Phoenix reclinata

[Jdiaz31089]

My reclinata looked rather graceful this morning on my way out the door, so I thought I'd share a picture . She's just recently unfurled several spears at once so she's looking rather plumose. 

I noticed this one's beginning to sucker. Would you keep this palm as a single or allow it to sucker?

 

ALSO NOTEWORTHY! The quisqualis indica behind it is in the beginning stages of its first bloom. I've had it for 3 years now and finally coaxed it into bloom. I think this vine has a lot of potential in California. 

 

Edited June 29, 2017 by Jdiaz31089

[kinzyjr]

While phoenix sp. look wonderful as a single palm, there's just something about all those suckers that make a reclinata a reclinata.  

You're not in a marginal climate, but if you were, suckering also increases the probability that the plant will recover from a bad freeze.

[krisinmexico]

nice tree. i have a reclinata here that had been one of my least impressive performers. i am now  inspired to try harder. cheers

[Jdiaz31089]

21 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

While phoenix sp. look wonderful as a single palm, there's just something about all those suckers that make a reclinata a reclinata.  

You're not in a marginal climate, but if you were, suckering also increases the probability that the plant will recover from a bad freeze.

I'm inclined to let it sucker and see how it develops. I can always remove suckers, you can't really add them

 

14 hours ago, krisinmexico said:

nice tree. i have a reclinata here that had been one of my least impressive performers. i am now  inspired to try harder. cheers

I water this palm quite a bit - I've found it responds well to water. 

[Phoenikakias]

Does it have white ramenta on petiole and leaflets? 

[Phoenikakias]

Does it have white ramenta on petiole and leaflets? I have a couple of reclinata hybrids looking very close to yours. In the following picture the clump in the middle. 

[Tracy]

7 hours ago, Jdiaz31089 said:

I can always remove suckers, you can't really add them

Not to worry, it will add and add and add suckers!  I planted three little one gallons about 20 years ago in my Carlsbad yard.  All three died but suddenly up came a pup from one of the three.  I have tried to keep it at a clump of 5, then 4 trunks.  It is the one plant that I have to remind the gardener for the house to continually hack off any pups, as it is continually popping them out... not one or two, but all the way around the base.  Very vicious too, I make sure that I wear safety glasses when working around it.  Fortunately mine is on a side slope and can be kept back from walkways and sitting areas, as my renters have young children.  They can take up a tremendous amount of space if you let them.  I've even considered taking it out at some point, as I have a nice Spathodea campanulata and an unknown (still hasn't produced seed) Pritchardia adjacent to it, which it fights with at times.  My advice, keep it under control, if you want a multi, no more than 3 trunks.  Ironically, this is one palm, I don't have any stock photos of to share.

[Tracy]

I found one of the base with suckers.  You can't see one of the trunks behind the one on the left, but you can get a sense of the suckers.  I wasn't happy with the gardener as he had hacked some of my other palms (Dypsis, Chambeyronia, Clinostigma, Hyophorbe), while leaving the suckers on this vigorous grower that you can't hurt if you try.  The exact opposite of what I explained was the goal.  I ended up replacing him partially due to that.  I do my own landscaping in the house I live in so that there is no one to blame but me!

[Jdiaz31089]

So i've heard! They can become agressive plants if they like where they're at. And cool! Where did you get a spathodea?! I have seed I'll be trying to grow, but we all know how seed growing goes - sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. 

12 minutes ago, Tracy said:

Not to worry, it will add and add and add suckers!  I planted three little one gallons about 20 years ago in my Carlsbad yard.  All three died but suddenly up came a pup from one of the three.  I have tried to keep it at a clump of 5, then 4 trunks.  It is the one plant that I have to remind the gardener for the house to continually hack off any pups, as it is continually popping them out... not one or two, but all the way around the base.  Very vicious too, I make sure that I wear safety glasses when working around it.  Fortunately mine is on a side slope and can be kept back from walkways and sitting areas, as my renters have young children.  They can take up a tremendous amount of space if you let them.  I've even considered taking it out at some point, as I have a nice Spathodea campanulata and an unknown (still hasn't produced seed) Pritchardia adjacent to it, which it fights with at times.  My advice, keep it under control, if you want a multi, no more than 3 trunks.  Ironically, this is one palm, I don't have any stock photos of to share.

 

[Tracy]

Just now, Jdiaz31089 said:

Where did you get a spathodea?

When I got it 20 years ago, they were a little tougher to find in San Diego, but it seems that most independent smaller nurseries have them now in this area.  I know that in some parts of the world they are considered an invasive species, but not here.

[Jdiaz31089]

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Does it have white ramenta on petiole and leaflets? 

Here is mine

[Jeff_Cabinda]

Hi. My phoenix reclinata in its home land. My opinion is that it creates so many dockers that you would never stop taking them out. What it do is trimming all suckered heads to let the main one breath and I trim harder smaller suckered to let bigger ones more space. Thus i try to balance the distribution. I think removing suckered wounds the tree and the good thing with reclinata is that you can cut the head quite low it will grow again...