Dypsis robusta

[realarch]

Certainly starting to live up to it's name as it continues to gain height and girth. The color and texture on the leaf sheaths are almost 'animal' like, so soft and likes to be petted. Planted from a 15 gal. at the end of 2011, fast grower too. A great palm .........if you have the space.

Tim

[realarch]

Let's try again, the photos didn't load. 

[realarch]

OK, better. 

Couple more, closer this time. 

Tim

[Neil C]

A beast!!

Regards Neil

[colin Peters]

Amazing Tim, yours is growing much faster than mine. A great "big boy" palm

aloha

[realarch]

Colin, I've been surprised at what a speedy grower this one has been. Having decent soil depth in this part of the the yard doesn't hurt either. 

Mahalo Neil.

Tim

[John hovancsek]

I just planted one of these bad boys in the garden and is already throwing a new spear out

[BS Man about Palms]

Tim, those are probably the closest pics to looking like Mardi Darien had in his pool house as Dypsis sp. "white stem". The rumours of robusta and white stem being the same palm look to be true based on your pics!  Looking great sir!!

[realarch]

Thanks for the info Bill, I had no idea they could be one in the same. It's a very attractive palm. 

John, post a photo of your new garden addition. 

Tim

[Dypsisdean]

4 hours ago, BS Man about Palms said:

Tim, those are probably the closest pics to looking like Mardi Darien had in his pool house as Dypsis sp. "white stem". The rumours of robusta and white stem being the same palm look to be true based on your pics!  Looking great sir!!

For anyone interested in this long-standing "Dypstery" here is an interesting 6 year old PT discussion

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/32545-dypsis-white-stem-vs-d-robusta/#comment-522072

[BS Man about Palms]

And the original thread... http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/12239-dysis-white-stem-the-monster-one/&page=1

I realize I apparently never posted some updated pics from one of the last trips to Mardis that looked very close to Tims palm. Trying to find those pics now..

 

[John hovancsek]

Here is my little squirt. Still has a long way till it becomes like Tim's but I think it will pay off

[JubaeaMan138]

I’m confused dypsis white is robusta I thought the white was leucomalla?

[BS Man about Palms]

12 hours ago, JubaeaMan138 said:

I’m confused dypsis white is robusta I thought the white was leucomalla?

You'd have to read through the whole original thread I started to catch the confusion, but the short version.. Mardi coined the name Dypsis sp. "white stem" (not accurate as such, but been around for 20+ years and to describe the monster sized Dypsis he found and appears may be what is now called robusta.). Bo started the name Dypsis sp. "white" (A very accurate description of a different palm that actually became Dypsis luecomalla).

Hope that clears it up.

Edited July 2, 2018 by BS Man about Palms

[DoomsDave]

On 6/28/2018, 5:47:33, colin Peters said:

Amazing Tim, yours is growing much faster than mine. A great "big boy" palm

aloha

Did someone say Big Boy?

[Moose]

On ‎6‎/‎28‎/‎2018‎ ‎7‎:‎56‎:‎02‎, realarch said:

OK, better. 

Couple more, closer this time. 

Tim

When it flowers, dusting it with Teddy Bear pollen, think of the possibilities.

[realarch]

A quick update. The lowest leaf sheath is ready to come off, not quite, but almost. The color is quite nice. 

Tim

 

 

[Hilo Jason]

So nice!  That thing is a beast! 

[John hovancsek]

Amazing

[Hilo Jason]

Here's a picture of my Dypsis Robusta to add to the thread. I'm excited to see it get like Tim's in the near future. 

[Kim]

Tim, your robusta is spectacular!  The color and texture on the crownshaft is surreal.

Unfortunately, the one I had which was displaying the same attributes, totally rotted out its roots, tipped over and never recovered. Mysterious death. I hope for a chance to plant another someday after the lava stops. (I hope, I hope, I hope!)

[realarch]

Jason, your robusta looks great! Hmmmm....I need to borrow your dog for a few palm photos. 

Thanks Kim, too bad about your robusta, I know you had an affinity to this species after seeing one on your Madagascar trip.

Yes lava flow, please stop anytime now. Ready for the norm of displacement and hardship to conclude. 

Tim

[mike in kurtistown]

I have two big juvenile Dypsis that I think are D. robusta. Hope some readers will check these out and give me some advice (Tim?). I suspect that the leaflets on mine are a bit wider, but this could be a feature that varies with maturity. First is a palm I bought at a local event as D. robusta. It looks generally like the palms I have seen above. Planted November 2012: Photos of palm and of base. Orange 5-gal bucket for scale.

The second palm was also obtained locally. Originally labelled as "Jurassic Park", then characterized as tokoravina by a well-know botanist who then walked it back, and it was called pilulifera. But I suspect that it is robusta. Planted February 2013.

 

[realarch]

Mike, the first one looks like D. robusta because of the fuzzy brown/white tomentum on the leaf sheathes. Mine started showing that trait early on. 

The second one looks different.

Tim

[Moose]

On ‎7‎/‎16‎/‎2018‎ ‎1‎:‎52‎:‎38‎, Kim said:

Tim, your robusta is spectacular!  The color and texture on the crownshaft is surreal.

Unfortunately, the one I had which was displaying the same attributes, totally rotted out its roots, tipped over and never recovered. Mysterious death. I hope for a chance to plant another someday after the lava stops. (I hope, I hope, I hope!)

Might have been a rabid lower Puna mongoose that thought it was a gopher?

 

 

[Tracy]

I have a little one compared to everything else posted in this string, but it does seem to be settling in well after about 3 years now in the ground and a little longer in a pot in the yard.  It's definitely a Dypsis and based on the girth its gaining for the height it looks like it will be a big palm.

[BS Man about Palms]

Looking fantastic Tracy!! Location? For a palm that may end up near the size of my Big Curly/presto...is that in the right spot?

 

[JubaeaMan138]

Just out of curiosity these palms seem to be slow in ground vs in a pot Here in so cal have one in a pot and one in the ground roughly were the same size couple years back it’s been pushing the same leaf all season slowly pushing but at least it is pushing still

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, BS Man about Palms said:

Location? For a palm that may end up near the size of my Big Curly/presto...is that in the right spot?

It has room on two sides, but will be over part of the house, and the outdoor shower as it grows.  The base/trunk has enough room even if it gets bigger around than my Big Curly D presto.  If I were planting it again, I wouldn't put it there, but I don't want to risk digging it.

[BS Man about Palms]

1 hour ago, JubaeaMan138 said:

Just out of curiosity these palms seem to be slow in ground vs in a pot Here in so cal have one in a pot and one in the ground roughly were the same size couple years back it’s been pushing the same leaf all season slowly pushing but at least it is pushing still

I think it supports what I have said for years, slow root development. In a pot, Heeled palms throw out what ever roots they need, and if a great draining media, they are happy to fill up what little they will do there. (With rare exception, all heeled palms I plant or pot up have all their roots at the bottom, indicating they want to go deep, in a pot, that stops quick, in the ground, it goes deeper.) Back to they pot, once they have filled out the roots they need based on soil and drainage, they put effort into leaves. Once in the ground, they spend an inordinate amount of time building up roots (This is the reason why I say they dig in or keep burrowing.) Once the plant is satisfied with its roots again, it starts going vertical. I think it varies by species, but overall very similar.

Also, I am noticing heeled Palms tend to do best either in deep narrow pots or wide shallow pots, but large volume pots are very critical on their drainage and a lot of the heeled palms will struggle.

 

[Hilo Jason]

On 9/5/2018, 8:13:33, Tracy said:

I have a little one compared to everything else posted in this string, but it does seem to be settling in well after about 3 years now in the ground and a little longer in a pot in the yard.  It's definitely a Dypsis and based on the girth its gaining for the height it looks like it will be a big palm.

Very nice Tracy!  I could never get these to look good in my Fallbrook garden. Yours looks excellent!

[joe_OC]

On 9/5/2018, 11:13:33, Tracy said:

I have a little one compared to everything else posted in this string, but it does seem to be settling in well after about 3 years now in the ground and a little longer in a pot in the yard.  It's definitely a Dypsis and based on the girth its gaining for the height it looks like it will be a big palm.

 Beautiful D robusta in CA!  Tracy, what is the sun exposure for that palm?

[John hovancsek]

My robusta is doing good in it's full sun spot. 

[realarch]

Well on it's way John. Already sporting a couple of new leaves since your last post.

Tim

[steve99]

My Dypsis Robusta will get big one day!   It's just opening a new leaf now. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tracy]

13 hours ago, joe_OC said:

D robusta in CA!  Tracy, what is the sun exposure for that palm?

The house is roughly west, while the shower enclosure is north.  So it gets good am light through mid-day most of the year.  It does get some am filtering in the winter from my D prestoniana, due to a lower arc that the sun takes in the southern sky in winter.  When it was smaller, the Phoenix robelenii also provided some shade, but it's been growing out of that.  Its quite possible that the P robelenii's function will continue to diminish over time, eventually just becoming a temporary stump to mount epiphytes on.  This is a palm for me that seems to be appreciating the opportunity to slowly grow into more sun over time.

[Hilo Jason]

Here's an updated photo of my Robusta. It's opened a new leaf or two since the last photo I posted here and has a new spear that will open very soon. 

[joe_OC]

16 hours ago, Tracy said:

The house is roughly west, while the shower enclosure is north.  So it gets good am light through mid-day most of the year.  It does get some am filtering in the winter from my D prestoniana, due to a lower arc that the sun takes in the southern sky in winter.  When it was smaller, the Phoenix robelenii also provided some shade, but it's been growing out of that.  Its quite possible that the P robelenii's function will continue to diminish over time, eventually just becoming a temporary stump to mount epiphytes on.  This is a palm for me that seems to be appreciating the opportunity to slowly grow into more sun over time.

Thanks, Tracy!

[Tracy]

On 9/5/2018 at 11:13 AM, Tracy said:

I have a little one compared to everything else posted in this string, but it does seem to be settling in well after about 3 years now in the ground and a little longer in a pot in the yard.  It's definitely a Dypsis and based on the girth its gaining for the height it looks like it will be a big palm.

Now that the newest leaf is all the way open I think we are approaching lift off.  No more shade from the house from the western sun.  Now I look up at it when I'm in the shower as opposed to standing on my toes to look up and over the enclosure to see it below.  The Phoenix roebelenii gets to stay a little longer because I have a couple of orchids hanging off it, otherwise it would be as the Queen of Hearts said "Off with their heads!"

[joe_OC]

Mine looks like it is a year or two behind yours.