Juania australis is an extremely rare feather palm with a green trunk from the Juan Fernandez Islands in the Pacific Ocean 700km off the coast of Chile. It is dioecious (has male and female plants). In time (a long time!) it will form a trunk and make a wonderful plant to enjoy in any garden.
The palms I import are seed grown in cultivation. However it still remains extremely rare and should be considered one of the world’s rarest palms in both its habitat and also in cultivation.
The unusual characteristics of this palm are its low tolerance for high temperatures. It would appear its temperature range would be from -5 degrees Celsius up to 25 degrees Celsius. This should therefore make it an ideal candidate as a specimen palm for most parts of Ireland. Being an island palm it is ideal for coastal locations.
For those of you who have had the pleasure of visiting Dr. David Robinson’s wonderful garden, Earlscliffe, in Howth you may remember having seen the Juania australis doing very well. This augurs well for the other plants that are now planted around Ireland and in parts of the UK!
This is a plant for the palm enthusiast and collector, as it needs to be planted and maintained with care to get established. My plants in my nursery all came through the bad winter of January 2010 without any protection.
Hardiness: It has survived below -5 celsius in my garden. However remember this palm can die back right to the base and still send up new leaves the following summer.