What kind of palm is this with huge fronds?

[miamicuse]

I saw this palm today at the Vizcaya Museum courtyard in Miami, Florida.

What kind of palm is this?  Very large fronds, with sharp  pointy needles on it's trunk.

[Marius]

It is Verschaffeltia splendida

[kinzyjr]

@miamicuse Vizcaya ... one of my favorite stops down that way.

[RedRabbit]

7 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

@miamicuse Vizcaya ... one of my favorite stops down that way.

Yep, that place is awesome. 

[miamicuse]

Vizcaya is going through a major renovation right now.

The second floor of the mansion is not open due to the renovation.  The outside gardens are also being worked on, lots of damages, the rose garden was bare, it was flooded with salt water during hurricane Irma.  They have a lot to do, the maze garden are now just planted with the hedges up to knee height so there is no maze.  Sad to see all the damages.  The cafe is open, it was flooded with water with a layer of silt deposit after Irma.  They have a lot of work to do.

about this palm, Verschaffeltia splendida, will it thrive in Fort Lauderdale (zone 10b), under full sun?  May get flooded too once or twice a year during king tides.

Edited May 29, 2021 by miamicuse

[redant]

On 5/28/2021 at 1:03 AM, Marius said:

It is Verschaffeltia splendida

A sickly one.

[kinzyjr]

On 5/29/2021 at 10:26 AM, miamicuse said:

Vizcaya is going through a major renovation right now.

The second floor of the mansion is not open due to the renovation.  The outside gardens are also being worked on, lots of damages, the rose garden was bare, it was flooded with salt water during hurricane Irma.  They have a lot to do, the maze garden are now just planted with the hedges up to knee height so there is no maze.  Sad to see all the damages.  The cafe is open, it was flooded with water with a layer of silt deposit after Irma.  They have a lot of work to do.

about this palm, Verschaffeltia splendida, will it thrive in Fort Lauderdale (zone 10b), under full sun?  May get flooded too once or twice a year during king tides.

Hope they get it back up to code, so to speak.  I really enjoyed going there.

In regard to Verschaffeltia splendida, the bulk of the entries in the Cold Hardiness Observations spreadsheet show some serious damage is possible if it gets down around 35F.  I don't have any personal experience with this palm as it would be lucky to make it two winters outdoors here. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

2 hours ago, redant said:

A sickly one.

Yeah it’s the worst looking plant in that grouping. Definitely needs some palm specific fertilizer.

[kurt decker]

It can be done. Here are two I sold a friend of mine in 2002. They are in Citrus Isles in Fort Lauderdale, and survived both ends of the 2010 brutal winter. I don't know of any other seeding verchaffeltia in Fort Lauderdale, but these two prove it can be done. They're only about 25 feet from the water, and have had some king tide issues as well.