Gaussia princeps goes in.

[Looking Glass]

Well, after the crumping of the fat-bottom bottle palm, and subsequent removal, Gaussia princeps was ready to go in.   I put a triple 3g in today, that I got from Caribbean Palms Nursery a couple of months ago.  They were literally busting out with no real dirt, so I’ll assume they’ll be happy to have something to suck on.  

The dirt there was rich, heavy and thick there, so I actually amended with coarse sand and crushed limestone (not my usually M.O., but it seems I’ve fortified that bed with enough organics over the past couple of years).  I garnished with limestone and mixed in dolomite with some long-acting fertilizer.   Hopefully they grow slow and don’t rot out.   

This will get swamped by the ground over in a week or so, but still provide some drainage and minerals.  

I have a feeling that I overdid it, but time will tell if the chainsaw will have to come out.   These better be slow.  
 

Also added some Croton “mango” to the ever growing croton hedge row while I was out there.  

Edited June 30, 2023 by Looking Glass

[D. Morrowii]

Very nice! I do like the look of these. So.....did they have anymore of those bad mama jamas at CP by chance?😀

[Looking Glass]

2 hours ago, D. Morrowii said:

Very nice! I do like the look of these. So.....did they have anymore of those bad mama jamas at CP by chance?😀

@Caribbean Palms could probably tell ya.  But when I was there, there were a few more this size, and the next size up, equally overgrown in their pots.  Those were too big for me to fit the the back of the truck, with what I was already loading up on.  Plus, I like digging small holes.  I bet they would love to be released into the wild, if you are in the market and he still has them.   

He has some in the ground too.   (It’s always terrifying to see very old adult palms in the ground - sometimes I just look up and say…”uh oh…..”

There’s 4 in this pic I think….

 

There’s an old giant on the left there….

[D. Morrowii]

I should plan a little road trip down that way at some point. Its just tough to find the time… Definitely need to check that nursery out though. 
I know what you mean about seeing a mature version of a palm you may have planted somewhere in your own garden Uh oh 

[Caribbean Palms]

We've got a good supply of 3 & 7 gal. available...all over-grown and ready to roll.  They've been growing in full sun and are busting out of their pants with their huge roots.

Mike

Caribbean Palms Nursery

Loxahatchee Groves, Fl

 

[D. Morrowii]

3 hours ago, Caribbean Palms said:

We've got a good supply of 3 & 7 gal. available...all over-grown and ready to roll.  They've been growing in full sun and are busting out of their pants with their huge roots.

Mike

Caribbean Palms Nursery

Loxahatchee Groves, Fl

 

Mike, sounds good, I’m looking forward to getting down there soon. 

[Merlyn]

@Looking GlassI do that too with some of the bigger palms.  I always know the general "mature size" before planting them, but sometimes I see a mature one in person and think, "Oh crap, that is NOT going to fit where I planted it."  That was definitely the case with Alfredii, as I didn't realize they'd hold a full crown in FL if you didn't trim off the older ones.  In the case of Gaussia Princeps I think you'll be fine.  The fronds are only 6ish feet long, and not stabby.  So I have some planted closer to walkways and driveways than yours.  At a certain height they might be slightly annoying walking past.  I have that with a Pindo that hangs fronds all the way over my walkway.  If they get annoying I lop off a frond, especially if the thorny part is within an accidental arm-shredding or face-shredding zone. 

[Looking Glass]

5 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@Looking GlassI do that too with some of the bigger palms.  I always know the general "mature size" before planting them, but sometimes I see a mature one in person and think, "Oh crap, that is NOT going to fit where I planted it."  That was definitely the case with Alfredii, as I didn't realize they'd hold a full crown in FL if you didn't trim off the older ones.  In the case of Gaussia Princeps I think you'll be fine.  The fronds are only 6ish feet long, and not stabby.  So I have some planted closer to walkways and driveways than yours.  At a certain height they might be slightly annoying walking past.  I have that with a Pindo that hangs fronds all the way over my walkway.  If they get annoying I lop off a frond, especially if the thorny part is within an accidental arm-shredding or face-shredding zone. 

The fronds are pretty upright when young and middle aged, which will help too.  I thought about putting a Dictyosperma album furfuraceum there instead, but their droopy fronds would definitely get in the way. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Looking Glass

[aztropic]

On 6/30/2023 at 3:36 PM, Looking Glass said:

Hopefully they grow slow and don’t rot out.

I have a feeling that I overdid it, but time will tell if the chainsaw will have to come out.   These better be slow. 

Fairly slow growers in AZ,but probably a lot faster in FL. Here's my examples to compare. Small one is 4 years old from seed. Large one is 15 years old from seed, both totally grown under desert conditions. 

[Looking Glass]

8 hours ago, aztropic said:

Fairly slow growers in AZ,but probably a lot faster in FL. Here's my examples to compare. Small one is 4 years old from seed. Large one is 15 years old from seed, both totally grown under desert conditions. 

That’s slow for sure.  I do think they’ll be faster here, as they can cook in all day sun, and get a bunch more water and humidity.  But I’m still ok with slow.   

Yours look good and your trim job is nice.  Trimming these small guys was very hard for me compared to bottle palms.  They had a much, much thicker rind for sure.  

Edited July 3, 2023 by Looking Glass

[Tracy]

9 hours ago, aztropic said:

Fairly slow growers in AZ,but probably a lot faster in FL. Here's my examples to compare. Small one is 4 years old from seed. Large one is 15 years old from seed, both totally grown under desert conditions. 

Just curious how many leaves your in ground specimen typically holds in Arizona?  Three is pretty typical for me here.   I have always just left the retained leaf bases on mine due to fear of damage when attempting to remove them.  As slow as it grows here I really fear setting it back.

[aztropic]

3 hours ago, Tracy said:

Just curious how many leaves your in ground specimen typically holds in Arizona?  Three is pretty typical for me here.  

Same here - 3 fronds and a spear... 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Looking Glass]

Maybe, @Palmfan could post an updated pic of this GOAT from an old thread about G. princeps.   That’s the perfect age and size there! …goals.   

 

[Palmfan]

This is my fat Gaussia princeps. Now 15 feet tall!

[Looking Glass]

9 hours ago, Palmfan said:

This is my fat Gaussia princeps. Now 15 feet tall!

Uh oh…

[Johnny Palmseed]

Crazy how fat that is, especially compared to the royal next to it.

[Looking Glass]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:36 PM, Looking Glass said:

Well, after the crumping of the fat-bottom bottle palm, and subsequent removal, Gaussia princeps was ready to go in.   I put a triple 3g in today, that I got from Caribbean Palms Nursery a couple of months ago.  They were literally busting out with no real dirt, so I’ll assume they’ll be happy to have something to suck on.  

The dirt there was rich, heavy and thick there, so I actually amended with coarse sand and crushed limestone (not my usually M.O., but it seems I’ve fortified that bed with enough organics over the past couple of years).  I garnished with limestone and mixed in dolomite with some long-acting fertilizer.   Hopefully they grow slow and don’t rot out.   

This will get swamped by the ground over in a week or so, but still provide some drainage and minerals.  

I have a feeling that I overdid it, but time will tell if the chainsaw will have to come out.   These better be slow.

Well, I’ve got a lot of important work to do today, and no time to fool around, so I thought I’d fool around and update a couple of posts…..

Gaussia princeps babies have been in the ground 4 months.  It was a hot, wet summer.   They responded by greening up and growing a single new frond each.  Much, much slower than bottle palms for me so far, which is fine.   Have not been watering them much, or pushing them with any extra fertilizer.  Just letting them chill in their spot.  Hopefully these will be low maintenance and happy.   

October 2023…

[flplantguy]

I have to find a few of these, I love the clump of baby bottles look. Are there any good online sources that anyone knows of? I have yet to find one googling it.

[Looking Glass]

1 hour ago, flplantguy said:

I have to find a few of these, I love the clump of baby bottles look. Are there any good online sources that anyone knows of? I have yet to find one googling it.

They aren’t super-popular, and are slow and can look kind of homely and lonely sometimes, so I don’t think they are carried by a lot of places/people.  I think they are a good match for the climate here, so I did snatch them up when I saw them.  Maybe a field trip to Carribean Palms is in order.  

[Looking Glass]

G princeps is doing well after 11 months in the ground.   Each one holds only 3 fronds at a time right now, so they look good as a group.   Medium slow, but tolerating a full sun spot without much care.  Each one grew about 2+ new fronds over that time.  Only problems so far is leaf spotting/blight at times.   No overhead watering, so not sure what the cause is.  

 

 

[Merlyn]

I have some leaf spotting on mine too, it's kind of random.  I just am guessing they want more potassium, as there was never a sign of a fungal "fruiting body" like with Graphiola Leaf Spot.  I like the triple!  Eventually mine will get up to that size...maybe... 

[Looking Glass]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

I have some leaf spotting on mine too, it's kind of random.  I just am guessing they want more potassium, as there was never a sign of a fungal "fruiting body" like with Graphiola Leaf Spot.  I like the triple!  Eventually mine will get up to that size...maybe... 

It’s possible, since I have no idea what’s causing it, but no yellowing or leaf tip necrosis, just deep black spotting at times.  Mine doesn’t look like classic potassium issues. 

[D. Morrowii]

Hmm, My gomez-pompae does that same thing. 

[Merlyn]

@Looking Glass yeah that doesn't look like potassium to me.  Usually you'd see some yellowed or orange spots too, not just plain brown dots.  I'd think a fungus is responsible for that.  I'll have to take a look at my smaller ones and see if they are doing the same thing.

[VA Jeff]

I planted a 7 gallon princeps at my friends house in Clearwater a few months ago.  I chose princeps based on the nurseryman's advice, but I went there aiming to get a gomez pompae.  Can anyone tell me from experience whether gomez pompae holds more leaves than and how the two compare in looks?

[Johnny Palmseed]

I don’t think any Gaussia variant holds more than 3 or 4. I had a Gaussia Maya for a while and even though I liked it, it wasn’t regarded as a good looking palm. Due to it’s thin trunk, it looked like a stick with a couple fronds sticking out of the top.