Trithtrinax campestris

[Texeltropics]

What are the experiences with this palm in the cold hardy zones?

(This is a experiment because i wanted to find out how the tag-thing worked...i did it thanks to Kim)

[Mandrew968]

I have one and it is growing--slow palm. I seriously doubt it would grow for you, Esther...

[Kathryn]

I have two in the ground in south Louisiana (zone 9a) that were planted from 1 gallon pots about 5 years ago. They haven't grown much but that might be somewhat due to competition from nearby ixora and bougainvillea plants.

[Jimhardy]

They are worthy palms to try for sure...I tried one here,

it was so small and did get knocked back every winter

a little bit but it showed pretty remarkable cold tolerence

if kept dry(foliage and roots)over winter...they are a little slow.

[Exotic Life]

Plant them on the hottest spot you have, don't expect a lot of growth and keep them dry during winter. The most of them I who has those planted before died the last few winters.

[ghar41]

They grow well here in our climate, although slowly. Mine are still small.

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Mandrew, you are in Florida, right? How well does Trithrinax campestris take intense intense heat and humidity? They're just beautiful palms! Dang, another palm has stolen my heart!

[Alberto]

Why this are my slowest palms?? Slower than Brahea armata, Serenoa repens, Rhapidophillum hystrix.....

[ghar41]

Why this are my slowest palms?? Slower than Brahea armata, Serenoa repens, Rhapidophillum hystrix.....

Same here Alberto. I get seriously impatient after 5 years in the ground with little growth.

I have had better luck growing them from seed. These plants have grown consistently and I just moved them up from 5 gallon to 15 gallon pots. I'm wondering if they want a PH below 7? Mine in pots are in commercial potting soil and mine in the ground were too slow in 7+ PH sandy loam.....

[Mandrew968]

Mandrew, you are in Florida, right? How well does Trithrinax campestris take intense intense heat and humidity? They're just beautiful palms! Dang, another palm has stolen my heart!

Mine is growing very well with no irrigation, in the full sun. I can actually see the growth this rainy season! I have seen others in South Florida growing fairly well--the consensus is that they can get spear pull for no apparent reason, then just grow out of it! I have never heard of any dying in SoFla, but surely not many are growing this palm...

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Why this are my slowest palms?? Slower than Brahea armata, Serenoa repens, Rhapidophillum hystrix.....

Same here Alberto. I get seriously impatient after 5 years in the ground with little growth.

I have had better luck growing them from seed. These plants have grown consistently and I just moved them up from 5 gallon to 15 gallon pots. I'm wondering if they want a PH below 7? Mine in pots are in commercial potting soil and mine in the ground were too slow in 7+ PH sandy loam.....

Try fertilizing with Lilly miller camelia and rhododendron fertilizer, I do that with licuala and they grow faster even in my cool weather. But I saw t. Campestris in really dry soil in Fallbrook so I doubt they are bothered by high pH.

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Mandrew, thanks for the encouraging experience and tips...just wow on the spear pull info!

Texeltropics, do you have one? They seem so amazing!

[tank]

Mandrew, you are in Florida, right? How well does Trithrinax campestris take intense intense heat and humidity? They're just beautiful palms! Dang, another palm has stolen my heart!

Mine is growing very well with no irrigation, in the full sun. I can actually see the growth this rainy season! I have seen others in South Florida growing fairly well--the consensus is that they can get spear pull for no apparent reason, then just grow out of it! I have never heard of any dying in SoFla, but surely not many are growing this palm...

Hard plant to grow in Florida. Not sure if it is a viable plant long term. Most old timers I've talked to that have tried this plant in central and north Florida report some success, but they eventually die due to our conditions. I've tried this plant about 4 times up here in North Florida and have had no success. I have a couple left, so I'll probably try again. I've put this plant in a variety of conditions around my yard. It usually does well for several months to a year, and then just croaks.

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Jason, thanks for extra info. It seems best for me to wait till I have a lot more knowledge and experience before trying a Trithrinax campestris. I get too easily swayed by beauty, and completely distracted by anything the slightest bit cute. lol.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Jason, thanks for extra info. It seems best for me to wait till I have a lot more knowledge and experience before trying a Trithrinax campestris. I get too easily swayed by beauty, and completely distracted by anything the slightest bit cute. lol.

When I look at a nicely grown t. campestris, it reminds me of a copernicia. I don't know which copernicia thrive in the part of Florida you live in, but I think that would be a great substitute more adapted to your tropical humid climate.

Here is a photo of Edith's t. campestris that I think looks a lot like a copernicia:

Then look at this copernicia:

The copernicia above is a hybrid, probably c. fallaensis x c. baileyana, and the hybrids are typically hardier and should do well in Central Florida in a 9b to 10a transition zone.

The t. campestris photo is a photo I took, the copernicia photo I found here: http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/30086-copernicia-candy/page-4.

[Phoenikakias]

Axel, this specimen does not look at all like T campestris or at least a pure one! Are you sure about its identity? I would say it rather looks like a typical T brasiliensis/acanthocoma...

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Thanks, Axel....and special thanks for that thread!

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Axel, this specimen does not look at all like T campestris or at least a pure one! Are you sure about its identity? I would say it rather looks like a typical T brasiliensis/acanthocoma...

Deuh, well yes, what was I thinking? It's a T. acanthocoma. I keep mixing up the names even though the palms look totally different. Sorry!

[Mandrew968]

Mandrew, you are in Florida, right? How well does Trithrinax campestris take intense intense heat and humidity? They're just beautiful palms! Dang, another palm has stolen my heart!

Mine is growing very well with no irrigation, in the full sun. I can actually see the growth this rainy season! I have seen others in South Florida growing fairly well--the consensus is that they can get spear pull for no apparent reason, then just grow out of it! I have never heard of any dying in SoFla, but surely not many are growing this palm...

Hard plant to grow in Florida. Not sure if it is a viable plant long term. Most old timers I've talked to that have tried this plant in central and north Florida report some success, but they eventually die due to our conditions. I've tried this plant about 4 times up here in North Florida and have had no success. I have a couple left, so I'll probably try again. I've put this plant in a variety of conditions around my yard. It usually does well for several months to a year, and then just croaks.

Tank, all I can say is mine looks good and I have made it past a year in the ground(I know of a few local ones that have been in the ground for much longer than a year, as well)...

[Texeltropics]

Mandrew, thanks for the encouraging experience and tips...just wow on the spear pull info!

Texeltropics, do you have one? They seem so amazing!

I had one...but it died.....unfortunatly

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Aw, that's sad news. Are you going to try again?

PS. I like your new avatar...you are pretty!

[tank]

Mandrew, you are in Florida, right? How well does Trithrinax campestris take intense intense heat and humidity? They're just beautiful palms! Dang, another palm has stolen my heart!

Mine is growing very well with no irrigation, in the full sun. I can actually see the growth this rainy season! I have seen others in South Florida growing fairly well--the consensus is that they can get spear pull for no apparent reason, then just grow out of it! I have never heard of any dying in SoFla, but surely not many are growing this palm...

Hard plant to grow in Florida. Not sure if it is a viable plant long term. Most old timers I've talked to that have tried this plant in central and north Florida report some success, but they eventually die due to our conditions. I've tried this plant about 4 times up here in North Florida and have had no success. I have a couple left, so I'll probably try again. I've put this plant in a variety of conditions around my yard. It usually does well for several months to a year, and then just croaks.

Tank, all I can say is mine looks good and I have made it past a year in the ground(I know of a few local ones that have been in the ground for much longer than a year, as well)...

Please post some pictures of the south Florida Trithranax campestris that you mentioned.

[tank]

An old thread about T. campestris. I now remember that Ed had one in Jacksonville (per his comment). I wonder if it's still alive.

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/10031-trithrinax-campestris/page-1

[Mandrew968]

This is mine, planted with no irrigation, at my in-law's place.

[tank]

This is mine, planted with no irrigation, at my in-law's place.

Nice,

How long has it been in the ground?

[Mandrew968]

I would guess a little over a year and a half.

[edbrown_III]

Tank, I lost it a few years ago --- it was ploddingm I had it in the sunniest part of the yard next to a Brahea armata on a sand hilll I brought in.......Both it and the B. armata died

pity I dont know if I got some diseases that knock them off

Best regards

Ed

[tank]

Tank, I lost it a few years ago --- it was ploddingm I had it in the sunniest part of the yard next to a Brahea armata on a sand hilll I brought in.......Both it and the B. armata died

pity I dont know if I got some diseases that knock them off

Best regards

Ed

Sorry to hear that. Possibly something in our soils because I have a few in pots that seem to do well. Thanks for your info.

[cajuntropics]

Tank, I have one here 20 miles south of Baton Rouge. Grew it along since '04 in pots then planted it out on a mound of riversand...it gets some funky bud rot I think it's just too humid for it. Two of the stems look fine,but the others are struggling to grow out of it.

[Mandrew968]

This is an update: last week's photos.

[tank]

This is an update: last week's photos.

Looking good, did you pick that up from a grower down your way? I'd like to try again with a larger plant(s). All of mine were grown from seed and never made it to that size.

Edited August 9, 2013 by tank

[Mandrew968]

Another update.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

It looks nice but it seems to be a very slow grower here. I have a few trithrinax acanthocoma sprouts that I hope can survive in the north Florida climate. Are their growth rates comparable?

[Mandrew968]

Your species might be a tad faster, but maybe not due to your colder climate...

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Thanks Mandrew!

[buffy]

I've had one in the ground for 5 years. Real slow. Real tough. Some spear pull the first few years. No protection into the mid teens several times. No irrigation. No fertilizer. Always looks perfect. No bugs or pests.

[John Case]

My humble addition. In the ground for 4 or 5 years, a gift from Patrick Jensen......

I visit it about twice a year as it has a tendency to attack!

[alohas]

Regarding cold hardiness, I know of an adult specimen nearby town, with no damage after 7 days of below freezing temps, down to 7 deg, with strong northerly winds and a thin layer of snow. The jub next to it died.

[tank]

Wonder if it is susceptible to nematodes? Would explain why it doesn't do well for me. May try the limerock dust mulching as it has seemed to help my other nematode sensitive plants.

[buffy]

They're tough gnarly little fellas. Again, spear pull early on, but after that, splendid. Mine have seen around 15F. They're slow, but they put out a number of leaves each season. The leaves are just small. I've seen pictures of much older specimen, but it's gonna be a long time.