Chambeyronia macrocarpa seedling leaf color question

[Tracy]

The question is whether a seedling Chambeyronia macrocarpa that has green leaves might develop the emergent red flame thrower leaves as it matures.   I got the one pictured as a band size in one of the Palm Society raffles a while back.  I planted it up into its current pot last year sometime.   I never started with a Chambeyronia macrocarpa at this size so all my in ground specimens were already showing the red leaves when I got them. 

Culturally,  this is growing in heavy shade until it gets bigger.  I will give it some am sun next phase.

[ruskinPalms]

Mine definitely needed to mature some before it started to put colored leaves. This about the size mine started putting out colored leaves. 
 

[Tracy]

43 minutes ago, ruskinPalms said:

Mine definitely needed to mature some before it started to put colored leaves. This about the size mine started putting out colored leaves. 
 

Thank you.  Yes, all my previous ones were older than yours when I got them, which now makes sense as to why they all had the colorful new emerging leaves.   One of my older ones pictured below next to my troubled Foxy Lady.  It would be nice if the seedling has color like my mature ones someday.  I keep saying I'm going to take the Foxy Lady with this creased trunk down before it falls and takes out the telephone lines that run along this side of the property.    Always nice to have a bullpen of a few young plants to replace those we have to eventually remove for one reason or another.

[Billeb]

@Tracy I’ve started a Macro a similar size to yours. The first leaf that came out after I got it was all green. The next had a slight hue of pink but barely. It’s thrown a couple leaves since and none have been what I would call flaming. I assume any color when young would indicate it has potential for color when it matures. My guess is yours will probably have a little color the next frond or so. 
 

Macro is a far cry from Hookeri that is blood red from a tiny age. For me, every aspect of the plant is better with Hookeri. Growth, size, color, sun tolerance etc. 

Yet I still have a couple Macros 🤷‍♂️

-dale 

[96720]

My experience with hookeri has not been red when young as with macrocarpa there fronds get more color as they get older my hookeri I just received from Flouibunda just opened its first frond no color I bought it because everyone says it’s more colorful and more sun hardy we will see!!!

[sonoranfans]

my C macrocarpa var "watermelon" did not throw red spears as a tiny seedling.  The color started to show at about 18" tall in the ground but at first was just slightly tinted -and still partly green-  at the time.  But as it grew in it became more and more colorful.  

[Fishinsteeg234]

For what it’s worth, as a comparison here is a small watermelon variety two years old from seed that just showed its first sign of color. With age, yours will probably start to show color soon too. 

[BayAndroid]

This is mine, has never thrown any red. It had a slightly peachy tone once, but nothing since then. I will continue to wait and see. 

[Billeb]

After some research, I found a couple pictures of my smallest Macrocarpa I got from @Matt in OC as a 1G a year or so. First pic shows the size of the plant recently followed by the first leaf opening showing slight color. Third pic shows the latest leaf. Which I believe is the 3rd since getting the plant. Definitely more color than I remember. 

 

For comparison, here’s a few pics of my smallest Hookeri. Smaller plant and more intense red. 

 

 

2 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

This is mine, has never thrown any red. It had a slightly peachy tone once, but nothing since then. I will continue to wait and see. 

Will, I would imagine you should be seeing red tinting by now considering the size of your plant. I think there’s a possibility you may have one of the more rare but less coveted variants that never flame. Let’s hope you see some color the next push or two if that’s what you desire. For what it’s worth, my neighbor has a pure green Macro and it looks awesome. 
 

-dale 

[ruskinPalms]

I remember asking this question when I got this seedling a couple years ago. At the time, the forum didn’t have a very good answer, but I’m pretty sure after seeing this thread, they need time to mature before they show color. 

[BayAndroid]

4 hours ago, Billeb said:

After some research, I found a couple pictures of my smallest Macrocarpa I got from @Matt in OC as a 1G a year or so. First pic shows the size of the plant recently followed by the first leaf opening showing slight color. Third pic shows the latest leaf. Which I believe is the 3rd since getting the plant. Definitely more color than I remember. 

 

For comparison, here’s a few pics of my smallest Hookeri. Smaller plant and more intense red. 

 

 

Will, I would imagine you should be seeing red tinting by now considering the size of your plant. I think there’s a possibility you may have one of the more rare but less coveted variants that never flame. Let’s hope you see some color the next push or two if that’s what you desire. For what it’s worth, my neighbor has a pure green Macro and it looks awesome. 
 

-dale 

I've sort of accepted that it may be one of the green varieties and I'm ok with it; mainly because I have a hookeri that's already throwing dark red, similar to the other examples here. 

[BayAndroid]

Here is my hookeri. 

[Looking Glass]

Here’s young 1g Hookerii and 1g Macrocarpa from Floribunda both already showing color shortly after arrival in 2021…

 

[happypalms]

From my experience with chambeyronia as seedlings (I have germinated around 800 over the past 5 years and grown a lot in my garden from purchased seedlings with no red colour all of them have put out red leaves in the first 5 years give or take a couple of years my most recent batch is around 20 months old and only one so far has shown a red led leaf they will go red in time just not straight away 

[happypalms]

This one’s around 2 years old