Few palms attract as much attention as the protagonist of today: the Chambeyronia macrocarpa. This beautiful palm, native to New Caledonia, has the peculiarity that when it opens the new leaf, it it’s red. Although it is not yet known why, it is believed that it is to protect said leaf. Remember that young shoots are usually a very appetizing food for all kinds of insects.
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General aspect
The Chambeyronia macrocarpa has a rather slow growth rate, and can reach a height of eight to ten meters. It lives in the warm and humid forests of New Caledonia, under the shade of the large trees that inhabit the place.
Its leaves are pinnate, one meter long, and are composed of leaflets approximately one centimeter thick and about 20-30 centimeters long, dark green in color. The stem that supports them is light green. The leaves are slightly arched downwards, which gives it that tropical appearance that many of us look for in a palm tree.
The trunk is ringed, not very thick, about 30 centimeters thick.
It is a dioecious palm, that is, there are male and female feet. The fruit, once ripe, is reddish in color, with a length of about two centimeters.
General care
The Chambeyronia macrocarpa is a palm tree that has pleasantly surprised all of us who collect palm trees. Not only is it of immense ornamental value, it is also easily withstands weak frostsup to -3º.
However, during the first years you will prefer to be a little sheltered from the cold.
In the garden we will place it in a semi-shady placeespecially if we live in an area where the sun is very intense like in the Mediterranean. Ideally, it should have more shade the younger it is, and as the plant itself gains height, it is itself the one that gets used to the sun and takes out more and more reinforced leaves.
Although it adapts to all types of soils, the ideal is one that is composed of a lot of organic material. For example, we can use black peat to which we will add a little perlite to facilitate drainage, and worm castings, compost or horse manure.
It is a very grateful palm tree that will undoubtedly attract the attention of all who visit your garden.
More information – Decorate your garden with palm trees
Image – SOTROPICAL
