Livistona - Livistona (Palm)

Perennial Livistona (Livistona) is a member of the Palm family. Wild culture can be found in Oceania, in the southeast Asian territory, in Australian and African areas. The name of the genus came from the name of Lord Livingston - Patrick Murray, collector of vegetation, student and comrade of Andrew Balfour. This genus includes more than thirty varieties, and some of them are cultivated in the greenhouse. But you can find varieties of palms grown indoors.

Briefly about the cultivation conditions of the palm tree

Home palm Liviston: photo

• The culture is cultivated as decorative foliage.
• The plant needs good, bright, but diffused illumination.
• Temperature conditions during the growing season are 20-28 degrees, in winter - 14-18 degrees.
• When livistonia round-leaved is actively growing, watering is carried out regularly and in moderate volume, at the dormant stage - in rare cases and in a small amount.
• Air humidity indicator. Increased moisture is required. In the summer and spring, it is advisable to regularly spray the leaves of Livistona with warm water on a daily basis.
• Fertilizers are applied systematically once every 20-30 days from April to August, for this purpose a complex of minerals for palm plants is used. In addition, it is useful to spray the leaves of Livistona with a solution of mineral fertilizer.
• Rest stage. There is no pronounced expression. But in winter, there is a slowdown in all vegetation processes.
• Transplant the plant, if necessary, when the root system begins to squeeze into the container.
• The seed propagation method is used.
• Diseases that can affect a palm tree: leaf spot, root rot, late blight, sclerotinia, wilting, chlorosis.
• Pests: thrips, mealybug, scale insect, whitefly, spider mite.

Livistona: description of the palm tree and characteristics

Most of the varieties of Liviston round-leaved are represented by trees reaching a height of twenty five to forty meters. However, these trees grow slowly, for this reason they can be cultivated at home. The trunk is covered with dried sheaths of the petioles, which are left from dead foliage. At the top of the trunk is the crown, which consists of rounded leaves in the form of a fan, dissected to the middle (maybe deeper), their slices are collected in a fold in the radial plane. The leaf petioles are strong, pointed along the edge, their transition into a leaf is carried out using a rod, which reaches a length of five to twenty cm. The inflorescence is axillary. When cultivated indoors, the palm almost never forms a trunk, but instead a large number of leaves appear. With the development of a tree in positive conditions, it can form three new leaves in a year.

Livistona: home care and reproduction

Liviston's room palm: video

Livistona from seeds at home

The Liviston home palm can be cultivated independently by seed. Liviston seeds must be scarified. For this purpose, the surface of the seed is not cut very deeply, or the shell is thinned out with an abrasive tool. If you do not carry out scarification, then there will be a very long exit of the sprout from the compacted and rigid shell.

Sowing of Livistona seeds is carried out in individual containers (usually peat pots are used) or in disposable containers.Two-thirds of the containers are filled with a loose moist soil substrate for seedlings, the acidity level should be 6.3-6.5. The grains are planted about 20 mm deep, then the pots for Livistona are covered with polyethylene or glass and transferred to heat (temperature about 30 degrees), and good illumination must also be observed in this room. Remember that daily plantings require ventilation and, if necessary, moistening of the soil substrate.

The appearance of the first palms of Livistona should occur in 1-4 months. Seedlings are provided with good, bright illumination, and diffused. After the first leaf grows up to 20-40 mm, the palms are transplanted into ceramic containers, while the soil substrate remains the same as for transplanting adult palm trees. For the entire first year, a young plant should be located in a shaded place.

Illumination level.

Young Liviston plants growing in outdoor conditions must necessarily be shaded from the scorching direct sun. However, at home, there are almost never very bright sun rays that could harm a palm tree. But from the scorching sunlight in the afternoon, it is still recommended to keep the bush in a shaded place, and to a greater extent, the leaves may suffer not from direct sun, but from heated glass. It is for this reason that the room with a palm tree is systematically ventilated. It is advisable, if possible, when it is warm, to move the bush to the garden area and put it in the shade. Indoors, Liviston develops well on a west-facing window. For the symmetrical development of the palm tree and for the straight growth of the trunk, it must be systematically rotated 180 degrees around itself once every 15 days.

Temperature conditions.

During the growing season, the development and growth of the Liviston palm occurs better at a temperature of 20-28 degrees. In the winter season, the plant is transferred to the cool (temperature - 14-18 degrees), but temperature conditions should always be above 12 degrees.

Pruning procedure.

The old foliage of the Liviston home palm is cut off when its petioles are completely dry. If the tips of the leaves have dried out, then it is not recommended to cut them off, because the remaining fragment of the leaf will dry out much faster.

Watering.

It is forbidden to allow the earthen coma to dry out in the container, because this will have a very bad effect on the growth and development of Livistona. Therefore, watering is carried out regularly with soft and warm water, but it is worth making sure that moisture does not stagnate in the soil substrate. In winter, the number and volume of watering is reduced.

The round-leaved Livistona, grown at home, requires increased air humidity. In this regard, when it is warm, the leaves of Livistona are systematically sprayed. Spraying is not performed in cloudy and cool weather conditions. It is necessary to protect the leaves of Livistona from drafts and hot air, otherwise the leaves will be damaged, and there will be a loss of decorativeness of the tree. Once a month, it is advisable for the palm tree to shower with warm water.

Top dressing.

The palm tree is fed to Liviston only on April-August days, once every 20-30 days. For this purpose, a complex of minerals for palm vegetation is used. They are fed with a solution only after watering in advance, otherwise a root system burn may occur. In addition, foliar feeding is carried out every 28 days, a solution of trace elements is introduced. Do not forget that when the temperature drops below 18 degrees, the root system stops absorbing batteries. The same situation occurs when soil acidity is above 7.5.

Transplant Livistona

Transplant the palm to Liviston, if necessary, and young bushes need to be transplanted more often than adult trees.If the plant is already old, then there is no need to transplant, you just need to systematically replace the surface soil layer (thickness - about 50 mm).

Transplanting room Livistona is carried out when the soil mixture is sour in the container, when it does not have a very good "aroma". Another bush is transplanted, the root system of which has begun to be crowded into the container. In frequent cases, adult trees are transplanted once every three years; Livistona is transplanted on March days by transferring from an old pot to a new one. It is recommended to use for this purpose a soil substrate with an acidity of 5.6-7.5, and moisture should penetrate through it without problems, and also, the structure of the soil mixture should be maintained for quite a long time. The soil mixture should contain two parts of pine bark (2 cm segments), one part of coarse perlite, 1/10 part of bone meal, two parts of coarse peat, one part of charcoal (fraction - 1 cm), dolomite crushed stone (fractions not less than 1.2 cm) or one piece of pebbles.

It is necessary to take a high capacity, in cross section 20-30 mm superior to the old one, and lay a drainage (expanded clay) layer of great thickness on the bottom. The next step is to remove the plant's root system from the old container and carefully remove some of the felt roots using scissors or secateurs, disinfected in advance. Then the palm is placed in a new pot so that after filling all the empty spots with fresh soil, it is located at the same depth as in the old container.

Reproduction methods.

For the reason that Livistona does not have overgrowth, and it has only one trunk, palm can only be cultivated by seed. This has already been discussed above. When purchasing seeds, pay attention to the fact that their germination is maintained for only one year after harvest.

Diseases and harmful insects

Palm Liviston: photo of the variety

Diseases.

The Liviston house palm has good immunity to diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. But still, it can be struck by fungal infections, for example, root rot, sclerotinia, leaf spot, wilting.

When Livistona is struck by mottling, the upper part of the leaves is covered with streaks and spots from black to brown-red color, in frequent cases these neoplasms are bordered in yellow. In the future, there is an increase in specks and a connection with each other, as a result, large necrotic fragments of irregular shape are formed. Rarely, spots form on very young foliage. It was observed that those leaves that were not sprayed were not affected by the disease. For this reason, some professionals recommend increasing the moisture content by another method, for example, wet pebbles (pebbles) can be poured into the pallet, then a pot for Livistona is placed on them. In addition, a preventive measure is to check the light level and adjust it to the desired mood - the plant should be well lit, and brightly and diffused.

If the bush is struck by rhizostonia, late blight, fusarium or pithium, then its rotting will begin. Sprouts and grains can be affected by sclerotinia. Many people know that it is better to do everything possible so that the palm does not get sick than to continue to carry out its long treatment. Therefore, take preventive measures against these fungal infections. It is necessary to competently care for the plant, to provide it with such conditions so that it grows and develops as it should. Before sowing, Liviston seeds are immersed in a potassium permanganate solution, disinfected in it for 30-40 minutes.

When a fungus is damaged, Liviston is treated with a fungicidal preparation for treatment.

Harmful insects.

The domestic Liviston palm tree can be attacked by whiteflies, mealybugs, scale insects, thrips, spider mites.These are sucking enemies, they can pierce the upper part of the leaf and suck out all the juices from there. To destroy them, the plant is treated with an insecticidal solution. When settling scale insects or worms on a plant, before spraying with poisons, enemies are removed with a material soaked in alcohol. Liviston is treated with an insecticidal solution in the fresh air.

By the way, the spider mite is not an insect, so it is not afraid of an insecticide. You need to deal with it in another way - treat the bush with acaricide. Currently, specialty stores sell insecticidal acaricidal agents for the destruction of arachnids and insects. For example, you can get rid of enemies with the help of "Aktara", "Fitoverma", "Aktellika", "Akarina".

Difficulties in growing Livistona palm trees at home.

Liviston's palm can get sick due to illiterate care, or if it grows in inappropriate conditions. For example, in a cool room with a small amount of light, with a lack of magnesium in the soil substrate, chlorosis of the leaves located below can develop. With a lack of nutrients and excessive acidity of the substrate, in the absence of manganese and iron in the soil mixture, chlorosis of young leaves will develop. When the first symptoms of this disease appear, suitable conditions for development are created for the plant, in addition, it is sprayed with a solution of nutrients containing those that are lacking.

With a lack of potassium, the plant begins to dry out the leaves. First, translucent yellow or orange spots form on the old leaves, then necrosis of the edges of the leaf occurs. Then the leaf dries up, curls, changes its color to orange. If small necrotic spots are found on the leaves, you will learn that the bush needs zinc. When there is not enough nitrogen, the leaves turn pale and develop less well. When the nutrient substrate is salinized in the container, the ends of the leaves located below first turn brown, then the foliage darkens completely.

If in the summer season the upper part of the leaf is covered with yellow or brown spots, it means that you need to lower the level of illumination. This reason can be the development of curly leaves. With a lack of water, the ends of the leaves die, the plant dries up. In this case, first, the old leaves dry out. If regular stagnation of liquid is observed in the soil mixture, then for this reason the palm tree darkens and rots.

Palm Livistona: varieties

Livistona chinensis.

Livistona Chinese: photo of the variety

The Liviston tree grows up to 10-12 m, the trunk is half a meter in diameter. Homeland - the south of the Chinese territory. The surface of the trunk is covered with the remains of dead leaf stalks and fibers. The bottom of the trunk is covered with denticles. The leaflets are fan-shaped, drooping, containing 51-79 folds, heavily incised at the ends. Leaf petioles are wide, can reach up to one and a half meters in length, at the bottom they have a large number of vertical, shortened and pointed spines. The inflorescence is axillary, often more than 1 meter in length.

Livistona rotundifolia or Livistona Rotundifolia.

Livistona Rotundifolia: photo of the variety

Growing wild, this round-leaved Liviston Rotundifolia is found on the shores of the Moluccas and Java, it grows on sandy soil. The trunk grows up to 14 m, in cross-section it is about 17 cm. The leaves are green, fan-shaped, shiny, round, in cross section they grow up to one and a half meters, in two thirds they are dissected into folds. The leaves of Livistona Rotundifolia are kept on elongated petioles (1.5 m), densely covered with one-third of spines at the bottom. The inflorescence is axillary, grows to about one and a half meters, contains yellow flowers.Livistona Rotundifolia is the most popular among gardeners, therefore, it was she who was described in this material.

Livistona South (Livistona australis).

Livistona South: photo of palm varieties

The homeland of the South Livistons is the subtropics, humid forests, and the east of the Australian continent. The trunk is columnar, it grows to about 25 m, in diameter it is up to 40 cm. At the base there is a thickening of the trunk, the upper part is covered with scars and remnants of leaf sheaths. The leaves have folds, are presented in the form of a fan, are divided into small slices with tips that are cut in two. The leaves of Livistona South are shiny, dark green in color, stick to elongated petioles (about 2 m), densely covered with pointed thorns at the edges, having an almost brown color. The inflorescence is axillary, branches, and is approximately 1.35 m long.

Livistona decipiens.

The Liviston palm tree deceiving has one trunk, slow-growing, its height is about 12 m, the trunk is 25 cm in diameter. The leaves are fan-shaped, have a large number of veins, dissected into folds that droop. The outer side is tinted dark green, the inner side is grayish-waxy. Leaf petioles are distinguished by a large number of small denticles.

Livistona mariae.

Palm Liviston Maria: photo of the variety

Liviston Maria exceeds 28-29 m in height. The trunk is gray in color, its base is thickened, the surface part is covered with remnants of leaf sheaths. The leaves are in the form of a fan, they grow in length up to about two meters, like their petioles, and the leaves are divided into linear slices that droop, while in young plants the lobes are painted in a reddish-pink color. In the future, the color of the lobules changes to reddish-bronze, the final color is greenish-blue. The inflorescence is a simple paniculate, contains flowers of a cream or yellowish color. The fruit is shiny, in the form of a sphere, has a black coloration, in cross section is approximately 20 mm.

In addition to these varieties, Liviston Easton, Liviston Beautiful and others, which are not yet very well studied today, are grown in room conditions.