Royal Grows Like a Rocket in December

[Xerarch]

So we’ve been very warm the last 10 days or so with highs in the 80’s, so a week ago I decided to measure growth of my Cuban Royal for a week, we’ll start cooling down tomorrow so I ended the experiment today, after 1 week. So you can see the magic marker line rose about 9 inches in 7 days, more than 1 inch a day for the new spear is pretty awesome for December. 

[96720]

Royals like heat but I don’t know how you live with that humidity I’ll stay in Phoenix!!!!!

[Xerarch]

26 minutes ago, 96720 said:

Royals like heat but I don’t know how you live with that humidity I’ll stay in Phoenix!!!!!

Hey I lived in Phoenix for about 5 years and loved it. I don’t love the humidity either but it’s nice to not have the extreme heat, also love having the beach and so many fishing opportunities etc nearby. Every place has its pluses and minuses. 

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, Xerarch said:

Hey I lived in Phoenix for about 5 years and loved it. I don’t love the humidity either but it’s nice to not have the extreme heat, also love having the beach and so many fishing opportunities etc nearby. Every place has its pluses and minuses. 

The "humid" part of the summer,  is the best part of summer here..  lol  Wish it was like that late May - mid October.

[96720]

The humid part of summer is when I wished I had a summer home somewhere with no humidity!!!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/13/2022 at 8:38 PM, Xerarch said:

So we’ve been very warm the last 10 days or so with highs in the 80’s, so a week ago I decided to measure growth of my Cuban Royal for a week, we’ll start cooling down tomorrow so I ended the experiment today, after 1 week. So you can see the magic marker line rose about 9 inches in 7 days, more than 1 inch a day for the new spear is pretty awesome for December. 

Love it, Ammon!!!  My Green Malayan Dwarf has been growing like a weed lately too, and is looking REALLY NICE.  By the way, where did you get your Cuban Royal, for how much, and for how long has it been in the ground?

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/13/2022 at 8:38 PM, Xerarch said:

So we’ve been very warm the last 10 days or so with highs in the 80’s, so a week ago I decided to measure growth of my Cuban Royal for a week, we’ll start cooling down tomorrow so I ended the experiment today, after 1 week. So you can see the magic marker line rose about 9 inches in 7 days, more than 1 inch a day for the new spear is pretty awesome for December. 

And what is the overall height of it?

John

[Fusca]

Mine has been showing good growth recently too.  I planted it in August about 8' overall height.  Not bad for a $35 palm!  😀

[Xerarch]

47 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Mine has been showing good growth recently too.  I planted it in August about 8' overall height.  Not bad for a $35 palm!  😀

Man if I could find them here for that price I'd buy a bunch, Royals are hard to find here, and I've never seen them as small as that size, but I would prefer smaller size since they grow so fast anyway and I could save some cost.

[Xerarch]

10 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Love it, Ammon!!!  My Green Malayan Dwarf has been growing like a weed lately too, and is looking REALLY NICE.  By the way, where did you get your Cuban Royal, for how much, and for how long has it been in the ground?

John

Planted it in late June, got it from Padre Palms as a 15 gallon for $159

 

and here it is today, wow I didn’t realize how tiny it was compared to now.  Tallest frond is 11.5’ from the ground and the girth at the bottom is way bigger, that didn’t come through that well in the photo. 

[Xerarch]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

Mine has been showing good growth recently too.  I planted it in August about 8' overall height.  Not bad for a $35 palm!  😀

36 minutes ago, Xerarch said:

Man if I could find them here for that price I'd buy a bunch, Royals are hard to find here, and I've never seen them as small as that size, but I would prefer smaller size since they grow so fast anyway and I could save some cost.

 

Second thought, after I just posted a pic of mine when I planted it, it looks pretty similar to yours, although yours has grown since August for sure.  What size pot was that when you got it for that price?

[96720]

Royals are always hard to find I buy seedlings on palmtalk they are fast I will post a picture of one years growth when I have time!!!!

[Billeb]

On 12/13/2022 at 6:38 PM, Xerarch said:

Man…Royals get so damn big so quick. Too much for my yard. Cool trees tho. I’d be stoked with that growth. 
 

-dale

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, Xerarch said:

Second thought, after I just posted a pic of mine when I planted it, it looks pretty similar to yours, although yours has grown since August for sure.  What size pot was that when you got it for that price?

I was thinking the same thing when I saw your older pic.  I think mine was a 7-gal or maybe a 10-gal from 495 nursery.  My neighbor bought a similar sized royal at a local pulga but not sure what he paid.  I also planted one I grew from seed (thanks @NOT A TA) that is in a low wet spot and loving it!  It is growing fast with the extra water.  It gets flooded when the farmers run their irrigation.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

1 hour ago, Xerarch said:

Planted it in late June, got it from Padre Palms as a 15 gallon for $159

 

and here it is today, wow I didn’t realize how tiny it was compared to now.  Tallest frond is 11.5’ from the ground and the girth at the bottom is way bigger, that didn’t come through that well in the photo. 

Wow!!!  I love it, Ammon!!!  Yeah, for some reason, photos just do not do justice to palms, as far as showing the robustness of the crowns, or the base of the trunks.

John

P.S.  I bet you get good growth there due to you clay soils, whereas with my very sandy soil, I would have to amend the soil a lot, fertilize more, and water a LOT more to get comparable growth of a Royal Palm in my yard.  Prior to the Big Freeze though, there were some HUGE Cuban Royals at the south end of Flour Bluff along Roscher Rd., but I think there may be some clay content in the soils there too.

[Xerarch]

1 hour ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Wow!!!  I love it, Ammon!!!  Yeah, for some reason, photos just do not do justice to palms, as far as showing the robustness of the crowns, or the base of the trunks.

John

P.S.  I bet you get good growth there due to you clay soils, whereas with my very sandy soil, I would have to amend the soil a lot, fertilize more, and water a LOT more to get comparable growth of a Royal Palm in my yard.  Prior to the Big Freeze though, there were some HUGE Cuban Royals at the south end of Flour Bluff along Roscher Rd., but I think there may be some clay content in the soils there too.

I've got some pics of those royals somewhere along with some other nice ones pre-freeze, and yeah mine get plenty of water where they are, I've got them in a low bowl so it fills up whenever it rains enough for runoff, also makes it easy to water them between rains and the clay soil helps keep it moist.  I didn't call much attention to it but you can also see in those pics that there is a majesty palm there next to it, it has also grown a lot and loves the extra water.

[D. Morrowii]

You have to love seeing that kind of growth and in December no less! These have been fun to grow for me as well. The one in the pic below was a seed I picked up in Miami around this time 2 years ago. I have the germination date down as 1/15/21 so a little less than 2 years since it sprouted. Its about 6’ from the ground to the tip of the fronds. 

[Xerarch]

11 minutes ago, D. Morrowii said:

You have to love seeing that kind of growth and in December no less! These have been fun to grow for me as well. The one in the pic below was a seed I picked up in Miami around this time 2 years ago. I have the germination date down as 1/15/21 so a little less than 2 years since it sprouted. Its about 6’ from the ground to the tip of the fronds. 

Awesome growth from seed! The fast growth rate makes them desirable to use here for sure

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

35 minutes ago, D. Morrowii said:

You have to love seeing that kind of growth and in December no less! These have been fun to grow for me as well. The one in the pic below was a seed I picked up in Miami around this time 2 years ago. I have the germination date down as 1/15/21 so a little less than 2 years since it sprouted. Its about 6’ from the ground to the tip of the fronds. 

Nice growth in just under 2 years.  How long did the seed take to sprout?

John

[D. Morrowii]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Nice growth in just under 2 years.  How long did the seed take to sprout?

John

I don't know the exact time but it was probably around 4-6 weeks. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

I want to get another Florida Royal Palm or two.  They ARE More Cold Hardy than Cuban Royals, even when younger than a larger Cuban Royal.  I had one about  9 ft. tall in overall height that was about a year and half younger than my Cuban Royal that was about 13 ft. tall in overall height, and the Florida Royal came through two back to back nights in the upper 20'sF totally unprotected, whereas the Cuban Royal succumbed to the freezes and died a few months later, even though it was 4 ft. taller, and a year and a half older!!!  DON'T believe anyone who tries to classify Florida Royals and Cuban Royals as the same palms!!!  I lived in South Florida for two years, and saw plenty of both of them.  The Florida Royals are typically about 15 ft. to 20 ft. taller at full maturity, with a more slender trunk, and sometimes a slight bend in the middle of the trunk, whereas the Cuban Royals are typically 15 ft. to 20 ft. shorter at full maturity, with a thicker trunk, and usually no bend at all in the middle of the trunk.  They ARE distinctly different varieties, as different as Jamaican Tall Coconut Palm from a Green Malayan Dwarf Coconut Palms.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

8 minutes ago, D. Morrowii said:

I don't know the exact time but it was probably around 4-6 weeks. 

Then I should probably start growing them from seeds.

John