madagascar palm

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: pachypodium
species: lamerei



Madagascar palm seems to be quite a favourite plant in Germany. I have seen them pressing against the windows in many houses. This is also a plant that you won't miss when visiting a botanical garden, where they have tall specimens over 10 metres tall and blooming. The salver forming flowers are similar to those of a desert rose or an oleander. They are usually white. For me the more interesting features of a Madagascar palm are its silvery spiny trunk(s) and its shiny narrowly lanceolate leaves.

I knew that a single-stem Madagascar palm seldom branches out at the top before it reaches a certain height. Therefore I took a young plant that was already having multiple basal side shoots, so I can be sure to have a fuller looking plant, even before the plant outgrows the ceiling of my room. After acquiring the Pachypodium lamerei, I also became interested in other Pachypodium species, especially the smaller ones.

For my plant, I use a very light mix of pumice, finely shredded lava stones, the Japanese akadama soil (a clay-based soil) and the common humus-rich gardening compost. The airy mix is good for succulent plants; it dries out fast. In summer I would water the plant every other day. In the autumn I only water the plant once a week. With the akadama soil part, I can easily see when the soil dries out. That's when I water the plant. On warmer days in the summer, I leave the plant outside and bring it back inside when night temperature drops below 15°C. My room has a minimum temperature of 16°C in the colder months, which is good for the plant. Like all dogbane species, many parts are highly toxic. So avoid touching its sap.



>> stolen on the 27th August 2013. had a really hard time knowing that it's no longer there. how will it be treated in the future?

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