Little Bismarck that Could

[GoatLockerGuns]

This little Bismarckia nobilis survived Hurricane Ian at my dad's house in Cape Coral, Florida relatively unscathed, and in a cheap plastic pot!

This is the scene less than 100 yards away:

He got tossed around and knocked over, but was still kicking when the skies cleared.  I decided to bring him back to Texas with me:

I thought the fronds looked really green on this guy.  I would have expected them to be more silver since he has been palmate for some time now.  Does anyone know if this is normal for a typical Bismarckia nobilis of this size, or is this looking more like the "Green Form" of the species?

My dad's more mature planted Bismarckia nobilis survived the storm in good condition as well:

I saw a lot of Bismarckia nobilis and other tall palms that got knocked over, some even falling on roofs.  This Bismarckia nobilis across the street had its massive crown beat up pretty good.

[Fusca]

3 hours ago, GoatLockerGuns said:

Does anyone know if this is normal for a typical Bismarckia nobilis of this size, or is this looking more like the "Green Form" of the species?

Hey Rich,

I think it's pretty normal - particularly for a silver Bismarck sourced from Florida.  You don't see a lot of purplish red color so it probably won't be as silver and, therefore, as cold hardy as it ages.  It'll still be silver but probably won't survive too long in SA if it's unprotected below 28° or so.  Not sure about the lows it could handle but it was considered a 10a palm 20 years ago when they started to really get popular in the landscape.  Joseph from Texas Cold Hardy Palms showed that the more silver types are much more cold tolerant.

[GoatLockerGuns]

3 hours ago, Fusca said:

I think it's pretty normal - particularly for a silver Bismarck sourced from Florida.

Hey Jon,

Actually, I grew this one from seed in San Antonio, and then brought it down to my dad's place in Cape Coral a couple of years ago.  He just left it in the back yard and didn't do anything with it.  I can't remember where I sourced the seed from to be honest.  I guess this is technically a homecoming then.   I don't plan on planting it at my property.  I will just keep it in a pot for as long as possible.  A big pot that is.

[Merlyn]

@GoatLockerGuns that looks reasonably purple-ish on the petioles and the base of the fans.  I'd guess once it doubles in size it'll start getting more silver.  I grew one from a 1g up to now 6' tall and it went through a stage where it was kinda off-white-olive-drab-purple all at the same time.  It's nice and silver now!