Pritchardia March 2021 Newsletter Issue #30 President’s Message Since we have all been away from one another for so long, many of us have lost touch with friends. I certainly hope everyone has avoided infection, or at least made a speedy recovery. We all want Contents: to get back together. After a very bad year, it looks as though there is reason for hope in the second half of 2021. We only need to make President’s Message it a few more months. Reported COVID-19 numbers on the Big Island are comparatively low and the Mayor has increased the Latest Free International Palm attendee limit for outdoor groups to 25. Vaccinations are Society Webinar progressing fairly well. There is every reason to expect that all adults Hiding the Uglies will be vaccinated by mid-summer. We are operating on the assumption that restrictions on outdoor meetings will be further relaxed or eliminated by Labor Day. That will be our green Meet Jeanette Oliveira the light to resume garden tours. Even then we will be following CDC recommendations New Steward of the Former regarding face masks and distancing. Right now, we hope to hold the two cancelled fall 2020 Thornton Garden tours this fall and perhaps add a third event. We’d certainly like to pick up with our tradition of hosting invited palm experts to speak, but that is more difficult. This usually requires flying the speaker to Hilo and holding the event indoors at UHH. It is impossible to predict what quarantine rules for travelers will be later this year. It is a little too early to move on that front. To start with some baby steps, this summer we will resume one-on-one private garden tours for new members (less than two years). These are a great way for palm neophytes or recent arrivals to see how other HIPS members have created palm gardens and be able to ask the owner all the questions they like. The construction work at the zoo to bring it into compliance with ADA specifications is continuing. No reopening date has been set, but we are hoping the public can return by early summer. During construction, HIPS has had only limited access. We hope to at least get the cycad gardens looking good by the time visitors return. The last word I got was that the number of new baby palms to be planted will be significantly less than the number of mature palms that were removed to make way for expanded walkways, parking, benches, and drainage. Stay tuned. I don’t know what the weather has been like in your microenvironment, but I had a record rainfall this month with 32” so far. And yet, even with all the rain I have been able to catch the occasional dry day to do some work in the garden. For me the garden has been a wonderful escape from the troubles of the last year. I trust you have taken time to recharge your emotional batteries as well. Rick Kelley Palms of Vietnam with Andrew Henderson Free International Palm Society Webinar Online We look forward to announcing some of our own events, but until then, we recommend checking out this month’s webinar from the International Palm Society. Palms of Vietnam is a wonderful journey through palm habitats starting at the southern tip of Vietnam and going north to the border with China. Webinars are included at the new Free membership level and you can watch them on demand. Become an IPS member at any level, and start watching now by clicking HERE. Hiding the Uglies Water tanks, neighbor’s rubbish bins, or cars going by – Once there is a better understanding of what is needed and whatever the reason, a wall of green is much more pleasant to esthetic desired, it is easier to choose plant material. To get look at, and there are a variety of palms that can make that creativity flowing, I compiled a list of my favorite alternatives wall both functional and beautiful. Multi-stemmed palms in to the common, tried and true palms mentioned above. I’ve particular are very versatile and can be maintained at a variety provided links to the extremely useful Palmpedia website of heights, thickness, and spread simply by removing selected where you will find photos, descriptions and growing canes. While a screen using Dypsis lutescens (areca palm), conditions for the palms in case you are wondering whether Ptychosperma macarthurii (Macathur palm), Rhapis excelsa the palm might work for you. (lady palm) or Caryota mitis (clumping fishtail palm) would be perfectly adequate, and with proper care can be quite This list merely scratches the surface of possibility, and beauty appealing, we live on Hawaii and have many other exciting is in the eye of the beholder, for a more comprehensive list options. In fact, the real challenge is narrowing down our check out The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms Second Edition choices, and to do that, it’s best to assess the individual by Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft, and Scott Zona. The book situation. includes a section called Landscape Lists that organizes palms by various characteristics and landscaping uses. The book is Things to consider when designing a screen (in addition to available for purchase online or borrow the first edition from sun/shade/moisture etc.): the HIPS library. The HIPS library has other useful books on cultivated palms as well. Height – Choose a height that will block out unwanted elements but consider varying the height to allow a piece of sky or neighboring canopy beyond the screen to give a sense of space. If a tall screen is needed and space allows, add shorter palms in front to step up the height and avoid a single steep vertical rise. Width – This dimension will influence your choice of plant material as well as the number of layers of plantings. Choose palms with appropriate crown or clump diameters or risk a life of constant trimming. Opacity – A solid wall of leaves will block the view completely and create a more intimate space while a diffuse screen will trick the eye and hide the view in plain sight while keeping a more spacious feeling. Consider how the screen will affect the light in the garden. Single Species Planting – A single species border provides a formal and uniform structure, and can be very pleasing as part of an overall garden design. However, even the stunning sealing wax palm could be uninspiring if planted single file around a bare lawn along a straight perimeter fence. Mixed Species Planting - With so many great palms to choose from, why limit yourself to just one species? By layering palms of different heights, colors, and textures, you can even follow the “filler, spiller, and thriller” recipe to elevate a screening border to a garden feature that commands attention in its own right. Dypsis lutescens (areca palm) Alternates: (Colorful, clumping, feather palms, up to about 20 ft, clumps spreading to about 10ft) Pinangas – any clumping variety, but especially Pinanga sp. Blue seed, Pinanga coronata, and Pinanga sp. Maroon crownshaft (from Floribunda Palms). Photos below are from Palmpedia. Pinanga sp. blue seed (photo from Palmpedia) Pinanga coronate (Palmpedia) Pinanga sp. maroon crownshaft (photo from Floribunda Palms) Pinanga coronate (photo from Palmpedia) Areca vestiaria – suckering or solitary, colorful red, orange, maroon crownshafts, fast growing to just a little larger than D. lutescens. Dypsis baronii – some varieties have chalky white crownshafts with burgundy-red petioles, graceful delicate leaflets Euterpe oleracea – growing much larger to at about 60ft, and 20ft clumps, leaf crowns 15 ft wide on 6 inch stems. Makes a beautifully graceful silhouette against the sky, Fruit is used to make Acai. Ptychosperma macarthurii (Macathur palm) Alternates: (suited for narrower spaces) Calyptrocalyx – Many species to choose from with brilliant red new leaves, C. polyphyllus (below left), C. elegans, and its varieties C. sp. sanuumb, and C. sp. Mara Hydriastele kasesa – slender clustering palm with light stems with ornamental purple splashes Rhapis excelsa (lady palm) Alternates: (medium, dense, shrub like) Arenga hookeriana – Interesting compact and shiny leaves Chuniophoenix hainanensis or C. nana Chuniophoenix hainanensis Chuniophoenix nana Caryota mitis (clumping fishtail palm) Alternates: (Big, broad leaves, roughly 25 ft tall by 12 ft wide) Acoelorraphe wrightii A big screener for the dry side, it can reach 20 to 30 feet and a canopy of 15 feet. It is thick and densely covered to the ground. Arenga engleri Though it rarely grows more than 10ft it can spread up to 16 ft with leaves up to 8 ft long. Its flowers have a sweet fragrance and develops attractive fruit. Spillers for foreground or short screens: If you are creating a layered border, check out this thread on Palm Talk about lovely ankle-biter palms that you can use as a foreground. Chamaedorea cataractarum, and its taller and sparser look alike C. hooperiana Allagoptera arenaria – seashore palm for dry areas has an interesting florescence and twisting leaf Discourage intruders, and anyone else that gets close! (Palms with spines) Salacca zalacca – edible snake fruit palm Oncosperma tigillarium – painfully beautiful with pendulous leaflets, if you need a tall, impenetrable screen, a combo of S. zalaca and O. tigillarium would be the ultimate privacy hedge. It might not make you very popular with your gardener though. O. horridum may be easier to get, but not as pretty. Hopefully this list sparks your imagination. When it’s time to buy your palms, please check out our web page for growers that have graciously supported HIPS throughout the years. Meet Jeanette Oliveira the New Steward of the Former Thornton Garden Many HIPS members may remember the plant sale, potluck, and garden tour at the Thornton Garden in September 2014 in Hawaiian Paradise Park.