Fast Growing Hardy Palms

[ZPalms]

Just curious if theirs any palms I don't know of that grow fast apart from washingtonias? I've googled some different species but they aren't specific on which are fast growing and cold hardy and if their are any species of coconut palms that are more resistant to the cold? I've read a forum on here about Indian tall coconut tree but I'm not exactly sure what species Indian tall is

[NCFM]

Trachycarpus fortunei is fast-growing once established.  Sabal causiarum is supposed to be one of the fastest of the trunking sabals.  It also seems to be the consensus on this forum that S. tamaulipas and S. brazoria are the two fastest dwarf-type sabals.  Mule palms and other butia hybrids (yatay x jubaea, etc) are fast growing as well due to hybrid vigor.  All of those I just mentioned are fairly cold hardy 

[ZPalms]

13 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Trachycarpus fortunei is fast-growing once established.  Sabal causiarum is supposed to be one of the fastest of the trunking sabals.  It also seems to be the consensus on this forum that S. tamaulipas and S. brazoria are the two fastest dwarf-type sabals.  Mule palms and other butia hybrids (yatay x jubaea, etc) are fast growing as well due to hybrid vigor.  All of those I just mentioned are fairly cold hardy 

Oh wow these are actually really cool, I didn't know about Sabal Causiarum i'm tempted to buy all of these cause they all look really nice but I did want to grow a trachy but was put off by searching around and saw they took a while to get tall but I may give it a go cause it's now or never. Does anyone have any Sabal Causiarum seeds or Yatay x Jubaea?

Edited May 8, 2021 by ZPalms

[NCFM]

57 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Oh wow these are actually really cool, I didn't know about Sabal Causiarum i'm tempted to buy all of these cause they all look really nice but I did want to grow a trachy but was put off by searching around and saw they took a while to get tall but I may give it a go cause it's now or never. Does anyone have any Sabal Causiarum seeds or Yatay x Jubaea?

In my experience and based off of what folks on this forum have posted, trachy’s generally grow at a pretty solid rate.  They love the red clay here in the Piedmont.  Once they get established they’ll start growing about 1 1/2 - 2 feet per year, especially if you fertilize well.  Won’t take long for you to have a good sized tree. 
 

I ordered some causiarum seeds from @PalmatierMeg not too long ago.  Great germination rate.  You may want to message her and see if she has any more available. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by NC_Palm_Enthusiast

[ZPalms]

8 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

In my experience trachy’s grow at a pretty solid rate.  They love the red clay here in the Piedmont.  Once they get established they’ll start growing about 1 1/2 - 2 feet per year, especially if you fertilize well.  Won’t take long for you to have a good sized tree. 
 

I ordered some causiarum seeds from @PalmatierMeg not too long ago.  Great germination rate.  You may want to message her and see if she has any more available. 

I took some trachy flowers from a restaurants parking lot hoping they would be seeds without realizing they were just the flowers  I'm still new to the palm growing but I will try some trachys! do you know how fast sabal domingensis grow?

Edited May 8, 2021 by ZPalms

[NCFM]

10 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I took some trachy flowers from a restaurants parking lot hoping they would be seeds without realizing they were just the flowers  I'm still new to the palm growing but I will try some trachys! do you know how fast sabal domingensis grow?

Im not very familiar with that species, but if you look up the word “domingensis” in the search bar it will bring up past threads/posts with information on it. 

[WSimpson]

I've had Trachys grow 2 feet in a season . I heard of even faster growth . Trachys and most palms need a few years to bulk up before they trunk up . Below is a picture of my Trachy princeps that is starting to trunk . The base of the palm needs to be about a full mature diameter before it will start  trunking  . 

 

 

Overview of that palm:

 

This Trachy nainital puts out about a foot of trunk a year . 

[Allen]

trachy are the only thing hardy for you that will grow the fastest.  

[EastCanadaTropicals]

22 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Just curious if theirs any palms I don't know of that grow fast apart from washingtonias? I've googled some different species but they aren't specific on which are fast growing and cold hardy and if their are any species of coconut palms that are more resistant to the cold? I've read a forum on here about Indian tall coconut tree but I'm not exactly sure what species Indian tall is

That was the coconut cool hardiness forum by Haddock

[oasis371]

I wouldn't rule out some of the faster growing Sabals if you want to diversify your collection. I like Sabal louisiana and Sabal bermudana for rate of growth and hardiness and especially like bermudana's largish, bluish leaves.

[ZPalms]

9 hours ago, Will Simpson said:

I've had Trachys grow 2 feet in a season . I heard of even faster growth . Trachys and most palms need a few years to bulk up before they trunk up . Below is a picture of my Trachy princeps that is starting to trunk . The base of the palm needs to be about a full mature diameter before it will start  trunking  . 

 

 

Overview of that palm:

 

This Trachy nainital puts out about a foot of trunk a year . 

 

4 hours ago, Allen said:

trachy are the only thing hardy for you that will grow the fastest.  

Theirs a few trachys in my area but they have been here for a while and really havent grown much, I'm guessing from lack of care or fertilizer? I will give trachys a try because it's now or never. but their is one thats pretty tall in my town near a restaurant

Edited May 9, 2021 by ZPalms

[ZPalms]

2 hours ago, EastCanadaTropicals said:

That was the coconut cool hardiness forum by Haddock

Oh can you link me? I can't find it

[Allen]

12 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Oh can you link me? I can't find it

You can't grow a coco there.  You can grow everything in my signature except the mule unprotected and the butia might need help every now and then.  

[ZPalms]

5 minutes ago, Allen said:

You can't grow a coco there.  You can grow everything in my signature except the mule unprotected and the butia might need help every now and then.  

Can Coco grow in a green house cause I'm planning eventually to build one but make it tall so maybe a dwarf can work?

[JLM]

1 hour ago, ZPalms said:

Can Coco grow in a green house cause I'm planning eventually to build one but make it tall so maybe a dwarf can work?

In anything above Zone 9b/10a, planting a coco in the ground is pretty much a no go unless you plan on giving it extreme amounts of protection. Building a greenhouse and planting one in there might allow it to grow if given the right conditions, but it will likely never flower/fruit and will probably grow slowly. Im not saying that you cant do that, but i wouldnt put in the time and money to do it. You can 110% grow a coco as a house plant though!! 
If you were to build a greenhouse it would need to be climate controlled to keep temperatures from fluctuating too much. A temperature around 80F-85F during the day and 70F-75F at night would be a comfortable range for it, keeping the inside of the greenhouse humid would be another step. One very important thing is to keep the air moving inside of the greenhouse, you would need to have a fan(s) going in there to keep the air moving. When building you would need to think about the width and height and also all the utilities to keep the conditions inside perfect. Would cost a lot but if there is determination . . . just tell us how it goes lol

As for cold hardy palms, everything mentioned above will probably work well for you. Goodluck!
 

[Collectorpalms]

Fastest and Tallest hardiest palms that survived 4* For me are my

Sabal Mexicana-Big Leaf variety and my Washingtonia “Texan Rocket”. 
 

Sabal Brazoria does grow big if you have patience, did better than Trachycarpus. Grows almost as fast here in total mass. It’s a huge palm.  Brazoria stayed green while Trachycarpus Fortunia still is struggling.  

These would work in Zone 8a NC

My mules are dead- even ones I wrapped. Lost 2/4 European Fans. Lost about half of our Pindos. 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Collectorpalms]

Never try to grow a coconut as a greenhouse or indoor palm. It’s too much work, while there are so many better palms. Coconuts are overrated in my opinion. Haha! I may be a loner on that, but I never got the coconut crush, I think it’s because I knew they were impossible here.

Edited May 9, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[ZPalms]

44 minutes ago, JLM said:

In anything above Zone 9b/10a, planting a coco in the ground is pretty much a no go unless you plan on giving it extreme amounts of protection. Building a greenhouse and planting one in there might allow it to grow if given the right conditions, but it will likely never flower/fruit and will probably grow slowly. Im not saying that you cant do that, but i wouldnt put in the time and money to do it. You can 110% grow a coco as a house plant though!! 
If you were to build a greenhouse it would need to be climate controlled to keep temperatures from fluctuating too much. A temperature around 80F-85F during the day and 70F-75F at night would be a comfortable range for it, keeping the inside of the greenhouse humid would be another step. One very important thing is to keep the air moving inside of the greenhouse, you would need to have a fan(s) going in there to keep the air moving. When building you would need to think about the width and height and also all the utilities to keep the conditions inside perfect. Would cost a lot but if there is determination . . . just tell us how it goes lol

As for cold hardy palms, everything mentioned above will probably work well for you. Goodluck!
 

That does sound very expensive, I'm not completely turned around by the idea to try and make it happen but if I do make it happen ill definitely share, but I wonder if building a roof that can slide open would allow outside air and sun and humidity take care of it in the summer and in fall, winter and spring just keep it enclosed. It will be something to think about because the green house was originally going to be for normal vegetables, but I do want to take care of a very tropical tree as an experiment.

22 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

Never try to grow a coconut as a greenhouse or indoor palm. It’s too much work, while there are so many better palms. Coconuts are overrated in my opinion. Haha! I may be a loner on that, but I never got the coconut crush, I think it’s because I knew they were impossible here.

I really love the long swaying leaves of coconut palms but if I did try and if I was successful it would need to stay in the greenhouse for the majority of the time which sucks because it would be cool to have next to the pool, but they have been one of my favorite palms forever, but I do think the next best thing to a coconut palm is probably a phoenix roebelenii hybrid since I'm looking more for the appearance and not for the fruit because I've seen some of them look and share the appearance of coconut trees with the skinny trunks and the long swaying leaves, but I'm not entirely sure what species fits that descriptions because I've only seen pictures of so many different species to know which is the one I'm looking for. But I'm sure eventually climate change will probably let me grow coconut palms here in North Carolina.

[EastCanadaTropicals]

9 hours ago, ZPalms said:

That does sound very expensive, I'm not completely turned around by the idea to try and make it happen but if I do make it happen ill definitely share, but I wonder if building a roof that can slide open would allow outside air and sun and humidity take care of it in the summer and in fall, winter and spring just keep it enclosed. It will be something to think about because the green house was originally going to be for normal vegetables, but I do want to take care of a very tropical tree as an experiment.

I really love the long swaying leaves of coconut palms but if I did try and if I was successful it would need to stay in the greenhouse for the majority of the time which sucks because it would be cool to have next to the pool, but they have been one of my favorite palms forever, but I do think the next best thing to a coconut palm is probably a phoenix roebelenii hybrid since I'm looking more for the appearance and not for the fruit because I've seen some of them look and share the appearance of coconut trees with the skinny trunks and the long swaying leaves, but I'm not entirely sure what species fits that descriptions because I've only seen pictures of so many different species to know which is the one I'm looking for. But I'm sure eventually climate change will probably let me grow coconut palms here in North Carolina.

Phoenix Robellini, even a hybrid would be tender to cold, but it might work with heavy protection. I mean, it's not like you get down to 10f every day, that's just the average minimum.

[EastCanadaTropicals]

11 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Oh can you link me? I can't find it

 

[WSimpson]

16 hours ago, Allen said:

trachy are the only thing hardy for you that will grow the fastest.  

I have a Washy that grows too fast . I'm afraid it will get too tall to protect on colder winters .

[SLTX21]

48 minutes ago, EastCanadaTropicals said:

Phoenix Robellini, even a hybrid would be tender to cold, but it might work with heavy protection. I mean, it's not like you get down to 10f every day, that's just the average minimum.

Would a mule palm or queen palm give you a sufficiently tropical look of a coconut? Would he be able to plant those in the ground with protection (incandescent christmas lights and wrapping)?  It would have to grow a new crown every year, but might the tree survive long term? 

[DAVEinMB]

1 hour ago, SLTX21 said:

Would a mule palm or queen palm give you a sufficiently tropical look of a coconut? Would he be able to plant those in the ground with protection (incandescent christmas lights and wrapping)?  It would have to grow a new crown every year, but might the tree survive long term? 

Both are a stretch. Mule stands a much better chance but there's no harm in attempting a queen. Just matters how much work you're willing to put in come cold season

[Allen]

14 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Can Coco grow in a green house cause I'm planning eventually to build one but make it tall so maybe a dwarf can work?

If you don't have any palms and are planning on planting several you should stick to palms that grow in your zone first and then if you want to add some experimental palms that will likely die at some point then do that once you have your primary palms planted.   Your primary trunking palms are Trachycarpus and Sabal Palmetto.  You can supplement that with Sabal minor, European fan and butia to make a good landscape look around the pool.  Also don't forget about the many other pool tropical plants.  If you want a Roebellini or something tropical around the pool put it in a pot and put it in garage for winter.  A greenhouse does not keep things from freezing, it only extends growing season of plants by keeping frost off of them and magnifying warming effects of the sun.  A greenhouse would have to be temperature controlled year round to keep tropical palms alive. 

[Flow]

Among Trachycarpus try to find "winsan" or "nova". Both grow much quicker than standard fortunei but may be a little less coldhardy.

[PricklyPearSATC]

If you want a fast growing palm in a pot, I would probably go with majesty palm instead of a coconut or pigmy date.
It needs to be brought into a green house in the winter. 

It doesn't have thorns, it can handle indoors to some extent, although it will grow much faster if kept in a humid greenhouse. 
Or if you climate is mild, they can stay outdoors and be brought inside when nights are below freezing.

They are easy to care for.  Although if indoors all winter (as in a house with central heat and a/c), they develop spider mites. 

They are dirt cheap, you can buy them anywhere. 

[Joe NC]

On 5/9/2021 at 1:09 AM, ZPalms said:

I really love the long swaying leaves of coconut palms

I'm growing a mule palm here in SE NC 8a (Wilmington).   Incredibly fast, long leaves, coconut adjacent.

It has been (probably needed) protection at least one night bout 75% of the winters it has been in the ground now.   I used to protect all of it every time it was forecast to get into the low 20's, now.... I'll probably only try and keep the trunk/meristem alive with lights and wrapping next time the polar vortex brings epic cold.

It is possible here in NC,  just requires effort and lots of luck.

 

 

[Joe NC]

1 hour ago, Joe NC said:

I'm growing a mule palm here in SE NC 8a (Wilmington).   Incredibly fast, long leaves, coconut adjacent.

It has been (probably needed) protection at least one night bout 75% of the winters it has been in the ground now.   I used to protect all of it every time it was forecast to get into the low 20's, now.... I'll probably only try and keep the trunk/meristem alive with lights and wrapping next time the polar vortex brings epic cold.

It is possible here in NC,  just requires effort and lots of luck.

 

 

It still has Christmas lights on it because I have been lazy....

[Allen]

23 minutes ago, Joe NC said:

It still has Christmas lights on it because I have been lazy....

Looking good.  But in 8A it's just a matter of time on these mules.  I have one in 7A too.  

[Joe NC]

 

17 hours ago, Allen said:

Looking good.  But in 8A it's just a matter of time on these mules.  I have one in 7A too.  

For sure...  I have some neat Trachy hybrids on deck in pots for when this one gets frozen and meets the chainsaw.

I'm hoping to fend that off for as long as I can.  It has definitely outgrown any protection measures that will preserve green fronds during an extreme cold event. 

Snug it its winter protection when it was just a tiny 6' baby.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Joe NC

[Allen]

23 minutes ago, Joe NC said:

 

For sure...  I have some neat Trachy hybrids on deck in pots for when this one gets frozen and meets the chainsaw.

I'm hoping to fend that off for as long as I can.  It has definitely outgrown any protection measures that will preserve green fronds during an extreme cold event. 

Snug it its winter protection when it was just a tiny 6' baby.

Yea mine is in the 10' range but fronds tucked down i can get it in about a 8' frost cloth wrap as of last winter.  Who knows how big it will be next winter.  

Edited May 12, 2021 by Allen

[ZPalms]

What's the fastest growing palm in the world in general? regardless of being cold hardy and none cold hardy

[Jubaea_James760]

I believe it's Pigafetta Filaris. 

[Jubaea_James760]

Btw I have no experience with this palm.

[ZPalms]

19 hours ago, James760 said:

I believe it's Pigafetta Filaris. 

Thanks, Ill check this one out and maybe try to get some seeds it would be fun to experiment with here since it grows so quick and do some research on them.  always up for a challenge even if its temporary

[Jcalvin]

On 5/8/2021 at 9:37 PM, ZPalms said:

Just curious if theirs any palms I don't know of that grow fast apart from washingtonias? I've googled some different species but they aren't specific on which are fast growing and cold hardy and if their are any species of coconut palms that are more resistant to the cold? I've read a forum on here about Indian tall coconut tree but I'm not exactly sure what species Indian tall is

I’m not sure where you’re located, but if you can get away with planting a queen plan, they grow pretty fast with the right amount of water and fertilizer. 

[ZPalms]

5 minutes ago, Jcalvin said:

I’m not sure where you’re located, but if you can get away with planting a queen plan, they grow pretty fast with the right amount of water and fertilizer. 

I live in zone 8A but I actually have been eyeing them and thinking of growing one so I'll dive deeper into them and see