My First Blue Latan (Latania loddigesii)

[GoatLockerGuns]

I recently germinated some Latania loddigesii seeds.  They seem to be following a similar germination pattern to Bismarckia nobilis; except that, in my experience with germinating Bismarckia nobilis, they tend to produce more radicle before the plumule starts breaking out (sometimes nearly a foot).  In the Latania loddigesii pictured below, the plumule broke out after the radicle was barely 6 inches (approximately 15.24 centimeters).  Anyone have experience growing these (in containers or otherwise)?  Do you know what kind of growth rate I can expect?

[aztropic]

Medium growth rate: but be sure to keep seedlings from freezing temps. Planted in the ground specimens will withstand about 30F; but potted plants will succumb to lower 30'sF temps. 

I bring this potted red speciman inside below freezing temps...

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

[PalmatierMeg]

Blue latan is faster growing than yellow and esp. red. All are much slower than Bismarckia. My yellow latan died but I still have blue and red in the front yard. Red is much slower growing. Both are in the ground. You will probably have to keep yours potted unless you are prepared to heat/protect it during your winters. All the latans are z10 palms.

Blue latan (L) & Red latan (R)

[GoatLockerGuns]

5 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

You will probably have to keep yours potted unless you are prepared to heat/protect it during your winters. All the latans are z10 palms.

Yeah, I will keep it potted here in Texas.  I may give it to my father in Cape Coral, Florida one day when (if) it gets too big.  He planted the Bismarckia nobilis I gave him in 2015, and its growing crazy fast.  Like 4 feet of trunk in 5 years (almost a foot a year)!  Each complete lower frond (with petiole) that he has cut off weights approximately 30 lbs!  Your mature Latania loddigesii looks very similar to Bismarckia nobilis.

[GoatLockerGuns]

32 minutes ago, aztropic said:

I bring this potted red speciman inside below freezing temps...

That is a nice looking palm!  Is that a Latania lontaroides?

[JubaeaMan138]

I’ve got a small red here in inland Southern California . I’ve had this for a couple winters now it does pretty well. I keep it outside in full sun it hasn’t seen anything under 36 this far . Hopefully 1 more season and I’ll put it in the ground 

[DallasPalms]

They have some large red Latans for sale here locally.  If I wasnt into so many plants I would have gotten one they're gorgeous! They have the same look as Bismarckias at a young age I remember one has very define yellow lines on the leaf fingers. I wish I had the space!

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, DallasPalms said:

They have some large red Latans for sale here locally.  If I wasnt into so many plants I would have gotten one they're gorgeous! They have the same look as Bismarckias at a young age I remember one has very define yellow lines on the leaf fingers. I wish I had the space!

Wow. No Latans of any color for sale here.

[DallasPalms]

2 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Wow. No Latans of any color for sale here.

 

That reminds me of a trip I took a few months into my first my career... I spent a week in Cozumel not sober... and by mid week I was crazy about taking a shot and chasing it with a real coconut... there were not coconuts for sale -

I could look any direction and see Coconuts in the air, every hotel every beach... Coconuts palms all over but I had never seen one up close... not with the shell still on... not a single store I went to every shop on the island.

the night before the last day I hallucinated. I was running my hands through the sand and a native face popped up in the sand... yikes I was so afraid I didnt look again. I used my hand to destroy it and when I looked again there were a dozen little faces from the single face I destroyed... I was afraid again and so I looked up... in the clouds I saw another face!

I was so freaked out I straightened up very fast. I stood and began walking and told my travel buddy I was going back to the room I didnt hesitate at all - pure instinct... I took a few brisk steps and i was not going to stop but a strong wind came through and stopped me in my tracks... then right in the place where my next step would have been, would you believe @ could you believe... this big ugly pod...

I didnt have to step any more! I bent down in place and picked it up in complete surprise =) my buddy looked and said - Oh it's a Coconut!

And the mafia guy whom just a few days earlier might have rolled me to steal my golden diamond ring, he was allegedly hiding from Cosa Nostra he said.... turned out to be a pure friend that night - for I did not know how I was going to open a coconut! I never did that before laff... he cracked it and we had shots to commemorate a helluva week. 

The Red Latans.  tadaa!

It's a red line not a yellow I think more defined on one of the others but  they all seem like super nice trees for someone who can move them in for the winter.

Never know where you will find a tropical treasure

Edited January 31, 2021 by DallasPalms

[Johnny Palmseed]

11 hours ago, DallasPalms said:

 

That reminds me of a trip I took a few months into my first my career... I spent a week in Cozumel not sober... and by mid week I was crazy about taking a shot and chasing it with a real coconut... there were not coconuts for sale -

I could look any direction and see Coconuts in the air, every hotel every beach... Coconuts palms all over but I had never seen one up close... not with the shell still on... not a single store I went to every shop on the island.

the night before the last day I hallucinated. I was running my hands through the sand and a native face popped up in the sand... yikes I was so afraid I didnt look again. I used my hand to destroy it and when I looked again there were a dozen little faces from the single face I destroyed... I was afraid again and so I looked up... in the clouds I saw another face!

I was so freaked out I straightened up very fast. I stood and began walking and told my travel buddy I was going back to the room I didnt hesitate at all - pure instinct... I took a few brisk steps and i was not going to stop but a strong wind came through and stopped me in my tracks... then right in the place where my next step would have been, would you believe @ could you believe... this big ugly pod...

I didnt have to step any more! I bent down in place and picked it up in complete surprise =) my buddy looked and said - Oh it's a Coconut!

And the mafia guy whom just a few days earlier might have rolled me to steal my golden diamond ring, he was allegedly hiding from Cosa Nostra he said.... turned out to be a pure friend that night - for I did not know how I was going to open a coconut! I never did that before laff... he cracked it and we had shots to commemorate a helluva week. 

The Red Latans.  tadaa!

It's a red line not a yellow I think more defined on one of the others but  they all seem like super nice trees for someone who can move them in for the winter.

Never know where you will find a tropical treasure

Funny story and kind of an amazing find! That place must be owned by a palm lover. Like @PalmatierMeg said, I have never seen any Latanias in a nursery. Or Licualas. Which is what I assume the others are. Only at a palm sale/show.

[GoatLockerGuns]

18 hours ago, DallasPalms said:

They have some large red Latans for sale here locally

Who is "they?"  Its not North Texas Cold Hardy Palms is it?  He has an incredible selection of palms, but I have never seen a Latania sp. advertised on his site.  It would be awesome to find another vendor in state selling exotics like these!  As @Johnny Palmseedsaid, they are probably a palm aficionado like us.

[PalmatierMeg]

I'd like to know who "they" are, too. I don't see any chain store garden centers selling Latanias, esp. the rare red species, in Dallas when they don't carry them in FL.

And Latanias are tropical palms, i.e., zone 10/11

[Fusca]

14 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

That place must be owned by a palm lover. Like @PalmatierMeg said, I have never seen any Latanias in a nursery. Or Licualas. Which is what I assume the others are. Only at a palm sale/show.

I'd agree - very unusual for Texas.  However this past summer I saw a fairly large Licuala grandis at a local nursery (Rainbow Gardens) in their greenhouse sales area of houseplants.  I thought initially that it belonged to the owner who just kept it there, but it was for sale at $599 (not 'on sale')!  I joked with a friend that I could probably buy a round trip plane ticket to S. Florida and buy a similar sized plant and bring it back for that amount but sounds like they're not so easy to find even there.  Went back to that nursery last week and it was gone.

[GoatLockerGuns]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

However this past summer I saw a fairly large Licuala grandis at a local nursery (Rainbow Gardens) in their greenhouse sales area of houseplants.

Hah...I was just there last weekend and didn't see it....somebody must have bought it!  I did see the Bismarckia nobilis they had....didn't see a price tag on it though.

6 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I'd like to know who "they" are, too. I don't see any chain store garden centers selling Latanias, esp. the rare red species, in Dallas when they don't carry them in FL.

And Latanias are tropical palms, i.e., zone 10/11

Turns out, it is the nursery beside the Farmers Market in Dallas.  I have actually been there before, and I can attest that they have been known to carry some off the wall stuff from time to time in their greenhouse section.

[Fusca]

26 minutes ago, GoatLockerGuns said:

I was just there last weekend and didn't see it....somebody must have bought it!  I did see the Bismarckia nobilis they had....didn't see a price tag on it though.

Exactly!  That Bismarckia has been in the same spot in the same container since I moved here.  It's never had a price tag so the assumption is that it's privately owned and not for sale.  It's stunted and needed to be in the ground years ago.

[GoatLockerGuns]

2 minutes ago, Fusca said:

It's stunted and needed to be in the ground years ago.

I think they are scared.  You should tell them whats up, and show them pictures of your westside purple Bismarckia nobilis. That might not be a bad name for it by the way.  If it survives and gets big, I think you should name it "The Notorious Westside."