Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana Seedlings

[nitsua0895]

I have some small A. Cunninghamiana seedlings that are just starting to sprout. In optimal conditions, what's an estimate as to how long they take to start forming a trunk? This is easily one of my favorite palms.

 

[Pando]

Are these from my seeds?  

Hard to say, but probably a couple of years (4-5) if they're happy, depending a lot on the environment they're in.

[nitsua0895]

4 minutes ago, Pando said:

Are these from my seeds?  

Hard to say, but probably a couple of years (4-5) if they're happy, depending a lot on the environment they're in.

This one is from the A. Cunninghamiana seeds that were already germinating which I bought DUNDEE. But a few of yours have started to sprout as well, I'll post another pic later this evening.

[quaman58]

I think that from about 3-1/2 to 5 years is a good guess. As a water loving palm, the results will vary enormously depending on how much available moisture & relative warmth there is. I have a scrawny, 2 foot tall A. alexandrae that I sprouted from seed about 8 years ago that struggles to find enough water for good growth. A seedling from the same batch I gave to a friend (Stevetoad), & his was nearly overhead a couple years ago. When they're happy, they can really go.

[nitsua0895]

1 hour ago, quaman58 said:

I think that from about 3-1/2 to 5 years is a good guess. As a water loving palm, the results will vary enormously depending on how much available moisture & relative warmth there is. I have a scrawny, 2 foot tall A. alexandrae that I sprouted from seed about 8 years ago that struggles to find enough water for good growth. A seedling from the same batch I gave to a friend (Stevetoad), & his was nearly overhead a couple years ago. When they're happy, they can really go.

In my zone 8b location I'll never be able to plant one outside so I'll be keeping them in pots until I move to an area with warmer winters. However, we get lots of rain throughout the year and usually have high humidity unless a cold front moves through. So I'm hoping that these take off during the warmer months when we essentially have a tropical environment.

[cfkingfish]

In Alabama (which has a similar summer to Florida), A. cunninghaminana should grow pretty fast with a lot of water and 50% shade. They don't like full sun over here. With a greenhouse in the winter you should have a plant with trunk in about 3-4 years, as mentioned above. Be ready for some larger containers!

[RedRabbit]

2 hours ago, cfkingfish said:

In Alabama (which has a similar summer to Florida), A. cunninghaminana should grow pretty fast with a lot of water and 50% shade. They don't like full sun over here. With a greenhouse in the winter you should have a plant with trunk in about 3-4 years, as mentioned above. Be ready for some larger containers!

I've got to plant mine in full sun unfortunately... Supposedly it is okay to do that as long as they get enough water, right?

[Ben in Norcal]

21 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

I've got to plant mine in full sun unfortunately... Supposedly it is okay to do that as long as they get enough water, right?

I have some in full sun.  They'll do fine, they just won't look their best.  There are much better Archontophoenix for a full sun/exposed position - my Maximas laugh a at sun.  And, they laugh at wind, probably the biggest plague of my A. cunninghamiana.

[RedRabbit]

6 minutes ago, Ben in Norcal said:

I have some in full sun.  They'll do fine, they just won't look their best.  There are much better Archontophoenix for a full sun/exposed position - my Maximas laugh a at sun.  And, they laugh at wind, probably the biggest plague of my A. cunninghamiana.

Thanks! I'm keeping an eye out for Maximas, they're difficult to find in Florida unfortunately. 

[Ben in Norcal]

Just now, RedRabbit said:

Thanks! I'm keeping an eye out for Maximas, they're difficult to find in Florida unfortunately. 

They aren't common here either.  One of mine I bought as something else and figured out what it was after spending time here.  I'm growing lots of different types of Archontophoenix from seed to try to help remedy the situation!

[tim_brissy_13]

In Melbourne even with our extended chilly winters, I've had A cunninhamianas grow from seed to trunking size in 3-4 years.  By far the fastest palm from seed I've grown.

[palmsOrl]

Nitsua, if you want to try one truly tropical looking, crownshaft palm in the ground where you are located, this may be the best species to try.  It will never make it through a winter without protection during temperatures much below 30F, which happen with regularity during the winter in Montgomery.  But A. cunninghamina may require the least protection and tolerate the chill the best out of the available choices.  They do get too tall to (reasonably) protect eventually though.

[RedRabbit]

6 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

Nitsua, if you want to try one truly tropical looking, crownshaft palm in the ground where you are located, this may be the best species to try.  It will never make it through a winter without protection during temperatures much below 30F, which happen with regularity during the winter in Montgomery.  But A. cunninghamina may require the least protection and tolerate the chill the best out of the available choices.  They do get too tall to (reasonably) protect eventually though.

Yeah, it could be worth a try if Nitsua can give them a little protection on the worst few nights of the year. Sandy Loam has managed to keep 6 A. Cunninghamiana alive in Gainesville (9a-ish) for the past 4 years without any protection. I've heard a lot of mixed things on how hardy they really are, but if you wrap it and put on xmas lights when it drops below 25f you've got a shot. If you use Walt's heat cable idea you can probably make it survive low teens.  

[cfkingfish]

I think you will find the sun and heat in the summers in the SE US will take a toll on A. cunninghamiana. Make sure it is planted in a lower lying area with a TON of water. It can look very nice in that situation. I would also be prepared for a fast growing plant, so each year a different size protection setup will be needed. I definitely applaud your effort and I think you can do it, just be creative!

[nitsua0895]

12 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

Nitsua, if you want to try one truly tropical looking, crownshaft palm in the ground where you are located, this may be the best species to try.  It will never make it through a winter without protection during temperatures much below 30F, which happen with regularity during the winter in Montgomery.  But A. cunninghamina may require the least protection and tolerate the chill the best out of the available choices.  They do get too tall to (reasonably) protect eventually though.

So A. Cunninghamiana would probably tolerate prolonged cool temps better than say a Royal palm? 

[nitsua0895]

Here's the rest of the seedlings I'm growing. Once one of them gets big enough I'm definently going to try one in the ground using Walt's heating cable method. I'll be using it this winter for my Queen palm and possibly my Ravenea Rivularis and Chamaedorea Cataractarum.

 

[Pal Meir]

You can keep an A. cunninghamiana also for a long time in pots; here pics of the same palm taken in 1982 (ca. 5 years old), 7 years later in 1989, and still later planted in ground of a hothouse of Bochum BG in Germany:

[RedRabbit]

11 hours ago, nitsua0895 said:

So A. Cunninghamiana would probably tolerate prolonged cool temps better than say a Royal palm? 

I think both do reasonably well.

[Aussiepalm]

On 5/3/2016, 1:21:15, tim_brissy_13 said:

In Melbourne even with our extended chilly winters, I've had A cunninhamianas grow from seed to trunking size in 3-4 years.  By far the fastest palm from seed I've grown.

Hey Tim, 

Howdy neighbor, I'm over in Wyndham Vale the outer south west suburbs or Melbourne.

I just had a question on your technique of germinating A cunninghamias. I've had a bunch sitting in two zip-lock bags at room temperature with moist peet moss for the last two and half months. There is not sign of germination at all, I'm starting to think my peet moss is to moist?

The seeds themselves look fine, they are just sitting dormant. How long do they usually take to germinate?

Cheers

[Jim in Los Altos]

In a decade or so you can expect those King palms to be monsters and making LOTS of babies! Some of the seedlings from my older trees are over fifteen feet tall at less than six years old. Keep yours in clusters and they will thank you in cold and heat. Lots of water helps too!

[tim_brissy_13]

4 hours ago, Aussiepalm said:

Hey Tim, 

Howdy neighbor, I'm over in Wyndham Vale the outer south west suburbs or Melbourne.

I just had a question on your technique of germinating A cunninghamias. I've had a bunch sitting in two zip-lock bags at room temperature with moist peet moss for the last two and half months. There is not sign of germination at all, I'm starting to think my peet moss is to moist?

The seeds themselves look fine, they are just sitting dormant. How long do they usually take to germinate?

Cheers

To be honest I've never put in too much effort germinating A cunninghamiana.  I've had hundreds of volunteers pop up under mature trees, Ive just dug them up and initially planted into coir peat.  You might be on the money thinking the medium may be too moist.  A good rule of thumb is if you can easily squeeze water from the medium in your fist it might be too wet.

[Aussiepalm]

14 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

To be honest I've never put in too much effort germinating A cunninghamiana.  I've had hundreds of volunteers pop up under mature trees, Ive just dug them up and initially planted into coir peat.  You might be on the money thinking the medium may be too moist.  A good rule of thumb is if you can easily squeeze water from the medium in your fist it might be too wet.

Thanks Tim,

I'm going to try a drier medium, I'm pretty amazed to hear you've had germination out doors? Goes to show you how mild our climate really is I suppose.

I'd imagine you had them sprouting up during the warmer months outside? 

Edited May 5, 2016 by Aussiepalm

[tim_brissy_13]

1 minute ago, Aussiepalm said:

Thanks Tim,

I'm going to try a drier medium, I'm pretty amazed to hear you've had germination out doors? Goes to show you how mild our climate really is I suppose.

I'd imagine you had them sprouting up during the warmer months outside? 

Yep they pop up from during summer months.  Winters don't seem to phase them at all even as small seedlings.  I've got fairly sandy soil here so it might be best to give them a drier medium to germinate.  Remember to water plenty during summer after they do sprout though, pretty much can't overwater these guys during the warmer months.

[Aussiepalm]

41 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Yep they pop up from during summer months.  Winters don't seem to phase them at all even as small seedlings.  I've got fairly sandy soil here so it might be best to give them a drier medium to germinate.  Remember to water plenty during summer after they do sprout though, pretty much can't overwater these guys during the warmer months.

Thanks for the info and tips there Tim.

All the best!

[Stevetoad]

On 5/2/2016, 2:30:11, quaman58 said:

I think that from about 3-1/2 to 5 years is a good guess. As a water loving palm, the results will vary enormously depending on how much available moisture & relative warmth there is. I have a scrawny, 2 foot tall A. alexandrae that I sprouted from seed about 8 years ago that struggles to find enough water for good growth. A seedling from the same batch I gave to a friend (Stevetoad), & his was nearly overhead a couple years ago. When they're happy, they can really go.

It's well over the roof line now. I'll snap a pic for ya

[quaman58]

11 hours ago, Stevetoad said:

It's well over the roof line now. I'll snap a pic for ya

Holy cow, would love to see that!

[Stevetoad]

11 hours ago, quaman58 said:

Holy cow, would love to see that!

Here ya go. First pic is from feb 5th 2013. The Alex is right behind the variegated pineapple in front. Recognize that rhapis? The others are from today. Pretty fast for 3 3/4 years. 

 

[Tropicgardener]

It is not Archontophoenix cunninghamiana but the local native form of Archontophoenix alexandrae.............. This one is about 3 years old from seed. I have planted it (along with dozens of others) along my creek. The creek across the road has large natural stands of this form so this gives you an indication of how fast they can be in habitat.

[quaman58]

13 hours ago, Stevetoad said:

Here ya go. First pic is from feb 5th 2013. The Alex is right behind the variegated pineapple in front. Recognize that rhapis? The others are from today. Pretty fast for 3 3/4 years. 

 

Huh. That's what water does. Beauty Steve. Btw, who's the tall stretched out kid in the picture? It can't be your son, unless he's growing nearly as fast as the palm!

[Stevetoad]

5 hours ago, quaman58 said:

Huh. That's what water does. Beauty Steve. Btw, who's the tall stretched out kid in the picture? It can't be your son, unless he's growing nearly as fast as the palm!

Yep thats my monkey. the alex got a bit beat up by the sun when it first started to clear the roof. looks like its adjusting quickly though.