Phoenix theophrasti

[Josh-O]

hot diggity dog!!

[Laaz]

I have three in the yard, all planted about 10 years ago from 1 gal size. They all grow at difference paces. One has 5 ft of trunk, one has 3 ft & the other I dug up & moved & it slowed down to a crawl for a few years.

[Henoh]

I replanted mine in 100 liter pot. Ante, your is from seed batch from Europalms.

 

[GMann]

Interesting. It seems they have the spikey look of a Sylvester, the dropping leaves of a Canary, and the blue color of a Dactiferya. But they are smaller than the other 3 right? They look pretty small in the pics.

[Phoenikakias]

Actually in a drier climate it becomes bluer than the average dactylifera...

[_Keith]

21 hours ago, _Keith said:

After several years of sulking, it seems that this palm is waking up.   Stay tuned.

Worked late tonight, so had to take a not too good picture in the dark of what appears to be a healthy palm seedling. This Phoenix theophrasti (Cretan date palm) was a gift a few years ago. It sat here near death on any given day for nearly 3 years. Just one tiny live frond at times.  Still not sure why I didn't just give up and mow it down a while back, but this spring it woke up. More than one tiny healthy frond and triple in size. We'll see what happens now.

[Kris]

Dear Keith,

here's a still of our Theo,sent to me by Brother M@X,Italy. its is one of the 3 he sent to me.

this palm seen below would also one day will go the Govt park..

.

Love,

Kris.

BTW this palm is growing well in our hot wet tropical climate,and its now in a semi shade region.But seems to be fine.

 

[Laaz]

A couple of mine from a few years ago.

 

[Laaz]

[Phoenikakias]

Hopefully it will be planted on a desolate spot out of reach especially through kids. 

[_Keith]

Not sure how I missed it earlier, but these palms grow natively on calcareous soils.   Some wood ashes may be in order.

 

[Phoenikakias]

5 hours ago, Laaz said:

A couple of mine from a few years ago.

 

It is amazing how more air humidity and probably less limey soil affects appearance of this palm. In my garden the theo (second palm from the above right corner of the picture) competes in blueness with the bizzie, but it is a very slow grower, maybe the slowest Phoenix specimen there.

[topwater]

4 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

It is amazing how more air humidity and probably less limey soil affects appearance of this palm. In my garden the theo (second palm from the above right corner of the picture) competes in blueness with the bizzie, but it is a very slow grower, maybe the slowest Phoenix specimen there.

Agreed.  P. canariensis never looks as good in coastal TX as it does in Europe or CA.  Just when they get really big and beautiful, they start to get trunk rot and fall apart and end up pretty sad looking.  I've always assumed it was do to the humidity.  P. sylvestris usually looks better, but they're really slow, and I've never seen one that blue before, awesome.  That being said, I can't think of palm with a more impressive canopy than the CIDP, at least in my area.  

Edited March 22, 2016 by topwater
Misspelled word

[_Keith]

3 hours ago, topwater said:

Agreed.  P. canariensis never looks as good in coastal TX as it does in Europe or CA.  Just when they get really big and beautiful, they start to get trunk rot and fall apart and end up pretty sad looking.  I've always assumed it was do to the humidity.  P. sylvestris usually looks better, but they're really slow, and I've never seen one that blue before, awesome.  That being said, I can't think of palm with a more impressive canopy than the CIDP, at least in my area.  

P. sylvestris is certainly not slow in South Louisiana (close to same climate as Houston).   

[Sabal Steve]

8 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

It is amazing how more air humidity and probably less limey soil affects appearance of this palm. In my garden the theo (second palm from the above right corner of the picture) competes in blueness with the bizzie, but it is a very slow grower, maybe the slowest Phoenix specimen there.

Very nice garden

; I love the shot from above.  But no Sabals?

I was curious how big your palms were when you planted them, and how long they have been in the ground?  

[Phoenikakias]

@Sabal Steve This is only a section of my garden containing mostly Phoenix specimens. Landscape is there particularly slopy and therefore quite arid and a Sabal would grow there even slower than it uses to in other better watered parts. So any Sabal there would quickly be overshadowed by faster growing palms. For latter reason all Sabal specimens are gathered on the front line of my garden, which is more exposed to sun. From following pictures you may get a better idea.

[Laaz]

They do get blue here... Just not as much with the humidity. Here's a few more pics from last year. Front & right rear.

 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

I assume that is an Armata in the foreground?

[Phoenikakias]

4 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

I assume that is an Armata in the foreground?

Well, it seems to me rather like a rottie, but on the other hand if you refer to  the first picture posted by me, then answer is yes...

[GMann]

Real nice garden Phoenikakias, what part of Greece are you?

[Phoenikakias]

55 minutes ago, GMann said:

Real nice garden Phoenikakias, what part of Greece are you?

I am in coastal southern Attica, practically in the southern suburbs of Athens. Nominally a zone 10 area, but actually transitional between 9b and 10a.

[GMann]

Sounds like Olympiakos territory.

[Brad Mondel]

Any updates Keith?

[_Keith]

On 5/20/2016, 5:43:00, Brad Mondel said:

Any updates Keith?

Last week I decided the space would be better used and mowed it down.  

[Brad Mondel]

Sometimes mowing things down gives them motivation to live again and they grow back better than ever! 

[Rafael]

Lovely palm but with super dangerous spikes... 

[Brad Mondel]

Yeah, I was thinking about getting one but I'm afraid of those spikes.