Nannorrhops arabica

[vitkiktiv]

Hi guys. I recently got some seeds and awaiting seedlings eagerly

Just one question how do they transplant? Say if I plant them in soil and I move to a new address, could I dig em out and replant them, or are they just like Bismarck palms that don't like to be disturbed?

Thanks.

-Daniel

[richnorm]

Hi guys. I recently got some seeds and awaiting seedlings eagerly

Just one question how do they transplant? Say if I plant them in soil and I move to a new address, could I dig em out and replant them, or are they just like Bismarck palms that don't like to be disturbed?

Thanks.

-Daniel

Hi Daniel, Welcome to the forum. I have never tried to move one but they grow very slowly and could remain in a pot for many years.

cheers

Richard

[John in Andalucia]

The speed, root growth and sensitivity of Nannorrhops and Bismarckia are very different. Nannorrhops will put out masses of roots as seedlings in pots but plant growth is very slow in comparison. 5 or 6 years would not be an unreasonable duration in a 5 gallon container for example, unlike a Bismarckia, which by the 3rd year really needs to go in the ground. You can root prune Nannorrhops seedlings without harming the plant, in fact they reproduce new feeder roots very quickly. I should think if you grew one in a pot and establish a good root ball, you could transplant it at a later date without too much bother.

Here are some I grew a couple of years ago. I made the mistake of leaving the cell pots on a gravel base, instead of raising them up. You can see the sinkers roots emerging to the left of the photo. Some of these roots were over 3ft long.

Two and-a-half years from germination and they are not much bigger..

[mjff]

My N. arabicas are just 2 leaf seedlings, but if they are like N. ritchiana they are easy to transplant (I have one that I moved twice without harming it), and are pretty fast in the ground. I had a 1 gallon that just had a couple of strap leafs like the ones in the photo above. I put it in the ground and within a year it was 2' tall with 3 trunks. Keep in mind we have very hot and dry summers here, and they seem to grow really fast under those conditions.

[vitkiktiv]

Richard thanks for the welcome I do not really want to keep em in a pot as I want em to grow grow grow

John how many seedlings do you grow ?! I like your Chamedoria metallica in the background if they are C. metallica thanks for the tip on the roots, good to know they are not sensitive like Bismarckia palms.

mjff aren't N arabica and N. ritchiana the same palms with two names? thanks for confirming they can be transplanted, this makes me really happy. I'm really new to palms and recently only gained an interest in growing from seed, I'm love cycads and the love flooded over towards palms I'm from South Africa living in the old Transvaal region where we have hot wet summers and cold dry winters, I hope they like our climate.

Thanks for the input guys.

-Daniel

[John in Andalucia]

John how many seedlings do you grow ?! I like your Chamedoria metallica in the background if they are C. metallica thanks for the tip on the roots, good to know they are not sensitive like Bismarckia palms.

Hi Daniel, those are Strelitzia reginae, the rare "Mandela's Gold" variety - but maybe not so rare down your way!

I have around 2000 seedlings of palms and about 57 species plus some non-palm, native stuff, fruit trees etc.

[MattyB]

I too have dug up small Nannorhops and they do not mind it. They seem to have a lot of spaghetti like roots as opposed to fat carrot like roots.

[AggiePalms]

I bought a nice N. ritchiana three years ago. It had been growing in a one gallon pot for several years (I had seen it a year before when visiting the dealer). It was nice size, a foot or so high with several mature leaves, but I had to pot it up due to all the soil having washed out over time at the nursery. Most roots were exposed, and a spaghetti like tangle. (I would think they would be fine after trimming some roots.) I repotted it in coarse sand, rock, low nutrient/organic-poor soil, not low pH, and watered it...ONCE. I even put it in a clay pot to wick away unnecessary moisture. Starting immediately it shrivelled and died in less than two weeks. Nothing else done to it different from what the very reputable dealer had done for years. His other comparable Nannorrhops were fine when I saw him the next summer. What did I do wrong? The soil wasn't too dry...and I don't think too wet; it got no more water from me than during a typical south Florida afternoon rain, where I bought it. I want to try it again, but I don't want to kill another one due to ignorance.

[mjff]

mjff aren't N arabica and N. ritchiana the same palms with two names? thanks for confirming they can be transplanted, this makes me really happy.

Not sure on their status as separate species, but my N. ritchianas have all been green as small seedlings, while the N. arabicas are very silver from the first leaf.

[mjff]

I bought a nice N. ritchiana three years ago. It had been growing in a one gallon pot for several years (I had seen it a year before when visiting the dealer). It was nice size, a foot or so high with several mature leaves, but I had to pot it up due to all the soil having washed out over time at the nursery. Most roots were exposed, and a spaghetti like tangle. (I would think they would be fine after trimming some roots.) I repotted it in coarse sand, rock, low nutrient/organic-poor soil, not low pH, and watered it...ONCE. I even put it in a clay pot to wick away unnecessary moisture. Starting immediately it shrivelled and died in less than two weeks. Nothing else done to it different from what the very reputable dealer had done for years. His other comparable Nannorrhops were fine when I saw him the next summer. What did I do wrong? The soil wasn't too dry...and I don't think too wet; it got no more water from me than during a typical south Florida afternoon rain, where I bought it. I want to try it again, but I don't want to kill another one due to ignorance.

I'm guessing that you cut off too many roots and/or damaged them while transplanting. I had one die on me after one of my workers took it upon himself to plant it. I specifically told him to dig a hole for it then come get me so I could plant it. Instead he dug the hole and planted it himself. It was growing in very loose potting soil and the entire rootball fell apart when he took it out of the container. The main roots were still attached, but most of the finer ones were broken or damaged, and the plant died. Between that and him running a circular saw down the top edge of my stucco retaining wall ruining a 4' section of it while cutting a board, that was pretty much the end of him working here.

[PalmsZA]

Hi Dan

These will (should) be easy growers in full Highveld sun. I recieved some seed from a mate on this site and the first seedling is on its third leaf after just 3 months.

Email me, I will have some Cham seeds available soon. C.zamorae, metallica and a few others...

[vitkiktiv]

Awe Dennis nice to meet you here too, I will definitely give you a shout for the seeds, it's the picture of your Chambeyronia macrocarpa that got me looking into palms mate

Hi John sorry I snaged your picture, but it wos the only way I could explain wot I though were the C. metallicas haha now I see they are trees of some sort, nice nursery you got going there.

Aggie sorry to hear about your bad luck, if you lived close I would have given you a seedling. I guess it's a change you take with every palm, might have been a fungal infection.

Mjff I think your right the only knowledge I have of palms are through the internet so far, and I did see one of the green Nanarops at Adrian's nursery before now that you mention it. Must really invest in a good book. I too have an ox who helps me out in the garden, last week he split an Encephalartos eugene-maraisii seedlig in two with a fork and I told him to remove the weeds by hand..

This is great news now that I know they can be moved, hopefully I won't have to move em ever, but just in case, you never know hey? I already have a spot for em right beside the driveway where it gets freezing cold in winter but boiling hot in summer Just a general question about hole prepiration of palms, the media mixture does it need to be more sand than compost, or can a 50/50 mixture work?

Cheers guys !

[John in Andalucia]

Hi John sorry I snaged your picture, but it wos the only way I could explain wot I though were the C. metallicas haha now I see they are trees of some sort, nice nursery you got going there.

Thanks, I'm selling up and moving to Peru in 5 weeks. You heard it here first! Thems is avocados BTW!! I was going to try my hand at some grafting.

[dalmatiansoap]

Moveing to Peru John? Wow, now thats something!

[mjff]

This is great news now that I know they can be moved, hopefully I won't have to move em ever, but just in case, you never know hey? I already have a spot for em right beside the driveway where it gets freezing cold in winter but boiling hot in summer Just a general question about hole prepiration of palms, the media mixture does it need to be more sand than compost, or can a 50/50 mixture work?

Cheers guys !

If you move them just be careful that the rootball you've dug is adequate and remains intact. I generally just plant them in the native soil with no amendments, but the soil in my yard is pretty good aside from being a little too alkaline for the taste of the Butias, but that is easily remedied by applying some chelated iron to them.

[PalmsZA]

Awe Dennis nice to meet you here too, I will definitely give you a shout for the seeds, it's the picture of your Chambeyronia macrocarpa that got me looking into palms mate

Hi John sorry I snaged your picture, but it wos the only way I could explain wot I though were the C. metallicas haha now I see they are trees of some sort, nice nursery you got going there.

Aggie sorry to hear about your bad luck, if you lived close I would have given you a seedling. I guess it's a change you take with every palm, might have been a fungal infection.

Mjff I think your right the only knowledge I have of palms are through the internet so far, and I did see one of the green Nanarops at Adrian's nursery before now that you mention it. Must really invest in a good book. I too have an ox who helps me out in the garden, last week he split an Encephalartos eugene-maraisii seedlig in two with a fork and I told him to remove the weeds by hand..

This is great news now that I know they can be moved, hopefully I won't have to move em ever, but just in case, you never know hey? I already have a spot for em right beside the driveway where it gets freezing cold in winter but boiling hot in summer Just a general question about hole prepiration of palms, the media mixture does it need to be more sand than compost, or can a 50/50 mixture work?

Cheers guys !

Awe Dan!

Well, I am happy I managed to snag another devotee!

[vitkiktiv]

Living the dream hey John

I think I'm going to plant em in hesium liner to lift em out easely and the roots can go through.

Dennis like they say hook line and sinker mate

Saw the thread of the Madagascar foxtail Dypsis today and making plans to go there and collect some seed, my dad say I'm crazy there are canibals and vudoo people about, but when I weigh the palms against the possibility of running into trouble the palms win hands down.

Thanks for the input guys, seems palm people are quite laid back.

Adiós