Type of archontophoenix

[enigma99]

Years ago when I got this palm, it was labeled as an illawarra. Well now it has flowered and now I am wondering if it is just a standard King. 

Thoughts?

[BayAndroid]

Just putting it out there, beautiful tree, nice looking trunk and I like the other stuff in the background. Nice yard!

[byuind]

So i kind of understood that Cunningham and Alexander were more or less interchangeable when referring to a "King Palm". Kinda like Bangalow and North Bangalow. Two separate species but so similar that they just call them "Kings"

Someone else is probably much smarter than me.

[quaman58]

If memory serves, the A. cunninghamiana has the pink/ violet flowers like yours, whereas the alexandrae has white ones. Happy palm!

[enigma99]

55 minutes ago, quaman58 said:

If memory serves, the A. cunninghamiana has the pink/ violet flowers like yours, whereas the alexandrae has white ones. Happy palm!

Yes, correct. But it's a A. cunninghamiana illawarra, which is supposed to be a hybrid. It also has rementa and is quicker growing, and a little more upright. @Jim in Los Altos you have some right?

[Jim in Los Altos]

12 minutes ago, enigma99 said:

Yes, correct. But it's a A. cunninghamiana illawarra, which is supposed to be a hybrid. It also has rementa and is quicker growing, and a little more upright. @Jim in Los Altos you have some right?

Derrick, Yes, I have many. I also have many standard cunninghamiana. Flowers are identical on both varieties. The main differences are speed of growth (Illawara is much faster in the Bay Area climate) and stouter trunk on some Illawarra. As far as I know, Illawara is named that because of the region it was discovered rather than being a hybrid. I’ve never heard of it being a hybrid before. 

[Navarro]

perdonar por salirme del tema ,eso que se ve abajo en el lado derecho  es un ficus dammaropsis?

[enigma99]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Derrick, Yes, I have many. I also have many standard cunninghamiana. Flowers are identical on both varieties. The main differences are speed of growth (Illawara is much faster in the Bay Area climate) and stouter trunk on some Illawarra. As far as I know, Illawara is named that because of the region it was discovered rather than being a hybrid. I’ve never heard of it being a hybrid before. 

Thanks for clarifying

[enigma99]

1 hour ago, Navarro said:

perdonar por salirme del tema ,eso que se ve abajo en el lado derecho  es un ficus dammaropsis?

sí, ficus dammaropsis!

[DoomsDave]

@enigma99your palm is wonderful whatever it is! A king of some kind for sure, because of the purple flowers. Iliwarras are touted for their cold resistance, which is a definite plus the further north you go, all else being equal.

The great part is that you're about the same latitude as Columbus Ohio, more or less! Stay warm (and cool, too!)

[Navarro]

3 hours ago, enigma99 said:

¡Sí, ficus damaropsis!

Me alegra saber que en tu clima parecido al mío le va bien , quiero uno pero aquí en Europa es imposible asta ahora encontrarlo 

[Jim in Los Altos]

4 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

@enigma99your palm is wonderful whatever it is! A king of some kind for sure, because of the purple flowers. Iliwarras are touted for their cold resistance, which is a definite plus the further north you go, all else being equal.

The great part is that you're about the same latitude as Columbus Ohio, more or less! Stay warm (and cool, too!)

Dave, Illawara are certainly touted as being more cold hardy but many people have reported them as the same or slightly less cold hardy than regular cunninghamiana. In my own experience, the last time we went below 32°F here was in 2007 and we had one night at 27°F. Most off my Illawara had significant burning while all of my regular cunninghamiana had little to no burn. The best thing about Illawara is their rapid and robust growth, even in winter.

[BayAndroid]

7 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Dave, Illawara are certainly touted as being more cold hardy but many people have reported them as the same or slightly less cold hardy than regular cunninghamiana. In my own experience, the last time we went below 32°F here was in 2007 and we had one night at 27°F. Most off my Illawara had significant burning while all of my regular cunninghamiana had little to no burn. The best thing about Illawara is their rapid and robust growth, even in winter.

Hey Jim, is it possible I could get some seeds from an illawara sometime? I would love to grow some. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

2 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

Hey Jim, is it possible I could get some seeds from an illawara sometime? I would love to grow some. 

Sure, I could send you a bunch but purity isn’t guaranteed. My groves are mixed Archontophoenix so some seeds may be pure Illawara but not necessarily many of them since the different palms flower at the same time and are in very close proximity to each other and bees are always going from one inflorescence to another. 

[gurugu]

Mines do show differences in shape and speed of growth. I haven´t noticed differences in terms of temperatures here at 43ºN in a 10A zone

Ilawarra. More upright leaves.

 

 

And Cunninghamiana. More flat leaves.

 

[Daryl]

I was lucky enough to see 'Illawarra' in habitat about 40 years ago at Durras Mountain.  Will never forget our group being devoured by monster leaches!  The area was quite coastal (several hundred metres from the beach) and where the palms grew was heavily forested, so they probably don't experience any severe cold there. Have seen the other forms of A.cunninghamiana growing all over NSW and QLD...some areas are much further inland and subject to cold air drainage from nearby mountains and higher elevation areas, and experience much colder temperatures, even though closer to the equator. Illawarra doesn't get the summer heat compared to the populations further north, so understandably tolerates cooler conditions and grows better even without a lot of summer heat. To check out the area, use Google maps and you can see some of the palms that have broken through the canopy. We also got to see some cool Kangaroos hanging out at nearby Pebbly Beach. Livistona australis also grows natively in this area. I remember visiting a palm garden nearby and Roystonea was surviving there.  Would love to go back and re-trace my steps one day.

 

Daryl

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Daryl

[Fishinsteeg234]

I am in search of “Illawarra“ seeds if anyone has any for sale?

[enigma99]

6 hours ago, Fishinsteeg234 said:

I am in search of “Illawarra“ seeds if anyone has any for sale?

Hopefully I will have some later this year  My illawarra is the only king currently flowering so it won't be contaminated with anything else