STATELY NIKAU - DESPAIR OF TIME - RIDDLE OF THE RINGS - BERRIES BY THOUSANDS
From 1885 "onward species of native vegetation were brought to "Fern Hill," including the nikau. Mr. W. H. Denton, son of the late Mr. Geo. Denton, has kept some record of the plantings and of tie growth, and he writes expressing the hope that these "may prove of interest to lovers of the nikau, our only palm." Records, up to fifty years, of New Zealand vegetable growth, are rather rare. But here we have them, with the trees themselves— magnificent, specimens—in the heart of "Wellington.
Photograph No. 2 shows a nikau palm 44 years old. ,It has taken all that time to produce a nikau with a stem measuring, from the ground to the base of the frond, 7ft 4in. While admitting that nikaus might grow taller in less time if growing in wild conditions (being forced upward by competitive growth round them, and by the competition for light), Mr. Denton observes: "If it takes 45 years to produce a steam 7ft long, what must be the age of the nikau palms to be seen near the roadside between Paraparaumu and Waikanae ? "
The best of the nikau palms under observation at "Fern Hill" is that shown in photograph No. 1. It was planted, as a small plant, in 1885, and is nearly or quite 50 years old. At the present moment it carries sixteen of the branching fronds that appear in the photograph. Its fronds are 14ft long when ready to drop, and the plant now casts in a year from two to three fronds.
FLOWER AND BERRY BEAUTY.
What forces off the fronds? They are forced off by the development of the trusses of flowers, which, in their undeveloped state, are closely packed in a double envelope (about 20in long) against the stem. As seen in' photograph No. 1, the butt of the frond, shaped something like the calf of a military legging, entirely circles the stem. The swelled side, seen clearly in the photograph, marks the developing truss. The truss in due time forces off the frond, then develops rapidly, and within a week is in full bloom. In matured plants the oldest fronds are forced off in late December, January, and February, and early March.
Note carefully that photograph No. 1 was taken in March, 1933, and shows three trusses, one of these being then in its envelope. The truss on the left originated in the preceding December-January; it has deflowered and has reached the berry stage. The truss on the right is the January-February truss, and the berries are not quite so advanced. The sheathed truss above them, still in its envelope, is of February-March origin, but in that season (1933) it failed to mature, possibly because the other two trusses absorbed the food supply available to the plant at the time.
This No. 1 plant, as it exists at the moment, has not been photographed, but visitors to it today will find the two developed trusses (berry stage) of 1933 still hanging on it, and above them two new trusses (this season's) in full flower. The combination of this season's flowers and last season's berries is very beautiful. In explaining how the plant can combine the harvest of two or three seasons, Mr. Denton states that the flowers do not last long, but the berries do. The berries form quickly after the dropping of the flowers, and in six months have grown to the size of a small peanut. "Their ripening is slow, and not until six or nine months later do they form a winter food for the birds.
TRUSS CARRIES 6000 BERRIES.
"A well-formed truss carries over sixty stems; each stem supports, on an average, one hundred berries; so a total of 6000 berries may be estimated as the total bearing of a truss."
Picture, then, what a beautiful thing is the plant (photograph No. 1) today, with the left-hand truss containing about 6000 fully-ripe brilliant scarlet berries; with the right-hand truss, carrying, its quotum of half-ripe berries; and with the two delicate flower trusses overhead.
The flowers are very small, are scattered along the sixty or seventy stiff branches of the truss, and are of a beautiful amethyst colour, in fine contrast to the cream-coloured truss During their short life (preparatory to the long life of the berry) they attract myriads of iridescent flies and minute living insects.
Photograph No. 2 shows the trusses of no less than three seasons.
A comparison of the, numbers rings produced on the stem by four nikau palms planted as small plants at "Fern Hill” about 45 years , ago indicates, that these conspicuous rings of the nikau are misleading if one assumes that each ring means a year of growth. Mr. Denton states: “I planted these four small palms about 47 years ago under the same good conditions: they now contain forty, thirty, fourteen, and eleven rings respectively, while another, planted a full twenty-five years, has not yet cleared the ground, and so shows no rings at all, although it is a fine specimen. Only one of these four has yet brought berries to maturity; on the others the trusses have failed to expand." Then, reflecting on the vandalism of cutting wild nikaus, he comments": , "Think of it! These slow growers have been thoughtlessly destroyed to decorate halls and verandah posts, in past years, but never again, it is to be hoped."
The fruit covering of the seeds is very thin. But the blackbirds and thrushes take the seeds and carry them to some shady, secluded spot, where the bird eats the fruit covering and leaves the seed. The shady spots selected suit the birds and suit the seeds. The result is an abundant crop of nikau seedlings—literally thousands in this one garden.
But he who transplants a nikau seedling must be prepared to exercise patience. The seedlings make little progress for several; years, "but in eight or ten years' time they make a decoration worth having." It is another case where the first seven years are the worst. The nikau is a palm with an individuality, and will reward you if you respect its kinks.
A little later in the year will be planting time, and patient people may obtain seedlings from Mr. Denton for the asking.