Palm Growing in Perth, W. A.

Australian Barry Shelton presents a view of palms in Perth, which has a climate not too dissimilar to parts of the Mediterranean coast.
Barry Shelton, 8 Fleetwood Road, Lynwood, Western Australia
Chamaerops No. 9, published online 23-09-2002

Perth is situated on the shores of the Indian Ocean and enjoys a warm, Mediterranean climate, so an account of the palms that succeed here will be of interest to those enthusiasts in southern Europe.

We have a hot, dry summer, warm and mostly dry spring and autumn, and a cool and wet winter. In the ten years that we've been here, our garden has experienced temperatures ranging from -1¾C to 46¾C, so plants have to be pretty tough to succeed and need generous watering during most of the year.

That said, around 200 species of palm are growing here, with new ones being tried all the time, many successfully. Some 20 are really common in parks and gardens, and will be familiar to everyone who has visited or lives in southern Europe. For example Phoenix canariensis, Washingtonia, Trachycarpus, Sabal palmetto and Butia.

By far the most popular palm here is Syagrus (Arecastrum) romanzoffiana, or Queen palm, known here as the Cocos palm. They probably account for 50% of all the palms planted here and are fast growing and very tough, growing well also in Melbourne which is a lot cooler than Perth. Also extremely reliable ins Archontophoenix cunninghamiana or Bangalow palm, and its close relative A. alexandrae or Alexander palm, fast growers, but better in semi-shade. Phoenix roebelenii or Pygmy Date palm is superb in full sun though, which is amazing when you consider that it is a rain forest plant from Laos in Southeast Asia.

Another excellent Phoenix is P. reclinata or Senegal Date palm, which forms large, clumps with beautiful arching leaves. Chrysalidocarpus lutescens or Golden Cane palm, so popular as a houseplant in Britain, grows well but needs to be protected from full sun. For some reason a palm that is ideally suited to Perth, Chamaerops humilis is uncommon here, although there are a few beautiful clumps of it in city parks.

Rapidly becoming popular are three species of palm introduced to Perth only in the last five years or so. Neodypsis decaryi, the Triangle palm, from Madagascar, is everything you could ask of a palm. It has wonderfully graceful, glossy, arching dark green leaves and a unique triangular trunk. It flourishes in full sun or part shade and has the added benefit of being a fast grower. Several other species of Neodypsis have recently arrived here and are looking very promising.

Ravenea rivularis is another exciting palm from Madagascar. It grows long, arching pinnate leaves before it develops a trunk, rather like the Coconut palm. It's also quite fast growing. Wodyetia bifurcata, the Foxtail palm, comes from northern Queensland, home of so many Australian palms, only this one grows not in the rain forests but on open hillsides, where it gets baked in the sun. Its broad, short, dark-green leaflets are plumose, hence its apt common name.

Livistona chinensis, L. australis and L. decipiens are all fairly common and very tough here. Howea forsteriana, the Kentia palm, grows well but needs a shady position although they can eventually become sun-hardy. Pritchardias, with their beautiful, fanshaped, bright green leaves are becoming popular, especially P. hillebrandii and P. martini, both from Hawaii. They seem very adaptable, but the Fijian species, P. pacifica, is not proving very successful here. Neither are Roystonia; they do grow, but tend to look somewhat ratty, probably because of the cold winds in winter, and hot winds in summer.

A few eternal optimists among us keep trying with coconuts; we got one through last winter successfully, but most are unlikely to last more than 2 or 3 years at best. The winter temperatures average 18¾C max and 9¾C min. This doesn't sound too bad but it goes on for about three months and that's just too long for Cocos nucifera. Fame and fortune awaits anyone who can develop a cold tolerant coconut.

We have a flourishing palm society here. The address is The Palm & Cycad Society of Western Australia Inc., P. 0. Box 170, Como, W. A. 6152, Australia, and interest can only continue to grow considering that Perth is a fast growing city with a population of 1? million with most people living in detached houses with sizeable gardens. I would guess that around 40% of these contain at least one palm, some of course have hundreds, so the total palm population must be vast. We also have the native Cycad, Macrozamia riedlei, which is very common in the surrounding bush. Cycads are just beginning to appear in gardens in any numbers, the only common one so far is Cycas revoluta.

Well, that's just a brief account of our situation palm wise here. I'd be happy to correspond with anyone who cares to write, and perhaps send a more detailed list of our successes and failures. Fortunately, the former still outnumber the latter.

Readers Comments:

(No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment to this article!)

Your comments:    Palm Growing in Perth, W. A.     Add your personal thoughts, comments, ideas, suggestions, experiences etc. to the above article. Just fill in the fields below:   E-mail:   Name:   Check this box if you do not want your name and e-mail address to be published.   Headline:    Comments:       (please allow a few seconds for response)