An Update on a Few of My Palms

[palmsOrl]

I am pretty sure this is a Jamaican tall Cocos, though it could possibly be a Panama tall or green Hawaiian tall (wow this phone takes horrible photos, haha).

I repotted this palm about a month ago and the difference really shows.

That Cocos to the left of center is a golden Hawaiian tall.  This is one of only two palms (plants actually) I have not yet repotted this year.

[palmsOrl]

This is a golden Hawaiian tall, also recently repotted and putting on noticeable growth since.

[palmsOrl]

The new palms are really getting a good soaking tonight.

My Veitchia winin has really taken off since it was repotted:

This NOID palm is just lovely.  I wish I could figure out what it is:

Dictyosperma album:

[palmsOrl]

Dypsis prestoniana:

Chambeyronia macrocarpa:

Adonidia merrillii:

Euterpe edulis:

[palmsOrl]

Chamaedorea elegans:

Cocos nucifera “Jamaican tall”:

 

[palmsOrl]

Cyrtostachys renda:

Cyrtostachys “Apple”:

Licuala grandis:

Carpentaria acuminata:

[palmsOrl]

Carpoxylon macrospermum:

Chamaedorea costaricensis:

Phoenix dactylifera:

[palmsOrl]

Blood banana (Musa sumatrana):

Veitchia arecina:

Hyophorbe lagencaulis and Trachycarpus fortunei:

Hyophorbe lagencaulis and Arenga engleri:

[palmsOrl]

This summer-like Friday evening seemed like the perfect occasion to sit back and admire all of my palms and other plants at their seasonal apogee of health and vitality, while jamming to some 80s classics and modern House (strange bedfellows I know) and enjoy a couple bottles of my favorite Red, Ménage à Trois.  The humidity is up there, as evidenced by the condensation on my glass.

I have to say, I am not terribly impressed with the quality of the photos generated by this iPhone.  Still an improvement from the last “smartphone” though.

Mine may now be merely a humble existence only punctuated occasionally by simple pleasures, but as a very insightful refrigerator magnet in my parent’s former home reminded me throughout my young adulthood, “Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here, we should dance.”.

Cheers,

-Michael

[palmfriend]

Nice plants! 

I definitely enjoy your documentation -

best regards and cheers!

Lars

 

[palmsOrl]

Thank you Lars. 

[palmsOrl]

Doing some work in the garden today, I noticed that my Chambeyronia macrocarpa has contracted crown rot.  I guess the rainy weather over the past month was too much of a good thing for this palm.  The spear did pull, however, the rest of the palm appears healthy, including the stem and base.  Thus, I think this one will go on to make a full recovery. 

I immediately treated it with a stiff dose of systemic fungicide and will be periodically pouring hydrogen peroxide in the void left by the spear pull.

I also have to make sure to pull it under cover to keep it from getting soaked over the next week.

I treated all of my palms with systemic fungicide this afternoon (and most of my other stuff) and going forward, will just treat them all every month or so to help prevent these unpredictable infections.

[redant]

One full container ranch there. Things look great.

[palmsOrl]

Thank you Doug!  More than a few of them are thanks to you.  When it comes to keeping one's collection in pots, I have discovered that getting the soil right is by far the most important factor for success.

Here is my odd little Chamaedorea seifrizii, looking much healthier lately.

[palmsOrl]

I dare say my D. prestoniana might be a "Big Curly".

[Steve Mac]

A great garden there Michael, frustrating as they are sometimes.

[palmsOrl]

Thank you Steve.  Yes it is a challenge, but then I tend to choose more challenging gardening endeavors.  Still, it is nice to have some stuff you can just water occasionally and forgot about.

That would make an interesting thread, something like, "What is the most challenging palm you grow?" or "Which palms are generally speaking the most challenging, irrespective of whether one has an ideal climate or not?".  Something like Licuala cordata or Hydriastele ramsayi comes to mind.  Still, living in a climate ideally suited to a given palm would make the biggest difference between success and failure.  Still other factors, like specific soil needs come into play with some palms.  Such as those that require serpentine soils.

-Michael

[palmsOrl]

A nice healthy Jubaea sprout from Kinzyjr.  We are going to give this species a serious go in Central Florida and see if we can get long-term results.  I might try growing inside in a sunny window for the first few years while the palm is small enough, since it is the hot, humid summer weather that really does these in in the Southeast from everything I have read.

A nice, deep green Dypsis lutescens seedling.  I know they are common as can be, but I have been wanting wanting one anyhow.  Will be interesting to see if I can keep it this deep green as it grows.

[palmsOrl]

Here are my remaining Cyrtostachys seedlings.  I just repotted them into fresh mix and gave the usual rooting hormone, fungicide and seaweed emulsion treatment.  Very little root growth was evident overall but some had little nubs of new roots (if that makes sense).

[palmsOrl]

A friend and I made a trip to check out Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota yesterday and I picked up a few new palms on the way from SWFlChris.

The first was a replacement for my Clinostigma savoryanum.

Next, I picked up a few palms my mom wants to plant out in her garden.  Licuala peltata sumawongii, Dypsis decaryi and Carpoxylon macrospermum.

 

[palmsOrl]

Dictyosperma album (rubrum) noted in the past as being quite cold sensitive, has actually proven in my experience to be surprising chill tolerant.

[Merlyn]

15 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

Dictyosperma album (rubrum) noted in the past as being quite cold sensitive, has actually proven in my experience to be surprising chill tolerant.

I put a couple of these in the ground at about that size.  I planted a solo near my pathway in April, it took off like mad...I guess it really wanted out of that quart pot!    So in July I did a triple in the SW side, it has a little bit of nearby protection.  They did fine with 28F and medium frost in December, followed by 11 hours of 31-33F the next night.  I suspect both plantings were protected from frost, since there was other stuff nearby that's fairly tall (queens, Asian Lemon bamboo, and a Dypsis Pembana).

[palmsOrl]

Cool Todd.  Dictyosperma is, nonetheless, much more cold Hardy than they are touted to be.  I hope all is well with you and your palms. 

I have brought in a number of my palms just to be safe and I have quite a few more to bring in.

This little Cocos is a genetic wimp.  Clearly, we had a least a bit of frost last month.

Above is a photo of Redant's Jamaican talls for comparison.

[palmsOrl]

Many of my palms have been brought inside for good measure.

The NOID palm whipping in the wind on this chilly day.

The samller NOID palm safely inside...

Veitchia winin, almost too big to bring in now...

Redant's Hardy Jamaican tall Cocos...

Sorry for the blurry photos.

[palmsOrl]

I have all of my Cocos repotted into much larger containers.  They are all looking healthy and are enjoying the summer weather.  The Jamaican talls I acquired from Redant showed remarkable cool hardiness this winter as none showed any spotting or other damage.

Thank you again Redant!  I love my Cocos!

 

[palmsOrl]

Areca macrocalyx red, repotted last night and given a dose of liquid Miracle Grow.

The potting mixture I used is a bit heavy on sand but as long as it is kept well watered and fertilized, it should do well, based on what I have read about the species.  The palm came potted in small grade LECA.

[palmsOrl]

Some days are better than others and today was kind of a rough one.  On that note, I thought I'd post a few photos of my palms.  This has been the perfect summer for them.

First the three Jamaican tall Could Cocos from Redant (Doug).

 

[palmsOrl]

It was nice to see some properly trimmed Washingtonia on a walk the other night.

[palmsOrl]

Areca triandra taking off with plenty of room for the root system now!

[Scott W]

18 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

It was nice to see some properly trimmed Washingtonia on a walk the other night.

Someone trims these?!?!?

[palmsOrl]

Dypsis pembana from Todd.  Thank you.  His became a giant in short order.

[palmsOrl]

Dictyosperma album looking lush.

[palmsOrl]

Cyrtostachys renda after 2.5" of rain.  We finally had a massive deluge this evening.

[palmsOrl]

A row of Cocos....

[palmsOrl]

A new batch or Cocos fished out of the canal in Port Charlotte by my dad for me.

Last year, my parents brought me like 25 coconuts so I kept the ones that contained milk (I think this was 10-12 of the ~25) and left them sitting on a white colored paved deck last summer.  Out of these I had two sprout, one of which I gave away and one I kept.  The Cocos I kept was kind of a runt and died after the chill this past winter.

I think I will get a higher germination rate if I plant the coconuts pointed end down in a pot full of sand rather than leaving them sitting on a dry surface.

-Michael

[palmsOrl]

On 7/19/2021 at 9:23 PM, Scott W said:

Someone trims these?!?!?

Apparently, and they do so correctly!

[palmsOrl]

On 7/19/2021 at 9:18 PM, palmsOrl said:

Areca triandra taking off with plenty of room for the root system now!

Woah, I must appear to be a neophyte here, that was a typo.  This is Veitchia winin!

[palmsOrl]

On 7/30/2021 at 1:26 PM, palmsOrl said:

A new batch or Cocos fished out of the canal in Port Charlotte by my dad for me.

Last year, my parents brought me like 25 coconuts so I kept the ones that contained milk (I think this was 10-12 of the ~25) and left them sitting on a white colored paved deck last summer.  Out of these I had two sprout, one of which I gave away and one I kept.  The Cocos I kept was kind of a runt and died after the chill this past winter.

I think I will get a higher germination rate if I plant the coconuts pointed end down in a pot full of sand rather than leaving them sitting on a dry surface.

-Michael

I potted up the seedling a few days ago and just today planted all of the others face down in individual pots in play sand since I am not sure which way they were oriented and they may started to have germinated.  Apparently, if you move a coconut to a different orientation after the germination process has begun, it can cause the nut to abort so I figured planting them face down should allow the sprout to pop out the top.

[Reyes Vargas]

On 7/21/2021 at 12:16 PM, palmsOrl said:

A row of Cocos....

Is that your place?  That just looks beautiful.

[palmsOrl]

It sure is, my dad and I reside here.  Now that I have my grandma's plants as well as the rest of mine it is extra jam-packed!

-Michael