I have two nikaus that were the same size when I planted them about 18 years ago. They were both from under the same parent nikau so are the same species. One is now twice the height of the other. So, hard to tell.
lalbagh,
Feb 27, 9:54am
Relative size! They have a very slow growth rate, and single stem,so trunk length should indicate age. someone somewhere should have worked out the rate in terms of cm per decade.
budgel,
Feb 27, 8:28pm
x1
Cut it down and see if there are any annual growth rings.
ro42,
Feb 27, 8:39pm
DOC say: "The nïkau is very slow-growing. Research conducted in lowland forests near Auckland found it takes 40??
trade4us2,
Feb 27, 10:43pm
I got two Nikau seedlings about 200mm high including leaves from under a large Nikau in my property at Piha, and planted them in Auckland central. After 18 years one is 5 metres to the top leaves and has a trunk 1480mm high with 39 rings. The other is 4.8 metres high to the top leaves and has a trunk 1000mm high with 24 rings. The ground level has risen around this tree so it's hard to measure.
lemming2,
Feb 27, 11:18pm
Count all the leaf scars on the trunk, divide by two, and add about 10 to 20. The 10 is the years it spent before it got a trunk. The leaf scars are divided by two as a nikau makes 2 new leaves per year. Alternative to the leaf scars (which are usually easier to pick out on an older trunk towards the bottom), count the smooth trunk between scars and add your 10. It's still approximate, after all, it depends on how long before the trunk began to form, but I'm surprised at the DOC research figures.
safcnz1,
Feb 28, 1:10am
It has a trunk now and has just grown two seed pods so how old is it before it gets those
lemming2,
Mar 29, 10:50am
Once it has a trunk, it flowers. Lucky thing.
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