Bismarckia nobilis 'Dwarf' or 'Stunted' ? I have serious doubts

[PalmatierMeg]

When we bought our Garden Lot in mid-2014, it was a barren, fire ant paradise. We immediately made plans to plant large sturdy palms along the lot edge that would grow large enough to block view of the newly installed LCEC substation aka Osama bin Laden's FL summer vacation compound. We trekked over to a nursery in Loxahatchee west of Palm Beach to locate suitable candidates. We ended up with Livistonas: australis, decora, mariae and six Bismarckia nobilis in 3g pots then set to planting.

Five of the Bizzies were the same size, the 6th smaller. The five took off growing  - The smallest grew but just didn't grow very fast. Then in 2022, Hurricane Ian ripped up 4 of our large Bizzies and smashed them down on 4 of our Livistonas. That taught us the Bismarckia has problems surviving major hurricanes - no more of them for us. Fast forward 10+ years from 2014 and we are left with one large 20' tall Bizzie and our curious dwarf/stunted one.

This winter we hired a part-time gardener to help us restore the mess our yard still is 2-1/2 years after Ian. My husband and I take turns confronting our various and fatal illnesses and sometimes cannot work outside for days. Our gardener is doing a great job. One day he came to us and pointed out that our two remaining Bismarckia, now side by side, hardly looked the same age. We assured him it was the same age as its sibling but is growth challenged. He has understanding of plants, not so much of palms. He asked us if there was such a thing as a natural dwarf Bismarckia. We told him we didn't know but didn't think so. He then asked whether our little palm was "stunted" or otherwise malnourished and/or neglected. No, certainly not, we said. It got the same care as every other palm we owned. And I could hardly blame Hurricane Ian or even Irma (2017) because it had been like this since 2014. Our previous major hurricane had been Charley (cat 4) in 2004.

So now I'm asking the experts: Have you ever seen or heard of a Bismarckia nobilis 'Dwarf'? My research yielded no info. The following photos show no sign of illness or stunting in this smaller palm. Is it genetics? Any ideas? This palm has never flowered so I don't know its gender.

PHOTOS

Bismarckia nobilis, Normal Growth, approx 20' tall, approx. 13-14 yrs old. Planted Aug 2014

Bismarckia nobilis, Normal Growth - Middle            Bismarckia nobilis, Restricted Growth - Left

Bismarkia nobilis, Dwarf form? - Front         Sabal blackburniana - Right        Bismarckia nobilis, Normal Growth, Middle       Livistona mariae, 20', Left

Bismarckia nobilis, Dwarf Form? 7-8' tall, 7-8' wide, non-trunking, never flowered, never seeded. Planted mid-Aug 2014 from 3g. Age: approx. 13-14 yrs. Behind it is Sabal blackburniana

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Meg I'm gonna go with vertically challenged kinda like myself haha I also have a Bizzie which really doesn't care to grow. Now my palm has spent entirely too much time in a pot and at one time had spear pulled and spent time in the recovery side of my container ranch. Now it's been in the ground a few years and still acts like it's in recovery mode. We shall see , I almost never give up on a palm and it has a prominent spot in my back 40 time will tell. The 4 Bizzies I lost during Palmageddon loved our weather and grew extremely fast for me in comparison. 

T J