The Message Board

RE: Sealing Wax Palm

Posted 796 days ago

I have read that sealing wax palms can only really do well north of Mackay, anywhere south of Mackay you have to be extremely careful of where you put it. But I thought I would try one here anyway and mine is doing very well. It is in a spot where it gets full sun during the winter months but it is protected by a big tree to stop it getting a lot of draughts. When I was getting it established and there were still cool winds during winter I put a small wind breaker up in front of it for extra protection but as it warmed up I have removed that. In Brisbane I have heard of people wrapping them up with shade cloth in winter. I do like to water it at least every second day also. In places like Darwin they can grow in really swampy areas that are wet often but you wouldn't want to do that in Brisbane.
I also have one of the second palms you talk about and that is called an Areca vestiaria. The man who sold it to me said that they do a lot better in subtropical zones than the lipstick palm. But they are shade-loving and like the lipstick palm they are really slow growing. I have had mine in too much full sun and its older leaves are a bit burnt looking. Some sucker and others don't. What you have to watch out for is that you get one with an orange/red crownshaft as well as orange/red new leaf growth

http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Areca/vestiari
a.html

Another
palm that is pretty and not so common is the pink crownshaft. http://www.dasignsourcebotanicals.com/plantphotos/Dypsi
s%20pink%20crownshaft%20form.jpg