Difference between revisions of "Bismarckia nobilis"
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[[Image:BISMARCKIAS green SBG.jpg|thumb|Green Form, Singapore]] | [[Image:BISMARCKIAS green SBG.jpg|thumb|Green Form, Singapore]] | ||
[[Image:Bismarckia flowers.jpg|thumb|Seeds, Green Form?]] | [[Image:Bismarckia flowers.jpg|thumb|Seeds, Green Form?]] | ||
| + | [[Image:Bismarkia nobilis.jpg|thumb|In Vietnam]] | ||
{{Palm Page}} | {{Palm Page}} | ||
==Habitat and Distribution== | ==Habitat and Distribution== | ||
Revision as of 17:43, 25 September 2007
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 Ho'omaluhia, Hawaii | ||||||||
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Habitat and Distribution
Description
Culture
Blue/silver form in Mediterranean climate:
This is a great palm for such a climate, but it never looks quite as amazing/majestic as it does in a more tropical climate. It is highly tolerant of intense, inland heat, growing fastest where it is the hottest. However, it also grows well along the coast of such a climate- but significantly more slowly and with less intense coloration. It is best to grow this palm in a well draining soil, but palms grown in dense clay soils seems to do pretty well. Keeping the soil moist sure seems to keep this palm happier.
Full sun is the best location for this palm. Unfortunately full sun often means the most intense cold exposure in the winter. It is cold tolerant down to the high 20s/-3.3C as a seedling, often being defoliated at temps below 27F/-2.77C (but usually recovers if the bud is treated well). However, as this plant matures its cold tolerance seems to improve dramatically, with some palms surviving temps down near 22F/-5.55C with only moderate leaf damage. Over winter this is one of those palms that tends to go 'into a coma' often not showing the least bit of growth for 4-6 months at a time. However, once it warms up, it is not unusual to see some palms produce up to 1-2 leaves a month (the larger the faster it grows) which is very fast for a Mediterranean climate palm.
Green form in a Mediterranean climate:
Though this form is much faster growing than the blue form in tropical climates, the opposite tends to be true in a Mediterranean climate. In fact, in most such climates, this is known as a very marginal palm, often unable to tolerate much freezing weather at all, and sulking dramatically in prolonged cool seasons. Its culture is so different from the blue-silver forms, that it seems like a totally different species. It is very rare to see this color form growing in a Mediterranean climate, and even rarer to see one in such a climate and healthy looking. This palm always seems to battling some bud-related damage problems. It is not unusual for exceptional palms that seem to be growing well to just up and die with no apparent reason.