Lance Carr with a Kentia palm. Photo: Supplied.
Once adored by Queen Victoria and still gracing homes across the globe, the Kentia palm is facing an uncertain future — and a Dapto nursery owner is calling on gardeners to help save it by donating seeds from the Lord Howe Island native tree.
He’s even offering to come to your garden to collect them.
Lance Carr, founder of Dapto’s Mountain Range Nursery, is one of the last remaining Kentia palm seedling growers on the Australian mainland, having been collecting and growing Kentia palm seeds since 1978.
He fears the species could begin to disappear from American, Asian and European homes and gardens unless he can source the palm’s seeds from the mature Kentia palms growing in gardens across Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra to produce new seedlings for export.
Lord Howe Island’s Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) took Europe by storm in the last half of the 19th century and remains the world’s favourite indoor ornamental palm tree.
Queen Victoria even left instructions that her casket should be surrounded by the palms after her death.
Mr Carr began selling potted Kentia palm seedlings into the Australian market before starting an export trade in small seedlings in 1980 after a chance meeting with a horticulturalist in The Netherlands while on a backpacking trip through Europe.
The Dutch horticulturalist gave him a list of that country’s palm growers, and since then he has exported 20 million bare-rooted palm seedlings to nine countries.
However, Mr Carr said he desperately needed more seeds if he was to continue to supply the popular but slow-growing palms.
“When I started there were about 10 Kentia palm nurseries in NSW, but as far as I know mine is one of the few still operating,” he said.
“And I am having real trouble sourcing the quantity of seeds I need to stay in business.”
A mature Kentia palm can grow to about 10 metres and produces thousands of seeds each year, but seeds often prove a nuisance as they fall into pools and onto gardens, lawns and courtyards.
“It breaks my heart to think the vast majority of Kentia palm seeds simply get swept up and disposed of in green garbage bins,” Mr Carr said.
“My offer is to come to people’s gardens to collect their seeds.
“In return I will tidy up their trees and give the owners advice on their ongoing care and maintenance.
“I’d even be prepared to swap seeds for indoor palms, and if the trees are in the way we also provide a service to transplant them.”
He said if there were lots of trees and seeds, “some dollars could change hands”.
“My Kentia nursery has survived recessions, droughts, storms, floods … and a divorce,” he said.
“I’ve diversified into organic vegetables and community farming and transplanting large palm trees to survive the tough times, but I’d hate to think we would have to close because I can’t get enough seeds.
“So I am putting out this call to ask people with Kentia palms to please help me to continue to provide Australia’s favourite palm tree to the rest of the world.”
He said there were Kentia nurseries on Lord Howe Island, off the coast of Port Macquarie, and Norfolk Island, in the Pacific Ocean.
“On Norfolk Island they mainly export their seeds to Italy, where they are propagated and distributed throughout Europe,” he said.
“But on tiny Lord Howe Island the nursery has reduced its production drastically by around 80 per cent due to high freight costs of getting the seedlings off the island and lack of seed.”
Those with seeds can contact Lance Carr on 0418 844 544 or [email protected]
