Metroxylon vitiense...

[Kostas]

Hello!

I was thinking of putting a Metroxylon vitiense in a somewhat protected spot at the garden i am making in Pyrgos...Tempratures in the region(not this particular spot,in the general area...) rarely fall below -1C or -2C but every 20years or so,we experience the odd -3C that burns the foliage of the citrus trees at the huge plantations cultivated there...Would this Metroxylon live after such a freeze(no snow,just a few odd grains that melt as soon as they reach any object...)so that i could have it fruiting at some point?At what temprature does damage begins for it?

Thank you very much in advance!

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I'm not sure anyone has good info on this as this species is so newly introduced into cultivation... I have been warned by many that they will not likely survive the cold found in South Florida (or the wind). You sound like you are in a temperature zone similar to that found in central Florida... and most liekly this palm would not survive your winters without extraordinary measures. But what the heck do I know? Plant it and give it a try!

[Jason in Orlando]

I'm growing these in Central Florida in containers. I'll keep you updated...

Jason

[street124]

Fairchild has one that was planted in 1990 and I believe it is now seeding. Also Jeff Searle has a nice one at his nursery.

[Jeff Searle]

Fairchild has one that was planted in 1990 and I believe it is now seeding. Also Jeff Searle has a nice one at his nursery.

Your correct in both.....yes / yes.

But it really sounds like if you were to plant one of these in your garden Kostas, I would be shocked to hear it make it past a couple of years. This is a tropical palm, but hey, what the heck. I have seen other surprises before.

Jeff

[BS Man about Palms]

Kostas, I refer you to my post in the other thread that said Greece is more like So Cal than central or southern Florida. Probably not a likely subject for long term growth.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much all of you for your replys!

Thank you very much PiousPalms!

The only thing that keeps me from trying it if it doesnt have good chances is that its under serious threat and would not like to waist 10 seeds...

Thank you very much Jason!

I wish they do well for you!!! Keep us updated of how they do this winter...

Thank you very much street124!

I will hopefully get to see them this spring from close then!!!

Thank you very much Jeff!

I see that its very unlikely if you say that...I will be planting more over the edge palms such as Iriartea deltoidea and Socratea exorrhiza under tree canopy in a really protected spot so i hope these will be some positive surprizes But these are smaller palms and fit in a corner while the Metroxylon would be a canopy former...

Thank you very much Bill!

This is true for most parts of Greece but not for Pyrgos...Pyrgos is a humid place and rains are not totally uncommon,even during the summer...Also,humidity stays high and above 60% most of the time and at night it gets much much more,about 80% or even more,depending on the season...Everything is wet early in the morning yearound from the humidity of the night...Also,the planting site of the Metroxylon would be in a more humid microclimate,in soil that always stays moist by itself(and would help it be a bit soggy too ) and of good composition as there were citrus trees there for years and the leaves have made a great soil(although with much junk from the human activities,lots of plastic stuff to hand pick from my whole area... ).Its loam with good organic contect...So in that aspect,it wouldnt differ too much from where it grows but the low winter tempratures would be the most inhiditing factor for it... So you still must be true about that...

At what temprature does this species begin to burn? Would Arenga pinnata or Arenga westerhoutii be a more hardy alternative to the Metroxylon? Also,do these Arenga sp. have 180degree crowns or do they all have leafs that only grow stiffly upwards?

Thank you very much in advance!

[Jason in Orlando]

Most of my M. vitiense made it through a rather cold winter here in Central Florida with little or no damage. However, they are all in containers, so I brought them in when temperatures were forecast below freezing. While I can't state for sure how well they will deal with a freeze, I can state with about 70% confidence that they will tolerate temperatures slightly above freezing for moderate amounts of time. All of the ones that survived continued to grow through the winter, but slowly and with slightly smaller leaves. Now that the temperatures have warmed up and we are getting much rain, they have begun pushing out larger leaves. One thing I'm quite sure of is they do not like to dry out. I believe the two that died (out of ten) over the winter died from drying out. Some sustained a bit of damage from becoming dry, but none appeared to sustain any cold damage. I'll post photos in the next reply showing how they now look.

Jason

(Best to all of you in Volusia County)

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Jason, I'll ditto that about the temps slightly above freezing for short periods of time... My 10 or 11 or so in 3g pots were left in my shadehouse during this past winter's cold snaps... Only a few degrees above freezing for a couple nights. I don't even like thinking about that kind of extreme cold. BRR!

[Jason in Orlando]

Here are some M. vitiense photos post-winter:

New red leaf and some dried out leaf tips:

Jason

[Gileno Machado]

Here's my Metroxylon vitiense, just celebrating its first birthday. I received 5 big seeds on April 15th 2008 and they've sprouted a month later.

Also seen in this photo (left) is a Hyphaene coriacea seedling.