syagrus flexuosa

[Nigel]

Anybody have experience with Syagrus flexuosa. how hardy is it ?

[merrill]

Hi, Nigel:

I observed cold tenderness in S. flexuosa many, many years ago. As a modern guess, imagine 20F wpould get it, perhaps considerably less.

Best Wishes,

merrill

[Jonathan]

Nigel,

heres a link to a thread that I started last year about this species Syagrus flexuosa

Having only small seedlings, I still cant comment much on their hardiness outside, but in my unheated polytunnel they have shown considerable yellowing during this winter, compared to some other Syagrus species (ruschiana, schizophylla & abreojos) which have all remained green. That could easily just be a soil or water issue though, so I'm not going to make a call on it.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Nigel]

Thanks guys, found 400 fantastic plants for sale in a nursery here, seems worth a punt at exporting.

[Mark Heath]

Hello Nigel,

Beautifull palm in the pic! My experience w/ my large one was it was protected during last winter by dense oak canopy, but still suffered heavy frond burn. But we got down to 22f last brutal winter and it is recovering nicely.

Mine suckered and is two large ones, have the ones in your pic suckered yet?

[kelen]

Nigel, I have a lot of seedlings growing very well here, the temperature in my garden arrive 0ºC. But I still don't know about its growth in the field, where frost is frequent.

[Rafael]

Nigel, I have a lot of seedlings growing very well here, the temperature in my garden arrive 0ºC. But I still don't know about its growth in the field, where frost is frequent.

Wish i have some.

Are you the kellyana inspiration? (i have 12 seeds on the way to germinate )

[kelen]

Nigel, I have a lot of seedlings growing very well here, the temperature in my garden arrive 0ºC. But I still don't know about its growth in the field, where frost is frequent.

Wish i have some.

Are you the kellyana inspiration? (i have 12 seeds on the way to germinate )

Hi! No, isn't me the inspiration. Is some Kelly, from USA. Larry's friend.

About S. flexuosa. I tried during 2 years germinate seeds and nothing. This year I collected some seeds from Plantarum (San PAulo) and other seeds in Minas Geraes and a lot germinated! I have some seedlings that I bought in Rio de Janeiro Botanical garden too.

[Rafael]

Nigel, I have a lot of seedlings growing very well here, the temperature in my garden arrive 0ºC. But I still don't know about its growth in the field, where frost is frequent.

Wish i have some.

Are you the kellyana inspiration? (i have 12 seeds on the way to germinate )

Hi! No, isn't me the inspiration. Is some Kelly, from USA. Larry's friend.

About S. flexuosa. I tried during 2 years germinate seeds and nothing. This year I collected some seeds from Plantarum (San PAulo) and other seeds in Minas Geraes and a lot germinated! I have some seedlings that I bought in Rio de Janeiro Botanical garden too.

Ok then, cant understand that inspiration...

I have kellyana seeds, still no germination, but i am hopefull about it.

Flexuosa i will pic some seedlings from France.

Regards.

[Alberto]

The distribution of this palm goes from Sao Paulo state to Bahia etc so maybe provenance will be important on hardiness of this palm.I have 3 seedlings beginning to show pinate leaves. Do you know the origin of this palms,Nigel? They are very beautifull and big!

It's on my list of palms to try here,because I read it has reasonable cold hardiness...

[gyuseppe]

this is a syagrus in my list that I want to try.

rafael know someone in Europe who sells small seedlings?

(palmaris and palmscenter sold out )

[mnorell]

I have a Syagrus flexuosa that has been in the ground, in an open position, through two winters. It has actually performed quite well. Despite our horrific winter with three days continuously below freezing, an extreme low of 18.4F, something like 13 consecutive days with sub-freezing lows, and a mean temperature for the first three weeks of January of 33F...this one came roaring back as it has in the past, and has put on three nice leaves so far this season, faster than any other cocoid palm including Mules, S. 'littoralis,' and Allagoptera arenaria. Only perhaps Allagoptera leucocalyx has put on new leaves with something approaching the same speed and vigor. The bud on the flexuosa is still subterranean (just barely) at this point, but since S. flexuosa is a clustering species, I think there's lots of hope for this one even after the occasional disastrous winter. It has on its side fast growth when placed in full sun, and no stunting of leaves out of the bud after a cold winter. It is, however, somewhat frost sensitive, but the flipside is that under canopy I'm sure it won't put on fast growth in spring and summer. I think that if you're in a 9b or 10a area, you could probably afford to put it under some light canopy in a winter suntrap position. In 9a areas (such as where I am) it's best to just put it out in full sunshine with no overhead protection, since the leaves are bound to burn off every year anyway and this allows them the fastest return in spring.

I would guess this one needs lots of heat to make fast growth, though, Nigel, so if you're thinking of it in terms of European success, you're probably looking at maybe southern Spain or Southern Italy/Sicily, with probably piddling performance in the cooler California-style Atlantic areas of Portugal...unless you're in a frostless area where speed may not be so much of an issue since foliage will hold on over multiple seasons. I do know that when mine has become shaded out over the course of the summer, it slows down considerably. So the more sun (and heat) the better. I would think if you could get someone in central or northern coastal California to comment on its performance, you'd have a better measure of its potential in Europe than I have here in the hot and humid Gulf South.

Alberto brings up a very good point, though I don't know the provenance of mine. I purchased it from Dan Andersen in 2008.

[kelen]

This is a slender S. flexuosa form that I saw next to Paraguai.

[palm tree man]

Has anyone had any more experience with flexuosa? I have been trying to find either seed or seedling for this species or syagrus comosa. Comosa is really impossible to find and seed is reportedly unreliable to germinate. Flexuosa seems like a great alternative to the common queen or the highly variable mule "though mules are great, I have many mules". Flexuosa is clumping and would just add allot even though it would more than likely defoliate during the worst winter conditions in zone 9A.