Palms that grew great for you anyway!

[DoomsDave]

Spend any time on Palm Talk and it’s zone this and microclimate that, and sometimes you fall in love with something even if your good sense says it’ll never make it.

So you plant it and it thrives anyway!

Licuala ramsayi for starters!

Show us yours!

[DoomsDave]

Aiphaene erosa.

 

[ASHCVS]

I saw the Licuala with my disbelieving eyes and let me tell you it was utterly heartbreaking. Well done DPB!

[DoomsDave]

24 minutes ago, ASHCVS said:

I saw the Licuala with my disbelieving eyes and let me tell you it was utterly heartbreaking. Well done DPB!

They should grow for you, too. Try one!

[NC_Palms]

This probably isn’t impressing to many who live in warmer zones, but the one palm that I had success with despite people telling me the chances of success are limited was a queen palm. It did well and I never protected it. But It was planted on an east facing corner right near a brick wall, so it helped create a warmer microclimate. It’s been a few years and I left the property that it was planted on, but it was a thrill growing that palm in zone 8a/b NC. 

 

Now I’m growing two different date palm species and they seem to behave similarly to my chinese fan palm, and die back but come up again in the spring. 

 

My Dates of a few weeks ago 

 

And I cannot speak of the success since it was recently planted in June, but Arenga engleri will be one of my top “shouldn’t grow here” palm if it survives. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

Incredible Licuala, Dave! I have a few surprises up here in the Bay Area. All are slow growers but keep chugging along year after year. All were tiny seedlings when planted. 
 

Coccothrinax miraguama

 

Geonoma bondariana

 

Satakentia liukiuensis

 

 Coccothrinax borhidiana

 

Coccothrinax montana

 

Chamaedorea tuerckheimii

 

Geonoma schottiana

 

Licuala ramsayi

 

 

[Phoenikakias]

For me Syagrus coronata. I had put it in to ground only accidentally because It had been erroneously considered of being a picrophylla, a more cool tolerant sp. It has survived all occasional cold spells during the past years, although it looks like sh* after each winter. Good regeneration ability nevertheless.  Just a frame with the leaf over the top of my cold frame.

[tim_brissy_13]

@Jim in Los Altos I’m blown away you’ve managed to grow Satakentia. Didn’t even last the first month through winter when I tried (a long time ago). 
 

For me it’s probably Schippia concolor. I didn’t have high hopes for it and it was a bit of an experiment, but it’s basically flawless and consistently pumps out new fronds. I guess like the closely related Coccothrinax, they are quite tough once they get through the seedling stage. Coccothrinax from seed have been really tricky for me. 

[happypalms]

It would have to be my dypsis saintelucei, cocothrinax alta and my wantanna sumowongii spindle cross bottle 

[happypalms]

1 minute ago, happypalms said:

It would have to be my dypsis saintelucei, cocothrinax alta and my wantanna sumowongii spindle cross bottle 

And my Livistonia Australis 

[Harry’s Palms]

I have a few that I was unsure of when I planted . The reason was the small size and time of year they were planted. My Pritchardia H. Was planted as a very small seedling from my trip to Maui , it went straight in the ground . I was so unsure it would make it I planted it next to that house in the shadiest location I could find . It is now curving out away from the house and finally getting tall enough to walk under The other palm I brought back was a Chambroynia Macrocarpa . Same thing with this one , planted very small , just a sprout! The other one I bought from Phil at Jungle Music in the late 1990’s . It was in a 5 gallon container out in front of the greenhouse . It was an event he was having , one of his sales. When I saw it (expensive for my budget) I didn’t know what it was but I had to have it. I asked Phil what it was and he said “Venezuelan Royal” and “it won’t grow where you live!” What if I protect it ? No , it won’t last the winter. After a bit of back and forth , it came home with me. Phil was shaking his head. Here it is , just as Phil described with a thinner trunk than most Royals. HarryYou can’t see in this photo but the trunk “bottles out” at the base very much like my Archontophoenix Alexandrea . Harry

[Jim in Los Altos]

11 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

@Jim in Los Altos I’m blown away you’ve managed to grow Satakentia. Didn’t even last the first month through winter when I tried (a long time ago). 
 

For me it’s probably Schippia concolor. I didn’t have high hopes for it and it was a bit of an experiment, but it’s basically flawless and consistently pumps out new fronds. I guess like the closely related Coccothrinax, they are quite tough once they get through the seedling stage. Coccothrinax from seed have been really tricky for me. 

Tim, surprised me too. Two winters so far and it yellows some by late winter but otherwise puts out three new fronds per year so far. Not sure what will happen in a chillier than usual winter though. 

[DoomsDave]

Oh, lordy! Keep 'em coming!

Don't limit yourself to the tropics. How about Carolina, Virginia, Ohio (expletive)!

Oh yeah. Life can be full of surprises, some of them glorious.

Don't be afraid to share, and drop the modesty . . . .

[happypalms]

Here’s a couple more that grow absolutely flawless in my climate hyophorbe lagenicaulis still amazes me growing well the only surviving one out of ten my bactris gassipaes with 3 meters of trunk that shouldn’t be growing here and Kerriodoxa elegans grows beautiful with no help whatsoever to perfection.

[DoomsDave]

Here’s one of my Pinanga javanas. I saw them in Kevin Weaver’s greenhouse and fell in love, took one look at the name said “eek!” and bought and planted them anyway. This one’s in my western yard and Andy and Cindy saw it and swooned. 
 

 

[Harry’s Palms]

That looks very healthy , Dave . How long have you had it? Harry

[DoomsDave]

39 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

That looks very healthy , Dave . How long have you had it? Harry

Ten years more or less 

[Harry’s Palms]

Impressive. Growing along just fine. Harry

[Phoenikakias]

A Floridian Royal (R elata) in my garden. So far so good, but it has not been subjected yet to a serious test of cold hardiness.

[DoomsDave]

15 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

A Floridian Royal (R elata) in my garden. So far so good, but it has not been subjected yet to a serious test of cold hardiness.

Booo yeah! If that thing grows happy it’s gonna DOMINATE the area near your garden!

1 M plus across the trunk crownshaft 2 m long, oh yeah, doing a preemptive swoon.

[DoomsDave]

Another happy surprise was Kerriodoxa elegans. Slow, but purty. Andy @ASHCVS kinda had a spasm when he saw.

[tim_brissy_13]

Not sure how this Hyophorbe indica looks so perfect in my climate. We’ll see how it goes as it reaches towards open sky. 

[iDesign]

9 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Not sure how this Hyophorbe indica looks so perfect in my climate. We’ll see how it goes as it reaches towards open sky. 

Indica has been surprisingly robust for me as well (esp considering how much my bottle struggled). Took this photo yesterday, after noticing how healthy the newest fronds are looking…

[DoomsDave]

14 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Not sure how this Hyophorbe indica looks so perfect in my climate. We’ll see how it goes as it reaches towards open sky. 

 

4 hours ago, iDesign said:

Indica has been surprisingly robust for me as well (esp considering how much my bottle struggled). Took this photo yesterday, after noticing how healthy the newest fronds are looking…

H. indica is one of those species that never looked as good for me in the ground as it did in pots. BUT, it might be better now that's been a couple decades along with a canopied microclimate.

[iDesign]

1 hour ago, DoomsDave said:

H. indica is one of those species that never looked as good for me in the ground as it did in pots. BUT, it might be better now that's been a couple decades along with a canopied microclimate.

Interesting... mine is actually still in a pot (shocking, I know). I've seen some pretty awesome-looking bottles in pots (or gas station trash cans). 🛢️

Any possibility they like having their roots confined a bit? Or are you saying they just look less attractive as they age (based on your experience).  I know I'm personally going to miss that pretty orange color on the trunk. 🟠

[tim_brissy_13]

1 hour ago, iDesign said:

Interesting... mine is actually still in a pot (shocking, I know). I've seen some pretty awesome-looking bottles in pots (or gas station trash cans). 🛢️

Any possibility they like having their roots confined a bit? Or are you saying they just look less attractive as they age (based on your experience).  I know I'm personally going to miss that pretty orange color on the trunk. 🟠

The couple that I kept in pots from the same seed batch (only about 3 years ago) are a fraction of the size of my one in ground pictured above. So, at least for me, it has enjoyed being able to spread its roots. 

[richnorm]

51 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

The couple that I kept in pots from the same seed batch (only about 3 years ago) are a fraction of the size of my one in ground pictured above. So, at least for me, it has enjoyed being able to spread its roots. 

Agree, they want to be in the ground and in full sun.  I now have seedlings from my own plant which was a very unexpected outcome in a climate that doesn't see much above 25c.  Given sun these are fast growers.