Chamaerops humilis var Cerifera

[PalmGuyWC]

I planted 2 Ceriferas about 5 years ago, and as luck would have it, one was a male and the other a female. They both have grown at a good clip, but tend to become bushy with many trunks if they aren't trimmed yearly. Mine get a severe triming in the spring and by the end of summer they are full and bushy again. The silver color of Cerifera is stunning and I'm wondering why they haven't shown up more in nurserys. I only know of one nursery in the SF bay area that sometimes has them available.

I know you guys in Florida, Texas and S. Calif. sometimes get nice surprises in the big box stores and I'm wondering just how available they are in your areas. Are any growers in your areas growing them by the hundreds or the thousands? I bet they would sell like hot cakes if they were available. Once established they are bullet proof and will take winter cold and summer heat and drought. Even Mom and Pop could grow one.

Dick

[Kailua_Krish]

They are in every big box store here. Almost as common in the big boxes as the regular green form now. They come in with much nicer color than they keep when planted out, Ive noticed only the new flushes tend to be blue for me, the older ones turn green. The older leaves also get kind of spotty for me, I think they get too much water. My best ones are grown in pots on my pool deck that get absolutely no water at all.

-Krishna

[PalmGuyWC]

I've noticed they tend to be much more silver in Calif. than in Florida, but after all, they are a Mediterranean palm. We get absolutely no rain in Calif. in the summer and you guys in Florida and the east coast get heavy summer rains. The silver powder or wax tends to wash off on the older fronds.

Dick

[sonoranfans]

Yep as with many blue palms, they grow much better out west due to the dry and hot conditions. I had some with great color in arizona, they seem to love dry heat, and they "blue up" in direct sun out there. Since they originate in morocco, it makes sense that they would prefer the dry climate. My cerifera doesnt get watered, sits in a pot in full sun with lots of perlite and looks light green with some blue. I am ambivalent about even planting it out... it just doesnt look happy for a cerifera. My similarly potted sabal uresana has much more blue in it. You guys out west have a great climate for blue palms....

[Kailua_Krish]

Those blue copernicias in Thailand looked pretty good for a humid climate Anyways I totally agree with you Tom, although there are the occasional Serenoa repens that can really give some very blue coloring. I guess the difference comes in whether the blue is a powdery thing like in the C. humilis or if it is a wax like in the sabals and serenoa.

-Krishna

[sonoranfans]

Those blue copernicias in Thailand looked pretty good for a humid climate Anyways I totally agree with you Tom, although there are the occasional Serenoa repens that can really give some very blue coloring. I guess the difference comes in whether the blue is a powdery thing like in the C. humilis or if it is a wax like in the sabals and serenoa.

-Krishna

The bluest serenoa I have ever seen was in arizona... in part shade. We have lots of the silver saws here ones near the gulf, not quite so blue. Ken Johnson has some really blue hospitas, yup, and bismarckias and butias can be blue/silver here. But brahea armatas, sabal uresana, ceriferas, phoenix dactyliferas, Bismarckias, and even the serenoa seem notably more blue out there. Im not complaining, plenty of really cool stuff to grow here, palms and tropicals, but IMO the best blue palm climate is dry...

Edited April 15, 2011 by sonoranfans

[Jimhardy]

They are showing up more and more-

there is certainly a big demand for this gorgeous palm.

[PalmGuyWC]

Two other species that do well on the west coast, and can be very silver or blue are Trithrinax campestris and Nannorrhops, but like Serenoa there is quite a variation in color. I have several Nannorrhops and most are a blue/gray color, but one has turned out to be very silver. The same is true with Serenoa. I was very selective in picking out the most silver Serenoa I could find, but when I brought them back to Calif. from Florida they lost a good bit of their silver color. Of 4 plants only one has retained its silver color. Serenoa seem to not like my dense clay soil and I have found it they are kept on the dry side in the summer they do well. Actually, I've found that all the blue or silver palms grow best in my climate if kept on the dry side in the warmer months.

Dick

[Mandrew968]

I have big 7 gallons for 40$ each--some are even blooming. This palm is twice as slow as the green form.

[PalmGuyWC]

I haven't heard any reports from S. Calif. or is Chamaerops to common for you dypsis lovers?

Dick

[velutina]

The only place I see them is at a particular big box store. 3-5gallon is $15 under "Assorted palm special".

[Perito]

I haven't heard any reports from S. Calif. or is Chamaerops to common for you dypsis lovers?

Dick

Hi Dick,- Well, I'm not in SoCal but I've got tons of 'Ceriferas' ready to bump up to 15 Gallons. Here, they seem to stay

'blue-er' with a little shade. OH, I love Dypsis too! Perry

[ghar41]

Hi Dick,

I planted mine about the same time you planted yours and they are flowering for the first time this year.

[_Keith]

They are available everywhere in So. Louisiana, but as stated above, they don't stay silver here. When we hit our summer rains, they all green out, as if the rains wash the silver away. If we go through a dry period the new growth will be silver, but when the rains come, again, off it goes.

[PalmGuyWC]

I just gave my two Ciferas a close inspection. They look so different from the "normal" green, that they look like a different species. Mine have long vicious black thorns near the base of the petiole. One of mine has trunks about 3 feet high, and even the fiber on the trunk is a different color from the greens. My male plant has 16 bloom spathes emerging from one trunk and they are a wine color. The male plants always bloom about 2 weeks before the female, but that's true of the greens too. It's rumored that the silvers are more resistant to freezes than the greens. Mine have grown much faster than I expected, and they make a nice show with a green background.

Dick

[David N.TX.]

They are in all the Lowes stores here. They are being grown by Costa Farms and you can see them on their website. It looks like they only carry them in the 2 gallon size. For what it is worth, in the DFW area they seem to be hardier than the green form.