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27 September 2010
The Lipstick Palm, Cyrtostachys renda, is one of the most stunning palms available, with its vibrant red crown shafts. Unfortunately, unless you're in the tropics, it's almost impossible to grow unless you have a greenhouse to grow it in, preferably climate controlled! A palm, which in my opinion, matches the Lipstick Palm in beauty, is the Orange Crown Shaft Palm (Areca vestiaria).
The Orange Crown Shaft Palm origin
ates in Indonesia, and is therefore best suited to humid, warm, shady conditions. Some people report having seen this palm grow around Brisbane and Southern WA, and it would be well suited to hothouses around the country. Once this palm has established itself, it is known to survive temperatures as low as 5 C.
It should grow well on the Sunshine Coast, other coastal areas and places with a mild climate.
The Orange Crownshaft Palm has been seen as a single stemmed & clustering variety, and the colour of the crown shaft varies from bright red to orange to brown. The 'red form' (Areca vestiaria 'red form') is especially red. Trunks are attractively green-ringed. Areca vestiaria develops stilt roots with age and grows 5-6m tall.
This palm is not hard to grow, and prefers a warm spot with fairly high humidity and a well-draining, but water-retentive soil in light shade to sun. It is an excellent alternative to the Lipstick Palm in cooler parts of the country, as it is much more cold hardy and easier to grow
Even as a young palm, shown on the right (a little bit of a ratty one, but the new leaf is shooting up beautifully with any blemishes), they show fantastic colour, and it wouldn't take long for them to come into their own in the garden.
Common names: Orange Crownshaft Palm, Sunset Palm, Orange Collar Palm, Red Pinang
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