Queen Growth Rate

[spockvr6]

Ive posted about this before, buit here are some updated pics showing just how fast Queens can grow.  If memory serves, I planted this palm in late 2004 as a large 3 gallon/small 7 gallon size.

As a size reference, the Sabals have about 14 ft of trunk.

June 2005

August 2006

January 2007

June 2007

[www.dadluvsu.com]

WOW!  That thing grows SO FAST!  I also find it pretty astounding how much of your yard is now covered in palms as compared to 3 years ago!  ::

[SubTropicRay]

Larry,

The garden looks great.  Are your neighbors enthusiastic about the jungle look too?  You know how these grass/no landscape loving folks can be.

Ray

[DoomsDave]

Larry, for once I can concur in a good way with a similar experience as a Floridian!

My queens were all planted as 15 galloners about 3-4 feet (1 - 1.3 m) tall in the summer of 2005 and are now almost 25 feet all.

FAST!

dave

[AJQ]

Alas, not here in Norin Iron hey!

It is alive and put out 3cm this year.....so far.....Not good!

Just don't get the heat here me thinks.

Sob......Andy.

[DoomsDave]

(AJQ @ Jul. 01 2007,16:48)

QUOTE

Alas, not here in Norin Iron hey!

It is alive and put out 3cm this year.....so far.....Not good!

Just don't get the heat here me thinks.

Sob......Andy.

Ah, yes, I know the feeling as my royal croaked.

Hmm.  Ever think of trying a Ceroxylon?

dave

[Kathryn]

Here are my Queens in April 2002. Notice the Butia capitata and the 8 ft fence in the background. The Queens were planted in 2001 from 3-gallon plants that I purchased in Florida because small ones weren’t available locally back then.

And here they are today - too tall to be seen in at the same angle. A foxtail has been added in the middle of the queens; it had been in a pot for about six years - may make it a few more depending on how cold we get. The Butia is about 15ft tall overall.

[spockvr6]

(Ray, Tampa @ Jul. 01 2007,10:20)

QUOTE

Larry,

The garden looks great.  Are your neighbors enthusiastic about the jungle look too?  You know how these grass/no landscape loving folks can be.

Ray

Thansk Ray.

No problems with fellow homeowners.  They all have no problems with my yard.  In fact, the HOA said I can do whatever I want with my yard as long as invasives arent planted (like Brazilian Pepper, etc).  

And, my neighbor to one side is already starting to turn his yard into a well landscaped jungle as well as he is getting the "bug"  

[spockvr6]

(Kathryn @ Jul. 01 2007,18:02)

QUOTE

And here they are today - too tall to be seen in at the same angle.

Yep Kathryn......those are Queens growing like they should!

[Kathryn]

Here are my queens in May2003.

September 2004

December 26, 2004 - one day after a weird snowfall

[ruskinPalms]

Yes, I have been very impressed with the speed and robust nature of the one queen palm I have. Incredible palms when watered and fertilized with palm fertilizer in my opinion. I have a struggling coconut in a feature location in my back yard. Sometimes I feel like I should put it out of its misery and plant a queen in its spot. I would love to have a coconut there, but the reality is that even if it does manage to live, it will probably look crappy 50% or more of the time. I would like to look out my back slider and see something well grown and flawless, even if it is "just a queen".

[Kathryn]

September 26, 2002 after a hurricane (don't remember which one) left this one leaning, but it straightened up quickly

August 27, 2005 - the day I evacuated for Katrina

September 3, 2005 - the day I got back home - notice the Pindo leaning in the background

Katrina left it leaning again; there was no straightening it back up this time

[Kathryn]

I can’t grow many of the nice tropical palms I enjoy when visiting south Florida, but fortunately, I have great conditions for many others – thanks to the Mississippi River depositing rich soil for tens of thousands of years and regularly receiving about 67 inches of rainwater evenly throughout the year. I water my grass if it doesn’t rain for a couple of weeks, but I don’t water most of my palms. I fertilize some palms to get them to grow faster, but don’t fertilize these queens because I like the current height – soon they will be too tall to provide shade where I want it.

Thanks for starting this topic Larry. I’ve been wanting to post these pictures for a while and just hadn’t gotten around to it.

[AJQ]

Kathryn, great piccies, great garden. What are the palms you have along the back wall? To the left of the Butia.

Dave, I have got 2 Parajubs which do well. Ceroxlylons would be great but very difficult to obtain, same goes for decent sized Rhopies.

I'm still waiting for a Butiagrus from Brazil but there is a strike on at the moment, so don't know when it will arrive. When it does I'll post some piccies. :cool:

Regards Andy.

[SubTropicRay]

Great garden Kate.   I love the palms lining the fenceline.

[Bilbo]

I cant grow a Coco but I can grow a Queen for sure.

I use a high N fert with P & K and loadsa extra Nitrate  (Sulfate of Ammonia;tho Ammonium  Nitrate would be even better.)

I also chuck in Epsom salts as the Chlorphphylll molecule requires Mg.

It seems to be effective.

Regardez amigos

JUAN

[PalmGuyWC]

Larry,

That is exceptional growth on your Queen palm, but what amazes me is the growth on the Sabal.  They appear to have beem planted about the same time, and in the last photo the Sabal is already blooming!  If that Sabal were in N. Calif. it would still be struggling to put out new fronds.

I always wanted a large S. palmetto from Fla. but I don't think they are allowed to be shipped into Calif.....legally. I don't know why as I don't think any Fla. "bugs" would survive with our cool nights.

Your garden looks great!

Dick

[spockvr6]

Dick-

Those Sabals have bloomed and seeded twice already!  In the mulch beds below each one there are a few dozen seedlings growing that I havent had the heart to pull out.

[spockvr6]

(PalmGuyWC @ Jul. 02 2007,07:32)

QUOTE

Larry,

That is exceptional growth on your Queen palm, but what amazes me is the growth on the Sabal.  They appear to have beem planted about the same time, and in the last photo the Sabal is already blooming!  

I just recalled that the Sabals were planted in April 2005.  Boy were these suckers heavy.  The trunks were heavy with water.  I rented a 2000 lb rated Bobcat and these palms were lifting the rear wheels off the ground and were just barely able to get them off the trailer and into the ground.

[spockvr6]

(Ray @ Tampa,Jul. 01 2007,10:20)

QUOTE

Are your neighbors enthusiastic about the jungle look too?  

I dont think this is the jungle look yet!

[iwan]

Great garden Kathryn and Larry.  Larry, your queens look great!

[Kathryn]

Larry,

You definitely have the jungle look going. I’m not great at identifying cold sensitive palms that won’t grow here. What are some of the other palms in your yard?

It looks like your queen palms began developing trunks in 2006 about a year after planting and grew about 2 feet of trunk in one year.

Mine were a bit smaller than yours when I planted them in 2001 and about the same size in 2003. They began developing trunks in 2004 and have grown about 2 feet of trunk per year. So, they took about three years to begin trunking and then had similar growth rate.

Around 2003, several homes in my area planted queen palms with two to five feet of trunk, which made me wish I would have planted much larger palms. Over the past few years, the larger palms grew much slower and mine have caught up to them and have grown even faster than some.

Therefore, it seems like a waste of money to get a queen palm with a few feet of trunk, but definitely worth to get plants Larry's size (small 7 gallon) versus mine (small 3 gallon) at planting time.

Has anyone else experienced slower initial growth from larger queen palms?

[Kathryn]

Ray and Andy,

Those are Livistona chinensis along the fence line - one of my favorite palms for my area. I think I planted them in 2001 after being dug from a friend's yard. One can barely be seen behind the hammock in the first picture - a frond can be seen against the fence between the basketball goal and the globe light. It was just developing a trunk and was slightly larger than the Buitia. They didn’t grow much at first due to lack of roots, but really took off about two years later.

[spockvr6]

(Kathryn @ Jul. 03 2007,11:32)

QUOTE

Therefore, it seems like a waste of money to get a queen palm with a few feet of trunk, but definitely worth to get plants Larry's size (small 7 gallon) versus mine (small 3 gallon) at planting time.

Kathryn-

I would definitely say that buying 3/7 gallon size Queens is the way to go.  

First off....they are cheap.  Good sized 3 gallon palms are usually less than $10.

And secondly, I agree with your assessment that the smaller ones grow faster.  I have also watched this as many of my neighbors have installed largewr trunked Queens.  My next door neighbor is a perfect example.  He has several along his back fence behind his pool that were planted in 2000/2001 with some trunk.  I planted several more along my back fence in 2004 that were tiny 3 gallon palms.  Guess what.......right now mine are all taller and far more robust than his.

[spockvr6]

(Kathryn @ Jul. 03 2007,11:32)

QUOTE

It looks like your queen palms began developing trunks in 2006 about a year after planting and grew about 2 feet of trunk in one year.

I wish I had a  pic handy of when I first planted this Queen as it was about half the size of the 2005 pic I posted.  

I do have some pics of some very small 3 gallon Queens I planted in May 2005.  As of now, they are pretty much to the height of the second story roof!  They have exploded in the past year.

[spockvr6]

(Kathryn @ Jul. 03 2007,11:32)

QUOTE

Larry,

You definitely have the jungle look going. I’m not great at identifying cold sensitive palms that won’t grow here. What are some of the other palms in your yard?

Kathryn-

I tend to plant lots of palms that I like (even at the risk of having too many duplicates).  I used to keep a list, but lost track a hundred or so palms ago!

In any case, Ive got lots of Royals, Bottles, Spindles, Foxtails, Archontophoenix, Dypsis, Veitchia, Carpentaria, etc etc.  

Ive got a few odd balls like Prichardia pacifica that just dont belong here, but has grown great (and fast) so far.  

I have 99% of everything in the ground as I dont have much space for pots.  Plus, I like the look of inground palms.

[tim_brissy_13]

Good job Kathryn and Larry.  A well grown queen is a beautiful palm (I have about 20).

Kathryn, I am not surprised at the growth of your queens, since even down here they grow very fast (7m/23feet in 12 years), but the Butia's growth is amazing.  I planted mine at the same size and about the same time but mine has barely grown at all.