Pembana Palm Sourcing

[MangosteenLu]

Hey everyone,

 

I’ve been reading on here a lot because I’m redoing my mom’s back yard in Miami, and I’m replacing some Areca palms with giant root mounds. Originally I was going to cut back and try to get one surviving trunk to replant and restart the Areca, but then I read on here how a lot of people love the Pembana Palm. It appeals to me because it is clustering, but also has a much neater look + it is full sun. I decided I wanted to replace the Areca with a pembana. 

I naively bought “solitary” pembana seedlings. I want a clustering variety though. Is it even possible to distinguish if the palm will be clustering or solitary at the seedling stage? Since starting from seedling is such a big time investment, I’m hesitant to keep these. I don’t want to end up with all seedlings being solitary pembana’s.

What are people’s thoughts? Also if anyone in the south Florida area has a pembana palm for sale or trade, I’d love to chat!

[Johnny Palmseed]

These should be relatively easy for you to find in SFL since they have become a popular alternative to “Arecas” in the last 10 years. Although some past promoters are not necessarily big fans anymore after some hurricanes. I believe that the solitary vs cluster trait is not possible to identify on very small palms. It could take a few years from seed. I believe that the solitary variant comes from a solitary parent and clustering from clustering. I have found that the clustering trait can be quite varied from plant to plant. Even from the same batch of seeds, I have one that clumps wildly and another that is minimal. Are you 100% sure that you have the solitary variety? I have found it to be less common than the clumping.

[MangosteenLu]

Thanks for responding! This is my first post. That was the impression I got about the Pembana. As of now it’s random and no one has truly identified a way to control it. 

I find that there actually aren’t that many vendors selling the pembana. I bought mine from here: https://letsgrowflorida.com/collections/palms/products/dypsis-pembana-tropical-palm-tree

Since there isn’t any information online about the known trait or any true cultivar, I kind of doubt it is actually truly solitary.

I'm totally new to palms though, so I guess I just worry about putting in the time investment on the wrong plant!

 

 

[Johnny Palmseed]

Welcome to the forum! Here is a link to the post regarding the SFL show coming up. It would be a great resource to learn more about palms for your area. As for the ones you bought, I actually think they might cluster after reading the description. “lightly clustering, sometimes solitary” sounds like they are describing the purchase of the plant as a single vs a guaranteed solitary variety. That’s the problem with online orders - you never know what you will get.

 

[Merlyn]

@MangosteenLu welcome to PalmTalk!  I've bought a few things from LetsGrowFlorida, with generally good results.  For the Pembana you bought, I would expect that they are the "normal" type of Pembana...i.e. lightly clustering.  In the title they say solitary, but in the description they don't specifically call out "this is the rare solitary form."  So are they the solitary type?  Hard to say...as a coworker of mine likes to say, "Maybe yes, maybe no."  You could plant three seedlings in a triple.  If they are solitary you'd have a triple.  If they are sparsely clustering you'd end up with maybe 6-9 trunks or so after several years of growth.

In my yard they take a while to get up to the 3-4 foot tall size, and then take off quickly with several feet per year growth.  If you want some height quicker, you could seek out one of the nurseries that deals in less common palms.  Redlands, D'Asign Source, Action Theory, and probably some others may carry 3g or larger pots.

If you like Pembana, you might also look at Lanceolata as a sparsely clustering type with neat curly leaves.  Ptychosperma Schefferi and Macarthurii are also nice palms with a similar look.  Schefferi is a dense clustering but fairly small, and Macarthurii is sparsely clustering.  Palmpedia is a great website for accurate photos and descriptions of palms.

[MangosteenLu]

Thanks @Johnny Palmseed I'm very excited for that show! 

Also @Merlyn thanks for the confirmation. LetsGrowFlorida gave me a great bundle of seedlings. I think their website or just description is misguided. I did as you suggested, planted three seedlings in two pots each. 

Time will tell which ones are clustering and I'll take those for transplant into the ground.

Thanks all! Have a great week.

[MangosteenLu]

So I ended up buying a 1-2 feet clustering Pembana from a local grower on Etsy.

 

It arrived and is super healthy. I’m excited about it. It is however 6 individual Pembanas put together in one pot.

 

Somehow I now have 7 Pembana seedlings and 6 small Pembana palms. 🤣

Im certain atleast two of them will be of the clustering variety! Time will tell.🤞

 

Question is what to do with the remaining 11 palms once I identify the winners haha

[Looking Glass]

  On 2/28/2025 at 9:49 PM, MangosteenLu said:

So I ended up buying a 1-2 feet clustering Pembana from a local grower on Etsy.

 

It arrived and is super healthy. I’m excited about it. It is however 6 individual Pembanas put together in one pot.

 

Somehow I now have 7 Pembana seedlings and 6 small Pembana palms. 🤣

Im certain atleast two of them will be of the clustering variety! Time will tell.🤞

 

Question is what to do with the remaining 11 palms once I identify the winners haha

Expand  

2021…

I got a similar arrangement a few years back from Blue Ginger Gardens Nursery in Hollywood, FL.   In the end a single, sparse suckering Pembana emerged and the others faded away.   Its suckers are weak and don’t seem to last.   It grows well, though I largely ignore it these days.   They grow easily and trouble free here.  Be aware, as these get taller and mature, they will snap in hurricane winds.  You may want to plant accordingly.  

2025…