The Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, commonly known as Bangalow Palms, are no more. We have been talking about cutting them down for several years and we have finally done it. The first we felled in the recent clean-up after Cyclone Dovi. It was in an area with a huge mess to be dealt with already and it seemed the right time to get rid of it. Zach dropped the second one this week.
I say we had two but really, we had two very tall specimens – and eleventy thousand seedlings. They were handsome enough with a tropical jungle look and posed no problems until they started setting seed. And boy do they set seed.
For the first few years, Mark would get out the extension ladder and cut the seed off. But they kept growing taller to somewhere around 12 or 15 metres and we kept growing older; this approach was not exactly sustainable. We decided they were expendable. I am sick of weeding out all the bangalow seedlings.
Archontophoenix cunninghamiana is an Australian palm from northern New South Wales. By my definition, native plants in their natural environment, or even just in their homeland, are not weeds. Seedlings can be surplus to requirements. I never describe our native nikau palm or even pongas (tree ferns) as weeds even though we have an abundance of them that we regularly thin out. They belong here.
Introduced plants are different. I see Brazil has a major problem with the bangalow outcompeting some of their native species and I think we are on a similar track in this country. Because it is so widely grown and sold commercially, that horse has probably bolted already. However, this does not stop us from taking responsibility for our own plants and stopping them from spreading. They will colonise much faster than our nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida).
I have seen more than enough of their seedheads over the years – huge amounts of red berries that are attractive to our native fruit-eating birds, particularly kereru, so spread widely by them. I can not say I had ever noticed their flowers before because they are so high up. Zach reverently carried over their flowers to show me. I say reverently because, weed or not, the flowers are exquisite in form and colour. Nature can be beautiful in so many different ways.
Tikorangi The Jury Garden 
Gee, I wish I could grow them that easily. Apparently, they want a heating pad. I got a flat of seed here that I might get a heating pad for, as they have done nothing for months. Enough germinate in the Los Angeles region for them to almost naturalize. They have naturalized in a riparian canyon in Beverly Hills, but will not venture far from it.
What a shame I can’t send you our eleventy thousand unwanted ones!
Well, eleventy thousand might be a bit excessive, and might make me less fond of them. Eleventeen or so would be awesome! However, even then, they would not be as happy here as in other regions. I intend to bring a few back from Los Angeles, but they grow slowly here, and can get somewhat shabby over winter. They dislike the cool weather inland, but also dislike the wind on the coast. This situation is sort of in between. I grew a single specimen in a large pot for many years, and it was quite pretty, almost like a big houseplant on the patio. Unfortunately, it got severely frosted, and then died before it could generate new foliage.
I’m noticing a similar sprouting of Phoenix palm seeds this year down in Masterton
Phoenix are a far worse palm than the bangalow! Hazardous.
Not one I’ve seen at all and I’m sure it is very beautiful but such a pity it can become a pest. By the way, I misread the title and thought there was some serious demolition in hand – Bye bye bUngalow!
Paddy! I live in the homeland of the bungalow! Way more common than two storied houses (and more than two stories is very rare).
We are in a bungalow here also!