Planted Beccariophoenix Alfredii

[James B]

Excited to have added a Beccariophoenix Alfredii to the garden. Planted as a 25 gal. All rocks seen around the palm were dug out of the hole it was planted in lol. After marking the spear it’s grown almost an 1” its first day. These are not slow growers here where it will see daily temps of 90-105 in full sun. Look forward to having a yard monster in 10 years.

[RiverCityRichard]

Good job and good idea with the rocks. I’ve planted two 25g myself. Didn’t plant deep enough so the wind in Florida thunderstorms has been a constant battle with staking them for leans.  Rocks will be the next thing I try. Lots of water and heavy fert and you’ll have a deep green beast in a few years 

[James B]

6 minutes ago, RiverCityRichard said:

Good job and good idea with the rocks. I’ve planted two 25g myself. Didn’t plant deep enough so the wind in Florida thunderstorms has been a constant battle with staking them for leans.  Rocks will be the next thing I try. Lots of water and heavy fert and you’ll have a deep green beast in a few years 

Thanks Richard! I lived in the Orlando area up until 2004 so I know those winds can be brutal. We will get gusts of 60-65 mph with our Santa Anna winds in winter that will be the big test. I’ll see what kind of root growth happens over the next 6 months. If need be I’ll grab some more boulders and mound up a barricade around it if it looks like it will be at risk of tilting over. 

[RiverCityRichard]

2 minutes ago, James B said:

Thanks Richard! I lived in the Orlando area up until 2004 so I know those winds can be brutal. We will get gusts of 60-65 mph with our Santa Anna winds in winter that will be the big test. I’ll see what kind of root growth happens over the next 6 months. If need be I’ll grab some more boulders and mound up a barricade around it if it looks like it will be at risk of tilting over. 

Yep, about 20 miles NW of Orlando myself. A couple of hurricanes a few years ago brought 75mpg winds but the one I had at the time made it through with some stakes. You might have better luck with California soil and some deep watering and putting those roots down deep. They tend to spread out near the surface in sand. Good luck brother

[James B]

39 minutes ago, RiverCityRichard said:

Yep, about 20 miles NW of Orlando myself. A couple of hurricanes a few years ago brought 75mpg winds but the one I had at the time made it through with some stakes. You might have better luck with California soil and some deep watering and putting those roots down deep. They tend to spread out near the surface in sand. Good luck brother

Thanks Richard👍🏼 My soil is rocky granite so it’s real fun to dig but for palms provides a solid foundation. Time will tell. Eventually I may add a second. Based on what many have shared these palms are hardy to 25 maybe 24 degrees so that opens up some possibilities on the south side of my yard that has seen at its lowest 27. So far I haven’t planted any palms down there but this may be added to the list of potentials seeing that 27 happened winter of 2022-23 which was abnormally cold and wet.

[RiverCityRichard]

1 hour ago, James B said:

Thanks Richard👍🏼 My soil is rocky granite so it’s real fun to dig but for palms provides a solid foundation. Time will tell. Eventually I may add a second. Based on what many have shared these palms are hardy to 25 maybe 24 degrees so that opens up some possibilities on the south side of my yard that has seen at its lowest 27. So far I haven’t planted any palms down there but this may be added to the list of potentials seeing that 27 happened winter of 2022-23 which was abnormally cold and wet.

Mine probably saw 28 over Christmas 2022 and a few light frosts the year before with no damage whatsoever. They definitely slow down in the winter, but are tough palms

[Scott W]

Mine here in NE Florida are much smaller, and several suffered spear pull around 25F but all recovered.  

[happypalms]

You got a good palm there James 👍

[BayAndroid]

That's a beauty. Mine is still holding some tattered fronds from some very stormy weather, but pushing 2 new fronds quickly. 103 yesterday and 101 today. It seemed to like it! 

[James B]

6 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

That's a beauty. Mine is still holding some tattered fronds from some very stormy weather, but pushing 2 new fronds quickly. 103 yesterday and 101 today. It seemed to like it! 

Nice! It will be 104 this weekend so plenty of heat on the way.

[Merlyn]

I've had 5 Alfredii in the ground here for ~6 years here, starting at about the size of yours and growing up to around 20' overall now.  They've seen repeated snowlike frosts and temps down to 24.4F with only cosmetic frond burn.  Generally above 30ish I don't see any leaf burn, but I do get Magnesium deficiency signs after most winters.  I've started adding a handful of Magnesium Sulfate to them in December along with my Phoenix Roebellini. 

[James B]

5? Wow thats epic! I’ll probably throw another one in on the south side of my yard if it’s really hardy to 24-25. I have a lot of space available but it’s the cold drain due to being about 15 feet lower than the north side of my back yard. Only been here two winters. That area has seen 27 winter of 22-23 so I may try it out.

[Merlyn]

@James B that's just the older ones.  I recently planted a close-spaced triple in the center of my backyard, a wide-spaced triple in the front yard...and am pondering planting another solo in the SW corner tomorrow.    I also have 7 more in ~1g pots that I have no clue what I'm going to do with...