Palms that like to get their feet wet

[Justin]

Like an idiot, I was out in the tropical storm the other day, planting some trees that had just arrived. Walking around the lot, I noticed one area that had a fair amount of standing water after the torrential downpour. I already have some bamboo in the area, and don't want to plant another one so close (particularly since the power lines aren't too far away), and thought some palms might do well there. What palms enjoy, or at least okay with, getting flooded every now and then. Perhaps some of the stilt-root palms? That's what the stilts are for, right? I'd plant Nypas, but the water is pure rainwater, no salt. Thanks in advance.

[_Keith]

Some like it wet, and dry. I have an area that can get wet, and stay wet for months, but then again, like now it can get brutally dry. I noticed today that several Livistona, which I planted there for this reason are thriving in the recent drought, but were just as happy for the previous 6 months when the water table was literally surface level. It is truly a palm that loves it wet, and dry.

[edbrown_III]

certainly Paurotis Raphia grow in swamps in Africa --- Lepidocareum pissaba, L. tenue, L. majopr grow well --- I have seen Corypha in swamps as well as Metroxylons and Livistona species ---

in Brasil I have seen the Attalaya speciosas and A. phaleratas in swamps as well as Astrocaryeums, Roystoneas and Oeneocarpus in flooded areas .

Best regards

Ed

[DoomsDave]

Raphia rocks. If you have the room. The leaves on some species get to be 60 feet long, all by themselves, and thornier than ethical dilemmas.

Dypsis perrierii (spelling?) the Grizz Palm. Likes the wet, tomentum up the wazoo, makes a Teddy Bear seem like a Mexican Hairless dog. Gets big, too.

Roystonea oleracea, though I suspect you've got a belly full of those, down in Hilo near Uncle Billy's. And all over the place.

Hmm. will think of more.

[Kim]

Mauritia flexuosa -- don't you have them already? Ravenea rivularis, ravenea musicalis, Mauritiella armata. Hmmm... Licuala grandis and Licuala spinosa. Still thinking...

[Justin]

I have three Mauritias about 50 feet away, on Lot 2. Lot 3 must have the same blue rock foundation right by the street. If it weren't right by the street, something like a Raphia would be bitching, but the power lines are right by the street. Maybe a Mauritiella - I really like those, and the only one I have in the yard is in the middle of Lot 1, several hundred feet away.

So do the stilt-root palms take occasional flooding? Also, I should have mentioned this, since this is right over Blue Rock, the ground will never be "dry" - it will either be "damp" or "water-logged."

[DoomsDave]

I dream of damp and water logged.

Sigh.

[Justin]

  On 8/16/2015 at 3:56 AM, edbrown_III said:

certainly Paurotis Raphia grow in swamps in Africa --- Lepidocareum pissaba, L. tenue, L. majopr grow well --- I have seen Corypha in swamps as well as Metroxylons and Livistona species ---

in Brasil I have seen the Attalaya speciosas and A. phaleratas in swamps as well as Astrocaryeums, Roystoneas and Oeneocarpus in flooded areas .

Best regards

Ed

Interesting that most/all of these are massive palms. I guess if you grow in a tropical area and have constant water, it's not really all that surprising.

[Brad Mondel]

Ravenea rivularis loves wet feet, it grows along rivers in habitat and even in pure water. Sabal Minor loves wet feet too as it grows in swamps naturally.

Edited August 16, 2015 by ArchAngeL01

[Ben in Norcal]

Archontophoenix, though probably not exotic enough for your locale.

[rick]

Dypsis crinita and Dypsis fibrosa love water and wont get too tall to worry about the power lines. Around here Serenoa repens grows just fine in areas that can be flooded for days at a time.

[realarch]

Mauritella armata love standing in water and I remember seeing Euterpe precatoria growing well right on the edges of brackish backwaters.

Tim

[Richie]

Maybe Pigafetta , if not to close to the power lines , or a nice clump of Cyrtostachys renda would be nice .

[Tropicgardener]

Nypa will grow quite well in pure fresh water, it doesn't need saltwater to survive.

[Howeadypsis]

Woa I like the look of Cyrtostachys renda!

[dmc]

Manicaria saccifera

[mnorell]

Oncosperma tigillarium is a gorgeous one for very wet, swampy places...and also a very large palm.

[bgl]

Justin,

Already lots of good suggestions, so can't add anything except a few general comments. Unless we're talking palms that like it dry I'm pretty sure that whatever palms you plant there will be perfectly happy. I don't believe occasional flooding for a couple of days will have a negative impact. That being said, water loving palms like Mauritiella and Cyrtostachys will of course really like it. My brief experience with Nypa tells me that it won't grow unless it's in water continuously, and the same with R. musicalis. In other words, a 'no-go' in Leilani Estates, unless you create some sort of water feature in the garden.

Bo-Göran

[Really full garden]

Justin, Nypas do just fine with non saline water.Mine is now 10+ years and is doing great in fresh water.There is a colony in Bogor Botanical gardens that has been growing for over 100 years in fresh water.I do not know where this nonsense about them only growing in brackish water started.

[Cindy Adair]

My Licuala paludosa trio are in a soggy area and love it!

[DoomsDave]

Phoenix paludosa. It's on the semi-endangered list, and it doesn't get too tall, though it will form thickets.

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Phoenix_paludosa

Picture on the Palmpedia link.

[tropicbreeze]

Nypa only grows in mangal habitat with high freshwater input. They have a high salt tolerance but need freshwater.

A lot of our Livistonas grows in seasonal swamps/floodplains, baked hot dry during the dry season and standing in water during the wet season.

[foxtail]

Same issue here

[foxtail]

  On 8/16/2015 at 4:44 PM, Cindy Adair said:

My Licuala paludosa trio are in a soggy area and love it!

It's your Licuala paludosa at full sun?

[Eric in Orlando]

Here are some others I have had experience growing in wet soils that haven't been mentioned;

Archontophoenix

Arenga engleri

Arenga pinnata

Caryota obtusa

Chamaedorea cataractarum

Chelyocarpus chuco

Licuala ramsayi

Licuala spinosa

Livistona australis

L. benthamii

L. chinensis

L. decora

L. drudei

L. jenkinsiana

L. saribus

Phoenix paludosa

Pholidocarpus kingianus

Pinanga coronata

Prestoa montana

Pritchardia hillebrandii

Ravenea glauca

Ravenea rivularis

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

Rhapis excelsa

Rhapis humilis

Sabal minor

S. palmetto

Salacca wallichiana

Saribus rotundifolius

Satakentia liukiensis

[Kim]

Anything 'paludosa' -- the Latin word itself means 'swampy, marshy'. The word palude is Italian for marsh, fen, swamp, bog.

[Pal Meir]

But be careful not to apply the above mentioned lists directly to POTTED palms! There are many species which like wet soil but not standing water in wet feet.

[foxtail]

  On 8/18/2015 at 12:58 PM, Eric in Orlando said:

Here are some others I have had experience growing in wet soils that haven't been mentioned;

Archontophoenix

Arenga engleri

Arenga pinnata

Caryota obtusa

Chamaedorea cataractarum

Chelyocarpus chuco

Licuala ramsayi

Licuala spinosa

Livistona australis

L. benthamii

L. chinensis

L. decora

L. drudei

L. jenkinsiana

L. saribus

Phoenix paludosa

Pholidocarpus kingianus

Pinanga coronata

Prestoa montana

Pritchardia hillebrandii

Ravenea glauca

Ravenea rivularis

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

Rhapis excelsa

Rhapis humilis

Sabal minor

S. palmetto

Salacca wallichiana

Saribus rotundifolius

Satakentia liukiensis

Thanks, copy & paste in my notepad :greenthumb:

[PalmnutVN]

I've got Euterpe oleracea 'Para Dwarf' in an 80l pot and the roots have blocked the hole at the bottom, so it takes a good few days for the water to drain or evaporate away and it loves it. Same with the aforementioned Cyrtostachys and Nypa, both of which I grow in a large bucket of water and as of yet, I don't think that anyone has mention the good ol' coconut which loves lashings of water. In fact, they never seem to be able to get enough! Two palms that I've seen growing here in swampy to wet conditions are Licuala spinosa which can often be seen growing on the banks of small tributaries, right next to the water, while Phoenix roebelinii can be found growing in swampy to wet soil too....

[Justin]

BTW, to revive this, I planted a bunch of Euterpe oleracea, and in clearing a nearby area I noted there's even more standing water there.  I'm thinking Mauritia, Mauritellia, or Manicaria, but if there are other ideas that haven't made it into the lists given above, I'd appreciate additional ideas.  Thanks in advance!

[Rusty on Pine Is.]

Have you considered Marojejya darianii?     It will certainly grow in your location and is said to have come from swampy habitats.

[kirkhutch]

  On 8/16/2015 at 4:23 AM, DoomsDave said:

I dream of damp and water logged.

 

Sigh.

Expand  

Yes indeed. Me too. My soil is sand and rock and the water table is at least 300 feet below the surface. No chance of wet feet here!

[Kevin S]

 I planted some lipstick palms in my wet area 

[Sandy Loam]

....  but which of these palms will tolerate NOT JUST wet feet, but literally tolerate persistently marshy soil and the frequent rise of a retaining pond (fresh water) drowning its roots entirely for days or weeks at a time?   Also, would your answer be the same if I said that the retaining pond might have brackish water in it?   I'm not sure whether the water is brackish or not, so I guess this is two separate questions.

 

Would roystonia regia and archontohoenix Alexandra work if it is freshwater?.... Others?

 

Would cocos nucifera work if the retaining pond contains brackish water?... Others?

A fast growth rate is the fastest growth rate is also important.  The location is in Zone 11a,  or it might be 10b.

Thank you.

[Justin]

Interesting that this popped back up to the top.  Coincidentally, I've spent the last 10 days clearing the layer of dirt off the top of the lava rock (it was only about 1" thick), exposing the lava rock.  Doing this, it's become abundantly clear where the wet spots are - they are in the low points, where all the rain runs off.  Since there are no holes in the lava for drainage, the water just sits there until it evaporates.  So, ironically, I was thinking about this again, and lo and behold, Sandy Loam had brought this to the top of the queue.  Go figure.

When the clearing is done (assuming my back makes it through the process), I'll post some pics and show the low spots and the water.

[SWFLchris]

Do not forget about Calyptronoma, Caribbean genus that grows in water. The Ravenea of the Western hemisphere. I wish I had some.....

[Sandy Loam]

Thanks.  Will coconuts tolerate prolonged "wet feet" in fresh water? 

[WaianaeCrider]

I have a Cyrtostachys renda in a flower pot sitting in my water lily pond.  I guess it likes "wet" feet.

[redant]

  On 6/17/2020 at 1:41 AM, Sandy Loam said:

Thanks.  Will coconuts tolerate prolonged "wet feet" in fresh water? 

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I have some on the edge of a brackish river that are covered in water on many high tides, no problem at all. Now Gainesville, that's the problem.

[Sandy Loam]

  On 6/17/2020 at 1:45 PM, redant said:

I have some on the edge of a brackish river that are covered in water on many high tides, no problem at all. Now Gainesville, that's the problem.

Expand  

OK thanks. It is not for Gainesville, but this is all good info. Is it safe to say that around a South Florida retaining pond, royal palms would be a better choice, even though coconuts apparently do not mind wet feet?  From what I understand, royal palms will literally tolerate growing in a wetland all year round, e.g. fakahatchee strand state park, for example.