Palms give an instant rainforest or tropical feel to the garden. They mix well with ferns and when grown near water provide a cool, relaxing retreat much like an oasis in the desert. To look their best palms need humidity and adequate water, particularly during dry spells.

In our segment, Don looked at a simple irrigation system installed to water a stand of cabbage tree palms (Livistona australis) and the tree ferns beneath them. 12mm black polythene tubing was run up the back of the palms and looped around the trunks 6-7m above the ground. Spray heads were inserted directly into the rings of poly tube, and the irrigation line was connected to the garden tap. Components for this type of system are available at any irrigation or hardware store, and can easily be installed by the home gardener.

Palm trunks

Looping a ring of tubing around the trunk of a woody plant such as a tree would cause problems as the tree trunk increases in diameter. However, palms have no bark as such, and so they cannot increase in girth in the same way that trees do. Most palm species reach their maximum girth before they start to grow upwards.

Copyright CTC Productions 2001