adonidia merrillii 'Yellow crownshaft'

[doranakandawatta]

good new leave:

[Justin]

Wow.  Any idea what caused that?  Have other leaves come out that color?

[quaman58]

Justin,

There's been a variety around for years labeled "golden crownshaft" or "yellow crownshaft". Just seems to be a cultivar, although not sure if it's a natural strain. I wonder how they do in sun? Great picture Philippe!

[Hillizard]

Just got this delivery of germinated Adonidia merrillii 'Golden' today. I ordered them from RPS just a few weeks ago. These will spend most of their time (life?) in my sunroom. I also got seeds of Aloe vaombe 'High Plateau' which supposedly have more cold and frost tolerance than the lowland variety. We'll see how they do here in interior northern California.

[GottmitAlex]

Good luck on your Adonidii's. I love em. I had one for a year , but perished this winter. Well, just perished. Our winter in Sam Diego/TJ began in March. It was in a 7 gallon pot. With canopy.  But it was a seedling. Never brought it inside. It was looking food. I had plans for it. To place it in between my two bottle palms I have street side (west facing) they always get late afternoon sun. I am pretty sure, from my super limited experience that the adonidii are a notch less cold hardy than cocos at the seedling/juvenile stage. 

Best of luck

[Hillizard]

37 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

Good luck on your Adonidii's. I love em. I had one for a year , but perished this winter. Well, just perished. Our winter in Sam Diego/TJ began in March. It was in a 7 gallon pot. With canopy.  But it was a seedling. Never brought it inside. It was looking food. I had plans for it. To place it in between my two bottle palms I have street side (west facing) they always get late afternoon sun. I am pretty sure, from my super limited experience that the adonidii are a notch less cold hardy than cocos at the seedling/juvenile stage. 

Best of luck

Thanks, I'll probably need some luck with these. There may be an optimum couple of months I can have them outdoors in shade where I live, but otherwise I'll treat these as 'indoor palms.' Getting these already sprouted takes away some of the anticipation of germination, but I have palm seeds of other species I'm still waiting to see if they're viable!

[Matt in OC]

I got 9 out of 10 of these to pop from RPS. A beautiful palm but definitely an indoor one for us. 

[Hillizard]

On 3/31/2018, 11:25:34, Hillizard said:

Just got this delivery of germinated Adonidia merrillii 'Golden' today. I ordered them from RPS just a few weeks ago. These will spend most of their time (life?) in my sunroom. I also got seeds of Aloe vaombe 'High Plateau' which supposedly have more cold and frost tolerance than the lowland variety. We'll see how they do here in interior northern California.

Here's an update on these pre-germinated RPS seeds, now that they've been planted in a community pot for about 1.5 months. They're in my sunroom where the temps fluctuate daily between 60 deg.F and 90 deg. F. They only get a few hours of direct sun in the morning. I figure if just a couple of them make it, then that's all I need to grow them in pots indoors.

[SoulofthePlace]

Looks like you bought 10 germinated seeds. The leaves were already formed when they arrived? Only one has a browned tip. Hope all or 9 make it. How did you figure out the import mechanism from EU to the US? Your chances seem to be good because temps are high in your sunroom. Highlands in Hawaii people must be struggling with their palms overthere as well.

Edited May 14, 2018 by SoulofthePlace

[Hillizard]

2 hours ago, SoulofthePlace said:

Looks like you bought 10 germinated seeds. The leaves were already formed when they arrived? Only one has a browned tip. Hope all or 9 make it. How did you figure out the import mechanism from EU to the US? Your chances seem to be good because temps are high in your sunroom. Highlands in Hawaii people must be struggling with their palms overthere as well.

All the seeds I received had shoots emerging, a few had some initial roots (in the plastic bag, as pictured). I've not had any problem with my RPS orders over the years. I leave it up to them to figure out import restrictions... or else they'd lose a number of customers.

[Matt in OC]

I bought these ungerminated from them several months ago and 9/10 popped no problem. The problem now is what to do with them. I have them indoors, of course, but no greenhouse. We'll see if they'll ever turn into anything but sickly looking.

[SoulofthePlace]

3 hours ago, Hillizard said:

All the seeds I received had shoots emerging, a few had some initial roots (in the plastic bag, as pictured). I've not had any problem with my RPS orders over the years. I leave it up to them to figure out import restrictions... or else they'd lose a number of customers.

Hillizard: RPS sent me a lot of floating seeds BEFORE I learned how and what to buy from them. Now I only buy "NEW" (marked as) seeds from them.

Matt in OC:  Just grow them indoors until they are large to plant outdoors. What is your zone? I would buy some from you if mine all pass away, but Azores don't even allow innocent Washingtonia robusta seeds in.... Anyone who can safely deliver to me seedlings, I will be glad to buy all kinds of.

[Matt in OC]

Adonidias are impossible outdoors here in California 

[Hillizard]

On 5/14/2018, 2:21:11, Matt in OC said:

Adonidias are impossible outdoors here in California 

Matt: Sounds like you just 'threw down the gauntlet' regarding this genus. Perhaps there's someone in a special/unique Calif. microclimate who's grown this palm outdoors successfully. Maybe we'll learn who...

[GottmitAlex]

On 5/14/2018, 2:21:11, Matt in OC said:

Adonidias are impossible outdoors here in California 

I have a triple in a pot. Outside. No supplemental heat, except for its circumstances. They're by my outdoor bathroom entrance. They flew by this winter like nothing. Yes, the old leaves I had to chop chop. They turned brown. But, just as my two bottle palms which are street side, no supplemental heat as well, have gone through the past winter, the triple adonidii palms keep chugging along. 

I wonder if it has anything to do with the sunset zone 23? 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2018 by GottmitAlex
Uploaded another general pic for a tad bit of perspective.

[GottmitAlex]

Btw, here are the bottle palms.

Big box store palms planted in front of the house, streetside, no supplemental heat from me. They went through this past winter with flying colors. Older leaves are browning  (or in their case, redding out).

 

[Matt in OC]

Looking good, Alex! There are some bottle palms in the ground for several years in SoCal. Mine has kept trucking for about 4, and I think Matty B's is probably the most impressive I've seen here. Good luck with the Adonidias!

[doranakandawatta]

plant in Sri Lanka  very common, but beautiful, 

[SoulofthePlace]

Very nice plants!

[SoulofthePlace]

Here are my ADG seedlings, so burnt, some stunted, some grew quite fine so far:

[PalmatierMeg]

I’m trying them again from germinated seeds. This golden variety is far less robust than the green. They struggle, grow slowly and are prone to suddenly dying. I planted my last two 1g this spring and they have hardly grown. If the green variety is impossible in CA, well what can I say about the golden?

[Hillizard]

On 5/13/2018, 10:35:13, Hillizard said:

Here's an update on these pre-germinated RPS seeds, now that they've been planted in a community pot for about 1.5 months. They're in my sunroom where the temps fluctuate daily between 60 deg.F and 90 deg. F. They only get a few hours of direct sun in the morning. I figure if just a couple of them make it, then that's all I need to grow them in pots indoors.

Below is what these pre-germinated seedlings look like today in my sunroom. One of them is dead, and a couple more are struggling, but otherwise I'm satisfied with the results to date. To increase the humidity around them,  I keep them tented in a light weight, plastic dry cleaning bag. Temperatures in my sunroom have fluctuated this summer from the mid-60s F to the low triple digits.

[SoulofthePlace]

Great photos! I think the golden Adonidia merrillii is asking to be nicknamed as "I DON'T NEED YA".

[PalmTreeDude]

Here are mine I germinated. 

[Patrick Palms]

What feed and soil mix are you using ?

[Tingtongthai]

Ive got 5  mature trees some with seed  now heres  two of the small ones, the  bigger  ones are about 2.5 metres  tall with seed

[Patrick Palms]

Is Bone meal good for seedlings? Mixed with coco peat and , compost and sand ,?

[GottmitAlex]

5 hours ago, Tingtongthai said:

Ive got 5  mature trees some with seed  now heres  two of the small ones, the  bigger  ones are about 2.5 metres  tall with seed

Wonderful!  I read these are slow growers. Are they? I ask because I have a trio in a pot (which went through the past winter without a hitch) which are taking quite a bit to begin producing pinnate leaves.  

 

[PalmatierMeg]

They are not slow growing if given a tropical climate although I believe the golden variety is slower and more delicate because they are chlorophyll deficient. Your biggest problem is that forcing 3 of these solitary palms to grow together causes them to compete, which slows all of them down and may lead to the death of smaller/weaker palms. Next time go with singles or separate multiples into separate pots.

[Patrick Palms]

What can you add to soil to give them chlorophyll? Would Bone meal help

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, Patrick Palms said:

What can you add to soil to give them chlorophyll? Would Bone meal help

Nothing. Plants that photosynthisize produce their own chlorophyll - the process is coded in their genes. Plants that can't do that are doomed to starve to death after they consume the resources provided by their seeds. Plants that underproduce or produce defective chlorophyll, i.e. variegation, are at a disadvantage compared to normal plants. Golden Adonidias are inferior palms. Only their rarity and our fascination with their differences make them worth the hassle of growing them.

[SoulofthePlace]

9 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Nothing. Plants that photosynthisize produce their own chlorophyll - the process is coded in their genes. Plants that can't do that are doomed to starve to death after they consume the resources provided by their seeds. Plants that underproduce or produce defective chlorophyll, i.e. variegation, are at a disadvantage compared to normal plants. Golden Adonidias are inferior palms. Only their rarity and our fascination with their differences make them worth the hassle of growing them.

I agree! Out of many none made it, even that I have a tropical climate and I did evereything I could, gave them perfetc soil and treatment and more, but they all slowly died. Don't waste your money and time on these. They're not worth it and yellow palms always look sickly and diseased. If one makes it years or decades later when it dies you will eat your thumbs. Enjoy what grows best, in your area.

[Tingtongthai]

On 10/8/2018, 3:27:13, SoulofthePlace said:

I agree! Out of many none made it, even that I have a tropical climate and I did evereything I could, gave them perfetc soil and treatment and more, but they all slowly died. Don't waste your money and time on these. They're not worth it and yellow palms always look sickly and diseased. If one makes it years or decades later when it dies you will eat your thumbs. Enjoy what grows best, in your area.

zone 11b is not tropical, they do not grow weak and feeble in  thailand they grow as  fast and  fat as normal ones

[Patrick Palms]

Proves they can be strong. I wanted some for Fuerteventura,  canary island which is zone 12

[SoulofthePlace]

Our problem in the Azores our zone would be great for the "Yellow I don't need ya" but we lack heat above 27C.... and these probably want above 30C all the time. Most of the year we get +10C to +18C and during cooler months mostly +10+15C. Yet these yellow ones I received during spring and during summer they just died one after another no matter how I tried to accomodate them. 3 are still surviving but all whitened and browned and I have no idea what elese i can do for them, perhaps the soil is too soggy, so I did not waterf them for a long time as the soil is still moist.

Edited October 18, 2018 by SoulofthePlace

[SoulofthePlace]

5 hours ago, Patrick Palms said:

Proves they can be strong. I wanted some for Fuerteventura,  canary island which is zone 12

Your weather never gets below 10C? Ours rarely goes below 10C perhaps a couple nights per year down to 8-9C. Not a zone 12, but I am 140m above sea level, so the coastal towns on Pico may have z12, who knows.

[Patrick Palms]

Fuerteventura in Canary islands is sub tropical. In winter at night time only, never goes under 15c. Unlike Florida. If you look it up, we are zine 12

[SoulofthePlace]

2 hours ago, Patrick Palms said:

Fuerteventura in Canary islands is sub tropical. In winter at night time only, never goes under 15c. Unlike Florida. If you look it up, we are zine 12

Never below +15C? That's a strong z12 or even could be z13. I am not in Florida. Florida has got frost probably all the way to Miami. I wouldn't be surprised if they get occasional frost in Cuba.

[Patrick Palms]

Yes many palms killed in Florida due to very cold spells. Yes most of year warm but those cold spells in florida does burn many palms..

[Patrick Palms]

Our issue in Fuerteventura is the wind