Dypsis Baronii “Black Stem” updates please!!

[Billeb]

I’ve looked thru these forum pages and can’t find any recent thread that has updated pictures of the infamous “Black Stem”.  There seems to be definite inconsistencies with many plants confirming their genuine. I got mine from @Josh-O last year and finally planted planted it out recently.  It is facing North protected from the South and gets filtered afternoon sun from the West. For a “slow” plant, mine seems to be trucking along and even started pushing another spear to start clumping. 
 

Let’s see some updated pics of all these Black Stem plants that were all the rage 5-7yrs ago. 
 

-dale 

 

[Darold Petty]

I have two in the ground, and one in a 3 gallon citrus pot, images to follow with daylight !

 

[DoomsDave]

@Billeb yours looks like the real deal to me!

[Darold Petty]

8 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

I have two in the ground, and one in a 3 gallon citrus pot, images to follow with daylight !

 

It is too dark and rainy for outdoor photography today, ..tomorrow is forecast to be more sunny !

[tim_brissy_13]

My largest has just split into 2 stems. Still not noticeable different to a regular baronii. I’d be really curious to see if any of the Vokona Lodge seed that has been around has grown into trunking specimens. 

[TomJ]

This one I got very small from an IPS director who collected the seed in habitat. 

He told me that he collected seed from the most colorful specimens. 

This is in solid clay. 

It has been very slow.

It is very colorful and moving along.

[Darold Petty]

The low angle sun, and rainy conditions have made photography difficult,  here is an image of my potted one,  seed source was Bill Austin.

 

[mwardlow]

The first one is from Josh, the second triple is from Bluebell Nursery.

[DoomsDave]

Pant pant pant 

LICKY!

[happypalms]

Here’s a box full  recently germinated black petiole you can definitely tell the difference between the black petiole and the standard baronii now I have to wait for them to grow up  a bit off topic I guess can post an update in the years to come 

 

[RichardHemsley]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

Here’s a box full  recently germinated black petiole you can definitely tell the difference between the black petiole and the standard baronii now I have to wait for them to grow up  a bit off topic I guess can post an update in the years to come 

 

Same here.  Have some seeds that are showing the first signs of germination 

[Than]

Where do you guys get your seeds from? You seem to have high germination rates.

[Darold Petty]

Sunny skies today, here is an image of the complete palm.    The pot size is 20x20x37 cm.    (8x8x15inch)

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, ego said:

Where do you guys get your seeds from? You seem to have high germination rates.

Bottom heating 30 degrees Celsius coco coir perlite mix just moist enough when you squeeze a handful no drops of water come out after a a bit of experience you can tell how wet it is by the sound it makes when you squeeze it the most important thing is container depth for the variety of seed being sown styrofoam box’s with lids helps a lot with etoliation (darkness) temperature moisture control if in a community pot a plastic bag does the same job palm seeds are easy patience is the hard part waiting a year or more 

[Phoenikakias]

From rps once offered seeds. It displays already some color.

Never mind the other one behind, it is an ambo.

[Than]

5 hours ago, happypalms said:

Bottom heating 30 degrees Celsius coco coir perlite mix just moist enough when you squeeze a handful no drops of water come out after a a bit of experience you can tell how wet it is by the sound it makes when you squeeze it the most important thing is container depth for the variety of seed being sown styrofoam box’s with lids helps a lot with etoliation (darkness) temperature moisture control if in a community pot a plastic bag does the same job palm seeds are easy patience is the hard part waiting a year or more 

A year or more?? Wow

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, ego said:

A year or more?? Wow

Not the baronii it only takes around 2 months but some palm species 12 months or more never give up on old seeds unless you are sure they are no good or a dud batch I have seen kentia seeds germinate 5 years later in an old nursery propagation bed that was completely covered with weed mat they were long forgotten about I showed my employer he was amazed I throw all my old seeds in a old propagation bed you just never know what pops up but don’t hold your breath waiting 

[Than]

4 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

From rps once offered seeds. It displays already some color.

Never mind the other one behind, it is an ambo.

How old is it?

[Than]

12 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Not the baronii it only takes around 2 months but some palm species 12 months or more never give up on old seeds unless you are sure they are no good or a dud batch I have seen kentia seeds germinate 5 years later in an old nursery propagation bed that was completely covered with weed mat they were long forgotten about I showed my employer he was amazed I throw all my old seeds in a old propagation bed you just never know what pops up but don’t hold your breath waiting 

Wise words. 

Never thought of the Styrofoam boxes. Do they "breathe"? I put my newest seeds in regular plastic cups with holes at the bottom that I open with scissors. Then I cover with plastic film. So they don't breathe at all. I then place them on a heating pad and then I put a plastic container on top to trap the heat. This way I have about 25 C in there. I am attaching a photo.

What are the advantages of Styrofoam? 

[RichardHemsley]

13 hours ago, ego said:

Where do you guys get your seeds from? You seem to have high germination rates.

I got mine from RPS.  They have taken about 2 months to germinate and 6 out of 10 have so far germinated (but I am no expert)

[tim_brissy_13]

I got 10/10 for baronii Black Petiole/Vokona Lodge from RPS about 4 years ago. 

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, ego said:

How old is it?

I can not remember, sorry. Surely 3 y.o. , perhaps more?

[Navarro]

Compradas en rps en julio  ,enterradas en agosto al calor del verano .aún las tienen en la página web 

[Than]

1 hour ago, Phoenikakias said:

I can not remember, sorry. Surely 3 y.o. , perhaps more?

A slow grower indeed. Do you think it can take our winters?

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, ego said:

A slow grower indeed. Do you think it can take our winters?

The odds are very good for coastal Attica up to Marathon.  There are other spp from other genera, that in my cold frame under identical conditions and in identical substrate used to display at the beginning of each growing season very obvious cold damage, no matter how severe had been previous winter. Although such spp were surviving and promoting significant new growth, I remained pretty sure based on their overall performance, that they would have zero chance for survival outdoors. I do not have this impression for Dypsis baronii.

Αλλά βρε αδερφέ, παραείσαι δυσκοίλιος (διστακτικός).  Πάρε και κανά ρισκο, μεσα στο παιγνιδι είναι και οι αποτυχίες αλλά και οι ευχάριστες εκπλήξεις😁

[Than]

38 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

The odds are very good for coastal Attica up to Marathon.  There are other spp from other genera, that in my cold frame under identical conditions and in identical substrate used to display at the beginning of each growing season very obvious cold damage, no matter how severe had been previous winter. Although such spp were surviving and promoting significant new growth, I remained pretty sure based on their overall performance, that they would have zero chance for survival outdoors. I do not have this impression for Dypsis baronii.

Αλλά βρε αδερφέ, παραείσαι δυσκοίλιος (διστακτικός).  Πάρε και κανά ρισκο, μεσα στο παιγνιδι είναι και οι αποτυχίες αλλά και οι ευχάριστες εκπλήξεις😁

I take risks Sir! I buy many 10B and 11 plants. I have a Dypsis leptocheilos already. My finances though are limited so I don't wanna spend on doomed plants. 

Edited January 2, 2024 by ego

[Billeb]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:23 AM, TomJ said:

@TomJ looks awesome! Clumping like crazy. 
 

On 12/29/2023 at 9:20 PM, tim_brissy_13 said:

It’s too hard to tell if this is legit Black Stem.  Obviously looks very different than @TomJ plant. I’m not convinced RPS is selling pure black stem rather a Baronii variant that could have dark/black petioles. Which is not true Black Stem as we know. 
 

18 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Sunny skies today, here is an image of the complete palm.    The pot size is 20x20x37 cm.    (8x8x15inch)

Looks good Darold. You should plant that one out soon. 🤙

 

12 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

From rps once offered seeds. It displays already some color.

This looks just like a regular Baronii to me.
 

 

There is so many different types of Baronii out there and tons of confusion regarding true Black Stem. Black Stem is the same as Black Petiole etc.  I don’t know if mine is in fact pure but even looking thru this thread, some look similar and some are not even close to the same. @TomJ and @Darold Petty’s plants look akin to what I have researched as true Dypsis Black Stem. 
 

The mystery continues……

 

-dale 

[Darold Petty]

Looks good Darold. You should plant that one out soon. 🤙

Dale;  I have absolutely no more space.  I have two or three nice palms, too large for shipping, ... I intend to offer them for sale during my next vehicle road trip to SoCal.  

[Phoenikakias]

4 hours ago, ego said:

I take risks Sir! I buy many 10B and 11 plants. I have a Dypsis leptocheilos already. My finances though are limited so I don't wanna spend on doomed plants. 

There is almost always the cheaper opportunity, that you start from seeds or seedlings. Sometimes or rather fequently it is the only opportunity in our corner of the world.

[Than]

20 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

There is almost always the cheaper opportunity, that you start from seeds or seedlings. Sometimes or rather fequently it is the only opportunity in our corner of the world.

Yes it's almost always seeds. Unfortunately. When we talk about fast growing plants it's OK, but starting a dypsis baronii from seed means we'll be 80 when it looks like a tree.

[Billy]

4 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

I have two or three nice palms, too large for shipping, ... I intend to offer them for sale during my next vehicle road trip to SoCal.  

Hmmm...are you bringing down the black stem? 

[Palmiz]

This is black stem I got from Dave,  not sure it was sourced from. Been a good grower so far, hasn't split yet for me. Sorry for the terrible lighting I tucked it in shade.

Edited January 2, 2024 by Palmiz

[Darold Petty]

1 hour ago, Billy said:

Hmmm...are you bringing down the black stem? 

Yes, unless I sell it locally here in Bay Area.  I also have  5-gallon Pritchardia martii and P. napaliensis needing homes elsewhere !

[happypalms]

22 hours ago, ego said:

Wise words. 

Never thought of the Styrofoam boxes. Do they "breathe"? I put my newest seeds in regular plastic cups with holes at the bottom that I open with scissors. Then I cover with plastic film. So they don't breathe at all. I then place them on a heating pad and then I put a plastic container on top to trap the heat. This way I have about 25 C in there. I am attaching a photo.

What are the advantages of Styrofoam? 

The advantages temperature control that’s more manageable with less risk of cooking your seeds you pretty well much don’t have to water your seeds but do keep an eye on moisture chewing insects are kept out etoliation helps with germination they are great for large numbers of seeds there free once germination has taken place you just remove the lid and it’s one large community container you can leave your seedlings in to grow a few more leaves if you’re pushed for time you just leave the seedlings in there and just tease them out later on you can pick out your germinated plants as they get leaves they transport well with seedlings you can get quite deep ones for those remote germination palms yo7 can stack them on top of each othe4 if space is a problem the disadvantages are rodents can chew through but so far that has not happened to me you have to line the bottom with plastic to stop the roots growing into them they are not good for the environment try them you just might like them 

[Brandon39.5]

I'm growing a couple from seed, mine come from RPS but they look different than the ones from happypalms, maybe mine are not true black petiole? What do you guys think? 

[WagnerMX]

On 1/2/2024 at 7:52 AM, Navarro said:

Compradas en rps en julio  ,enterradas en agosto al calor del verano .aún las tienen en la página web 

 

I also bought a pack of 10 seeds from RPS around the same time. Upon arrival of the seeds (11), they were cleaned with dilute bleach (30 min soak) and covered with water for 3d (changing water daily). One seed floated and looked "off". It was discarded and the remaing 10 seeds were germinated (beginning 22 July 2023). So far, 5/10 have sprouted but 2 died shortly after transplantation; two seeds have rotted and 3 may still germinate. One seedling shows beautiful colouration of what will become the stem/petiole (I know, it's subjective), while the 2 others are completely green. The two oldest seedlings are now unfolding their second juvenile leaf. Some snapshots from this morning:

 

 

[Moose]

Ode to the Black Stem was a very long thread posted several years back. 

[TomJ]

A must read on the genus ...

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-spotlight-dypsis-black-stem/

 

[Billeb]

1 hour ago, Moose said:

Ode to the Black Stem was a very long thread posted several years back. 

Indeed. Those threads have been radio silent for many years. Hopefully some of those trees are big and glorious today. Woukd love to see them posted here. 
 

58 minutes ago, TomJ said:

A must read on the genus ...

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-spotlight-dypsis-black-stem/

 

Agreed. Everyone needs to read it. Len did a good job on that write up. 
 

-dale 

[Billy]

Time to for an update, and what a perfect time of year to do so. My baronii "black stem" that @Darold Petty was kind enough to hand deliver to me all the way from the foggy bay area of San Francisco has been in the ground for a few months now and has not skipped a beat. I carefully acclimated the palm and it's definitely loving the warmer temps we've been experiencing lately. All three stems have beautiful little spears pushing right now. Photos to come.....