Flamethrower Palm Chambeyronia macrocarpa

Chambeyronia macrocarpa is a solitary New Caledonian palm built heavier than most palms of the same height. A stout ringed trunk carries a swollen crownshaft and a compact crown of arching fronds with broad, leathery leaflets, so it has real weight in a bed where a slim feather palm reads as a wand. Each new leaf opens in a red to bronze flush before hardening green. It is planted as an understorey specimen and courtyard feature, where its build and that periodic flush can be taken in properly.

One growing point, no spares

This palm suits tropical, subtropical and mild coastal gardens, and it copes with cool conditions better than most palms that look this tropical, though frost sits outside its range. It wants deep soil with organic matter and honest drainage, shelter from cold dry wind, and protection from heat reflecting off paving or a rendered wall. The failure mode worth stating plainly is that it is solitary. There is one growing point at the top of that trunk and no suckers held in reserve, so anything that destroys the crown kills the whole plant. That covers rot setting into the spear after a cold wet spell in a badly drained spot, damage from a mower or line trimmer at the base, and pruning that cuts into the crownshaft. Plant it high rather than in a hollow that collects water, keep the mulch pulled back from the trunk, and leave the crown alone even when it looks untidy after weather.

Species or selected flame thrower line

Seedling-grown plants vary in how red the new leaf comes, which is why the hookerii form is listed separately and selected for the strongest flush. Buy the species if you want the palm for its build and its use under canopy and treat the colour as a bonus; buy the named form if the colour is the whole point. Against kentia palm, the other canopy palm here, the split is weight and climate: kentia is slim, dark green and cool-tolerant enough for southern courtyards and indoor pots, while this one is thicker set, warmer in its requirements and belongs outdoors. Specimen sizes are grouped in the 100L range.

Clean cuts and twice-yearly feeding

Remove fronds only when they have gone fully brown, cutting them cleanly at the base without cutting into the crownshaft, and do it while the weather is warm so the wound dries quickly. Resist tidying green fronds, because this palm holds a limited number of leaves at any time and each one is carrying the plant. Feed with a controlled release palm fertiliser containing potassium and magnesium as the weather warms and again in late summer, applied across the whole root zone. Keep a coarse mulch over that area but pulled back from the trunk, and top it up each year rather than digging around the roots, which resent being disturbed once the palm is settled.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 6 sizes, from 180mm up to 100L, priced from $29.95 to $1139.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to when to plant in Australia.