Slowest palm in the garden.,

[Kim]

The two slowest palms in my garden have to be Orania sp. and D. leucomalla. These slow pokes make a Voanioala gerardii, a famously slow palm, look like a moderate grower.

This Orania was planted in March 2012 from a 5-gal, and in this photo from 2018 it looks much the same size as when planted, but maybe a few more leaves. The Bentinckia condapanna in the foreground were planted around the same time from 2-gal. pots and grow like rockets!

This Dypsis leucomalla, purchased as sp. white in April 2011, shown here in March 2018. At one time I did a spear pull and was sure it was dead, but I left it in the pot and it produced a new spear. It would probably do better planted in the ground.

 

 

[Dypsisdean]

4 hours ago, Kim said:

The two slowest palms in my garden have to be Orania sp. and D. leucomalla. These slow pokes make a Voanioala gerardii, a famously slow palm, look like a moderate grower.

This Orania was planted in March 2012 from a 5-gal, and in this photo from 2018 it looks much the same size as when planted, but maybe a few more leaves. The Bentinckia condapanna in the foreground were planted around the same time from 2-gal. pots and grow like rockets!

This Dypsis leucomalla, purchased as sp. white in April 2011, shown here in March 2018. At one time I did a spear pull and was sure it was dead, but I left it in the pot and it produced a new spear. It would probably do better planted in the ground.

 

 

While I have had fairly good growth rates with Orania (still slow) - nothing is slower than my three Dypsis leucomallas. 10 years from one gallons and not nearly ready to trunk.

[BS Man about Palms]

On 10/28/2019 at 10:21 AM, quaman58 said:

So is that one of the previous batches Bill? Or from this year?

Previous batch.. actually from Kevin Weaver maybe 7-8 years ago?

 

[pietropuccio]

Copernicia macroglossa 24 years old:

 

 

[Daryl]

One of the slowest I've grown, and VERY slow for a Dypsis. I received the seed as Dypsis tsaravoasira about the same time as Palmtalk started....I have two survivors and transplanted both about 3 years ago...here is the biggest one....must be more than 15 years old now...BUT it is finally starting to speed up!

 

[hbernstein]

Jeez, you folks in California sure are persistent in your palm experiments!

Some of these species would be measured by yards of clear trunk growth in S. Florida over the same time period. 

[quaman58]

On 10/29/2019 at 2:46 PM, Dypsisdean said:

While I have had fairly good growth rates with Orania (still slow) - nothing is slower than my three Dypsis leucomallas. 10 years from one gallons and not nearly ready to trunk.

All this time, I just thought it was me Kim. I get one leaf a year. Otherwise, they're pretty tough plants. Probably should have had mine in a greenhouse all these years..

[Hilo Jason]

On 10/29/2019 at 7:18 AM, Kim said:

The two slowest palms in my garden have to be Orania sp. and D. leucomalla. These slow pokes make a Voanioala gerardii, a famously slow palm, look like a moderate grower.

This Orania was planted in March 2012 from a 5-gal, and in this photo from 2018 it looks much the same size as when planted, but maybe a few more leaves. The Bentinckia condapanna in the foreground were planted around the same time from 2-gal. pots and grow like rockets!

This Dypsis leucomalla, purchased as sp. white in April 2011, shown here in March 2018. At one time I did a spear pull and was sure it was dead, but I left it in the pot and it produced a new spear. It would probably do better planted in the ground.

 

 

I don’t know Kim, seems like Leucomalla is slow in a pot or in the ground. I thought the same as you and planted out a decent one gallon, 2 years ago. Since going in the ground it has shrunk to about a third of the size as when it was planted!  Once that started happening, I bought another to keep in a pot with hopes of getting it larger before planting out.  Such a slow palm!

[Kim]

8 hours ago, Hilo Jason said:

I don’t know Kim, seems like Leucomalla is slow in a pot or in the ground. I thought the same as you and planted out a decent one gallon, 2 years ago. Since going in the ground it has shrunk to about a third of the size as when it was planted!  Once that started happening, I bought another to keep in a pot with hopes of getting it larger before planting out.  Such a slow palm!

 Oh, that surprises me! In that case I'll keep this one in a pot another year or two. Wow. Maybe my granddaughter will get to see it trunking.  Thanks for sharing your observation.

[Hilo Jason]

4 hours ago, Kim said:

 Oh, that surprises me! In that case I'll keep this one in a pot another year or two. Wow. Maybe my granddaughter will get to see it trunking.  Thanks for sharing your observation.

I’m not sure that my observation is really correct, but it’s what I’m going with for the time being, hah. 

Here’s my shrinking Dypsis Leucomalla in the ground:

heres my potted one.  (2 gallon pot) This was grown at a local nursery in a very shady spot so the older fronds are quite stretched. 

And not to change the topic, but for anyone who doesn’t have the time, patience or climate for Leucomalla, then I think this Dypsis Sp Ambanja is the way to go. It’s looking a lot like Leucomalla in some ways, dark mealy bug in other ways. But very fast!

[realarch]

I was gifted this Oenocarpus distichus by 'mike in kurtistown' back in the middle of 2015 and planted it straightaway thinking it would grow at a fairly healthy clip. It's been painfully slow and looked like a cute little miniature of something or another for about 3 1/2 years....very minimal growth. The last six months however, it's getting it's groove on and has more than doubled in size. Should be a rather interesting looking palm should I live long enough.

Tim 

[Really full garden]

My slowest is Ravenea Sp. Cycadifolia.

This palm is 14 years from germination . Four years in a pot and then 10 years planted out. The tallest frond is just under 50 cm.. I can certainly see where it got it’s name 

[quaman58]

15 minutes ago, Really full garden said:

My slowest is Ravenea Sp. Cycadifolia.

This palm is 14 years from germination . Four years in a pot and then 10 years planted out. The tallest frond is just under 50 cm.. I can certainly see where it got it’s name 

Do you know whether this palm is different from that being sold as R. juliettae? I remember when these seeds were available, but I've never seen a picture other than the RPS site..

[Really full garden]

2 minutes ago, quaman58 said:

Do you know whether this palm is different from that being sold as R. juliettae? I remember when these seeds were available, but I've never seen a picture other than the RPS site..

The seeds came from RPS. Just the other day there was a post on FB palm site showing a R. Cycadifolia with almost 2 m trunk. That palm must be several centuries old!

[redant]

been about 9 years in the ground, I haven't a clue what it is, it never grows lol.

[The Gerg]

For me it is probably this little Actinokentia divaricata. (In front of the B. hapala). I have currently cut off the two older leafs because they just get real bad looking. Probably only keeps one nice looking leaf at a time. Thinking about replacing it.

[akamu]

A Picture of my Chuniophoenix haniensis about 1 leaf a year . D. Leucomalla looks the same as pictured above it is a slug. I also had a chambeyronia lepidota that looked like Bill's from same batch it did nothing for 3 yrs so my bulldog pulled it out for me. loulou the bulldog also smashed 2ft a tall K.piersoniorum that one hurt, Here she is in all her glory

[CodyORB]

On 11/6/2019 at 10:52 AM, redant said:

been about 9 years in the ground, I haven't a clue what it is, it never grows lol.

Looks like a Macrozamia cycad, though the leaves wouldn’t last that long. 

[Stevetoad]

On 10/28/2019 at 4:01 PM, Stevetoad said:

I’m in the slow cocco club too. I have 2 that I’m not sure what species they are. I remember I got them unmarked.  I’ve had them in the ground for about 10 years. I actually forgot about them until this thread. I found them and I swear they haven’t grown at all. 

 

One year later and I think it might have shrunk a bit. Updated pic 

[palmfriend]

Hi there,

my winner is my...

... four years old Coccothrinax borhidiana. Super slow but it looks happy. So I'll leave it in its pot. 

best regards from Okinawa

Lars

 

[CodyORB]

9 hours ago, palmfriend said:

Hi there,

my winner is my...

... four years old Coccothrinax borhidiana. Super slow but it looks happy. So I'll leave it in its pot. 

best regards from Okinawa

Lars

 

Wow, I've got a few of these seeds on the way . A larger pot or the ground should cheer it up though.

[palmfriend]

23 hours ago, CodyORB said:

Wow, I've got a few of these seeds on the way . A larger pot or the ground should cheer it up though.

Believe me, I am often looking at this little fella's pet bottle for a long time, checking if roots are visible or not - or even worse, already trying desperatly to find a way out - but there is absolutely nothing! I am usually someone providing a larger pot faster than necessary but in this case I stick to "the voices" of those palm experts who say: "Don't re-pot a small plant too early!" But if planting out a Coccothrinax asap is a must, I will do it gladly! It is the only Coccothrinax I have - grown from imported seeds like almost all of my other palms - and I would love to see this one growing up.

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

[CodyORB]

5 minutes ago, palmfriend said:

Believe me, I am often looking at this little fella's pet bottle for a long time, checking if roots are visible or not - or even worse, already trying desperatly to find a way out - but there is absolutely nothing! I am usually someone providing a larger pot faster than necessary but in this case I stick to "the voices" of those palm experts who say: "Don't re-pot a small plant too early!" But if planting out a Coccothrinax asap is a must, I will do it gladly! It is the only Coccothrinax I have - grown from imported seeds like almost all of my other palms - and I would love to see this one growing up.

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

Interesting. My last thoughts are the climate might not be too good - although Okinawa is well within the tropical range. Good luck!

[palmfriend]

1 minute ago, CodyORB said:

Interesting. My last thoughts are the climate might not be too good - although Okinawa is well within the tropical range. Good luck!

That might be true. But I am afraid we are a tad too wet or humid for this species... Time will tell.

Thanks anyway and I will keep this forum posted!

Lars

 

[JANAIY]

On 10/27/2019 at 5:47 PM, quaman58 said:

So, inspired by Joe’s “fastest palm in my garden” thread, I thought about the opposite end of the spectrum in my yard. My criteria was that it had to at least appear to be healthy and growing, however nominally. Feel free to add yours! Hands down, mine is a 7 or 8 year old Coccothrinax ekmanii. It was a blade of grass when I got it. Even by Coccothrinax standards, it sure takes its time. Here it is in all of its glory, with a 12oz brew for scale..

 

[Darold Petty]

Nice brew !