Johannesteijsmannia altifrons care

[xtazia]

Hi ! I have a little Joey seedling. 

 

I am scared to death on ever transplanting this guyv (since they hate their roots disturbed). My climate is not suitable for it to be outdoors yet so right now I have it in my greenhouse cabinet. 

 

I'm just not sure if Joeys like to dry out in between waterings ? or kept wet ? 

 

Also when would it be time to repot this guy into something larger ? Please send any care tips ! Are they slow growers ? 

 

For reference I am in zone 10b. 

 

[Fusca]

Looks great!  I'll bet @happypalms can give you some good advice.

[happypalms]

As a grower of a couple of joeys in my collection. I would feel confident in answering your questions. Yes they dislike root disturbance. Your Joey looks it does not need potting up at the moment, wait until you have about 4 to 5 leaves in the container it’s in. You can sit a Joey in a shallow tray of water all year just about except in winter or when the soil temperatures drop. The old saying if you sit on the ground and it feels cold to sit on after a while then it’s not the time to doing any potting up. Only repot tender tropical palms in late spring through to summer. Don’t fertilise in winter either. You can water a Joey all day long providing there is good drainage, but don’t worry about overwatering a Joey worry about letting it dry out that’s a no no. Keep them wet in winter you will not need to water as much the same for all plants in winter. And as for cold they grow as far south as Sydney in Australia and I would confidently say O degrees Celsius is there cold limit no frost, but yes they are surprisingly cool tolerant for such a tropical looking palms. Altifrons is most cool tolerant magnifica are a bit cool tender and perakensis iam not sure yet how they go in the ground in my climate 2 degrees Celsius in winter but all three varieties live in my greenhouse not a problem. They are slow as in comparison to a bangalow in good conditions you can expect 2 new leaves a yer perhaps 3 new leaves given a nice subtropical climate or a warm hothouse. There is a trick to potting them up don’t push your soil in around as you backfill just hold the plant in the centre of the container and then gently tap the container on the bench letting the soil settle naturally not forcing it and repot as the same as the seed depth on top of the surface. To me they are super easy to grow another tip is don’t fuss over them just treat them like any other palm only definitely be more gentle. 

[Palmensammler]

Hi Richard, 

Nice looking Joeys. Do you think they can survive indoors with less humidity?

Greetings Eckhard 

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, Palmensammler said:

Hi Richard, 

Nice looking Joeys. Do you think they can survive indoors with less humidity?

Greetings Eckhard 

Yes there’s a couple there to choose from. I would certainly be placing it in a good spot away from any heat source. A well lit bathroom may be a  good place to start. I guess it would come down to how well you can grow houseplants to start with. You would need to add humidity by misting and by placing it over a tray of water sitting on rocks would definitely help with humidity. And definitely rotate it outside or at least in a greenhouse or shaded corner every month with at least two weeks outside resting. If your a good indoor grower it would be possible but only with it being placed outside to rest. I wouldn’t say it would live indoors indefinitely like some palms can. I have one in my enclosed summer room I place it outside in the rain then return it back inside the next day. 

Richard 

[PalmsandLiszt]

10 hours ago, xtazia said:

I'm just not sure if Joeys like to dry out in between waterings ? or kept wet ? 

Absolutely don't let them dry out. I've let a few seedlings dry out absent-mindedly and there seems to be nothing you can do to save them once (any of) the leaves start contracting. Possibly bigger ones are slightly more resistant but I'd not bet on it as they have no reason to have evolved any drought tolerance.
My 3 altifrons have, I think, ~ five/six leaves now; the first leaf from the first seed to germinate started emerging in March 2022. So a leaf and a bit per year in my (undoubtedly not ideal) indoor conditions.
I probably should re-pot them this year, which I am also scared to death about, as they are in a very loose medium.

10 hours ago, happypalms said:

Altifrons is most cool tolerant magnifica are a bit cool tender and perakensis iam not sure yet

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that perakensis is more cool-tolerant than altifrons, although I cannot remember where, so it might be nonsense.

[xtazia]

15 hours ago, happypalms said:

As a grower of a couple of joeys in my collection. I would feel confident in answering your questions. Yes they dislike root disturbance. Your Joey looks it does not need potting up at the moment, wait until you have about 4 to 5 leaves in the container it’s in. You can sit a Joey in a shallow tray of water all year just about except in winter or when the soil temperatures drop. The old saying if you sit on the ground and it feels cold to sit on after a while then it’s not the time to doing any potting up. Only repot tender tropical palms in late spring through to summer. Don’t fertilise in winter either. You can water a Joey all day long providing there is good drainage, but don’t worry about overwatering a Joey worry about letting it dry out that’s a no no. Keep them wet in winter you will not need to water as much the same for all plants in winter. And as for cold they grow as far south as Sydney in Australia and I would confidently say O degrees Celsius is there cold limit no frost, but yes they are surprisingly cool tolerant for such a tropical looking palms. Altifrons is most cool tolerant magnifica are a bit cool tender and perakensis iam not sure yet how they go in the ground in my climate 2 degrees Celsius in winter but all three varieties live in my greenhouse not a problem. They are slow as in comparison to a bangalow in good conditions you can expect 2 new leaves a yer perhaps 3 new leaves given a nice subtropical climate or a warm hothouse. There is a trick to potting them up don’t push your soil in around as you backfill just hold the plant in the centre of the container and then gently tap the container on the bench letting the soil settle naturally not forcing it and repot as the same as the seed depth on top of the surface. To me they are super easy to grow another tip is don’t fuss over them just treat them like any other palm only definitely be more gentle. 

Wow !! Thank you so much for your detailed response - much appreciated !!!

 

Your collection of Joey's - amazing !! Definitely the Joey expert here. Will follow advice on watering & when it's time to repot (which I'm glad won't be anytime soon!!). 

 

I'm hoping when it gets big enough, Joey can live outdoors potted at least ! We never see frost in my region, for a month or two the temps do get in the low 40's (4 degrees celcius) but nothing ever lower. 

[happypalms]

17 hours ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

Absolutely don't let them dry out. I've let a few seedlings dry out absent-mindedly and there seems to be nothing you can do to save them once (any of) the leaves start contracting. Possibly bigger ones are slightly more resistant but I'd not bet on it as they have no reason to have evolved any drought tolerance.
My 3 altifrons have, I think, ~ five/six leaves now; the first leaf from the first seed to germinate started emerging in March 2022. So a leaf and a bit per year in my (undoubtedly not ideal) indoor conditions.
I probably should re-pot them this year, which I am also scared to death about, as they are in a very loose medium.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that perakensis is more cool-tolerant than altifrons, although I cannot remember where, so it might be nonsense.

I hope your reference you read is correct. Because I have about ten of them to get planted. 

[happypalms]

12 hours ago, xtazia said:

Wow !! Thank you so much for your detailed response - much appreciated !!!

 

Your collection of Joey's - amazing !! Definitely the Joey expert here. Will follow advice on watering & when it's time to repot (which I'm glad won't be anytime soon!!). 

 

I'm hoping when it gets big enough, Joey can live outdoors potted at least ! We never see frost in my region, for a month or two the temps do get in the low 40's (4 degrees celcius) but nothing ever lower. 

Thank you you’re welcome I guess joeys are easy if you have 2000 of them. Just treat your Joey like any other palm. It is special I understand that there so beautiful and amazing. You should able to plant your one in the climate you described. Wait until it’s a bit though in about 3 years time. Good luck and keep us updated on your super special palm I just love them. 

[xtazia]

47 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Thank you you’re welcome I guess joeys are easy if you have 2000 of them. Just treat your Joey like any other palm. It is special I understand that there so beautiful and amazing. You should able to plant your one in the climate you described. Wait until it’s a bit though in about 3 years time. Good luck and keep us updated on your super special palm I just love them. 

Thanks mate. Do you plan on selling your Joey's or what do you plan on doing with thousands of them ? 

 

[happypalms]

On 4/7/2025 at 4:43 PM, xtazia said:

Thanks mate. Do you plan on selling your Joey's or what do you plan on doing with thousands of them ? 

 

You’re welcome iam going to plant as many as I can in my garden. I figured if I can one hundred good ones growing I will be happy but that may take planting about 250 to get a good 100. And yes I will selling them how many would you like🤣