Anyone growing Tetrapanax?

[siege2050]

I have the plain green species, and also just purchased the Steroidal Giant version which is coming out of dormancy now. I love these things, they are invasive and I probably wouldn't grow them too far south but they look very tropical and are huge. I just got the Steroidal Giant a few weeks ago as a small stick, now its too big to fit under the grow lamps.

[The Silent Seed]

I do - and they're awesome! 

[tropicbreeze]

We call this Rice Paper Plant, I grew some when I lived in a cooler climate. It was a weed there, but a very impressive and attractive weed. But it won't grow in warmer climates like where I am now. Probably just as well, as I'd be too tempted to grow it again and have another weed to add to my already too long a list.

[Pip]

I grow it in my garden. I bought my plant from the Adelaide Zoo and kept it in a pot at first then let it loose in my current garden. I find it useful for providing shade. It isn't very invasive due to my dry climate but definitely makes easily removed suckers. 

[Palm crazy]

It a very lovely tropical looking plant and the flowers are really cool looking. However after a few years I had to take mine out because it was to invasive, started coming up 12’ away from the mother plant thats when I had to get rid of it….but its totally a cool plant if you have the room. Also the fuzzy stems and leaves are a little toxic if you breath them in. 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Palm crazy

[Pip]

My Tetrapanax are only just tall enough to walk under.

[Pip]

These are suckers on the outer edge are about two years old their leaves do get damaged by extreme heat but are replaced with in weeks. Eventually they will be removed as I'm going to plant a group of Pritchardia hillebrandii. Until they are large enough to plant out I'll enjoy the Tetrapanax.

This last pic shows the suckers from this season. They are growing from the dameged roots as a result of me digging a few suckers out to get some quick shade in another part of my garden. If I don't do anything about them these suckers could get to two meters tall before growth slows over winter.

[Sandy Loam]

I had the "steroidal giant" variety of tetrapanax papyrifer growing in a pot for most of last summer. Then, around the 1st of September, it suddenly died. Perhaps it simply could not tolerate our summer heat any longer.  This surprised me because I have seen this same plant growing freely, unchecked, in New Orleans, which also has extreme heat and humidity in the summer.

 

It was a beautiful plant while it lasted, but I was afraid of its invasive tendencies, so kept it in a large pot with a cement paver beneath it (to prevent the roots from escaping).

 

I have heard of people becoming quite allergic to the brown fibres which grow on this plant. That is another point of caution for anyone growing this plant, in addition to its invasiveness.

 

 

[Bill H2DB]

  They grow here in Daytona Beach just fine .  I have well drained sand , and an Oak canopy .

I never had a thought regarding a problem with higher temperature . They were here when I bought this old

house 25 years ago .

There is a potential to be invasive , but here they'll have a battle with the myriad other invasives around.

I've got a number of seedlings popping up , but have not had a root spreading indication. 

They are mildly invasive compared to " Golden rain Tree" , and Camphors , Brazilian Pepper , etc etc.

This is an old urban area , and maybe out in the less developed areas they could be worse .

[Sandy Loam]

"Jim in Los Altos" has posted photos of his smaller version of tetrapanax (rice paper plant) in the past, buried within his overall landscaping photos. His are quite nice.

Jim, if you're out there, please post a photo because yours look fantastic the way they are blended into your landscaping, alongside the water feature, etc.

[Ben in Norcal]

Reviving an old thread. I have several regular Tetrapanax, but can’t find the Steroidal Giant variety in anything but stale seed form. Anyone know where I can find a small plant of the big version?

[Sandy Loam]

I ordered my Tetrapanax Papyrifer "Steroidal Giant" from:

Dancing Oaks Nursery
17900 Priem Rd.
Monmouth, OR 97361
503-838-6058
www.dancingoaks.com

 

Here was the cost of the product and shipping (from Oregon to Florida) back in 2014:

____________________________________________________________

Order Summary

Item	Qty	Price	Ext. Price
Tetrapanax papyrifera 'Steroidal Giant'   6 inch round Plant Size: 6 inch round	1	27.50	$27.50

Subtotal:	$27.50
$0.00 Gift Certificate:	$0.00
Coupon:
Total Discount:	-$0.00
Sales Tax (when applicable):	$0.00
Standard (East) Shipping and Handling:	$24.00
Total Charges:	$51.50

 

[Ben in Norcal]

55 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

I ordered my Tetrapanax Papyrifer "Steroidal Giant" from:

Dancing Oaks Nursery
17900 Priem Rd.
Monmouth, OR 97361
503-838-6058
www.dancingoaks.com

 

Here was the cost of the product and shipping (from Oregon to Florida) back in 2014:

____________________________________________________________

Order Summary

 

Item	Qty	Price	Ext. Price
Tetrapanax papyrifera 'Steroidal Giant'   6 inch round Plant Size: 6 inch round	1	27.50	$27.50

Subtotal:	$27.50
$0.00 Gift Certificate:	$0.00
Coupon:
Total Discount:	-$0.00
Sales Tax (when applicable):	$0.00
Standard (East) Shipping and Handling:	$24.00
Total Charges:	$51.50

 

Thanks - looks like they no longer ship.

Still on the hunt!

Do these stay evergreen for you?

[Sandy Loam]

I never had the chance to find out whether it would stay evergreen because it died a few months after I bought it.  It grew very quickly, but some pathogen took over and it died suddenly. 

If I recall my reading about this plant back in 2014, it would likely NOT stay evergreen in my region up in northern Florida (unlike, say, the similar Fatsia Japonica which is evergreen here, but smaller and not invasive).  However, Steroidal Giant would be evergreen in parts of Florida south of here, especially in the perma-summer parts of Florida.

Yet I recall that Steroidal Giant was supposed to come back every year in freezing cold places like Massachusetts.  I remember seeing a photo of one in Boston where the trunk remained all year round, but the leaves came back in the summer.  It was so big that it was reaching half way up to the second storey of that Boston home where the photo was taken.

[Ben in Norcal]

I had this one out in a pot all winter, and it stayed evergreen. But, not sure what form it is - probably just the regular one.