Wodyetia going in the ground …FINALLY!

[Harry’s Palms]

I got a few of these last year , 5 total . Two look pretty healthy , the other thre are not. It was a package deal , I had to take all five. They wintered under the canopy of mature palms over the winter and when spring came I slowly move them into full sun. I thought I would wait until the two healthy looking ones opened a frond before planting them in my warm courtyard where they are residing in their pots . I fed them about a month ago with E. B. Stone palm food and watered as needed. I think they are ready . This is the larger of the two but the other one isn’t much smaller. I have lost a couple of these over the years , still not sure why but here we go again . This time in a much warmer place in my yard. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. It will be in the eighties this weekend and they are now used to full sun . 🤞Harry

[happypalms]

Incredible Harry I can throw foxtails around like confetti at a wedding pretty well much once they are in six inch pots try placing some rocks around them even a few odd shape ones in a large planting hole they just take off in my soil in deep sandstone pockets it’s rock city around my property and foxtail palms love it keep on planting palms well done 👍 

Richard 

[Harry’s Palms]

Thanks , I know others grow them but around here they tend to be randomly sensitive. Some do great , some don’t . I am hoping this location will give them a good home . These are the only two out of five that are showing promise . Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

They are in the ground in a very warm , sunny spot . The mid day sun here is very warm but the shade starts about 3:00pm for now. Once they get large they will get even more sun. In the winter , this area stays warmer than out by the street where my last Wodyetia were . Fingers crossed ! Harry

[tinman10101]

Hello Harry.  

These are iffy in your area.  I know you are closer to the beach as I live in Santa Clarita but it is the cold that ultimately kills these.  If these palms are from Lowe's and sourced from Florida, they are even weaker plants.  Since our rainy season is in the Winter, it's a double whammy for foxtails for both the cold and wet.  I would definitely plant them in a highly shaded area away from afternoon sun.

I do have a very large Foxy lady growing for the past 12 years but it is in deep canopy now and started its first 5 years under 50% shade cloth.  Hope it survives for you.  

Cheers

Tin

[Brian]

They are beautiful palms and I have found them to be easy to grow here. They even handle the salt breeze pretty well. If they do well they can take up quite a bit of space and be a bit messes when seeding. If the Wodyetia doesn’t work consider Normanbya normanbyi. It’s very similar but tends to be a smaller, cleaner palm, at least for me. Hope these Wodyetia work out for you.

[Harry’s Palms]

My palm collector friend had two and one survived that was right up against his house , that’s why I planted it close to the wall. He lives down the hill a couple of blocks and his is beautiful and producing viable seeds. These came from a collector in Newbury Park California , never been in a green house. They did well all winter under the canopy on the side of the house , showing some growth . They were on my south facing deck in full sun ( slowly introduced) until a week ago . Now , in the courtyard , they are where they have the best chance . Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

Thank you Brian . My last one did well for about 7-8 years , the first one died in the first year. I think the winter got them because they were planted in my front yard by the street which is facing north. As @tinman10101 said , they are hit or miss here. I am about 20 miles from the beach but on a south facing hill so out of most of the frost . The only frost I’ve seen on my street is on the north side. That’s what got my other ones , I think. Harry

[aztropic]

Some may say those are planted a little too close to the house, but not to worry. In my experience, these seem to grow well, even under cramped conditions. I have a couple that I direct planted the seeds into the ground only 1 foot away from the wall. (Seeds planted about 5 years apart) Trees are both growing great in the Arizona desert. 

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[Harry’s Palms]

The ones around here seem to do well against a wall or house . @aztropic how old are yours? Harry

[aztropic]

Left one is 10 years old,right one 5 years old. I would rate them as a fairly fast growing species.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

Mine's next to a wall, it has been 2 and a half years with me and the only freeze that damaged it was the december 2022 freeze (-2⁰C but dry) and the only damaged frond was the one in the left of the picture. Not fast but not slow in this area.

[peachy]

They really don't like cold days. They can take the heat very easily. Quite a few years back we had a frost, minus5c and every foxtail for miles around got fried but they all came back.  I found that the few I planted in shady spots barely grew at all but survived. The only one I have ever lost was shaded out by fast growing Tiger Grass and lack of water.  I know of someone who was growing one in Melbourne (the real one not the Florida copy) and despite wonderful care it never did well and always looked mediocre.  Someone earlier mentioned Normabya. They don't like full sun but do much better in the cool weather and the foliage looks the same as Wodyetia too.

Peachy

[Harry’s Palms]

Thank you @peachy . I really want these to make it so I chose the warmest spot I could find they will get full , hot , sun for a few hours year round . When I dug the holes , the soil was moist but not wet and that gave me hope . I remember in a previous post you had said they don’t like wet feet . If I ever see a Normambia that is not too much $$ I will grab it . I think the trunk on them is a bit darker in color but otherwise very similar in leaf shape . Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

Today my wife and I went for a walk after spending the last three days in the garden. Yesterday was very warm and I think I got a little too much heat while planting my babies. About two blocks down the hill one of the older homes has some Ravenna Rivularis in the front yard and as we walked down the adjacent street , I saw the top of what looked like  a Wodyetia ! So we turned down the street and they have a similar wall in the same direction ( north -south , south and east exposure)as the wall in our courtyard. Their Wodyetia was planted right by the wall and looked great. HOPE! Harry