Archontophoenix Maxima

[Mandrew968]

Show us your Archontophoenix maximas! The winner gets bragging rights and will also show off a pretty rare palm(at least in South Florida). Not much information is around on this palm--I've heard it's the largest in the genus and have also heard counters that it's just the fastest growing in the genus. I have a five-footer which means I'm not going to win my own contest! But I may speak for us all when I say we all love to see a large healthy palm. Good luck, mates!

[Jeff Searle]

I have a few that are around 15' tall now. No biggy, they just resemble another Archontophonix to me. Except A. pur.

Jeff

[Tomw]

I too am interested in seeing some pictures of these. I just purchased four of these palms at the Palm Beach Palm and Cycad palm sale.

[Mandrew968]

Are they bigger than Alexandrae? I've been to the sunken gardens in st. pete and they have some there that don't know they aren't royals!

[Kim]

Oops, wrong information, sorry. I deleted my accidental post.

[quaman58]

Are they bigger than Alexandrae? I've been to the sunken gardens in st. pete and they have some there that don't know they aren't royals!

I believe the Latin "maxima" refers to the size of it's inflorescense.

[paulgila]

i believe i read that somewhere,too,bret.

[Daryl]

Bret is correct with the naming...the peduncle on this species is generally much broader than the other members of the genus, from what I have seen (although there are exceptions)

However, A.maxima also grows quite large as well. My largest plant is larger in all dimensions than any of my A.alexandraes.

Here is a photo of one we saw last year that had a very stout trunk...Andy Green for scale.

regards,

Daryl

[TimHopper]

Here is a photo of my Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Illawarra which has been my largest and hardiest archie. Bought the seeds from RPS years ago under that label http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/pix/ArcIll.shtml Never tried the Maxima.

Edited April 23, 2011 by TimHopper

[Mandrew968]

Daryl, you are definitely winning; that trunk is mammoth!

[dalmatiansoap]

Here is a photo of my Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Illawarra which has been my largest and hardiest archie. Bought the seeds from RPS years ago under that label http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/pix/ArcIll.shtml Never tried the Maxima.

Nice tree Tim,

do U maybe remember what that "years ago" means in numbers? Im growing few from seeds so....

Thanks

Ante

[TimHopper]

Yes, I remember that my son was two years old when I started them from seed. That makes the one in the photo nine years old from germination. Tim

[Tyrone]

I gave my sister one about 1.5m tall about 6 years ago. It would be 10m tall now and has a bigger base than her Roystonea, (but the Roystonea isn't a big one-thought I'd clarify that), but it's super super fast, and has shot up to the top of the canopy above everything else. It should flower soon. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it, but Miccles might. Michael have you got a pic of it from when you were over? Still I think Daryl's is the winner. It may not be bigger than his pic anyway.

What's probably helped my sisters one go so crazy is that her property is on an old peat swamp overlayed with sand. pH is around 5, ground water is 2m down and she irrigates with a bore quite often and used to give it quite a bit of NPK and trace elements. Even still it's a beauty. Will try and get a picture to post.

Best regards

Tyrone

[TimHopper]

There is no doubt that they react quickly to rich soil, fertilizer, and water. Tim

[Eric in Orlando]

This is our biggest A. maxima, about 15ft tall. There is a large clump of Bambusa oldhamii and B. mutabilis behind it that is now hogging water and nutrients. I have grown some young plants from seed to plant elsewhere.

[Dave-Vero]

Sort of late, here's a little A. maxima that got planted out yesterday. The plan had been to repot it, but when I lifted the palm, there was a heavy root, maybe 15 inches long, headed straight down into the sand. So I dug a deep hole between a Hymenocallis (spider lily) and a Hippeastrum (a seedling from Richard Moyroud in Lake Worth). The bed, including the bright orange bromeliads at the rear, will change as a recently-planted live oak and an Australian cycad (Lepidozamia peroffskyana) grow.

This A. maxima was propagated at Leu.

[Mandrew968]

Here is mine. It's about a year and a half from a 1 gallon. So fast, I purchased 10 more for the nursery!

A great palm for the collector. The lizards like them too.

[Daryl]

I'm glad this thread was bumped...one of my favourite palms!

Here's the crownshaft on my largest Maxima...probably between 5 and 6 feet in length. The inflorescences on this are much larger than A.alexandrae...mine are about 4ft long and 4ft wide.

Daryl

[Walter John]

Great palm...Maximus Alexander...

There's mine at back, outgrowing the purpureas easy.. have three lil' ones growing around the joint..

[Pedro 65]

Great palm...Maximus Alexander...

There's mine at back, outgrowing the purpureas easy.. have three lil' ones growing around the joint..

It will grow faster Wal, but purpurea is cetainly a better looker..We have Many maximas but Wish they where ALL Purpureas

[Cikas]

Here is a photo of my Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Illawarra which has been my largest and hardiest archie. Bought the seeds from RPS years ago under that label http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/pix/ArcIll.shtml Never tried the Maxima.

Great looking palm

[JeffM]

Great pics and information! Is there any difference in cold /frost tolerance? Tim, I'm curious how your Illawarra responded to frost and/or freezing temps fully exposed?

[Palmdude]

Tim, is your sisters house in Saint Augustine???? It's cold up there! Gives me encouragement to go for it down here in North Port! If it survives up there that's a really good sign! Time to get a couple!

[Walter John]

Great palm...Maximus Alexander...

There's mine at back, outgrowing the purpureas easy.. have three lil' ones growing around the joint..

DSCN2215 (960x1280).jpg

Okay, sports fans, I mean , palm nuts, here's a lil' before and after. I know some of you understand the growth rates but some may not. What I'm relating here is the massive growth from A.maxima versus A.purpurea. We all know how wonderful purpurea is, but if I had my idea back again, I'd grow maxima en masse. It's fast, it's beautiful. Okay, it's not purple, but how about some growth first. This is under two years.

purple nice, but slow.

Those purpureas are special

[Mandrew968]

My maxima just put out its first flower. Pretty big for the first one, I guess. She's not fast but not super slow... not easy to keep these things looking good either...

[Mandrew968]

On 7/29/2012, 6:47:44, Mandrew968 said:

 

 

I got a kick out of this past photo! Here is the spinosa on the right.

[Mandrew968]

Update from today.

[Briank]

DoomsDave would win this photo contest.  Wonder why he hasn’t posted his Yet lol.  His are quite impressive.