Acoelorrhaphe wrightii on Hilton Head Island, SC

[PalmTreeDude]

I found some nice Acoelorrhaphe wrightii on Hilton Head Island, SC. They look pretty good to me!  

[kinzyjr]

@PalmTreeDude Nice to see them making their way north.

[96720]

They also grow great in hot places like Phoenix 

[BeyondTheGarden]

Those look great, I sure wish they were another zone or 2 more hardy. 

[Valhallalla]

17 hours ago, 96720 said:

They also grow great in hot places like Phoenix

They don't even mind if it gets hot enough for combustion like in the Everglades.

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Nice find!   quite a bit further north an I thought they were capable.    Maybe these can take more cold than we know / think? 

[ZPalms]

I keep looking at this palm and I really wanna give these a go here! definitely gonna buy some once their available again on @NOT A TA website!  Can't lie though I don't know if I would have the heart to cut the suckers to keep it clean cause it makes me sad to remove them  but I do personally love how weird they look thin and tall by themselves!

Photo taken by  @NOT A TA

Edited September 2, 2021 by ZPalms

[palmsOrl]

ZPalms, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii is a 9a palm and will come back from the roots in zone 8b, so you might be able to grow it as a "shrub" and mulch over it in the winter to protect the roots and have it come back each spring from the roots.  It is worth a try but I don't know if this would work.

Some people do something similar in climates like yours with Livistona chinensis.  I will be interested to hear others chime in as to whether this might work for Acoelorrhaphe.

-Michael

[ZPalms]

2 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

ZPalms, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii is a 9a palm and will come back from the roots in zone 8b, so you might be able to grow it as a "shrub" and mulch over it in the winter to protect the roots and have it come back each spring from the roots.  It is worth a try but I don't know if this would work.

Some people do something similar in climates like yours with Livistona chinensis.  I will be interested to hear others chime in as to whether this might work for Acoelorrhaphe.

-Michael

I wonder if C9 christmas bulbs would give it good heat or incandescent for ground and mulching of course, Do the leaves burn easy on these? I saw on palmpedia they take to 20F and when it drops below that here it's very brief, would wet and cold winters be a definite no go?

Edited September 2, 2021 by ZPalms

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

3 hours ago, ZPalms said:

I wonder if C9 christmas bulbs would give it good heat or incandescent for ground and mulching of course, Do the leaves burn easy on these? I saw on palmpedia they take to 20F and when it drops below that here it's very brief, would wet and cold winters be a definite no go?

This sounds about right.   Inland from me here in southern FL, is 9A, and I can tell you that having seen these after "freezes" where temps briefly dip to the mid / upper 20's / frost etc, they seem fine.  I don't see much leaf burn on them.   Even after the bad cold / freeze snap in 2010 that killed off a lot more tropical plants, I don' t remember these looking ratty.  Their native habitat does take down into the 20's occasionally, and they live in a very swampy / wet or seasonally wet area.    I would give it a try if I were you,  but go into it knowing you may lose it.  That way you'll be pleasantly surprised if / when it survives.  

Another thing to note is that these are NOT good container palms.   They sell them here at a native plant nursery local to me, and they did have one for sale, rather cheap too.  $40.00 for I think it was a 3 gallon.  Ill share a pic of it below.  I was very tempted to buy it, but, they just aren't good for container culture.   These spread.  The roots spread, and the suckers spread and will make it extremely difficult to keep in a container.   Seeds are easy to come by here too as there are lots of plants around that have seed on them.  

[ZPalms]

7 hours ago, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

This sounds about right.   Inland from me here in southern FL, is 9A, and I can tell you that having seen these after "freezes" where temps briefly dip to the mid / upper 20's / frost etc, they seem fine.  I don't see much leaf burn on them.   Even after the bad cold / freeze snap in 2010 that killed off a lot more tropical plants, I don' t remember these looking ratty.  Their native habitat does take down into the 20's occasionally, and they live in a very swampy / wet or seasonally wet area.    I would give it a try if I were you,  but go into it knowing you may lose it.  That way you'll be pleasantly surprised if / when it survives.  

Another thing to note is that these are NOT good container palms.   They sell them here at a native plant nursery local to me, and they did have one for sale, rather cheap too.  $40.00 for I think it was a 3 gallon.  Ill share a pic of it below.  I was very tempted to buy it, but, they just aren't good for container culture.   These spread.  The roots spread, and the suckers spread and will make it extremely difficult to keep in a container.   Seeds are easy to come by here too as there are lots of plants around that have seed on them.  

I'll definitely give them a go! I actually have a swamp next to my house they might actually enjoy but I'm not completely sure I would want them near the swamp cause I'd like to have them in a controlled area if they do survive that I can maintain cause if it was near the swamp it would go wild if they did live!

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

2 hours ago, ZPalms said:

I'll definitely give them a go! I actually have a swamp next to my house they might actually enjoy but I'm not completely sure I would want them near the swamp cause I'd like to have them in a controlled area if they do survive that I can maintain cause if it was near the swamp it would go wild if they did live!

haha!   I definitely don't think you'll have to worry about them "going wild" up there.   I think cold might help keep them in check, and, they also do not spread like Saw or Sabal Palmetto do that I have seen.   I def think they are worth a try for you though! 

[mnorell]

This species is very cold-hardy at the roots. A specimen such as the Hilton Head one above indicates that it has experienced a good stretch of winters above 20F. Below about 18-20F you will start to lose stems as opposed to leaves, but even in extreme cold it recovers quickly and retains some charm as a small palm. But they don't mind the prolonged chill at all. This species did well, returning from teens for me in Natchez, Mississippi including the 2018 dip to 13F. They are good to go in Dallas and have recovered from single digits there. I wouldn't be surprised if some lived through this crazy past winter there. It is an extremely adaptable palm. There is a beautiful big specimen a block away from our place in Big Pine Key, Florida (submerged in the ocean for over 12 hours during Hurricane Irma); and another equally beautiful big specimen a block from our house in the scorching desert of Rancho Mirage, California. I have also seen very nice specimens in a rather comparatively chilly Beverly Hills-adjacent area of Los Angeles. Add to that Dallas, Texas; Natchez, Mississippi; and Hilton Head, South Carolina...and that makes for one heck of a tolerant palm!!! It should be near the top of the list of palm-fanciers in marginal areas.

[ZPalms]

10 hours ago, mnorell said:

This species is very cold-hardy at the roots. A specimen such as the Hilton Head one above indicates that it has experienced a good stretch of winters above 20F. Below about 18-20F you will start to lose stems as opposed to leaves, but even in extreme cold it recovers quickly and retains some charm as a small palm. But they don't mind the prolonged chill at all. This species did well, returning from teens for me in Natchez, Mississippi including the 2018 dip to 13F. They are good to go in Dallas and have recovered from single digits there. I wouldn't be surprised if some lived through this crazy past winter there. It is an extremely adaptable palm. There is a beautiful big specimen a block away from our place in Big Pine Key, Florida (submerged in the ocean for over 12 hours during Hurricane Irma); and another equally beautiful big specimen a block from our house in the scorching desert of Rancho Mirage, California. I have also seen very nice specimens in a rather comparatively chilly Beverly Hills-adjacent area of Los Angeles. Add to that Dallas, Texas; Natchez, Mississippi; and Hilton Head, South Carolina...and that makes for one heck of a tolerant palm!!! It should be near the top of the list of palm-fanciers in marginal areas.

 Could we see a picture of yours? Will this palm most likely stay a shrub rather than a tree?

Edited September 3, 2021 by ZPalms

[Eric in Orlando]

Around Orlando most specimens were killed to the roots in the 12/89 freeze, 2 nights near 20F with a high of around 35F in between. There were some specimens even killed outright.

 

 

[ruskinPalms]

These are absolutely tough, great palms, one of my favorites. Very tropical looking if you control the suckers. They can take the mid to low 20s F without too much drama. 

[NOT A TA]

On 9/2/2021 at 5:44 AM, ZPalms said:

but I do personally love how weird they look thin and tall by themselves!

Keep in mind those in the pic you posted are probably twice your age. They've been tall & spindly looking like that since I first saw them over 15 years ago. I think they look good about this size.

[ZPalms]

1 hour ago, NOT A TA said:

Keep in mind those in the pic you posted are probably twice your age. They've been tall & spindly looking like that since I first saw them over 15 years ago. I think they look good about this size.

These look equally as nice! They remind me of sabal palmettos if they were skinny and clumped together 

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

On 9/3/2021 at 8:50 PM, NOT A TA said:

Keep in mind those in the pic you posted are probably twice your age. They've been tall & spindly looking like that since I first saw them over 15 years ago. I think they look good about this size.

I didn't realise that these are that slow growing.  They sound even more slow growing than S. Minor / S. Palmetto.   How many years old would you estimate the one that is potted in the photo I posted?  

[NOT A TA]

1 hour ago, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

 How many years old would you estimate the one that is potted in the photo I posted?  

I'd guess 5-7?  Ones I've grown from seed have sold before they got that big. I pulled one for the pic below that's about 3-4 years old. Faster growing than Sabal palmetto in a pot when young.

 

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

1 minute ago, NOT A TA said:

I'd guess 5-7?  Ones I've grown from seed have sold before they got that big. I pulled one for the pic below that's about 3-4 years old. Faster growing than Sabal palmetto in a pot when young.

 

Oh wow.   So not as slow, but not a rocket either. LOL.   Thanks for that.     I love this one.   If you were close I'd buy one that size from you.    I do have a few seeds currently.    Any advice on germination?   The seeds where I am are very easy to come by as these are pretty common palms here.  

[NOT A TA]

19 minutes ago, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

Any advice on germination? 

I know this might sound kinda weird but I germinate them in plastic coffee cans with lid snapped on in the attic this time of year. Don't put baggies in the attic because roaches will chew through them for the moisture during dry spells. Spring/summer I just use community pots outdoors. They germinate pretty quickly compared with a lot of other palms.

[NOT A TA]

On 9/2/2021 at 5:44 AM, ZPalms said:

 I do personally love how weird they look thin and tall by themselves!

Was out checking on my seed sources yesterday and thought you might like a pic of how they get twisted and gnarly looking when old.

[NOT A TA]

They're frequently used as screens here instead of the overused Dypsis lutescens. In this case there's houses on the other side of the ones in the pic and I'm standing behind a shopping center where the loading docks are for deliveries. I'm sure the homeowners can't see the commercial property (which isn't appealing at all) from their homes. They'll fill in to a solid wall if the suckers are allowed to grow.

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

1 hour ago, NOT A TA said:

I know this might sound kinda weird but I germinate them in plastic coffee cans with lid snapped on in the attic this time of year. Don't put baggies in the attic because roaches will chew through them for the moisture during dry spells. Spring/summer I just use community pots outdoors. They germinate pretty quickly compared with a lot of other palms.

Thanks for that!    I don't have an attic, but I do have a full sun outdoor patio that gets HOT this time of year.  I face SSE, so its all day sun until about 3-4 PM so were spared some of the hottest part of the day.   Do you try to get the little husk / skins off or just pop them in soil and let them go?  

[NOT A TA]

3 hours ago, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

Thanks for that!    I don't have an attic, but I do have a full sun outdoor patio that gets HOT this time of year.  I face SSE, so its all day sun until about 3-4 PM so were spared some of the hottest part of the day.   Do you try to get the little husk / skins off or just pop them in soil and let them go?  

Just put them in soil either way.

[ZPalms]

8 hours ago, NOT A TA said:

Was out checking on my seed sources yesterday and thought you might like a pic of how they get twisted and gnarly looking when old.

They are so awesome looking being all scrawny and curved, I really love the look of them like this! They need to evolve right now into a new species that grows a single trunk 

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

9 hours ago, NOT A TA said:

Just put them in soil either way.

Will do!  HOT soil!   haha.  

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Just a couple of pics of some old/ mature clumps down here in St. Pete.   They just totally cut the suckers down to nothing a few months ago or so and look how fast the have come back!  

 

 

[Laaz]

We have some here in Charleston, they do fine but not to common.

[NOT A TA]

On 9/2/2021 at 5:44 AM, ZPalms said:

definitely gonna buy some once their available again on @NOT A TA website!  

Started collecting this years seed today.

https://lab-14.myshopify.com/products/z-l-20-acoelorrhaphe-wrightii-seeds-paurotis-or-everglades-palm-fully-cleaned

[ZPalms]

7 hours ago, NOT A TA said:

Started collecting this years seed today.

https://lab-14.myshopify.com/products/z-l-20-acoelorrhaphe-wrightii-seeds-paurotis-or-everglades-palm-fully-cleaned

Awesome thanks! Just bought some! 

[ZPalms]

Seeds arrived today, I'm unsure what I wanna do but I think ill start some in a container and then next spring ill plant them out next to the swamp and let them do their thing since they will be there happiest having all that access to water like the everglades  very excited to have some grown and share winter data and obversions with everyone