Trachycarpus

[Tampa Scott]

I read here on Palmtalk, but can not find the thread, something about replacing the soil to keep them alive here in C. FL. I put it in a larger pot for now but would like to plant it in the ground. Advice is needed on what to do.

[Chuck B]

Scott,I know of a lady in Vero Beach that has one that's starting to get a little size on it.I don't know what her secret is.Knowing her I doubt she did anything really szpecial.I think the problem with Trachies,at least T.fortunei in FL. are nematodes.Maybe avoid full sun also.I think T.latisectus,and T.martianus would be better suited for your climate.

[Zeeth]

There's one at Kopsick in mostly shade. You can tell that it's suffering though, the trunk is only about 2 inches thick and the leaves are usually yellow. It grows though

[Kailua_Krish]

I wonder why they grow in Ocala but wont grow well further south? I'm pretty sure we have nematodes too...

-Krishna

[palmsOrl]

I have had mine in fairly wet ground near a canal for about 5 years now and it has done very well. It recieves partial shade and has grown at a reasonable pace. I think the Orlando area is right about at the southern edge for having a healthy Trachy.

-Michael

[PalmatierMeg]

I have learned the hard way that Trachycarpus detest climates with hot days and warm nights, i.e., SWFL most of the year. In ignorance I killed a windmill palm in 1993 before I knew better. Poor things shouldn't be sold at all here. From my contacts on EPS I've also learned that Trachies do not photosynthesize in temps above 80F. So the odds are heavily stacked against them in most of FL.

[merrill]

Windmills don't like sandy soils, especially as we go further south. If trying to grow one near the southern limit, use lots of clay.

Best Wishes,

merrill

[Dave-Vero]

I have a little one on the shaded east side of the house. I assume it'll croak in a few years, but for now it's keeping the coonties company.

[Tampa Scott]

I have tried growing Trachys before they live for about 2 yrs and then fail. Maybe I will keep it in a pot and put it in the AC house in July and Aug. Or give it to my brother to grow up in VA.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Tampa Scott

[NBTX11]

I have learned the hard way that Trachycarpus detest climates with hot days and warm nights, i.e., SWFL most of the year. In ignorance I killed a windmill palm in 1993 before I knew better. Poor things shouldn't be sold at all here. From my contacts on EPS I've also learned that Trachies do not photosynthesize in temps above 80F. So the odds are heavily stacked against them in most of FL.

We have them in abundance around here, and we get just as hot as FL (actually hotter). Our avg summer highs are 96F (with LOTS of 100s), and low of 75F, and it is hot most of the year here, so I don't know if I buy the heat argument. Maybe it's the soil as someone stated. They do look much better in shade here though. Most of the older neighborhoods around here have really old trachys.

[Alicehunter2000]

They grow pretty good up here in the north country as well. They do look better in the shade. Maybe it is an acidity thing. We have acidic sand up here as opposed to your alkaline limestone down there.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Alicehunter2000

[merrill]

Gentlemen:

The further commentary seems to support the need for clay soils for windmills in Florida.

Best Wishes,

merrill

Edited March 29, 2010 by merrill

[redbeard917]

Gentlemen:

The further commentary seems to support the need for clay soils for windmills in Florida.

Best Wishes,

merrill

That's been my experience as well, growing Trachycarpus in both sandy and clay soil locations here in Leon County. FWIW (I don't know if nematodes are the problem or some other aspect of sandy soil) I've heard nematodes can be reduced by amending with organic matter or planting near concrete foundations.

[merrill]

My experience supports Redbeard in that nematode susceptible palms are helped by being in the vicinity of poured concrete.

merrill

Edited March 29, 2010 by merrill

[kahili]

It must be a soil issue, because we can get some heat here, and they do fine here. I have two that were planted at the same time, same size about 6' apart and the only difference is that one is in shade most of the day and the other is in sun most of the day. I planted them in the summer of 2006 and the one in sun is almost twice the size of the other-about 9-10' high and very full with a good size trunk.. I was surprised to see how much difference the sun makes with these palms. I have one in shade that I planted in the late 1980's, and the ones in the sun that I have planted about 5 yrs ago will soon overtake it in size. Thats 20 yrs difference! We have had several summers that have been extremely hot-many days in the high 90's to over 100 and extreme drought and all of the trachys did very well, with very little watering on my part.Not one sign of heat stress, and lots of growth. I don't believe that they don't photosynthesize over 85-I think they start to really grow over those temps. I do think that if you want to see some size on them, that you give them some sun.

[Tampa Scott]

The nematodes problem is what I have heard is the problem growing a Trachy here. I also do not believe the heat is the real issue. I lived in Tallahassee and they grow great and the temps are hotter up there in the summers. I am going to pick up a few more of these palms @$5 and experiment with a few growing techniques.

[NBTX11]

Like I said, it's hotter than a desert here in the summer some years (100-110F) and they grow here, so I am skeptical that the entire problem is heat.

[Nigel]

Like I said, it's hotter than a desert here in the summer some years (100-110F) and they grow here, so I am skeptical that the entire problem is heat.

I also dont think its true that trachys dont photosynthesise above 80f, but I do believe heat is a problem.

Here in Brasil, you can find beautiful strong growing trachys in the mountains as good as any in europe, but move down to the more tropical coast and they are thin trunked with few leaves and butt ugly, with all sorts of sicknesses.

I really believe they suffer stress in high temps and try to adjust by producing small leaves and crowns which leads to sickly plants.

I am interested to know if wagnerianus does better, which I believe should......

[Axel Amsterdam]

Like I said, it's hotter than a desert here in the summer some years (100-110F) and they grow here, so I am skeptical that the entire problem is heat.

I also dont think its true that trachys dont photosynthesise above 80f, but I do believe heat is a problem.

Here in Brasil, you can find beautiful strong growing trachys in the mountains as good as any in europe, but move down to the more tropical coast and they are thin trunked with few leaves and butt ugly, with all sorts of sicknesses.

I really believe they suffer stress in high temps and try to adjust by producing small leaves and crowns which leads to sickly plants.

I am interested to know if wagnerianus does better, which I believe should......

Nigel, couldn't that come down to sandy soil? The other possiblity could be that trachycarpus needs a cooler season to stay healthy and grow in otherwise hot/near-tropical climates, so it's basically a no go in the tropics. What we need to know is whether trachies produce fronds in Florida during summer or solely outside the summer months.

[Eric in Orlando]

All Trachycarpus species have been nematode sensitive here. T. latisectus seems to be the most resistant but still susceptible. The heat just further stresses them. If they were growing healthy in a heavy soil with some shade they would grow well in FL. I saw very healthy, 20ft+ T. fortunei specimens at Maclay Gardens in Tallahassee.

Here are a couple T. latisectus here at Leu Gardens growing in shade with good humus soil

[Nigel]

All Trachycarpus species have been nematode sensitive here. T. latisectus seems to be the most resistant but still susceptible. The heat just further stresses them. If they were growing healthy in a heavy soil with some shade they would grow well in FL. I saw very healthy, 20ft+ T. fortunei specimens at Maclay Gardens in Tallahassee.

Here are a couple T. latisectus here at Leu Gardens growing in shade with good humus soil

There are quite a lot of Trachycarpus growing along the coastal strip of Santa Catarina. Yes they are awful in sandy soil.

They grow better in heavy clay soil, but still weak looking plants with small leaves and thin trunks. The locals think this is normal but unless you see a true well grown trachy from cool climate its impossible to know.

[PalmGuyWC]

I'm convinced that Trachycarpus require cool to cold night temps to thrive. I have several species of Trachs and they all grow like weeds in my heavy clay soil, in fact they come up all over my garden, anywhere there is some moisture. My day time tems in the summer are often over 100 F and when it gets up to around 103 or so the fronds can burn. The ones I have growing in partial shade don't get burned. T. wagnerianus is still my favorite. It's tough, never gets wind damage and they grow extreamly fast in my climate. Some that I planted about 4 years ago, 5 gal size, now have about 10 feet of trunk and they have been blooming for two years. My night time temps, even in the summer are usually in the 60's and sometimes in the upper 50's if the fog comes in from the Bay.

If I had it to do over, I would never have planted T. fortunei as they look ratty when they get older. One of mine is about 40 feet high now, and to tall to remove the old brown fronds. I have about 6 T. fortunei's that should be removed as they are taking up valueable space and they look rather weather beaten. Actually, some of the nicest looking Trachs I've seen are growing in Vancouver BC, Canada.

Dick

[NBTX11]

Dick, we have anything but cool nights in summer here. Avg low is 75F. Many days you will see a high of 100 and a low of 80F, and there are trachys by the thousand around town. I will admit that most of them do not look exactly the picture of health. Many have sparse and/or ratty looking crowns. But they can be grown to maturity with ease.

[sarasota alex]

I always thought it was the heat, until I saw these T. fortunei at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, that are doing just fine (there is more of them there in a couple of locations)

Then I read Jim's post from the San Antonio area which gets summers that are hotter and just as humid as where I live and I'm probably going to give one a shot. I don't think it's the soil, people grow them all over the world in all kinds of conditions. Nematodes is something that I don't know enough about to form an opinion.

[DoomsDave]

I'm convinced that Trachycarpus require cool to cold night temps to thrive. I have several species of Trachs and they all grow like weeds in my heavy clay soil, in fact they come up all over my garden, anywhere there is some moisture. My day time tems in the summer are often over 100 F and when it gets up to around 103 or so the fronds can burn. The ones I have growing in partial shade don't get burned. T. wagnerianus is still my favorite. It's tough, never gets wind damage and they grow extreamly fast in my climate. Some that I planted about 4 years ago, 5 gal size, now have about 10 feet of trunk and they have been blooming for two years. My night time temps, even in the summer are usually in the 60's and sometimes in the upper 50's if the fog comes in from the Bay.

If I had it to do over, I would never have planted T. fortunei as they look ratty when they get older. One of mine is about 40 feet high now, and to tall to remove the old brown fronds. I have about 6 T. fortunei's that should be removed as they are taking up valueable space and they look rather weather beaten. Actually, some of the nicest looking Trachs I've seen are growing in Vancouver BC, Canada.

Dick

Interesting.

Like Dick, they thrive for me, no problemas. We don't have the extremes he has, but away they go.

I suspect that the line of demark is between a tropical climate and somewhere in between, as Nigel's observations on Brasil suggest.

I recall from my 2007 trip to Florida that the palm flora changed abruptly, in only a few miles, from more northern to southern, complete with coconuts, it was startling.

dave

[DoomsDave]

All Trachycarpus species have been nematode sensitive here. T. latisectus seems to be the most resistant but still susceptible. The heat just further stresses them. If they were growing healthy in a heavy soil with some shade they would grow well in FL. I saw very healthy, 20ft+ T. fortunei specimens at Maclay Gardens in Tallahassee.

Here are a couple T. latisectus here at Leu Gardens growing in shade with good humus soil

WHOA!

Those are lovely!

Like, who NEEDS Cocothrinax? Or, Kerriodoxa, schmerriodoxa!

[NBTX11]

I always thought it was the heat, until I saw these T. fortunei at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, that are doing just fine (there is more of them there in a couple of locations)

Then I read Jim's post from the San Antonio area which gets summers that are hotter and just as humid as where I live and I'm probably going to give one a shot. I don't think it's the soil, people grow them all over the world in all kinds of conditions. Nematodes is something that I don't know enough about to form an opinion.

Every single neighborhood in SA seems to have some trachys, at least a couple (2 million people metro).

I would grow them in shade, they seem to look better than in full sun in our climate. They can look very ratty to decent looking around here.