Thrinax morrisii in a pot

[Sabal Steve]

I have a average sized T. morrisii in a 5 gallon pot. I've had it since last fall. It grows slow but steady. Has anyone grown this long term in a pot?

[Peter Pacific]

Well, not in a pot but here's my little guy (Leucothrinax morrisii)...slow and steady, but beautiful.

Peter

[Zeeth]

Well, not in a pot but here's my little guy (Leucothrinax morrisii)...slow and steady, but beautiful.

Peter

With the pic it kind of looks like your palm has green leaf undersides, does it? L. morrisii is supposed to have silver undersides.

[Sabal Steve]

I always forget how to spell Leucothrinax, but yes, that is correct. Mine doesn't have silver undersides, but I got it from a reputable grower. Pics soon. What might it be if the undersides are green?

[Zeeth]

Could be a number of things. Maybe Thrinax radiata. Here's an example of L. morrisii

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/38643/

[Sabal Steve]

Could be a number of things. Maybe Thrinax radiata. Here's an example of L. morrisii

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/38643/

A silly question in retrospect:) The leaves are very deeply divided, all the wat yo the hastula. I'm thinking that this becomes less prevalent as my palm matures.

[BaysideMike]

From my experience Morrisii stay green for a while until they are a bit more mature

They start to put out fatter more mature leaves then they start showing the silver

And it seems like once they get the silver, the more fertilizer the more silver

[Zeeth]

From my experience Morrisii stay green for a while until they are a bit more mature

They start to put out fatter more mature leaves then they start showing the silver

And it seems like once they get the silver, the more fertilizer the more silver

You're probably right, I just know what I've seen in mature specimens because I've never sprouted these from seed.

[Sabal Steve]

The palm in question.

[Sabal Steve]

Could be a number of things. Maybe Thrinax radiata. Here's an example of L. morrisii

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/38643/

A silly question in retrospect:) The leaves are very deeply divided, all the wat yo the hastula. I'm thinking that this becomes less prevalent as my palm matures.

Not as deeply divided as I thought.

[aztropic]

Heres a pic comparing morissii vs. radiata. (morissii on top) These are plants I grew from seed I wild collected in the Florida keys so should be pure species.At this size,no silver under morissii leaves while radiata never gets the silver.Both are very good growers for me in the Arizona desert.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Zeeth]

Heres a pic comparing morissii vs. radiata. (morissii on top) These are plants I grew from seed I wild collected in the Florida keys so should be pure species.At this size,no silver under morissii leaves while radiata never gets the silver.Both are very good growers for me in the Arizona desert.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

How old from seed?

[aztropic]

Here is a larger radiata in the garden...

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[aztropic]

Heres a pic comparing morissii vs. radiata. (morissii on top) These are plants I grew from seed I wild collected in the Florida keys so should be pure species.At this size,no silver under morissii leaves while radiata never gets the silver.Both are very good growers for me in the Arizona desert.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

How old from seed?

These are both 5 years old from seed and are in 5 gallon pots now.They don't grow nearly as fast here in the desert as they do in Florida.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Ken Johnson]

The palm in question.

20130823_084559_resized.jpg

I'm not sold that is morrisii...

[aztropic]

The palm in question.

20130823_084559_resized.jpg

I'm not sold that is morrisii...

I was kind of on the fence with that one also.Looks more like Coccothrinax readii to me.

Maybe a better picture of the trunk... Look for split leaf bases like the one in my picture.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Ken Johnson]

The palm in question.

20130823_084559_resized.jpg

I'm not sold that is morrisii...

I was kind of on the fence with that one also.Looks more like Coccothrinax readii to me.

Maybe a better picture of the trunk... Look for split leaf bases like the one in my picture.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Sabal Steve? This post is so much like one from many years ago. From the picture the palm looks like Coccothrinax.

[Sabal Steve]

Heres a pic comparing morissii vs. radiata. (morissii on top) These are plants I grew from seed I wild collected in the Florida keys so should be pure species.At this size,no silver under morissii leaves while radiata never gets the silver.Both are very good growers for me in the Arizona desert.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

How old from seed?

I'm not sure. But, for reference, there was a similarly sized Cocothrinax argenta next to it - it was 11 years old... I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that this is over 5 years from seed.

[tjwalters]

Here's a T. radiata I've been growing (from seed) in a pot for many, many years. It spends the summers outside and the winters in the sun room.

[Sabal Steve]

Heres a pic comparing morissii vs. radiata. (morissii on top) These are plants I grew from seed I wild collected in the Florida keys so should be pure species.At this size,no silver under morissii leaves while radiata never gets the silver.Both are very good growers for me in the Arizona desert.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Mines a dead ringer for the pic on top.

[Sabal Steve]

I'd love to plant this in the ground, but from what I've heard they like some sun. I will have an overhead canopy within the next 10 years likely.

Don't most Thrinax/Cocothrinax sp. like sun? What happens if they are under canopy? Do they just stagnate?

[Sandy Loam]

AZtropic and TJWalters,

The photos you both posted of Thrinax Radiata look exactly like what all Home Depots in South Florida sell as "Thrinax Morrisii". I thought they didn't look stiff enough or silver (undersides) enough to be Thrinax Morrisii, but I quickly discarded any doubt thinking Home Depot couldn't possibly have misnamed a palm. They are (or were) in literally every Home Depot in South Florida, all marked with the same label, and quite cheap too. They all had that very droopy look with no silver on the leaf undersides, and definitely not the deep divisions of the palm on AZtropic's top photo.

I also assumed that the Home Depot species had to be Thrinax Morrisi when I bought one and it did so well in my chilly Gainesville winters without any damage at all. (Thrinax Morrisii is supposed to be the most cold-hardy of the native Thrinax/Cocothinax palms in the Florida Lower Keys and Middle Keys).

If I get around to it, I can post photos for comparison/identification.

You asked about shade....

Mine is planted in quite a bit of shade and it doesn't seem to care. The authorities say to plant Thrinax Morrisii in full extreme sun, but I don't think it matters. Arizona soil should also be fine because they thrive in pure sand and sometimes rocky/pebbly soil in their native Middle Keys/Lower Keys state parks. Sometimes they are apparently flooded by saltwater and they don't seem to care about that either --- wet or dry. The perfect southwest Arizona palm from Phoenix across to Yuma...who knew! (probably too tender for Tucson cold, though)

[Sabal Steve]

Whatever I have looks perfect in the shade and pushes spears in winter.

[aztropic]

The HD plants ARE mislabeled...

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

[kwtimo]

Having lived in the Keys for 16 years now, I can say confidently that your palm is not L. morissii. It's not T. radiata either. Being that these palms hybridize annoyingly easily, it could just be a Coccothrinax sp. Being that it is thriving in shade, it could also be C. alta or C. barbadensis. Regardless, it is a nice looking palm, and have fun with it. It should do quite well in a pot for you for many years, provided you upsize your pot periodically.

[Sabal Steve]

Having lived in the Keys for 16 years now, I can say confidently that your palm is not L. morissii. It's not T. radiata either. Being that these palms hybridize annoyingly easily, it could just be a Coccothrinax sp. Being that it is thriving in shade, it could also be C. alta or C. barbadensis. Regardless, it is a nice looking palm, and have fun with it. It should do quite well in a pot for you for many years, provided you upsize your pot periodically.

Thanks everyone, I'm happy with it - whatever it is.

Here's a few more pics too;

[Sabal Steve]

"Zeus" was able to rule out the possibility of it being cheese, but beyond that, he wasn't quite sure either...

[Sabal Steve]

The HD plants ARE mislabeled...aztropicMesa, Arizona

My plant came from multiflora.

[Zeeth]

2014-02-26 14.06.36.jpg

2014-02-26 14.07.00.jpg

"Zeus" was able to rule out the possibility of it being cheese, but beyond that, he wasn't quite sure either...

Now that you've posted those pictures, I'm pretty sure that what you have is Coccothrinax argentata. From that angle it looks like one at least.