Dypsis “doinker” experiment

[Hilo Jason]

I just planted out 3 Dypsis Hovomantsina out of 15 gallon pots that were begging to go in the ground. These will be lining our future driveway, planted 18’ apart from each other. 
 

One of them had not pushed a new spear in awhile and after cutting the pot open to plant it, I found out why - it had given up it’s original growing point and shot out a “doinker”.  
 

I have dealt with this quite a bit, but always after re-potting these healed palms, so I’m not sure what caused this one since it’s been in the same pot for many years. In the past, after discovering a doinker, I have re-potted them into larger pots, almost sideways to position the new growth point up. Eventually the old leaves die off and the new growth becomes the new palm and looks good. I have had great success with this method, but the problem this time is I don’t have any pots larger than the 15 gallon this one was in, and I was out at my property with a large hole dug and ready to go. 
 

So I decided to plant this out in the ground and cover with a shade cloth tent and hope for the best! Looks funny as it’s planted horizontal, but this is to allow the new growth to grow up. 
 

Anyone here have experience with a similar situation of planting “doinkers” directly in the ground?

Looking up the future driveway which will be lined with my favorite palms that I have been growing and saving for this project.  Just past the Hovomantsinas are a couple Dypsis Prestoniana Hybrids and then 3 Dypsis Lastelliana. The Driveway will be about 300 feet long and will have roughly 40 palms lining it. 

 

Another angle of the 3 Dypsis Hovomantsina, the one laying down on the far right is the doinker.

 

Looking the opposite direction towards the ocean, Dypsis Prestoniana hybrids on each side with Hovomantsinas behind them. Next plantings will be 3 Dypsis Mananjarensis behind those.

One of these days I will put together a thread that is dedicated to the work going into this garden and future home of ours. I have a lot of photos, just need to organize them. 
 

Thanks for looking!
 

 

[Fishinsteeg234]

I don’t have any experience planting a Doinker like this, but I think you did it just as I would. Protect from the harsh sun with a temp cover until acclimated, keep watered, and hopefully it will show upwards growth soon. Good luck!

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, Hilo Jason said:

Anyone here have experience with a similar situation of planting “doinkers” directly in the ground?

Sort of but not exactly Jason.  I have a Coccothrinax borhidiana hybrid that produced an above ground doinker out the side and it did as you described for your potted examples.  The doinker has become the main growth point and become more vertical, while the old main trunk gradually went horizontal, but still produced intermittent leaves before giving up the ghost on growing.  The big differences were that it was established, meaning completely rooted in when this occurred, and the doinker was above ground while it was emerging.  Let us know how the experiment of planting horizontal directly into the ground works out. 

On a slightly different note, the new property looks pretty darn spectacular.  Is there a place to paddle out and any surf break out back????    Looking forward to watching the progress, as you are getting to be a serial gardener now, well practiced I assume.  Looking forward to seeing it in person one of these days.

[BS Man about Palms]

Any updates here?

[Hilo Jason]

13 hours ago, BS Man about Palms said:

Any updates here?

It’s alive and well!  It’s grown several new fronds and is in full blazing sun. The picture below was taken when the driveway rock was being put down a month or so ago and shows this Hovomantsina in the lower right part of the photo. 
 

 

[BS Man about Palms]

Excellent!

[Hilo Jason]

Here’s another doinker experiment that I will be shocked if it survives!  This is a Dypsis Pilulifera that stopped pushing new growth over a year or more ago. It was in a 10 gallon pot and I just never had the time to try to see what was going on. I finally did today, and unlike other Doinkers that shoot out from the side, this one was growing straight out of the bottom of the saxophone type base that these big Dypsis get. Not having a larger pot, I had to cut off all the old leaves, flip it upside down and re-arrange the roots.  I wasn’t careful at all while handling it, I really couldn’t be. But I figured it was worth a shot! 
 

[happypalms]

Well today I learned what a doinker is a very interesting plant trait that’s for sure thanks for the horticultural lesson always good to learn something new you certainly have done good job on your project it’s going to look amazing in the years ahead