Document information

Physical location:

80.07.00

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Eduard Regel, 1880-07. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id/80-07-00>, accessed September 11, 2025

1
Letter not found. The text given here is from 'Verpflanzung grosser Palmen vom natürlichen Standort in Gärten'[ Transplantation of large palm trees from the natural site into gardens], Gartenflora , vol. 29 (1880), pp. 234-5. Although the date of issue has not been found, the article, signed '(E. R.)' (i.e. Eduard von Regel), appeared in the 64-page double issue for August/September 1880. M's letter is dated to July as the latest date that it could have been sent if the issue was published in September; this date is consistent with the shipping of a trunk to Kew; see M to J. Hooker, 20 July 1880.
[Herr Baron Ferdinand von Müller theilt uns mit, dass er mit Glück grosse Exemplare der
Livistona australis

Search for Livistona australis in

aus den Wäldern von Neusüdwales in die Gartenanlagen um Melbourne habe verpflanzen lassen. Dabei habe er sich des folgenden Verfahrens bedient. Rings um den Baum sei bis auf einen mässigen Ballen die Erde um den Baum abgegraben und dabei die Wurzeln scharf abgestochen worden. Hierauf habe man wieder rings um den Ballen gute Erde aufgefüllt. Nach 2 – 3 Monaten haben die so behandelten Ballen eine Menge Wurzeln in diese umgebende Erdschicht getrieben und nun sei der Baum mit dem Ballen und der an den jungen Wurzeln hängen- bleibenden Erdschicht aufgenommen und der Ballen fest mit Matten um- hüllt worden. Mittelst Schiff nach Melbourne transportirt, seien diese starken Palmen dort eingepflanzt, gut angegangen, so dass die Blattkrone kaum gelitten habe. Reichliches Bewässern sei natürlich in der ersten Zeit nach dem Verpflanzen die Hauptsache, um ein gutes Resultat zu erlangen.]
[Baron Ferdinand von Müller informs us that he has had large specimens of
Livistona australis

Search for Livistona australis in

transplanted with success from the forests of New South Wales into the gardens around Melbourne. He used the following procedure in the process. All around the tree, except for a moderate ball, the earth was dug around the tree and the roots were sharply cut in the process. After that, one has again filled up good soil around the ball. After 2 – 3 months, the balls treated in this way drove a lot of roots into this surrounding layer of earth and then the tree with the ball and the layer of earth hanging from the young roots was taken up and the ball wrapped tightly with mats. Transported by ship to Melbourne, these strong palm trees were planted there, well taken care of so that the leaf crown had barely suffered. Of course, abundant irrigation in the first period after transplanting is the main thing, in order to get a good result.
2
The article continues by reporting that a similar procedure is used to transplant large oaks, limes and fruit trees. It concludes by commenting that installing large palms is of little value to northern European gardens since specimens quickly become too tall for glasshouses and there are always sufficient specimens available for replanting. M had expressed the hope to Joseph Hooker that if his experiment succeeded, an export trade to European conservatories would develop (M to J. Hooker, 20 July 1880; M to J. Hooker, 4 December 1880). M expressed similar hopes in M to Gardeners' chronicle , 1 January 1880 (in this edition as 80-01-01a) (i.e. B80.03.01).
]