PALMS and CYCADS BHT233

Palms are a very important group of plants, primarily throughout the tropics, but also extending into cooler areas. There are some palms which will even grow very well in temperate climates. There are palms growing successfully in cooler places throughout the world, including Tasmania, England, Canada and Cape Cod in the USA. Many palms however are not particularly hardy to the cold, and will be injured by temperatures approaching freezing point. In temperate climates, palms are also often grown as indoor plants.

One of the hardiest palms is the Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix). Once established, it is reported hardy to temperatures as low as minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit. It does still like the heat of summer though. Some of the particularly cold hardy palms are:

• Nannorrhops ritchiana -Survives zero degrees F when established
• Phoenix canariensis -Mature specimens grow well from England to southern Australia.
• Sabal minor -Survives zero degrees F when established
• Sabal palmetto (Cabbage Palm) -Survives to 5 degrees F (maybe lower) when established
• Trachycarpus fortunei (Windmill Palm) -Are grown successfully in northern British Colombia (Canada)
• Trachycarpus -several other species will survive low temperatures
• Washingtonia filifera -There are many mature specimens growing well in southern Victoria (Australia).

COURSE STRUCTURE

There are eight lessons in this course as follows:

1. Introduction

• Scope and Nature of Palm Culture
• Plant Naming
• Species, Cultivars, Varieties
• Characteristcs of Palm and Cycad Families
• Botanical Characteristics
• Review of Australian Cycad Genera
• Australian Palm Genera
• Review of Palms
• Sub families, tribes and genera of palms\
• Resources

2. Culture

• Cultivating Cycads
• Understanding Soils, Nutrition, pH, etc
• Soil Mixes for Palms and Cycads
• Mulches
• Fertilisers
• Drainage
• Planting
• Water Management
• Pruning Palms and Cycads

3.  Propagation

• Overview
• Propagating Palms from Seed
• Propagating Media
• Other Propagation Methods (for some palms); eg. Offshoots, layering)
• Transplanting Seedlings
• Cycad Propagation; seed, offsets, suckers
• Transplanting cycads
• Managing pest and disease
• Propagating Equipment

4. Selecting Suitable Palms and Cycads

• Growth Habits; solitary, clumping, aerial branching, subterranean branching, climbing
• leaf Types; palmate, pinnate, bipinnate, fan
• Review of palm genera
• Cycad genera
• Cold tolerant palms and cycads

5. Pests & Diseases of Palms and Cycads

• Scope and Nature of Pest Management
• Use of Chemical Legislation
• Common palm and cycad pests
• Common palm and cycad diseases

6. Using Palms and Cycads

• Growing palms in a greenhouse
• What palms can be grown in a greenhouse or conservatory
• Environmental management and plant needs
• Temperature, Ventilation, Light Management
• Landscaping with Palms
• How palms can be used for different affects
• Planting Design
• Preparing a Plan

7. Commercial Applications For Palms & Cycads

• Scope and Nature of Uses for Palms
• Rattan
• Palm Oil
• Dates
• Coconut
• Coir Fibre
• Palms as Indoor Plants
• Species Suited to Indoor Plant Culture

8. Special Assignment

A PBL assignment where you deepen your knowledge by planning the establishment of a collection of different cultivars of palms or cycads (your choice) that are suited to growing in a particular situation or locality.

Duration:  100 hours

LESSON AIMS

On successful completion of the course you should be able to do the following:

• Distinguish between the characteristics of different types of palms and cycads.
• Determine general cultural practices, including propagation, for growing palms and cycads.
• Choose palms and cycads to suit different climatic situations.
• Determine treatments for palms and cycads suffering various health problems.
• Specify appropriate landscape applications for palms and cycads.
• Explain different commercial applications for palms and cycads.

WHAT THE COURSE COVERS

Here are just some of the things you may be doing:

• Distinguish between different plant families, including: *Arecaceae   *Zamiaceae   *Cycadaceae.  
• Distinguish between different major groups which the Arecaceae (Palmae) family is  divided into.
• Compile a resource file of sources for information on palms and cycads.
• Prepare an herbarium collection of fifty palms and cycads.
• Explain different ways to plant different specified palm or cycads plants.
• Compare growing palms in the ground with growing them in a pot as an indoor plant.
• Explain appropriate techniques for watering palms and cycads in a specified garden, or collection of container plants.
• Develop guidelines for preparing a specified soil for planting a palm in your locality.
• Make a potting media suitable for growing palms or cycads in a 300mm container.
• Evaluate the chemical analyses of five different types of fertiliser to determine their suitability for use on palm and cycad plants.
• Prepare a maintenance program for a palm plantation which, includes: *Soil management  *Pest and disease control  *Weed control *Pruning  *Irrigation  *A twelve month work schedule.
• Write a procedure for propagating palms or cycads.
• Summarise common causes for seed failure when propagating palms and cycads.
• Perform tasks associated with propagating a palm from seed, including collecting and germinating seed.
• Identify different environmental zones, in your country on an unlabelled map, which are suitable for growing palms selected from a provided list of twenty species.
• Determine palm and cycad species which are particularly hardy and adaptable to three different environmental zones within your country.
• Determine six species of cold tolerant palms and cycads.
• Develop lists of palms and cycads, suited to grow in each of a variety of different situations.
• Determine the pests which commonly occur on palms and cycads in your locality.
• Determine the diseases which commonly occur on palms and cycads in your locality.
• Develop a checklist of things to inspect when making an assessment of the health of palms and cycads.
• Evaluate the health of different palms or cycads using a plant health checklist, developed by you.
• Specify treatments for three different pests which are common on palms.
• Specify treatments for three common diseases which affect palms.
• Specify treatments for three common problems which affect cycads.
• Compare alternative (ie. non-chemical) methods of treating common palm or cycad health problems.
• Determine five palm species which have spikes on the foliage.
• Determine five palm species which have no spikes on the foliage.
• Determine ten palm varieties which have distinct foliage colours other than green.
• Determine ten self-cleaning palm species.
• Determine ten palm species which are not self-cleaning.
• Categorise different palm species according to the texture of the foliage, including: *Broad leaves (e.g. fan palms)  *Fine textured feather palms  *Coarser textured feather palms.
• Evaluate the use of palms/cycads in a garden which incorporates at least different varieties, commenting on both aesthetics and function.
• Draw a landscape plan, demonstrating aesthetic impact, for a garden  bed, where palms and cycads comprise 75% of the total number of plants used.
• Evaluate the use of palms in a commercial interior (e.g. office or shopping complex).
• Develop a procedure for the production of a palm plant in a wholesale nursery, from germinating the seed to the time it is ready for sale.
• Determine how a specified palm needs to be treated differently when grown in a greenhouse.
• Describe commercial farming of palms including the production of coconuts, dates and palm oil.