My Floribunda order has arrived!!! So excited!

[Kai]

After many years of longingly running through the list of palm species at Floribunda, somewhere around April of this year I finally decided it was time to place an order at Jeff an Suchin’s amazing company. I had read so much about it and only good things, so this was going to be the place.

On my own I couldn’t reach the minimum order for foreign (non-US) of 300 USD so I placed an appeal on a Dutch / Belgian forum for exotic plant “freaks”, like myself, to join in with the order. This way we could also make the transportation, phyto-certificate, custom/tax costs, and all that a bit more affordable if we would just split the costs.

It didn’t take very long before the first people signed up and the list of palms to be ordered started to grow. Only a week later we had a list of plants worth 540 USD. But the list was still growing as people were still joining, so I waited a bit longer before placing the order. Of course it was everybody’s advantage that the larger the order would get, the lower the individual costs would be. Another week later we were at a total order worth 615 USD and still growing. Halfway May we reached an order of 161 plants worth 835 USD with 17 participants from Holland, Belgium and Germany. There were not many species we didn’t order from the Spring list 2015, this must have been one heck of a job for our Hawaiian friends!

One of this, two of this, 4 of these and 3 of those…it was a complex order, but we had a lot of fun just choosing the species.

So I contacted Jeff halfway May with the final list of palms we wanted to order and we had to wait a bit for some other orders to be finished.

Jeff contacted me around halfway June to inform me he was about ready to proceed with our order and that if everything should go as planned, the box could be sent Juli 10^th. Further communication went very smooth and pleasant and Jeff is very accurate. I can imagine that with orders like this a mistake is made in a second, but none whatsoever. I have never felt this well guided while placing an order anywhere.

Juli 10^th the box was send and since that time I have been neurotically checking the track&trace of the box about every 5 minutes or so. Shipment seemed to go very well, I believe that within a day the box was at Houston airport and shipped through to Amsterdam. In total it might have taken 5 days to get to Amsterdam customs…where the headache began!

After 2 days in customs and no movement I started making phonecalls to both postal service and the Dutch customs. I have never thought such morons would be working at customs, I don’t really feel like going into the details but these guys…

So eventually I reached a nice lady at the postal service who listened to my story and understood the urgency of this package being delivered at my door. She got up from her seat and went over her head by telling the customs department to hurry up with this box. If that didn’t happen the box would have been stuck for 30 days like all the other boxes.

All in all this dumb ass customs stuff costed me a week!

Only 1 day after my succesfull phonecall the box was delivered at my door and I had to pay “some” tax money.

All the way the box was also followed by Jeff and every now and then he informed me about the boxes’ status. Of course I had already seen it, but it shows Jeff’s devotion and concern.

When I started unpacking I was surprised at the good condition the plants were still in after 2 weeks in a box. The plants were exceptionally well packed in 7 bundles with moist sphagnum moss around the roots.

I had to act fast and get all the 16 other participants their plants. It was a rollercoaster really, some people came to pick their plants up and some I drove to them (if not too far away). Others wanted their plants sent to them which I tried to discourage, but if there’s no other way, I’d pack them up and send them. It would only be 1 or 2 days extra transport. To give the plants an even better chance of survival I treated all plants with a good root soak in a kelp and hormonal root stimulator solution.

I also organized an event where those who wanted to, could come to a professional greenhouse to pot up their plants with the best soil and pots that I could find.

We potted up plants for 5 participants. This was the day after receiving the box, last Friday evening. Potting up in the greenhouse went very fast and no mess at home. That was really a good call, especially for the 70+ plants we potted up there!

My wife has really had it now, because a complete neurotic in the house (me when the box got stuck in customs) and all the work I had to do to get all plants to the right places and in their pots, well, it almost cracked her up… But it’s all peace and quiet now and we can enjoy the new plants, let’s just hope they survive their new homes!

[Jeff Searle]

For over 20 years.....I know the feeling! I'm sure Jeff and Suchin loved the "one of this" and "two of these" they had to pull. Lol. Good luck with all of your palms.

[awkonradi]

I am curious what you ordered.

[Kai]

I am curious what you ordered.

There you go...

Acanthophoenix rubra 3 seedling Adonia merrillii 2 seedling Aiphanes horrida 3 seedling Areca vestiara (red leaf form) 1 seedling Arenga hookeriana 1 seedling Archontophoenix purpurea 3 seedling Asterogyne martiana 2 4-inch Astrocaryum aculeatissimum 1 seedling Astrocaryum alatum 3 seedling Bactris setosa 1 seedling Syagrus sancona 5 seedling Syagrus schizophylla 1 4-inch Syagrus pseudococos 1 seedling Burriokentia hapala 1 4-inch Calamus aruensis 1 seedling Calyptrocalyx albertisianus (red) 1 4-inch Calyptrocalyx hollrungii 2 seedling Calyptrocalyx leptostachys (salmon leaf) 2 seedling Calyptrocalyx pachystachys 2 seedling Calyptrocalyx polyphyllus 3 seedling Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana 3 seedling Caryota mitis (variegated) 2 seedling Chamaedorea tennella 2 4-inch Chamaedorea tuerckheimii 2 4-inch Chambeyronia hookeri 2 seedling Chuniophoenix hainanensis 2 4-inch Coccotrinax macroglossa 1 seedling Coccotrinax miraguama 1 seedling Copernicia hospita (blue form) 6 seedling Corypha umbraculifera Cryosophyla albida 1 seedling Cyphophoenix nucele 2 seedling Cyphosperma trichospadix 1 seedling Dypsis basilonga 1 seedling Dypsis heteromorpha 1 1-gallon Dypsis leptocheilos 1 1-gallon Dypsis minuta 2 seedling Dypsis pinnatifrons 1 seedling Dypsis poivreana 1 seedling Euterpe oleracae (dwarf) 1 seedling Euterpe precatoria (variegata) 1 4-inch Heterospathe brevicaulis 1 seedling Heterospathe longipes 1 4-inch Heterospathe woodfordiana 2 seedling Howea belmoreana 7 seedling Hydriastele rheophytica 1 seedling Hyophorbe indica (red) 2 seedling Hyophorbe lagenicaulis 1 seedling Itaya amicorum 1 seedling Johannesteijsmannia perakensis 1 4-inch Keriodoxa elegans 1 1-gallon Laccospadix australasicus 4 4-inch Latania loddigesii 1 seedling Licuala glabra var. Selangorensis 1 seedling Licuala grandis 2 4-inch Licuala mapu 2 seedling Licuala peltata var peltata 1 seedling Licuala ramsayi 1 4-inch Licuala rumphii 1 seedling Loxoccocus rupicola 1 seedling Lytocaryum hoehnei 15 4-inch Marojejya insignis 5 seedling Oraniopsis appendiculata 1 4-inch Pandanus utilis 1 seedling Pinanga adangensis 1 seedling Pinanga philipinensis 3 1-gallon Pinanga caesia (red form) 2 seedling Pinanga speciosa (purple c.s.) 2 seedling Polyandrococos caudescens 2 1-gallon Ptychosperma waitianum 3 seedling Ravenea hildebrandtii 1 seedling Sabal domingensis 3 seedling Sabal mauritiiformis 2 seedling Saraca indica 2 4-inch Satakentia liukiuensis 1 4-inch Serenoa repens (silver) 3 seedling Syagrus botryophora 2 seedling Syagrus ruschiana 2 seedling Wallichia disticha 2 seedling

[avanza]

cool

[JT in Japan]

>>To give the plants an even better chance of survival I treated all plants with a good root soak in a kelp and hormonal root stimulator solution.

Great story. im curious what the name of your solution was.

Thanks.

JT

[Kai]

Hi JT. Its called "palmbooster".

[Pando]

Congrats on your order! Floribunda packs and ships these things so well!

Interesting selection on your list, I hope these go into some nice greenhouses. Not much hope for survival outside anywhere in that part of Europe for most of them.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Pando

[Kai]

Hey Pando,

These plants are not meant to go outside, except for some species maybe in summer.Remember this selection was made by 17 individuals who all have their means to keep these plants. Basically these are living room or heated greenhouse collectables here.

[Pando]

Very cool Kai! Can you give us updates how well they do over time? Especially the really exotic ones like Johannesteijsmannia, Calyptrocalyx, Licuala mapu, etc... I can imagine the environmental challenges during winter to keep these alive even in a greenhouse...

[Kai]

Yes those will be challenging. I will try to get an update every once in a while from their new owners. Of course I'm very curious about the survival rate of all these palms.

I made a selection of a bit tougher species for myself (being a Lytocaryum freak) and I think the plant you buy should look good in the conditions you have. But not everybody agrees with me. Some of these guys have a room in their house where they create constant very warm and humid conditions. This might sound crazy to some of you, but I can tell you, here it is a reality.

[Pal Meir]

Congratulations on your new babies! Please post many pics when they are all nicely potted and lined up in your home! Good luck and best wishes from almost the same latitude at ≈52°N, Pal.

PS: What does your wife say?

[Kai]

Hi Pal,

My wife has calmed down again. LOL! It just all had to happen at the same moment that we were planning and arranging our holiday and also a construction thing to get the roof of our addic a metre higher. Lots of stuff to do and then I just had to get this box at exactly that time...

I wil do a photoshoot soon of my new palms. They were worth the hassle!

[realarch]

What a great story, what an order! Thanks for posting your ordeal. I'm lucky to live only 20 minutes from Jeff and Suchin and their attention to detail and the quality of the stock is second to none wether pick-up or mail order. We know how fortunate we are such a resource is so close to us and never take it for granted.

Good luck with your palms, I hope you get many years of enjoyment from them.

Tim

[Kim]

Wow, you must be one really organized guy! What a thrill to open that package, huh? 161 plants for 17 palm freaks in northern Europe! I imagine Jeff was feeling a little neurotic himself until they arrived safely at your door. Those are his babies, you know. Well done, and good luck to all with the new palmlets.

[Kai]

Thank you Kim.

I'm not really very organized actually, but this time I had no choice.

I made an excel file to keep track of everybodies wishlists and made it calculate everybodies percentage of the total order. With the percentages I made it calculate what everybody had to pay for shipping, certificate, customs, etcetera.

It was a really cool project, but also a lot of work!

[Josh-O]

sounds fum Kai!

[doranakandawatta]

I am curious what you ordered.

There you go...

Acanthophoenix rubra 3 seedling Adonia merrillii 2 seedling Aiphanes horrida 3 seedling Areca vestiara (red leaf form) 1 seedling Arenga hookeriana 1 seedling Archontophoenix purpurea 3 seedling Asterogyne martiana 2 4-inch Astrocaryum aculeatissimum 1 seedling Astrocaryum alatum 3 seedling Bactris setosa 1 seedling Syagrus sancona 5 seedling Syagrus schizophylla 1 4-inch Syagrus pseudococos 1 seedling Burriokentia hapala 1 4-inch Calamus aruensis 1 seedling Calyptrocalyx albertisianus (red) 1 4-inch Calyptrocalyx hollrungii 2 seedling Calyptrocalyx leptostachys (salmon leaf) 2 seedling Calyptrocalyx pachystachys 2 seedling Calyptrocalyx polyphyllus 3 seedling Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana 3 seedling Caryota mitis (variegated) 2 seedling Chamaedorea tennella 2 4-inch Chamaedorea tuerckheimii 2 4-inch Chambeyronia hookeri 2 seedling Chuniophoenix hainanensis 2 4-inch Coccotrinax macroglossa 1 seedling Coccotrinax miraguama 1 seedling Copernicia hospita (blue form) 6 seedling Corypha umbraculifera Cryosophyla albida 1 seedling Cyphophoenix nucele 2 seedling Cyphosperma trichospadix 1 seedling Dypsis basilonga 1 seedling Dypsis heteromorpha 1 1-gallon Dypsis leptocheilos 1 1-gallon Dypsis minuta 2 seedling Dypsis pinnatifrons 1 seedling Dypsis poivreana 1 seedling Euterpe oleracae (dwarf) 1 seedling Euterpe precatoria (variegata) 1 4-inch Heterospathe brevicaulis 1 seedling Heterospathe longipes 1 4-inch Heterospathe woodfordiana 2 seedling Howea belmoreana 7 seedling Hydriastele rheophytica 1 seedling Hyophorbe indica (red) 2 seedling Hyophorbe lagenicaulis 1 seedling Itaya amicorum 1 seedling Johannesteijsmannia perakensis 1 4-inch Keriodoxa elegans 1 1-gallon Laccospadix australasicus 4 4-inch Latania loddigesii 1 seedling Licuala glabra var. Selangorensis 1 seedling Licuala grandis 2 4-inch Licuala mapu 2 seedling Licuala peltata var peltata 1 seedling Licuala ramsayi 1 4-inch Licuala rumphii 1 seedling Loxoccocus rupicola 1 seedling Lytocaryum hoehnei 15 4-inch Marojejya insignis 5 seedling Oraniopsis appendiculata 1 4-inch Pandanus utilis 1 seedling Pinanga adangensis 1 seedling Pinanga philipinensis 3 1-gallon Pinanga caesia (red form) 2 seedling Pinanga speciosa (purple c.s.) 2 seedling Polyandrococos caudescens 2 1-gallon Ptychosperma waitianum 3 seedling Ravenea hildebrandtii 1 seedling Sabal domingensis 3 seedling Sabal mauritiiformis 2 seedling Saraca indica 2 4-inch Satakentia liukiuensis 1 4-inch Serenoa repens (silver) 3 seedling Syagrus botryophora 2 seedling Syagrus ruschiana 2 seedling Wallichia disticha 2 seedling

So many palms!

I share your happiness, I did the same last years and I have been more than happy with Jeff's seedlings quality

Where will you grow these plants? Do you need a garden asylum for refugees?

[Peter Pacific]

Kai, it doesn´t surprise me at all that the order Jeff sent was perfect! Your are lucky to live in a country where you didn´t have any problems getting the plants to their final destination!

Good Luck!

Peter

[Kai]

@Philippe,

The plants are now all at their 17 new owners who all have their means of keeping them (as houseplants mostly). I'm affraid there are no plants left seeking refuge

@Peter,

Actually it wasn't very easy to get the plants out of customs and because of this the box was delivered a full week later at my house. I had to make about a thousand phonecalls, but in the end they let the box go. Yesterday I received an envelope with the phyto certificate and some government inspection form all inked up with stamps.

After 2 weeks in the box, I guess the coming weeks will decide which plants will make it and which won't. I have allready learned that the calyptrocalyxes have not shipped well.

[Kai]

Herewith are the plants from the order which are added to my own collection:

Lytocaryum hoehnei 1-gallon size, this plant is the reason why it all started. I got three of these, I just NEED to be sure that I keep some alive. Therefore I also ordered 5 4-inch size. The 4-inchers still have their strap leafs.

Lytocaryum hoehnei 4-inch

Calyptrocaalyx pachystachys no longer alive, it dried up within 1 night after potting up.

Chamaedorea tuerckheimii, still looking lush and green. I just HAD to have this one on my window sil.

Licuala ramsayi appears to have come out of shipping very well!

Astrocaryum aculaetisimum looking very healthy and will hopefully show some growth soon.

[bgl]

Kai,

What an amazing story and I can certainly understand how exciting it must have been to get this order organized and then to finally receive the box after the problems with Customs. Good luck with all your new little babies. I hope they will do well for you and all your friends!

Bo-Göran

EDIT - just saw your photos in the post above. Too bad about the pachystachys, but all the others look really very nice and green and healthy.

[Kai]

Syagrus botryophora and Syagrus ruschiana seedlings. These appear to be having a hard time with some of their leafs strapped together, but we won't give up on them yet!

Asterogyne martiana has a dried up new spear... I hope this doesn't mean its giving up.

Astrocaryum alatum willl make it for sure, this plant appears quite tough.

Calyptrocalyx pachystachys mottled leaf form came through better than its brother who didn't make it.

Dypsis minuta came through very well!

[Kai]

Kai,

What an amazing story and I can certainly understand how exciting it must have been to get this order organized and then to finally receive the box after the problems with Customs. Good luck with all your new little babies. I hope they will do well for you and all your friends!

Bo-Göran

EDIT - just saw your photos in the post above. Too bad about the pachystachys, but all the others look really very nice and green and healthy.

Thanks Bo-Göran,

I think all the worrying, especially when the box got stuck at customs, took about 3 years of my life

But this was a great project and great experience, I also made a lot of people very happy, which is nice.

[Kai]

It's been allmost 3 weeks after delivery of the plants. Therefore a small update of the plants. By now it has become mostly clear which plants will make it.

Asterogyne martiana
Dead in a few days after potting up.

Astrocaryum alatum
Still looking lush and green, a very little growth has been observed.

Astrocaryum aculeatissimum
I marked the spear with a little black dot and it moved up a fraction. I didn't expect this anymore after 3 and a half leafs out of 4 dried up. Halfway leaf number 4 the drying up stopped and I noticed a bit of growth, it might still survive! That much power in such a small plant!

Calyptrogyne ghiesbrechtiana
Dead in a few days after potting up.

Chamaedorea tuerckheimii
Two small plants with jus t a few leafs. Who would have thought that these little plants would be this tough and brave. One of them I pulled the little spear upon arrival (not really pulled, it just fell out), but still I potted them both up. The one without spearpull has started growing and pushed up its new spear and today I noticed it's even opening a little. The spearpulled one is still standing unchanged and I am waiting to see a new spear emerge.

Dypsis minuta
Still standing

Dypsis poivreana
Still standing

Licuala ramsayi
Looking very good, it couldn't care less about being shipped and hasn't lost any of its leafs and a little growth has been observed.

Lytocaryum hoehnei 4-inch
All 5 plants died, these plants didn't ship too well.

Lytocaryum hoehnei 1-gallon
All 3 of them growing very well allready, the bigger plants with more roots shipped good.

Ptychosperma waitianum
Still standing

Syagrus botryophora
Still standing

Syagrus ruschiana
1 died, 1 stilll standing

The plants of all the other participants have very different survival rates which can be expected because everybody has his or her own ways of taking care of plants. Different soils, temperatures, lighting conditions, you name it, could be anything. Some succeed better than others. Also everybody had a completely different selection of plants so any predictions would have been futile. In general I think we had about a 70% succes rate which is very good after the prolonged customs hassle, for which I'm still not amused, lightly speaking.

[Kai]

A short update of my Floribunda plants...

Astrocaryum alatum
Still looking lush and green, about 6 cm of new growth. This one will grow.

Astrocaryum aculeatissimum
A couple of cm more growth, no further browning, but it will take some time untill it looks like its perfect self again.

Chamaedorea tuerckheimii
The little plant with the spearpull made a new spear which is now about 2 cm. The other one produced a full new leave.

Dypsis minuta
Still standing

Dypsis poivreana
Still standing

Licuala ramsayi
Growth above ground as well as below. Roots allready coming out underneath the pot. Looking glorious.

Lytocaryum hoehnei 1-gallon
All three of them growing very well and root growth is visible at the undersides of the pots.

Ptychosperma waitianum
Still standing

Syagrus botryophora
Still standing

Syagrus ruschiana
I thought that one of these had died, but it appears to be still alllive. Both of them will need a lot of time to look like healthy seedlings, but they will get there!

Cheers!

Kai

Edited October 4, 2015 by Kai

[PalmatierMeg]

Great work, Kai! I hope they all continue to thrive.

[Pal Meir]

Hello Kai, I am glad to see that your Lyto hoehnei and Ch. tuerckheimii made it

[Josh-O]

Kai, thanks for the update

[Kai]

Today I was photographing some plants for my archive. My floribunda plants were among them, so here's a little update.

Licuala ramsayi

Doing great! Pushing one leaf after another and I allready had to repot it to something equivalent to a 1 gallon. It just keeps growing, even in these very short and dark winter days we have here. I'm starting to love this little plant more each time I look at it and I think it can be grown into perfection as an indoor plant. How awesome is that?

Lytocaryum (Syagrus) hoehnei

All 3 1-gallons are growing, just a bit slower these winter days, but still a couple of millimeters each day. Two of them seem to have produced new leaves that are a bit smaller, I assume this has to do with them acclimatizing to their new surrouundings and soil. I'm confident that from now on they will start producing leaves a bit larger than the last one. In summer they will go outside, hope they like it!

Chamaedorea tuerckheimii

Quite vigourous growers for such small little thingies. I potted them both up into one pot, to my regret today. When I received them in July I didn't think that both were going to make it. Now they are unfolding new leaves and I'm very happy with their growth. Maybe they even like those dark cloudy winter days here. I had some spider mite issues with them as you can see on the picture. I think I solved that by spraying cooled down espresso on them. The newly emerging leaves appear to be no longer affected by mites and color up nicely, so I know now what to do when the mites decide to come back.

Dypsis minuta and Dypsis poivreana

These little guys seem to be struggling and not growing very much. I'm not really sure about which parameters have to be improved to make them happy. I put them in a room that is a bit warmer and brighter than where they were for the last half year, I hope this helps.

Astrocaryum alatum

Doing just fine. It came in with just one leaf and is currently pushing its 3rd. I can't wait for it to get bigger!

Syagrus botryophora and ruschiana

I think I saw some new growth with these but they're not really picking up fast. Maybe I should place them in the warmer and brighter room as well. I expect them to really start growing in summer.

From some other participants of this order I heard that one Licuala mapu had died recently. But there are some other very positive growing reports as well. For example a Burretiokentia hapala, Pinanga philippinensis, Pinanga caesia (very nice color in the new leaves), Hydriastele rheophytica, Pinanga speciosa, Heterospathe woodfordiana (surprisingly fast), Dypsis leptocheilos, Laccospadix australasicus, Cyphosperma trichospadix, Chuniophoenix hainanensis, Polyandrococos caudescens are growing very well.

Not everybody keeps me updated about their plants, so this is what I know.

Cheers!

[Pal Meir]

Very happy seeing your Floribunda babies thriving.  As you may have expected there are a couple of palms I am particularly interested in. So I think it might be better for your Lyto/Syagrus hoehnei to get a mineral rich, faster draining soil mix that doesn’t get so soggy, perhaps coming spring?  — And in case the spider mites should infect your Tuerckheims again, give them a spray of your best Italian expresso! Good for the palm, bad for the pests.  — Dypsis minuta is growing on ridge tops, so I guess it would love fast draining soils (as my L insigne mix?). But also for D. poivreana I would recommend a better draining mix, maybe pure pine bark (±LECA)? — Syagrus botryophora grows in lateritic clay soils, so I think it doesn’t need so much humus too.

[Josh-O]

[Alicehunter2000]

Very cool thread. Yall's dedication to growing such varied species under your conditions is admirable. Floribunda orders are fun...that volcanic rock soil is crazy...lol.

[Kai]

Thank you Alicehunter, I guess after more than 6 months its time for another update.

I haven't heard much from the other participants, but my guess is that the plants which were alive 6 months ago, stil are and growing.

My own Floribunda palms:

Licuala ramsayi

Still doing great! New growth appears to be a little lighter in color than the older leafs and I'm not sure if I should repot it again in a better draining medium in which oxigen an nitrogen from the air reaches the roots better or if it's a fertilizer deficit of some sort. Root growth is still vigorous and maybe the new leafs will just get more color when they mature. I think it did this before...

Lytocaryum (Syagrus) hoehnei

These plants are doing just great! I recently repotted two of them in larger pots and used Pal Meir's famous seramis / pinebark mix. Let's hope for some results. The one that hasn't been repotted yet is also doing great and leafs are getting larger just as I had hoped for 6 months ago. These plants are slowly turning into real beauties!

Chamaedorea tuerckheimii

Both little plants are still growing and fairly happy. No browning leaf edges or stuff like that. They are subject to continuous monitoring for spider mites and if present treatment. The only way to keep them happy. If done nothing, they would not make it as indoor houseplants but I feel they're worth it.

Dypsis minuta and Dypsis poivreana

These plants are very unhappy and on the brink of...you know what. I recently repotted them and noticed very little rootmass. Let's hope the seramis / pinebark is still able to make them healthy growing plants again. Some palmbooster solution was used during repotting to get the roots stimulated again. I have no recent picture available, but for now, it's not a very encouranging sight anyway...

Astrocaryum alatum

5th leaf coming up. Doing great! It just came from outside for the picture and it's raining in Amsterdam.

Syagrus botryophora and ruschiana

Syagrus botryophora and one ruschiana are growing now. One ruschiana is still not moving, but it's not dead either. Next time some pictures of strap leaf seedlings, LOL!

Astrocaryum aculaetissimum

After some time of thinking it had died, I even pulled the spear at some time, it started growing...and fast too! I'm going to love this plant, i'm sure!

 

[Pal Meir]

Nice to see your L hoehnei thriving ; in contrast to L insigne it doesn’t like direct sun. — Syagrus ruschiana (photo?) is growing »sobre montanhas rochosas monoliticas« (Lorenzi et al.) and Dypsis minuta on ridgetops, that means extremely fast draining soil (plus regular watering). PS: I never used palm booster or anything similar.

[DoomsDave]

Wow, Kai, you are a seriously nutty Palm Daddy!

Many palms are hard to raise indoors, especially in the winter!

[Kai]

5 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

Wow, Kai, you are a seriously nutty Palm Daddy!

Many palms are hard to raise indoors, especially in the winter!

Thank you Dave, it's an affliction I just can't seem to get rid of. 

[Kai]

7 hours ago, Pal Meir said:

Nice to see your L hoehnei thriving ; in contrast to L insigne it doesn’t like direct sun. — Syagrus ruschiana (photo?) is growing »sobre montanhas rochosas monoliticas« (Lorenzi et al.) and Dypsis minuta on ridgetops, that means extremely fast draining soil (plus regular watering). PS: I never used palm booster or anything similar.

So here's a picture of the Syagrus ruschiana...

And the botryophora...

I usually don't use palmbooster either. It's not a fertilizer and should not be used as a regular add to the plants. It does help to get plants recover quicker after a transplant though.

[Pal Meir]

4 hours ago, Kai said:

So here's a picture of the Syagrus ruschiana...

And the botryophora...

I usually don't use palmbooster either. It's not a fertilizer and should not be used as a regular add to the plants. It does help to get plants recover quicker after a transplant though.

I would change the S ruschiana soil with Sera+pine+LECA(±crushed) each 1/3. When repotting please take a pic of the roots!

[Kai]

48 minutes ago, Pal Meir said:

I would change the S ruschiana soil with Sera+pine+LECA(±crushed) each 1/3. When repotting please take a pic of the roots!

Hi Pal, I am currently researching how to obtain the pine bark 2-8mm. I have contacted several suppliers in the Netherlands of the redsun product. All suppliers have no more stock and tell me that redsun stopped production of the product. I might have to come to Germany for some grabdekor. When I have found a reliable supplier I will start a 2nd repotting event and the Syagrus ruschiana will be repotted as well. Picture of the roots will follow then.