Dypsis Ambositrae

[DippyD]

Hey gang,

I know a lot of you guys and gals out there are growing this palm, especially in so-cal. i have 2 in the ground one which is a rocket ship and one that has decided what it wants to do with its life. the only problem i have with them and i can not figure it out is that the tips of the leaves turn brown. maybe someone can chime in about that. while watering this morning i noticed this little treat:

[DippyD]

and a couple more of the entire palm,

:drool:

[DippyD]

Lets see how everyone else's is doing,

Bob, steve, gary, len, nick...ect

you aussies too!

Palmfreek

[edric]

Nice looking tree, Ed

[Bags]

Here is mine. It is almost three years in the ground from a small five gallon. It is in 3/4 day sun in the summer and less in the winter and puts out three leaves a year. Mine has some brown tipping, but it is lessening as the palms gets bigger.

[ellidro]

Here's a few pics taken today.

[JEFF from Trabuco Canyon CA]

Hi Brett, Your Palm looks different then Aaron's and Nick's palm. I know there was a couple of different ambositrae being sold. What do you think? Your palm is very nice too!

Jeff

[DippyD]

Jeff,

It very well could be, i have a smaller one which is about a 5 gal size and looks more like the other two shown in the photos. I didnt know if it changed with age and thats maybe why it looked different. Nick your backyard has blown up man, whats your secret, im a few miles from the beach and get pretty cold in the winter and hot in the summer but your stuff is looking good. do you have injected fert in your irrigation lines? how often and how much water?

any ideas what else it could be jeff?

[ellidro]

Jeff,

It very well could be, i have a smaller one which is about a 5 gal size and looks more like the other two shown in the photos. I didnt know if it changed with age and thats maybe why it looked different. Nick your backyard has blown up man, whats your secret, im a few miles from the beach and get pretty cold in the winter and hot in the summer but your stuff is looking good. do you have injected fert in your irrigation lines? how often and how much water?

any ideas what else it could be jeff?

No injected fert, I use apex palm plus two to three times a year. I think what's helped in my garden is my soil. When I remodeled the back yard I had a custom blend of soil brought in to fill behind the sitting wall. It drains well and has a bunch of organics in it. I also use mulch and compost once a year as a top dressing but also to introduce more organics. During the summer I water two times a week with drip for about 15 minutes. Around November I turn my sprinklers off until around March and just hand water when I feel necessary.

[JEFF from Trabuco Canyon CA]

I have a few Dypsis that brown tip like yours. I really don't know what causes it. I wish I knew if it was soil related or maybe the salts in our water.

[Tyrone]

Is this brown tipping worst on the oldest leaves? If so, it sounds like Potassium deficiency.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Dypsisdean]

I have a few Dypsis that brown tip like yours. I really don't know what causes it. I wish I knew if it was soil related or maybe the salts in our water.

I was always taught that it is a build up of salts in the soil from the terribly hard water available in SoCal. Those water districts that get a major portion of their water from the Colorado River have a much higher salt content that causes brown tipping in most plants. The Colorado flows over many areas that contain limestone, so it dissolves much of the calcium/salts. And during California drought periods, like the few years before this wet winter, most of the water in SoCal comes from the Colorado. Those districts that are drawing from NoCal and local reservoirs have much better water. Avocado growers have known this forever. Avocados are especially susceptible to the brown tipping of their leaves. Except for the very new growth for a short time, avocado leaves in SoCal are almost always brown tipped.

This is magnified when people water frequently and shallowly, instead of long deep watering. This allows the salts to build up and are not carried down past the root zone - but instead collect over time near the surface and in the root zone. A few long rain storms is the only thing that really helps wash them down and through. Or the next best thing during extended drought periods is to water long and deeply more often. However, if the water has a higher salt content, this doesn't help near as much as rain, but is still beneficial. Again - a practice that is known to the avocado farmers.

[richnorm]

Here's my biggest (about 5 feet tall). Not a great shot but it's torrential rain out there so I'm not taking another! The newest leaf is beautifully recurved. I get little brown-tipping in the oldest leaf too.

[DippyD]

Hey dean,

thanks for the local knowledge i had no idea, it seems that is is only my baronii complex plants that are doing it, but sounds worth a effort for maybe deeper water sessions less often. Rich also a very nice looking palm. this along with the mad fox has to be my 2 favorite dypsis going around.

Jeff any photos of yours?

Palmfreek

[Randall SD]

This is my little one that's been in the ground since last July. I bought this as a bare root 2 leaf seedling from a Ebay seller 5 years ago. It does have a bit of leaf browning that I attributed to sunburn received while getting used to its sunnier location. The two newest fronds that opened since planting are looking better though.

[richnorm]

This one has always looked a little different and is much slower. Possibly just early variation but time will tell. Typical form from the same seed batch and growing conditions shown for comparison.

cheers

Richard

[DippyD]

Randall, looking good!

Rich, did your purchase all the ones photoed at the same time and were they the same size? The biggest one obviously is a nice eye catcher!

[DippyD]

Here is another dypsis question, bill, Len, Gary, jeff you guys might be able to answer this, and may be worth starting another topic. About 2 years ago I was hanging out at pogos with bob and Braden, they had this palm in their green house which looked like it was headed down death row. It was labeled Dypsis sp Cuesta Linda, I bare rooted the palm dunked it in a huge bowl of fungicide mix gave it some rooting hormone and fresh soil. 2 years later it's looking healthy as every a nice 5 gal plant ready to go

In the ground. But this plant to me looks if not the same palm as the ambo. Maybe jeff has pics of the momma plant which I don't remember seeing while there. Any clues what that palm is?

Palmfreek

[BS Man about Palms]

I just read a thread about this... Look under various "Mystery Dypsis"... I think it was started by Nick (ellidro) a couple years ago..

[DippyD]

Sounds good I'll take a look

[LJG]

Brett,

It is basically a Baronii type. Usually single but some are doubles.

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/images/3/33/C._Linda09.jpg

If you want to grab another cool Dypsis that has lots of color and grows well here, look at this:

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/images/4/4c/C._Linda33.jpg

This plant flowered and seed was sent to Marcus. Marcus now has it on his list as "Dypsis sp "Brusseau".

[nkbish]

Here is my small d. ambositrae, I think. After reading about this palm I don't know if it is a d. ambositrae or something else, maybe someone can tell me for sure. It was purchased as d. ambositrae. I planted it in august in a protected spot. During the winter I have seen 2 frost events and it still looks good. I it has pushed 2 new fronds since it has been in the ground. With any luck in a few more years it might look as good as some of the previous pictures posted.

[palmcurry]

Brett,

It is basically a Baronii type. Usually single but some are doubles.

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/images/3/33/C._Linda09.jpg

If you want to grab another cool Dypsis that has lots of color and grows well here, look at this:

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/images/4/4c/C._Linda33.jpg

This plant flowered and seed was sent to Marcus. Marcus now has it on his list as "Dypsis sp "Brusseau".

Len,

Thanks for the links.

Jeff is now grouping Dypsis sp Brusseau with Dypsis affinis. They both are so similar that it makes sense but the color in that pic you posted from palmpedia is so colorful compared to the D.affinis I've seen. I definitely want to get my hands on that Brusseau strain!

I'd post a pic of my ambo but it's a lil'5gal newly planted and all stretched out.

[richnorm]

Randall, looking good!

Rich, did your purchase all the ones photoed at the same time and were they the same size? The biggest one obviously is a nice eye catcher!

I have plants grown from RPS seed purchased through our society seedbank and plants purchased from a commercial grower who imported seed directly from Madagascar. All those pictured are from the latter source and are the same age. The one with the sparse leaflets stared out with huge bifid leaves. I notice with the RPS seed that growth rates vary considerably. They seem to do much better planted out, even at a small size.

cheers

Rich

[MattyB]

Here's my two, pics taken this morning. The leaves are about 7 feet tall to the tips. No sign of trunk yet.

[MattyB]

[MattyB]

[Darold Petty]

Most photos show two trunks, does this species usually bifurcate?

[LJG]

Matt, which one are yours? The ones Phil was selling?

[MattyB]

Darold,

Mine is two separate plants set in the same hole.

Len,

One of mine is from Floribunda, labled as Dypsis onilahensis in '06. One is from Jungle Music labled Dypsis ambositrae 'Red'. They are the same plant and what I believe to be the real Dypsis ambositrae.

In the greenhouse I've got 2 seedlings that came from William DeBoe and 1 that came from Ortanique, that I believe are also the real Dypsis ambositrae.

[richnorm]

Most photos show two trunks, does this species usually bifurcate?

Too early to say most but certainly some of the form shown here do in the manner of decipiens.

[nkbish]

I have a small one sold as d. ambositrae, is it to early to know if is a true form or is there a way to tell them apart.

[MattyB]

The presence of a heel, numerous thin leaflets, and red back of petiole are easy ways to tell the real ambo. It's hard to tell just from your photo, but I'm thinking yours is something different.

[DippyD]

Len,

i read the topic bill mentioned and seems to be like you said, another baronii complex, the link you sent, that is a real beauty. i saw those on the list from marcus awhile ago. and is vince saying that these are now being sold under affinis on jeff's list?

Matt,

looking good as every, these palms seem to like it here in socal whether they are close to the beach or inland a little ways.

my curiosity is do i ever have a ambo now? where i thought i had two maybe three, now i think i may have none!?!?! the smaller one i have which i have not posted photos of yet came from jerry anderson 2-3 yrs ago and where sold as ambositrae, this palm seems to look more like all of yours, but has yet to split.

[Matt in OC]

Bump! Any picture updates? Observations on cultural requirements?

[Darold Petty]

Based on just one plant, D. ambositrae grows as well and at the same rate as D. baronii in my microclimate.

[Matt in OC]

Thanks, Darold. That's good news for me! It seems they are happiest in full sun as well, correct?

[Darold Petty]

Yes

[Mike in Nelson]

I have just recently planted a small seedling. They seem to prefer shade at a very young age, in my experience anyway.

[Palmə häl′ik]

heres one from centralFL:

(couple mths ago...)

....and then a older pic of it aswell:

Edited January 29, 2015 by Palmə häl′ik