Fatsia oligocarpella - Does anybody have this?

[Kyle]

After the success of finding Fatsia japonica 'Annelise', I thought I'd put this one out. It's a long shot as there doesn't seem to be much information out there, full stop.

If Fatsia polycarpa is an anorexic japonica, then Fatsia oligocarpella is definately a japonica on steriods.

Does anybody have one of these?
Does anybody know where to source seeds?
Has anyone ever seen one?

[musabasjoos]

i always thought fatsia moseri was the big boy of the fatsias.

[Yorkshire Kris]

I like this one as well. Heard of it but not seen one in the flesh before. Is it hardy?

[Kyle]

i always thought fatsia moseri was the big boy of the fatsias.

Moseri is the Dexter Jackson of Fatsia's, oligocarpella is the Ronnie Coleman.

[musabasjoos]

i always thought fatsia moseri was the big boy of the fatsias.

Moseri is the Dexter Jackson of Fatsia's, oligocarpella is the Ronnie Coleman.

well if you find some Kyle i would be interested.

[Kyle]

I like this one as well. Heard of it but not seen one in the flesh before. Is it hardy?

I haven't a clue about hardiness Kris. Not able to find much about it at all. Looking at the pictures, either the petioles are flimsy, or the leaves are so huge they weigh it down so much.

[Rick1965]

I think you will be hard pressed to find this one. RHS states these have it in stock but if you go to their website it is no longer listed. Might be worth giving them a call though.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/p ... ?id=299338
In the meantime I will keep my eye out for one. Good luck, it looks nice and I believe it has the same hardiness as Polycarpa.

[Kyle]

I think you will be hard pressed to find this one. RHS states these have it in stock but if you go to their website it is no longer listed. Might be worth giving them a call though.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/p ... ?id=299338
In the meantime I will keep my eye out for one. Good luck, it looks nice and I believe it has the same hardiness as Polycarpa.

Wonderful Rick

I will give them a call in the morning. If they have stocked it before, it's a good starting point.

[Chad]

The plant Clive at Hardy Exotics had was a gift from a Japanese collection. It is native to the tropical Japanese Bonin Islands and I doubt it has any hardiness.

His plant looked like an etiolated x Fatshedera. The leaf shape matched your pictures but the leaves were less than half the size of a well grown F.japonica. Have you any idea what size the leaves are supposed to be? I’m wondering if Clive’s plant is what it purports to be, or if the pictures are of small leaves that look big in the pictures.

I was offered a rooted cutting ‘when they had taken’, but haven’t heard anymore about it, and I haven’t seen any in the sales area. I wasn’t impressed enough to have asked about it since!

Chad.

[Kyle]

The plant Clive at Hardy Exotics had was a gift from a Japanese collection. It is native to the tropical Japanese Bonin Islands and I doubt it has any hardiness.

His plant looked like an etiolated x Fatshedera. The leaf shape matched your pictures but the leaves were less than half the size of a well grown F.japonica. Have you any idea what size the leaves are supposed to be? I’m wondering if Clive’s plant is what it purports to be, or if the pictures are of small leaves that look big in the pictures.

I was offered a rooted cutting ‘when they had taken’, but haven’t heard anymore about it, and I haven’t seen any in the sales area. I wasn’t impressed enough to have asked about it since!

Chad.

Chad, you're probably right regarding the hardiness. Had a look into the Japan zones and the Bonin islands look like they fall somewhere between Zones 10-11.

I can't seem to find any trustworthy info regarding leaf size; just lots of regurgitated wiki blurb '...differs in the lobes on the leaves being less coarsely toothed, but is otherwise very similar.' So take from that what you will?

Nevertheless, if you do come across it again, I'd be interested to know if you decide to give it a shot.

I'd want to look at growing it as an houseplant anyway and take cuttings to test outdoor hardiness later on.

[stephenprudence]

Even subtropical Japan can get some noteworthy frosts, even the most southern islands can get quite cold.

[Kyle]

Even subtropical Japan can get some noteworthy frosts, even the most southern islands can get quite cold.

True. I'll also have to look into Fatsia japonica's natural distribution.

[stephenprudence]

I think Fatsia japonica comes from the highland areas of the southern islands. I imagine hardiness would be negligible. The effect of cold on southern Japan, is similar to Florida, in that it occassionally sees severe freezes from Siberia.

[Chad]

Even subtropical Japan can get some noteworthy frosts, even the most southern islands can get quite cold.

Yes, but...

The Bonin Islands are 1000KM south of Tokyo!

According to Wiki [with all the warnings that raises] the temperature 'never' falls below 7.8C.

Chad.

[Kyle]

Just found a PDF file of the Endangered Species in the Bonin Islands. Haven't had a chance to read this yet but it includes info on Fatsia oligocarpella. You can also see other plants that grow on the island. Might help to determine its hardiness.

http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bi ... sequence=1