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Greening Deserts and Leipzig Palms Cultivating Rare Palm Trees

Greening Deserts projects like Leipzig Palms (LE Palms) do not conservating and cultivating just endangered plants like rare trees. Beautiful decorative and ornamental palm trees are another speciality.

We care for endangered animals and plants around the world. Show some love and support our projects by constructive feedback or by buying some palms or palm products. http://www.lepalms.shop

Bismarckia (Bismarck Palm Tree) is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to western and northern Madagascar where they grow in open grassland. The genus is named for the first chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck and the epithet for its only species, Bismarckia nobilis, comes from Latin for ‘noble’.

Bismarckia nobilis grows from solitary trunks, gray to tan in color, which show ringed indentations from old leaf bases. Trunks are 30 to 45 cm in diameter, slightly bulging at the base, and free of leaf bases in all but its youngest parts. In their natural habitat they can reach above 25 meters in height but usually get no taller than 12 m in cultivation. The nearly rounded leaves are enormous in maturity, over 3 m wide, and are divided to a third its length into 20 or more stiff, once-folded segments, themselves split on the ends. The leaves are induplicate and costapalmate, producing a wedge-shaped hastula where the blade and petiole meet. Petioles are 2–3 m, slightly armed, and are covered in a white wax as well as cinnamon-colored caducous scales; the nearly-spherical leaf crown is 7.5 m wide and 6 m tall. Most cultivated Bismarckias feature silver-blue foliage although a green leaf variety exists (which is less hardy to cold). These palms are dioecious and produce pendent, interfoliar inflorescences of small brown flowers which, in female plants, mature to a brown ovoid drupe, each containing a single seed.

Found only in Madagascar, an island well known for its rich diversity of unique taxa, Bismarckia is one genus among a diverse palm flora (some 170 palms of which 165 are solely in Madagascar). They grow in the plains of the central highlands, nearly reaching the western and northern coasts, in savannas of low grass, usually in lateritic soil. As much of this land has been cleared with fire for agricultural use, Bismarckias, along with other fire-resistant trees like Ravenala madagascariensis and Uapaca bojeri, are the most conspicuous components of this arid region.

Bismarck palms are grown throughout the tropics and subtropics under favorable microclimates. They are planted in several areas of Florida in the United States, as well as in a few areas of Southern California, and southern Arizona. It is also grown in many parts of Indonesia and Australia. Bismarck palms will suffer from cold damage but they quickly recover. The green variety is more cold sensitive than is the silver-gray variety. The green variety is damaged at 32 °F (0°), but the silver-gray variety will tolerate 28 °F (−3 °C) and will recover from 23 °F (−6 °C). While Bismarckia tolerate some drought, they thrive in areas with adequate rainfall. Because of their massive crowns, they need plenty of room in a landscape area.

Bismarck palms are easy to grow in the right environment as they are adaptable to a wide range of soils and prefer to have good drainage as the Bismarck does not like to have root rot. The Bismarck palm can adapt to either acidic or alkaline soil and prefers to be watered directly into the root system or sprayed through the palm heart. When planting the Bismarck palm make sure to not to cover up any part of the trunk, as this will lead to problems as the Bismarck palm is susceptible to be eaten by microorganisms that live naturally in soil and other mediums.

Source: Wikipedia

Palms or palm trees can be used for professional agriculture (ecofarming) and diverse forestry in dry and barren landscapes. Many palms are very drought- and heat-resistent. They can protect (by dropping shadow and holding water) other smaller plants around, for example crops or young trees. Greening Deserts and Leipzig Palms refer to some palms as ‘protectors and wards from the desert’. They are also good to improve the climate and cool down whole cities or urban areas. We therefore recommend palm trees not only for German or European opencast mining areas (open pit deserts), but also for the reform of agriculture and forestry.

Conservation, Culture, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Nursery, Palms, Sustainability

Leipzig Palms Cultivating Foxtail Palms from Australia

Leipzig Palms (LE Palms) will cultivate and research palms from all continents, especially palms for deserts, savannahs and other dry lands or wastelands. So we can improve the desert greening process, conservation, regeneration, reforestation and revegetation in dry and barren landscapes. Help us to reduce the worldwide desertification, global warming and land degradation. @Greening Coasts, Greening Deserts, Green Ring Africa,..

Today we present Wodyetia bifurcata, the foxtail palm. We have one year palms, you can order now in our palm shop. http://www.LEPalms.shop

The foxtail palm is endemic to a remote area in Queensland, Australia on the Cape York Peninsula where they grow in rocky and flooded scrubland. Usually found in sandy, acidic soils, they grow from sea level to 400 m in elevation. Queensland, Australia, N.E. Queensland, confined to the southwest, south and southeast sides of Melville Range, latitude 14˚ 17′ S, longitude 144˚ 28′ E.

Biology And Ecology: Wodyetia occurs in open woodland communities consisting of rain forest elements in coarse, loose granite sand, among huge granite boulders, with the main canopy being the palms themselves. Other tree species associated with it are low forms of Ficus obliqua, F. benjamina (semi-creeping), Buchanania arborescens, Polyalthia nitidissima, Myristica insipida, Diospyros reticulata var. ferrea, Cryptocarya bidwilli, and vines Capparis sp., Cissus sp. It extends 1-2 km, downstream, along open forest creeks at the foot of the granite boulder hills. Here it may be found amongst Eucalyptus polycarpa, E. drepanophylla, Cochlospermum gillvrayei and Bombax ceiba forest. It appears to be absent from dense closed forest communities in the area. In these communities the palm Archontophoenix alexandrae is a prolific upper canopy species. Altitude range is 60-400 m a.s.l. Climatic conditions have a strong seasonally dry component, with drought stress likely to be significant for six months of the year. Annual rainfall is reckoned to be about 1400-1600 mm, confined mainly to 3-4 months of the year, DecemberMarch (Summer Wet). Mature fruit is present in October-December, open flowers are likely to be found in December and February. Seed germinates in 2-3 months, coinciding with the wet season, but sporadic germination continues for at least 14 months. (Irvine, A. 1983)

Wodyetias have proven highly adaptable, and are grown in suitable climates all over the world, in places as varied as Miami, Los Angeles, Bermuda, Durban, Honolulu, Sydney, Auckland, Cape Town and Corsica. In Southern California, Wodyetias are best started in the ground from relatively large plants, the bigger the better. Little baby plants will survive, but often disappoint. Full sun is best, plus well-drained soil. No ph issues known. Once established will grow fast, though not as fast as in more humid climates.

Conservation, Environment, Europe, Germany, News, Nursery, Palms

Jubaea Chilensis Chilean Wine Palm

Jubaea chilensis, Chilean wine palms or Chile cocopalms from Leipzig are now ready for sale. You can order soon, visit our pages to stay up to date. http://www.lepalms.shop

Jubaea is a genus of palms (family Arecaceae) with one species, Jubaea chilensis, or J. spectabilis, the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm. It is native to southwestern South America, where it is endemic to a small area of central Chile, between 32°S and 35°S in southern Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Santiago, O’Higgins and northern Maule regions. It was long assumed that the extinct palm tree of Easter Island belonged to this genus too, but it is distinct and now placed in its own genus, Paschalococos.

The tree grows very slowly, as it is usual for palm trees. It takes several years until the Jubaea starts getting its weight and size. It may take more than 20 years for the plant to get the height of a medium tree. It can reach a height of 25 m (82 ft) with a trunk up to 1.3 m (4.3 ft) in diameter at the base, often thicker higher up, and with smooth bark. The thickest well-documented Jubaea was that on the estate of J. Harrison Wright in Riverside, California which was 5′ 6″ (1.68 m) thick “at shoulder height”. The largest of several specimens at the Adelaide, South Australia Botanic Garden in 1889 was stated to be 6 ft (1.8 m) thick at the base. A hollow (but living) Jubaea in the Valle de Ocoa in La Campana National Park, Chile is between six and seven feet (between 1.8 and 2.1 m) thick at the base, with no apparent taper in the lower trunk. The 3–5 m (9.8–16.4 ft) leaves are pinnate. The largest individual specimen of indoor plant in the world was the Jubaea chilensis at Kew Gardens which was cut off by Kew Gardens in 2014 because it grew to the top of its greenhouse, England. Of the 2,600+ known species of palms, Jubaea chilensis is the second most massive, exceeded only by the floodplain or river bottom variety of Borassus aethiopum.

It needs mild winters, but will tolerate frosts down to about -15 °C (5 °F) as well as relatively cool summers, making it one of the hardiest of pinnate-leaved palms; this is because it grows up to 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level in its natural habitat. In the wild, the tree lives almost exclusively on the steep slopes of ravines.

In the U.S. this palm grows best in dry summer climates like most of California, and in semi arid climates in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas. Generally, this is not a palm for tropical climates like Hawaii, Florida, or parts of northern Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubaea

Conservation, Environment, Europe, News, Nursery, Palms

Cultivation of Diverse Palm Tree Species in Leipzig

Today we want to inform about the first palm species we started to cultivate last years in Leipzig, Saxonia, Germany. All articles and contents on the new website will be translated into German language and you can use the translators on Facebook and Google. We will offer one and two year palms in our upcoming shop and later in the palm store, lounge and café in Leipzig city.

Washingtonia filifera (Lindl. ex André) H.Wendl. California Washingtonia, Northern Washingtonia, California fan palm, or Desert fan palm. Tree to 23 m tall; leaves large, with petiole up to 2 m long, and leaflets up to 2 m long. Inflorescence to 5 m long; flowers white; fruit oval. Southwestern USA, just into extreme northwest Mexico. Palms are often found at the base of mountains, hills and form around desert oasis in the southwest. They are used in landscaping, particularly in southern counties of California.

Washingtonia robusta H.Wendl. Mexican Washingtonia or Southern Washingtonia. Tree to 25 m tall; leaves smaller, with petiole up to 1 m long, and leaflets up to 1 m long. Inflorescence to 3 m long; flowers pale orange-pink; fruit spherical. Northwest Mexico. (Teresa Ribeiro et al.).
The fruit is edible, and was used by Native American people as a minor food source. They are also eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings after digesting the fruit pulp. Washingtonia species are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Paysandisia archon.

Both species are cultivated as ornamental trees, widely planted in California in particular, but also in Florida, extreme southwest Utah, Arizona, southern New Mexico, Texas, the Carolinas and the Mediterranean region in southern Europe and north Africa, parts of Australia, and the leeward sides of the Hawaiian Islands. W. filifera is modestly hardy in drier climate and able to survive brief temperatures in the vicinity of -15 °C (10 °F), provided the air and soil are not too wet, and the afternoon temperatures are not too cold. Intolerance of wet, prolonged cold is the main reason the filifera species cannot grow properly in temperate marine climates. W. robusta is less sensitive to moisture than filifera, but far more easily damaged by cold.

The genus is named after George Washington.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washingtonia

Tag: California

Greening Deserts and Leipzig Palms Cultivating Rare Palm Trees

Leipzig Palms Cultivating Foxtail Palms from Australia

Jubaea Chilensis Chilean Wine Palm

Cultivation of Diverse Palm Tree Species in Leipzig