I always thought that a nikau was a nikau - didn't realise there were different varieties of them.Ours are all self seeded from goodness knows where and they all look the same.The are different when juvenile though until the trunk forms.
secretmissy1,
Feb 10, 7:08am
HI this photo is not too helpful as you only have the pic of the base of the palm and not the foliage - please attach a complete pic. For your reference the Chatham Island nikau has silver stem underneath its leaf and has a slight furry feeling underneath the leaf lamina- it is hardier to sun, wind, and does not tend to burn off such as the New Zealand species do which is normal if you don't like the browning off spray it with vaporguard and keep it watered in the dryer period of months or mulch around the base.The other Nikau from Baurii Island or Norfolk island has a really fat trunk and extremely long fronds (looks like it is on steroids)Even the south island nikau look completely different to the north island they have fatter trunks compared to the north island.Nikaus take along time before trunking so it is most probably that the nikau was in your garden for a least 5 years before it started to develop a trunk, once they start to trunk it looks like they are growing fast because they sat and did not alot before.The fastest growing nikau is the Baurii/cheesmanii/norfolk island varities for some reason they are known to grow alot faster than the mainland species.
gardie,
Feb 10, 7:15am
Wow - you learn something every day.Awesome information secretmissy.
mooncake1,
Feb 10, 9:01am
I should add I am in a relatively sheltered spot for Wellington, but the leaves are still browning and battered.
spiritofgonzo,
Feb 10, 9:14am
looks like the standard one to me.Rhopalostylis sapida.The chatham island one has longer fronds and is skinnier, and the baurii has much longer fronds (and more vigour) too as stated above by the knowledgable poster.
mooncake1,
Feb 10, 9:25am
Ah, so it could be the slow growing NZ version! Even though it's a bit ratty, I love it because it's precious because it's so slow growing.
Are the other types a lot faster growing, as in it only takes a few years to grow a trunk as opposed to 15 years or more!
Cheers!
tehenga288,
Feb 10, 12:15pm
Yes looks like the standard one - depends where you are as to how fast they grow . In the Sth Island they are very slow, we're in Auckland and have hundreds of them on the property and they seed everywhere and grow relatively quickly so have to pull some out that are too close to the house or we would be over run with them.
mooncake1,
Feb 10, 12:35pm
Thanks tehenga! Nice to know what it is at last! It's the only one I have with a trunk (got three in total) so I take great pride in seeing it grow.
secretmissy1,
Feb 10, 4:13pm
Yes I agree its the Rhopalostylis sapida - because we are having a dry summer have you thought of using a bulb plunger around the nikau roots and filling the holes with saturaid (wetting agent) and watering in well, also purchase vaporguard, to spray over foliage as it prevents the browning off and prevents stress on palm fronds from wind,sun and lack of moisture.It still looks like a healthy specimen though.When a company I worked for transplanted mature nikaus from westport to Auckland we used vaporguard to protect the nikaus and now they are growing fine in Auckland Queen Street.
mooncake1,
Feb 10, 5:23pm
Thanks secretmissy, you really are a goldmine of knowledge. I remember when those nikau were transplanted and people feared they would die - but they are still going strong! I'll look at vaporguard - sounds like a fine idea. Thank you again!
mooncake1,
Feb 10, 6:20pm
PS. Did notice the leaf spine had a slight furry feeling. but you both think it's the NZ type! Cheers!
secretmissy1,
Feb 11, 6:08pm
I am busy planting 25nikaus 5 different species around my garden each garden part represents an island of that nikau species, I live in a nikau belt so it seemed right for the location now all I need is alot of paitience to watch them grow.
mooncake1,
Mar 2, 8:19am
Wow, you are a nikau freak! I love it!
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