Let's Play, "Name That Hybrid Phoenix!"

[Adam from Oz]

Good morning all,

Spring has done its springing routine here in the Land of Oz and a young man's thoughts turn to neighbour lust.

Around the corner from Chez Adam grows this scrumptious, deelish hybrid of a Phoenix:

WOOF! Grrrrrrrrrrrr....................

Look at that lovely list, the full crowning glory. It looks all coconutty.

Of course, as it is healthy and handsome, it is being grown by a Palm Moron (for those who don't remember, Palm morons are those who know negative nothing about palms, do no maintenance and yet have better looking plants than you or do things like cut the crown off a Banga and expect it to branch................ )

Now, this beauty does not sucker and I have never seen it flower (or I'd be under it in a tent.)

What could it be? It's over 20 years old. Owner has no idea. How do I transplant it without his noticing? He really has so much no idea he would probably help me do it and pay me for it.

In the next couple of days I'll post a pic of another odd hybrid that is too close for comfort. I'll only photograph it with my old camera as I don't want perfect pixels depixelating in my new ones at its monstrous horror.

In that hybrid, someone got all the ugly genes from a Phoenix they could muster, threw in some Trashycr8parse for bad measure and then actually allowed it to live.

It is 8 metres of unmitigated eyeache.

Cheers,

Adam

[Kim]

Oh, I dunno Adam... Phoenix hybrids, impossible for me to ID, for one thing. For another thing, in my experience, a Phoenix that size is best grown and appreciated in OPGs (Other People's Gardens). It's the sort of skyline-dominating, garden-hogging palm best appreciated from a distance, and thank goodness it does not sucker! But that's just my humble opinion.

The non-flowering aspect puzzles me greatly, as all Phoenix I have known seem to be prodigious producers of seed; but then again, I don't watch them closely...

[cfkingfish]

Can you get a closer picture of the boot structure? Visually the crown looks like dac x rup, but the boots suggest reclinata.

[MattyB]

I think Christian is onto something. I think it's a Reclinata x Rupicola or Dactylifera x Rupicola. I suspect that if you take a closer look it suckered at one time and the suckers have been removed. Why else would it curve like that? The only other explaination could be that it was blown over a few degrees during a storm and uprighted itself. It might actually have a kink under those leaf bases instead of a gracefull curve. In which case I'd say it's P. rupicola, pure.

[Adam from Oz]

I think Christian is onto something. I think it's a Reclinata x Rupicola or Dactylifera x Rupicola. I suspect that if you take a closer look it suckered at one time and the suckers have been removed. Why else would it curve like that? The only other explaination could be that it was blown over a few degrees during a storm and uprighted itself. It might actually have a kink under those leaf bases instead of a gracefull curve. In which case I'd say it's P. rupicola, pure.

Thanks MB. Either of those combos sound good to me. I will see if I can approach said Palm Moron to get a good look at its boots.

It's quite posible that the plant got blown over in a storm. The kink "faces" north and that where our Oh, my-favourite-Deity, um, viscious northerly winds come from.

I feel a good poke coming on..

Cheers,

Adam.

[Adam from Oz]

I just got a pic of the butt ugly one. Now, some of you may sympathise - it has the early morning sun glistening off it and isn't showing its worst feature.

Its leaves are held semi-erect and when the dead leaves go all dead, they adhere to the trunk and all you see is dead, brown leaves.

This one also does not flower. It does, however, sucker. The owner here is sensible enough to remove the suckers but too Palm Moronish to remove all the dead fronds

[Ken Johnson]

The first one is for sure a cannary x rupicola x robelinii x silvestris x reclinata xxx

BTW XOXOX

[TimHopper]

The first one has some Rupicola in it. I would like to have that one even though I am not usually a phoenix fan. I had a pure Rupicola for years and got frustrated with how much real estate it took up. I dug it up and gave it to my neighbor. Now that it has some trunk and is getting away from the ground, I want it back. Next time the house sells, I'm digging it before move-in and replacing it with a Roebellini.

[sarasota alex]

I wonder what a pusilla x acaulis x caespitosa x paludosa would look like?

[Butiagrus]

Hello,

The first pics is awsome, I love this hybrid Phoenix !!

Thanks for the picture !

JBG

[gyuseppe]

the phoenix of photo n 1 very nice,

seems reclinata x rupicola

[J. australis]

Phoenix deelish and Phoenix var. 'unmitigated eyeache'. You were right the first time.

[peachy]

Sorry to say this Adam, (quick somebody hide his razor blades) but they both look like crappy old phoenix to me. Crooked trunks are a pet hate of mine and all that develop this habit are quickly euthanised or given away to people who dont mind that type of abnormality.

Peachy.

[Miccles]

Oh dear.

[DoomsDave]

Adam:

Looks like a pure Rupie to me.

Close up of crown?

Please, pretty please, with cocobutter on top . . . . .

[Brad Mondel]

Reclinata x Rupicola is my guess.

Edited September 13, 2011 by ArchAngeL01

[Adam from Oz]

I'll do what I can, Dave. Nutso time of year.

The trunk doesn't look right for a pure rupicola. I reckon there's some reclinata in there as well. Could be wrong.

Cheers,

Adam