Red Sealing Wax palm. My experement.

[sashaeffer]

Here in Nebraska I only have one option to grow one of these beauties and this is how I'm trying to do it.

Purchased a couple of small ones from a hobbyist in Florida and if either are still alive and growing by June then may buy something larger with color already.

One is inside portable mini greenhouse in container of water that sits on a seed germination pad with a mini fan that is ran by a timer. Runs 15min every hour to circulate the air inside. In front of East facing window with a grow light on above. Inside temp 75f

Other one bought at same time also sits in water on grow mat, but in ambient room temp air 70f It hasn't shown quite as much growth/bushiness as the other one. I use the thin plastic containers to hold the water as the heat transfers better than the small ice cream buckets I was using as the plastic was much thicker.

I add water as needed(warmed) and change it once a week and add a few drops of Superthrive.

Anything I'm forgetting??

[Sunnie]

Good luck! I love these palms.

[Moose]

You did the right thing by keeping their feet wet in my opinion

[sashaeffer]

While I know they like to have wet feet, I still a couple of times a week will add water topside to keep that soil from loosing too much moisture. I lost 3rd one in a matter of hours as that one was in water but in front of a south facing bedroom window so for a short time got some very direct sun and it dried up like it had been in a blast furnace....lesson learned. Now the two I have left stay in East facing window and don't seem to mind that at all.

[Funkthulhu]

I was lucky enough to receive several seeds from a freebie post. I have yet to get any to germinate and I am lost to hope. I hope your experiment bears more fruit, as it were.

Cheers!

[sashaeffer]

How are you doing??

I've heard seeds can take up to 1 year to germinate...I'm not that patient. I did a couple of years ago get about 12 seedlings from Australia. They were about 2/3 inches tall one strap leaf. Planted them and kept soil damp, and warm with a germination mat. They went about 1 year and were putting out 1 new leaf when all of the sudden they all developed a fungus and died within a week. I kept the in a portable greenhouse inside the house and I realized that I was giving them water and heat....the stagnant air inside I believe led to their demise. That is why now, with a small palm in the same greenhouse I have a small fan in there that runs 15 minutes every hour on a timer.

If the two live that I have until late spring then I may buy a larger one that is already showing Red, as mine are not.

[DoomsDave]

If you get desperate, there are merchants that sell babies through the mails. Shoot me a PM if you want to know more.

[sashaeffer]

They are so painfully slow I'll stick with the 1 gallons and up. They are pretty easy to buy through nurseries in Florida.

Redland nursery I see sells 1 gallon ones for $25 which I don't think is too bad. I bought the ones I have from a beginning hobbyist in Florida for $18.

I wouldn't mind paying more for one that is larger showing Red color, I just want to learn how to keep them alive and happy with small ones.

I've seen a couple of members on here that have LARGE..like 10 footers inside their house/apartment and doing well. One guy said he got it at 1 gallon size 10 years ago and took that long to get that huge. It was striking.

[Josh-O]

I was lucky enough to receive several seeds from a freebie post. I have yet to get any to germinate and I am lost to hope. I hope your experiment bears more fruit, as it were.

Cheers!

Erik, did you use bottom heat?? If not that's why they didn't pop.

[Funkthulhu]

I was lucky enough to receive several seeds from a freebie post. I have yet to get any to germinate and I am lost to hope. I hope your experiment bears more fruit, as it were.

Cheers!

Erik, did you use bottom heat?? If not that's why they didn't pop.

Yeah, they've got a seed mat under them. It's not just these, I seem to have bad luck on just about any seed. (even tomatoes!)

[wimmie]

Scott, here are two photoś of my Cyrtostachys. I kept it in my very light livingroom and misted it daily. The palm did very well, but I sold it after a year for a very good price. Sometimes I regret the sale, because affortable plants are hard to get here in Holland.

Wim.

[sashaeffer]

Wim, amazing palms!

What size were they when you first got them and how long did it take to grow to size in pics?

Did you keep pot in container or bucket of water as well?

Love seeing success stories of those in cold climate areas.

[wimmie]

Scott, I kept the soil very wet, but had it not in standing water. A roomtemperature of about 20C is I think not hot enough to keep the palm in standing water. When I bought the palm, it was about 1,5 meter tall. As I said, to my own astonishment, it grew well, but I decided to sell it because it is known to be a difficult palm for indoorcultifation.

[sashaeffer]

The water mine sit in is warm because of the germination mats I have the sitting on so I'm sure that helps.

Glad that you were able to enjoy it while you did.

[gregglfriedmanmd]

I live in extreme South Florida, zone 11, but even this is too cold for the red sealing wax palm to survive outside. I realized this when I saw one being grown "In Doors" at the Key West Butterfly Gardens ( Latitude 24 Degrees ). They do best between latitude -16 degree to +16 degree. I have seen them growing well in St Lucia, Northern Australia, Costa Rica, and Singapore. They grow like weeds in Malaysia. The best specimens I have ever seen are around the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica at Latitude 10 Degree at 1,500 feet elevation with average temperature of 70-75 degrees and 250 inches annual rainfall. I keep mine outdoors for about 7 months of the year in South Florida during the hot, rainy summer months. I have read that they can tolerate temperatures down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit but my own experience taught me not to let these palms ever see a temperature below 60 degrees. I think anything below 60 degrees will stress the tree and make it more susceptible to a opportunistic fungal infection. I agree with the posts above, the seeds are VERY slow to germinate. I still believe this is one of the most beautiful palms in the world. I am hopeful that someone out there will be able to cultivate a cold hardly version of the red sealing wax palm. By Gregg L. Friedman MD

[mnorell]

I live in extreme South Florida, zone 11, but even this is too cold for the red sealing wax palm to survive outside. I realized this when I saw one being grown "In Doors" at the Key West Butterfly Gardens ( Latitude 24 Degrees ). They do best between latitude -16 degree to +16 degree. I have seen them growing well in St Lucia, Northern Australia, Costa Rica, and Singapore. They grow like weeds in Malaysia. The best specimens I have ever seen are around the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica at Latitude 10 Degree at 1,500 feet elevation with average temperature of 70-75 degrees and 250 inches annual rainfall. I keep mine outdoors for about 7 months of the year in South Florida during the hot, rainy summer months. I have read that they can tolerate temperatures down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit but my own experience taught me not to let these palms ever see a temperature below 60 degrees. I think anything below 60 degrees will stress the tree and make it more susceptible to a opportunistic fungal infection. I agree with the posts above, the seeds are VERY slow to germinate. I still believe this is one of the most beautiful palms in the world. I am hopeful that someone out there will be able to cultivate a cold hardly version of the red sealing wax palm. By Gregg L. Friedman MD

Gregg--

Just because you saw a specimen in the Key West butterfly conservatory doesn't mean it doesn't grow perfectly happily outside here in the Florida Keys as well...and it is well documented (just ask Jeff Searle, who has kept track of this species in the area with a lot of people he knows down here). There was a specimen growing (in water) outside at the Hemingway House and it made it through the 2010 cold and 41F (which defoliated breadfruit trees) and I think without any assistance to help it through. I think it's still there growing happily. I have a fairly large one (6') that is doing just fine here this winter and it keeps pushing its spears through our "cold" spells of sixties and even a few hours in the fifties. Of course, the hybrid (C. renda x C. elegans) is about 3x faster and hardier to cold so it is probably the best candidate for survival in 10b/11a southeast Florida.

[sashaeffer]

C. Renda x C. Elegans....any pics of these? where can they be found to buy?

[Josh-O]

they have very high humidity needs

[sashaeffer]

Of the two small ones I have, both now are on warming mats but one I leave out in a room without extra humidity and does fine. I chatted on here with a member from the Netherlands that had I think he told me had a ...4 foot tall one. Nice picures he posted. Naturally he had pot sitting in standing water but no other extra humidity and with were he lived palm saw a longer forced air heating than most and still did fine. His opinion was humidity wasn't as imporant as keeping roots wet.

Josh, have you tried growing them at all?? I would think if anyone can in your climate..you could.

Edited January 30, 2015 by sashaeffer

[Josh-O]

I wish I could. Nobody has a successful living CR outside of a green house in California. Or do they?

[sashaeffer]

Didn't know if you had any growing inside at all, or in a mini greenhouse of some kind.

[sashaeffer]

Update: Lipstick palm on grow mat outside of mini greenhouse just doesn't get water warm enough with grow mat like the one that is enclosed in the mini greenhouse. Alive, and looks ok but just no new growth like one in greenhouse where water is warmer and ambient air around it is maybe 5f warmer.

I decided to step it up a bit and invested in a adjustable heater for fish aquariums. These are a lot different than when I was a kid in the fact that new ones can be used totally submerged under water, not just hung over the side of the aquarium. NON- adjustable ones are cheaper, but are pre set to 78f and after trying one, water never really gets warm to the touch so bought adjustable one along with a wash tub and metal grate that fits perfectly inside the tub at Walmart. (heater was from Petco $35).

Testing the heater in even larger body of water than the tub I bought it easily warmed water...although slowly to where water was warm to the touch (can be adjusted to 90f) I had mine at 80. Heater sits flat under the grate. Time will tell. If growth picks up on this palm then I know that is part of the trick to getting to grow inside where normally they may not. At least to the size where they have nice color. In my own experiment and in talking with others that grow them indoors humidity isn't as important to them as keeping water around them, and in sunny location. If this works, then will feel more comfortable buying a larger lip stick palm where color is showing, knowing then how to keep them happy.

[Jeff Searle]

Talk about dedication!

[sashaeffer]

Talk about dedication!

Bound and determined Jeff! have seen pics of these beauties in members posts that keep them looking nice indoors with some work. Just trying to duplicate as much as I can the environment they really like. 5 months from now, will be warm enough to have larger one bought and shipped to me if this little guy shows noticeable improvement.

You'd really laugh at the other one I have. Inside a mini greenhouse, in water on two grow mats. Has over head plant grow light stick AND a mini fan hooked to a timer to run 15 minutes every hour so it has air movement. It's a much bushier palm with growing spears vs this one I now have in black tub.

Edited February 21, 2015 by sashaeffer

[gregglfriedmanmd]

Here in Nebraska I only have one option to grow one of these beauties and this is how I'm trying to do it.

Purchased a couple of small ones from a hobbyist in Florida and if either are still alive and growing by June then may buy something larger with color already.

One is inside portable mini greenhouse in container of water that sits on a seed germination pad with a mini fan that is ran by a timer. Runs 15min every hour to circulate the air inside. In front of East facing window with a grow light on above. Inside temp 75f

Other one bought at same time also sits in water on grow mat, but in ambient room temp air 70f It hasn't shown quite as much growth/bushiness as the other one. I use the thin plastic containers to hold the water as the heat transfers better than the small ice cream buckets I was using as the plastic was much thicker.

I add water as needed(warmed) and change it once a week and add a few drops of Superthrive.

Anything I'm forgetting??

002.JPG

Here in Nebraska I only have one option to grow one of these beauties and this is how I'm trying to do it.

Purchased a couple of small ones from a hobbyist in Florida and if either are still alive and growing by June then may buy something larger with color already.

One is inside portable mini greenhouse in container of water that sits on a seed germination pad with a mini fan that is ran by a timer. Runs 15min every hour to circulate the air inside. In front of East facing window with a grow light on above. Inside temp 75f

Other one bought at same time also sits in water on grow mat, but in ambient room temp air 70f It hasn't shown quite as much growth/bushiness as the other one. I use the thin plastic containers to hold the water as the heat transfers better than the small ice cream buckets I was using as the plastic was much thicker.

I add water as needed(warmed) and change it once a week and add a few drops of Superthrive.

Anything I'm forgetting??

002.JPG

It looks like your lipstick palms are growing well in Nebraska. How do they handle the low humidity indoors? Gregg L. Friedman MD

[sashaeffer]

So far no issues. Other indoor growers of these have told me they don't think lower humidity is as important is keeping soil/pot wet.

I did have a 3rd that was in ambient air and in a high sided tray of water but in room I didn't go into much. Palm was front of South facing window so got decent amount of direct sun. One day I noticed from a distance it looked fine and at noon it was brown. Container had gone dry that kept water around it....oops.

Both small ones have shown growth enough that I feel confident in ordering a 3/4 ft tall one now in a couple of weeks when it's warmer out. It will be inside as well under similar container of water with heater.

[Josh-O]

Talk about dedication!

Scott " The dedication" Shaeffer

it has a nice ring to it Jeff

[sashaeffer]

I love a challenge, especially when someone says it can't be done.

Edited May 15, 2015 by sashaeffer

[Panamajack]

Definitely one of my all time favorites. I grew up with lots of them all over the place in Hawai'i and Panama, they were huge and form large, dense clumps. They do love heat, humidity and water. I tried once here in Southern California, indoors and it didn't go well. Air too dry and it got all crispy.

I need to try again. Good luck!

[sashaeffer]

Definitely one of my all time favorites. I grew up with lots of them all over the place in Hawai'i and Panama, they were huge and form large, dense clumps. They do love heat, humidity and water. I tried once here in Southern California, indoors and it didn't go well. Air too dry and it got all crispy.

I need to try again. Good luck!

I can see where the dry air in So. Cal would be an issue. Pretty humid around here most of the year but not like the tropics so we'll see.

[Josh-O]

I love a challenge, especially when someone says it can't be done.

me too

[Josh-O]

Definitely one of my all time favorites. I grew up with lots of them all over the place in Hawai'i and Panama, they were huge and form large, dense clumps. They do love heat, humidity and water. I tried once here in Southern California, indoors and it didn't go well. Air too dry and it got all crispy.

I need to try again. Good luck!

I can see where the dry air in So. Cal would be an issue. Pretty humid around here most of the year but not like the tropics so we'll see.

I think that's the Key Scott for you. you defiantly have us beat with humidity.

and with snow....

[sashaeffer]

Yes....snow and cold, just more challenges I over come with my cold hardy in the ground palms

Hope to pick up a few more when I venture to Texas this week.

Edited May 16, 2015 by sashaeffer