never seen palms in a rainforest spaced out to a plan and I wasnt going to follow this rule. Admittedly, I did have to space some varieties apart due to their expected trunk size in years to come obviously, but it I wanted a canopy to establish quickly so my under story varieties wouldnt be destroyed by the sun when young.

Figure 1. A palm lined runway.

 

Growing Palms:

As one would expect palms are generally tropical in their habitat albeit several varieties and so growing them in Darwin is quite easy. Initially all I have ever done is dig a decent sized hole using the $5 plant and $5 hole rule. Most palms in Darwin are sold in 200mm pots with larger palms sold in 10 or 20kg bags

Everyone has their own ideas on how to landscape and if you yard is flat and boring you can experiment with scope and rocks to get that 'just right look. Many folk in Darwin use Bali as their theme in the garden and to good effect. Because so many plants thrive in Darwin its very satisfying to watch young seedlings grow to maturity over a very short space of time.

As far as when to plant, I never plant during the height of the monsoon season. The monsoon brings with it long rain periods and squalls. Ive tried to plant in the height of the monsoon thinking that this would be the ideal time to plant, but I found that the deeper I dug the hole out the more if filled up with water seeping up through the ground due to saturation.

I've found that success is not with kindness but with a bit of neglect. I planted the majority of my palms during the dry season. I sought palms that were at least 1-2 metres in height (thats generally the 200mm potted ones) and made sure they were healthy and always had a new frond or 'spike' emerging.

During the dry season we only average the odd shower so waiting for rain to promote growth is not on the agenda. Most avid gardeners would top dress with loam, organic fertilizer and the like and most certainly that's recommended, but I just wanted my garden in right away and new that water and fertilizer was all I needed.

All I have ever done was to dig large holes, fill the hole with a handful of organic palm fertilizer rich in potash, a splash of water and stick the plant in and backfill. This doesnt sound very professional, but palms are hardy souls and if you give them enough root ball space theyll take off. I've seen my palms become hardier because I've made them struggle a little and didnt baby sit them during their growing phases and found theyve become more resilient to pests and disease.

After planting out I covered the entire beds with a thick leaf/woody mulch, a type of forest mulch which is roughly the mulching of local trees from the council and garden blend organic soil which good landscape suppliers sell that is rich in organic matter. I top dress with this because it adds the nutrients back into the soil and before long the original soil underneath is teaming with worms, therefore oxygenating and fertilizing at the same time.I've found that after five years my soil is very dark and granular and has many worms.Compared to what it was when I first planted it is like chalk and cheese.

I tend to water the trunks with the hose for a few minutes and wash down the crowns (as far as I can reach!). This works two ways, in aiding the humidity around the drip line and keeping the crownshafts free of dust and pests and aiding moisture after a hot days in the sun.

I installed an irrigation system to aid the laborious task of hand watering so many plants and this aids in creating humidity because these levels are only around 30% during the dry. Average temperatures are around 30-33c during the dry, but during the wet the averages are 33-35c with 70-90% humidity, the latter being most unbearable for humans, but plants love it!

Because Darwin only has two seasons its very easy to predict when your plants will start their growth spurt and its typically not during the dry! Palms generally in the dry will quite happy grow albeit slowly and as locals like to quip 'survive and not die so long as the water is kept up to them. Once the onset of the buildup arrives around October/November then things really kick into high gear. The fronds become greener, theyre more upright and growth is really beyond words. It just should happen!

Fertilizing in Darwin is very important. As previously mentioned, the soil here is not that flash and needs a good kick. I fertilize my palms every three or so months with blends from the company, Tropigro. I just use handfuls around the base of the palms and spread it liberally. This company is local and they have years of knowledge with tropical plants and what their requirements are.

Lightning believe it or not can either help or kill your palms. Of course a direct strike will knock out several in one hit, but lightning actually charges the atmosphere and soil with all sorts of minerals that the plants take up, so the lightning storms are a great thing.

Figure 3. Veitchia joannis

Figure 3.

 

Palms to Plant and Where:

Understory plants and smaller shade loving palms should be planted at the same time as your larger palms. You dont want these plants competing for water later on and quite honestly youll have to dig around many surface roots emitting from your larger palms in order to dig a hole next to the trunk. You may not have a shady canopy at first, but if youve planted enough palms their fronds will at least create some shade for them.

'Shade only plants and palms are just that - for the shade! If you're going to plant shade loving palms in Darwin give them protection. Leave a sizable space in your garden bed for later planting that way youll have the canopy in place. I've made the mistake of buying a really healthy, decent sized semi-shade palm and didnt think ahead and had it fry in two weeks and just drop dead from exposure. Certainly a waste of a $22 exotic!

Do not under any circumstances plant shade loving palms, (for example Licuala grandis ) as out-in-the-open specimens in Darwin. Our sun is extremely harsh on young palms and I've seen new home owners mass plant these particular palms spaced out 2 metres apart (of course!) and watched them within a two week period just commit suicide. So sad for the owner and its really them not having enough knowledge about the variety and probably listening to bad advice. Sure they look great in a nursery environment, but plant them where theyll be happiest.

There are some varieties that shouldnt be planted too close to swimming pools, cars or entertainment areas. The Territorys native palm, Carpentaria acuminata are graceful palms but do fruit profusely and many locals have a patch of Carpentaria lawn or additional garden bed below these palms of hundreds of tiny seedlings. Their dried berries are the bane of the lawnmower and windows and dogs are their targets. Added to that, local fruit bats love the fruit and will converge in them and defecate all over the place which is quite difficult to remove from areas soiled once dry.

Large palm varieties which are very common in Darwin are Roystonea regia or Cuban Royal Palms. Wonderful examples with dark green crownshafts and shapely concrete-white trunks. One hazard being that when the old fronds self-clean and drop off they crash to the ground with a thud and usually without warning. As youd expect, a palm that grows up to 20 metres would expect to have large fronds and they can be quite heavy falling from that height.

Aiphanes or Coyure Palms are fascinating but somewhat dangerous to have next to entertainment areas. Although specifically exotic palms and a wonderful conversation piece, you dont want these things too close to human contact. Being covered in fine spines, they are somewhat dangerous to small children and adults alike so avoid planting them close to the home.

Roystonea oleracea or Caribbean Royal Palm/West Indian Royal Palm: Personally my all time favorite because of its size - growing to 30 metres - but dont plant them too close to anything because as you can imagine the trunk will be quite tall and you dont want one of these crashing down onto the outdoor bar area during a cyclone. At least give them some room away from the home. (Ive got three I have to relocate now that I think of it)

Figure 4. Phoenicophorium borsigianum

Figure 2. Roscheria melanochaetes

Figure 5. A healthy Verschaffeltia splendida

 

What Look Do You Want?

The fantastic thing about palms is that you can see in advance what your tropical rainforest will look like years before theyve even matured!. Because they are so predicable in the way they grow, youll know well in advance how to plan a garden in Darwin and visualise the final result.

Absolutely, positively do not plant one single palm smack bang in the middle of the front yard or back yard all by itself. Not only will it look like youve got a telegraph pole stuck in the yard, but it just doesnt fit with nature! Palms are happiest when theyre group planted and that's the way they should be.

I personally have avoided planting in rows and just put them where theyll look the best and compliment each other. Different shaped fronds, trunks, sizes and colours add to the rainforest feel and give a sense of perspective and colour, even if it is all green but some palm varieties have orange, red, or stilt trunks. That's the difference compared to a line of boring old gum trees!

My garden comprises only four native Carpentaria palms and the rest are either exotic and well known varieties. They include: Archontophoenix alexandrae , Raphis , Aiphanes aculeata , Wodyetia bifurcata , Areca catechu , Caryota cumingii , Cocus nucifera , Cyrtostachys renda , Dictyosperma album , Roystonea oleracea , Ptychosperma elegans , Ptychosperma macarthurii , Hyophorbe lagenicaulis , Dypsis decipiens , Dypsis decaryi , Dypsis leptocheilos , Phoenicophorium borsigianum (my treasures!), Veitchia arecina , Veitchia joannis , Verschaffeltia splendida (my other treasures!)

There are a few others but quite honestly Ive forgotten their names although being exotics. Pelagodoxa henryana is the one palm that I dream to grow as it is one of the worlds rarest palms. A nursery some years ago closed down here and sold a two metre young palm of this variety for only $70. Theyre worth around $2000 that young anywhere else!

Generally because of the lack of available land within Darwin to build anew most homes have established gardens. Those that dont are a gardeners canvas. Palm prices are so affordable you could buy $500 worth of palms and have your plot transformed with a weekends digging. Exotic palm varieties are readily available in Darwin if you know what to look for and quite often I walk through the botanic gardens here with my palm book in hand highlighting the species I'm after and seeing how they look when mature.

Most commercial nurseries dont stock exotics and if they do will charge like a wounded bull. I spend the extra 10 minutes to travel to the rural nurseries and there youll find what you're after. They are sun hardened and really are fantastic value. My Seychelles Island stilt palms ( Verschaffeltia splendida ) were only $22 each and they were a metre tall and have taken off quite happily.

The best advice I can give anyone in Darwin looking for palms is to go to the rural nurseries during the end of the wet and pick up a bargain. Not only have the palms been exposed to all the elements but theyve doubled in size for the same price from what they were three months previous. One particular rural nursery here actually relocates some of their own garden specimens to the pot and they look fantastically healthy when you buy them.

Figure 6. A nice planting of Verschaffeltia splendida

 

Pests:

Some varieties attract grasshoppers more than most. Christmas Palms or Manila Palms ( Adonidia merrillii ) I have found seem to be on the menu for these pests and until they get established after a few years they tend to be chewed on regularly. Over watering really hasnt been a problem, although commonsense prevails. Palms during the dry will thrive if watered regularly and its noticeable when the wet comes and some palms seem larger than others.

I have had only small infestations of mealy bugs with some plants, not necessarily palms more so with Cordylines.

Its important to rid the infested plants of the little pests as they can quickly transfer to other plants if not destroyed, either that, prune the plant right back and treat with a biodegradable pesticide.

Mould is not uncommon, but this is generally found at ground level due to the amount of moisture around the plants during the monsoon periods. With little or no sun for several days the garden beds stay wet and there's no sunlight to dry things out, but this has not appeared to have any detrimental affect on my own plants. Its generally a given because there's lots of garden insects that will feed on it so I see it as an ecological benefit!

I hope my no-frills way of gardening gives some hope to those planting out for the first time in Darwin. I've grown palms in Adelaide with a little more care, but took the same no baby sitting approach. Let them struggle a little to toughen them up and youll be rewarded with healthy, strong palms. Palms aren't generally fussy about what soil theyre put in, so long as there's water and some type of fertilizer applied when required theyll do just fine.

Figure 7. A growing Aiphanes aculeata

 

Contributed by:

Mike ONeill, Darwin, Northern Territory (Text and Figures 1-7).