A few weeks ago I noticed several Talipot palms in flower in and around Georgetown. These titans are topped by enormous ostrich feather-like flower spikes, which they have taken about sixty years to produce. All these trees are dying, the leaves drooping down against their massive trunks, because their peculiarity is that they spend their entire lives growing with the sole purpose of just producing flowers and then dying afterwards.
The Talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) is one of the most extraordinary plants. It is a native of Asia (particularly Sri Lanka) and can grow up to 100ft, although ours don’t get as high as this. They produce the largest inflorescence in the plant kingdom (up to 25 ft tall and it is estimated to be 20 per cent of its total mass) bearing some ten million or more flowers, and a crop of up to a quarter of a million seeds some fifteen months later. This is the sole purpose of its long life and what makes it so extraordinary. All its energy is devoted to this single explosion of flower and seed and there is nothing left afterwards except death. Once the Talipot flowers and seeds that is the end of it.
The Talipot palm is an introduced plant, and no doubt in another sixty or seventy years a few of the mass of seeds now being produced will have germinated and grown to maturity, especially in the wilder parts of the city where brush cutting is not a regular practice. It is a generous plant in its native habit – a source of many benefits during its life to the people who live in its shadow. The leaf petiole fibre is used for thatching, making umbrellas and writing material for sacred Buddhist writings, in addition to which it is also a source of sugar and starch. The seeds are used to make a toddy (not as effective as scotch whisky though), and are also used for stunning fish.
In the last century the ‘authorities’ at the Ceylon Botanic Gardens in Colombo caused an avenue of Talipot plants to be planted, and magnificent they turned out to be. I suspect, however, the planners didn’t know anything about their life cycle, or if they did, then maybe they weren’t too concerned since it wouldn’t happen in their lifetime. Maybe there was a joker in the pack. Whatever the explanation, the fact of the matter is that one of the most spectacular avenues in the tropics if not in the world suddenly flowered and died. Of course one has to bear in mind that this is just another one of nature’s methods of perpetuating a species, but I always feel saddened that unlike most other species this particular plant only has one chance to perpetuate itself while many lesser species far less attractive flower and seed ad nauseam.
Some tips for the dry weather. Often our dry weather goes marching on and on, and many of us have a battle to conserve water. Occasionally I am encouraged by the sight of rain clouds, but they give me little relief and I am constantly being reminded of the importance of getting moisture to the roots of the plant and keeping it there. If we are put in the position of having to plant in dry weather, it is very important to prepare the ground so that it retains moisture. There is nothing better than compost or other well-rotted organic matter for doing this. It is especially true in the case of light sandy soils which drain water quicker and dry out faster than heavier soils. Plants grown in pots or other containers usually contain more organic matter than the soil in which they are to be planted. They need more attention because of this. By this I mean that we have to make the soil in which they are to be planted more like the soil in which they have been grown up to planting time. And then ensure they have enough water to get going. So a handful, or a few handfuls of compost, peat and something similar mixed in the surrounding soil will help to create this situation, and will encourage the roots forming the original ball of soil to start growing out of it. Sometimes one comes across plants which have been kept in their pots for so long that they are really pot bound, and it is not a bad idea to tease some of the roots free of the mass to help them grow out into the surrounding soil. Great care should be taken when doing this.
Obviously plants grown in pots have to be soaked really well before planting. I usually place them in a bucket and wait for a few minutes until bubbles stop coming to the surface. Then I know that the root ball is full of water. You must remember that a dry soil will ‘suck’ moisture even from a wet root ball very quickly. Before planting I always soak the hole thoroughly and after planting make sure that the whole area is watered thoroughly. I then apply a thick layer of compost (a mulch) around the plant. Every little helps, and everyone should get out and do it.
In order to reduce water loss through evaporation you should always water in the evenings, not in the mornings and water thoroughly so the water goes deep in the soil. This will encourage roots to go deeper in search of it. Applying small quantities of water just encourages surface rooting and much water will be lost anyway to the atmosphere. Don’t forget to mulch your established plants as well as your newly planted ones regularly (this is in addition to the compost you mix when planting) to prevent water loss by evaporation. If you have plants in an exposed position stake them to prevent root disturbance caused by the wind rocking them about, and screen them to prevent water loss from leaves through winds and strong breezes. Console yourself that this weather pattern is not a permanent fixture, and we’ll soon have to consider improving the drainage of soils when the heavens open up.
