Licuala

[the flying dutchman]

Has anybody info about the licuala grandis. I have a 5 feet plant now(total
height) but i find different information on internet. Does it need shade and
should I avoid winds? Minimum temps?? Watering??

Thanks in advance

Ron

[Lilith]

Hi Ron,
I have a nice Licuala grandis as well, but I grow it in my greenhouse. Its probably about the same size as yours.
It's not hardy below freezing. If you want the leaves to remain nice and undivided and circular, you should keep it from the wind. It will tolerate very high light, and maybe even be able to gradually acclimate to some full sun, but not burning midday sun.
I have collected several different Licuala species, and with the exception of Licuala orbicularis, none have been difficult to grow so far (in the greenhouse). I would never leave them outdoors in winter, even in my zone, as we do freeze.
I fertilize all of my palms with a top dressing of slow release Nutricote year round and supplement that during the hot season with a water soluble fertilizer called Peter's Excel 15-5-15 Cal/Mag which contains all the trace and minors. Let me find it and i will put up a photo of my Grandis.

A really good site for info on palms is the Jungle Music site. They are in California.

[ryan]

Hey there, it's nice knowing that they are other people interested in this genus of palms. Licuala grandis is naturally an understory palm but they CAN be planted in full sun (contrary to popular belief) provided they are acclimatised slowly and never allowed to dry out. Their leaves will turn a lighter green in the sun and their leaf stalks will significantly become shorter. They love organic fertiliser and appreciate a loose, organic, composty mixture.

Here's a picture

[the flying dutchman]

thanks Lilith and ryan for the information and beautiful pictures.

i planted mine about 2 weeks ago and we had all the time full sun and
a dry wind. Now the leaves look terrible so I think the wind is the main course for drying out. I will try a spot with less wind and sun and hopefully it will
recover because there is no healthy leaf left.

Thanks

ron

[Lilith]

Oh what I would plant if I lived somewhere like Singapore!
I am growing several licualas in the greenhouse. My grandis is the largest (because its the oldest)
I am also growing:
mapu (rare)
peltata var Sumawangii (aka elegans)
peltata var peltata
orbicularis (rare)
distans
lauterbachii
ramsayi
aurantiaca
cordata (extremely rare)
filiformis
parviflora (very rare)
poonsakii

[MediaHound]

Mine gets full sun for part of the day, but is in shade for about 70% of the time. I think it could handle more sun than that, though.
This pic is about a year old, it's since been planted in the ground and is growing nicely lately!