Cooloola City Farm
Plant of the month Livistona decora – Weeping Cabbage Palm – Photograph: www.pacsoa.org.au
City Farm, opposite the Community Centre, on Tin Can Bay Road, is open to the public for plant sales on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am-3pm, 07 54862304, ccfni09@gmail.com, www.cooloolacityfarm.org
Free trees are available with your latest rates notice until 31 May 2017.
Palms have an ancient history and are distributed throughout the world in tropical regions, extending into sub-tropical and temperate zones. About fifty species occur in Australia.
Most have a single stem (though some have a cluster of stems at ground level) and large fronds arranged around the top. Leaves are palmate – large and fan-like – or pinnate – feathery.
Palms are popular in garden landscaping as they are ornamental and give a tropical feel to a garden. Their crisp, clean lines are appreciated also. Birds enjoy the fruit. Many make good potted plants and they can even be grown indoors in sunny spots.
Our plant of the month is Livistona decora (Weeping Cabbage Palm), a single-stemmed palm to 30 metres, which thrives in coastal or near-coastal areas from Townsville to Tewantin.
It has a thick crown of drooping fronds and 2 metre long flower spikes in summer, followed by black fruit. Free draining soil is preferred though it can tolerate a wide range of soil types and it will cope with full sun.
(Photograph: www.pacsoa.org.au)
