Livistona saribus

[ahosey01]

Tell me about this palm from your experience.  I know it has teeth.

I believe I read a post from @edbrown_III that there are two forms.  How does one differentiate?

[Merlyn]

I have a couple of small ones, maybe 2 feet tall.  Eric has a few big ones at Leu Gardens, he said they grow best in part shade and semi-swampy areas.  There are a few in a median that I drive past often, all in full sun.  They always look tattered and yellowed.  A couple of Chinensis and Sabal Palmetto mixed in the same run of median strips look a TON better.  So I planted mine in a shady low area in the backyard.

[ahosey01]

8 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I have a couple of small ones, maybe 2 feet tall.  Eric has a few big ones at Leu Gardens, he said they grow best in part shade and semi-swampy areas.  There are a few in a median that I drive past often, all in full sun.  They always look tattered and yellowed.  A couple of Chinensis and Sabal Palmetto mixed in the same run of median strips look a TON better.  So I planted mine in a shady low area in the backyard.

Is it possible they’re planted in sandy soil?

As I understand it these grow something like royals or majesties - the heavier and wetter the soil, the better.

[Merlyn]

7 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

Is it possible they’re planted in sandy soil?

As I understand it these grow something like royals or majesties - the heavier and wetter the soil, the better.

Yeah I am sure it's all sand and they probably don't get fertilized...ever.  I think Eric had one of them planted in the "river" area at Leu, basically in the muck next to the stream.  

I have no idea on any subspecies or variants.  

[KrisKupsch]

There is a black trunk variant and standard variant 

[ahosey01]

15 minutes ago, KrisKupsch said:

There is a black trunk variant and standard variant 

What is the difference in terms of nutrient requirements, soil and moisture preference and cold tolerance? do you know?

[Phoenikakias]

9 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

What is the difference in terms of nutrient requirements, soil and moisture preference and cold tolerance? do you know?

Black petioled variant is reputedly less cold hardy.

[Warren Thomas]

Grows well in my backyard in south Louisiana

Edited December 22, 2024 by Warren Thomas
Misspelling

[sonoranfans]

mine, the standard variety was planted as a 5 gallon palm, has 8' trunk after 14 years is fruiting prolifically and is both wind protected and gets minimal western sun with a couple taller palms nearby giving some part shade overhead.  Its in clay plus sand with a decaying mulch layer on top.  It has been trouble free, no special attention needed.   The thorns are about the worst in my yard( I have only one phoenix:rupicola, least nasty phoenix) which are even worse in terms of thorn sharpness.   

[8B palms]

I have the green petiole form here on a marginal 9a/8b zone in north central Florida. I never fertilize or bother with it, it’s in sandy soil. I grew it from seed, it’s about 4.5 feet tall in 3 years. Supposedly the green petiole form is more cold hardy but I have no proof if this is true. The hooks/spines are starting to become large already.

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, 8B palms said:

I have the green petiole form here on a marginal 9a/8b zone in north central Florida. I never fertilize or bother with it, it’s in sandy soil. I grew it from seed, it’s about 4.5 feet tall in 3 years. Supposedly the green petiole form is more cold hardy but I have no proof if this is true. The hooks/spines are starting to become large already.

@Eric in Orlando gives a pretty good summary of the cold hardiness of the two forms in the following thread:

Joseph from the former Texas Cold Hardy Palms told me that he has cold tested the green petiole form and they're similar to Livistona decora in cold tolerance.  

[kinzyjr]

Livistona saribus is the anchor palm for the Lake Wire Palm Collection here in Lakeland.  You'll see a few trunks of this palm in the background of the first photo on that thread.

They've been through everything since the collection was started in the early 2000s.  At the lake, they frequently grow right down into the first couple inches of water at the lake shore and produce copious amounts of blue fruit.  Germination is very high, with little volunteers popping up everywhere.  The only downside are the thorns that prompted me to give this palm the nickname "Shark's Teeth Palm".  To my knowledge, all of them here are the green petiole form.

[Phoenikakias]

There is reportedly also a natural stand in northern Vietnam consisting of hybrids saribus x jenkinsiana!

[NatureGirl]

I have the hardier ‘green petiole’ form, it thrives here on the beach, nothing bothers it, not even hurricanes, I never fertilize it either.

[kinzyjr]

Photos from down at Lake Wire today:

Notice that the palms grow happily down into about 6" of permanent water. 

You don't need many palms to get more blue fruit/seeds than you can handle.

[gyuseppe]

here in southern Italy, it grows well