Show me your Satakentia Liukiuensis

[Dave-Vero]

These came from a grower on Merritt Island, Fla. and were planted in April 2007.

They had trouble with yellow, early-browning leaves for the first year despite palm fertilizer, and still tend to be a bit yellowish. Older leaves were damaged by all-night temperatures at 0 C and about -1 C for an hour or so.

Despite problems, they're growing rather fast. The one in front is unfurling a nice new leaf, while the one in back shows off the long tip of an unfurled leaf.

Back of the Satakentias, there's coonties and several palms. The tall one is an Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, which was tiny when planted in 2003. It survived the hurricanes of 2004 in the shelter of a beautyberry bush (light green leaves). At the far left of the photo, beyond the lawn, is an Archontophoenix tuckeri planted after hurricane Frances snapped the trunk of a sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) tree. All the larger palms in my yard were propagated in Brevard or St. Lucie County--there's small ones from Palm Beach, Martin, Broward, and Miami-Dade.

[Dave-Vero]

Here they are being planted, April 2007. Despite being on the north side of the house, the site is sunny. The satakes might have been happier with light shade for part of the day. On the other hand, they might be so busy growing, that they're moving resources out of older leaves prematurely (an actual plant physiologist suggested something like that). Whatever the case, the leaves seem susceptible to sunburn.

Back of the shrubbery thicket, you can see that Carpentaria, already thriving.

[BS Man about Palms]

Those look pretty nice, Dave!

[Dypsisdean]

Dean...enough fanfare. I'm sure there are plenty of others on here that can ID most everything but just don't get all excited about trying like I usually do if there is a challenge. My vote is on Christian (cfkingfish) as the #1 palm ID'er, no doubt.

Matt,

You're too modest. Both you and Christian amaze me. I don't know how you two do it.

I couldn't even come close.

[BS Man about Palms]

Dean...enough fanfare. I'm sure there are plenty of others on here that can ID most everything but just don't get all excited about trying like I usually do if there is a challenge. My vote is on Christian (cfkingfish) as the #1 palm ID'er, no doubt.

Matt,

You're too modest. Both you and Christian amaze me. I don't know how you two do it.

I couldn't even come close.

Yet I know a couple people that know all or most of the parties, and they would give the nod to Ryan (Palmarum) But he rarely gets on the guessing games.

Either way, they all got me beat, but I do OK.

[Walter John]

Most of the great ID folks I know are too shy to play those ID games, taking nothing away from Matt and Christian etc.

I'm good for music trivia, but that's about it.

[Dypsisdean]

Dean...enough fanfare. I'm sure there are plenty of others on here that can ID most everything but just don't get all excited about trying like I usually do if there is a challenge. My vote is on Christian (cfkingfish) as the #1 palm ID'er, no doubt.

Matt,

You're too modest. Both you and Christian amaze me. I don't know how you two do it.

I couldn't even come close.

Yet I know a couple people that know all or most of the parties, and they would give the nod to Ryan (Palmarum) But he rarely gets on the guessing games.

Either way, they all got me beat, but I do OK.

I really didn't mean to hijack the thread.

But Bill, you are right. When I mentioned the top three, I had Ryan, Christian, and Matt in mind. IMO, Ryan is really sharp at IDing the smaller potted palms (no easy task), no doubt from his time at Jeff's Nursery. Christian seems to always nail the mature palms with little effort - a very knowledgeable guy, with a well trained experienced eye. And Matt seems to do well in both areas.

I certainly don't mean to rank anyone here, or say Christian is not as good at small palms, or Ryan's not as good at big palms, or to exclude any others - only to say that disagreeing with any of these guys is doing so at your own peril. And if we ever had the agreement of all three, I would call that a positive ID.

[Walter John]

I can't get a decent photo of my Satakentias, I have three inground, all different ages/sizes. Slowies they be as previously mentioned.

Here they are. The bigger one is at back next to that 4 foot chainy.

[Palm Guy]

These came from a grower on Merritt Island, Fla. and were planted in April 2007.

They had trouble with yellow, early-browning leaves for the first year despite palm fertilizer, and still tend to be a bit yellowish. Older leaves were damaged by all-night temperatures at 0 C and about -1 C for an hour or so.

Despite problems, they're growing rather fast. The one in front is unfurling a nice new leaf, while the one in back shows off the long tip of an unfurled leaf.

Back of the Satakentias, there's coonties and several palms. The tall one is an Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, which was tiny when planted in 2003. It survived the hurricanes of 2004 in the shelter of a beautyberry bush (light green leaves). At the far left of the photo, beyond the lawn, is an Archontophoenix tuckeri planted after hurricane Frances snapped the trunk of a sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) tree. All the larger palms in my yard were propagated in Brevard or St. Lucie County--there's small ones from Palm Beach, Martin, Broward, and Miami-Dade.

Thats some pretty impressive growth for such a 'slow palm'. Well done Dave.

[Dave-Vero]

BS and Palm Guy--thanks for the nice words; what puzzles me is that these Satakentias have grown so robustly while so often looking somewhat sunburned or cold-burned. The leaves must be sensitive.

They're proving slow compared to Carpentaria because they don't have long internodes, and certainly sort of slow and smallish compared to coconuts, but they seem really industrious about building new leaves.

Still, I'm amazed that the Orchid Society in Palm Beach County was able to obtain those beautiful specimens, which are obviously happy (I last saw them in April).

[BS Man about Palms]

And if we ever had the agreement of all three, I would call that a positive ID.

I concur!

[Charles Wychgel]

Daryl, Dave-Vero and Wal thanks for the pix of the smaller size Satakentia now I do have something to compare....after the leaves on my "Satakentia" have grown back

Dave could you please post a bigger photo of the second one in your thread it is reduced quite drastically compared to number one.....thanks

Good thread Bubba and a great help...thanks

[Dave-Vero]

Charles, here's a larger version of the Satakentias being planted. As you can see, they were already pretty husky. On this and the next photo you can perhaps notice the blotchiness of the leaves--despite the plants obviously growing vigorously.

By the way, the tiny coonties (Florida's native Zamia) have grown up nicely. Next year, they should be impressive. They make excellent shrubbery--dense leaves all about the same height, don't need pruning.

[Dave-Vero]

And a night photo of the completed installation. The little bricks are being removed. The cute little plants are actually somewhat unruly goldenrods.

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

Dean...enough fanfare. I'm sure there are plenty of others on here that can ID most everything but just don't get all excited about trying like I usually do if there is a challenge. My vote is on Christian (cfkingfish) as the #1 palm ID'er, no doubt.

Jeff, I agree that your palm is not the standard D decipiens that you usually get. But there are a bunch of palms going around, 'hovitra', 'honkona', 'hankona', 'betafaka', that are very close to what you have and several people that grow a lot of palms say that these seem like a form of D decipiens to them (I've been more skeptical). I'm with you that the leaflets are pretty different from what I've grown as D decipiens, but until these things get bigger, it's just not clear what they are.

Matt

Hmmm?

Matt... You could be right,

I will watch it closely for the next year.. if it seems like . d. decipiens... imma gonna move it .

D. Decipens is large and dosen't need the protection I give to plants on that side of my house.

Jeff

[Charles Wychgel]

Thanks for the new pix Dave; I am convinced now I do not have a Satakentia

I was so proud of growing the only Satakentia outside in Europe

And Senhor Bradford you are on my list of the Idgenie as well

[PalmsZA]

Hey Charles

Yeah, defo a Gaussia that you have, its still a nice palm!

Cheers

Dennis

[Dave-Vero]

Charles,

I think your Algarve climate will accommodate Satakentia, though I bet they'd like to be among trees in a microclimate with some extra humidity. They're notorious for having small seeds that may be a bit difficult to germinate, so getting plants started might be the main problem.

Props to MattyB.

[Al in Kona]

There are two things I've heard being said here in Hawaii from several people growing these palms (Satakentia liukiuensis). One is that you need very fresh seeds if you plan to have much success in germinating them. Also I've heard some say that they need sun in order to grow at a reasonable speed. In shade they sulk or grow super slow.

Has that been the case with some of you who are growing this palm?

[elHoagie]

I will say I was sold a "Satakentia" a long time ago when I started from a "hobby nursery" well north of here. It turned out not to be. I STILL don't know what it is, but its not that. El Hoagie has one of the same type and his may be from the same guy.

The only characteristic I can note from early is the leaves always look very shiny. Almost like someone "Armor All'ed" them.

Bill - Thats what happens when you're ranch hands decide to do a car wash next to the palm nursery!

Ah yes, those "Satakentia". Do you have any idea what palm we have? I bought 3 of those "Satakentia"... They are fast growing, very tender to cold, and now starting to clump. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of Dypsis...

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

After studying pics... and getting some good advice from the experts...

Pretty sure my " Satekentia " is a dypsis something. I wondered why this palm seemed so cold hardy.

Hmmm?

My son lives in Okinawa...Bet he could hook me up with some real Satekentia seed....

Jeff

[Dr. George]

There are two things I've heard being said here in Hawaii from several people growing these palms (Satakentia liukiuensis). One is that you need very fresh seeds if you plan to have much success in germinating them. Also I've heard some say that they need sun in order to grow at a reasonable speed. In shade they sulk or grow super slow.

Has that been the case with some of you who are growing this palm?

Al- Am going to put 3 in the ground in about 2 weeks. Nice sunny So. Kona location with irrigation. You can keep an eye on them and report how they do in comparison to those of our friends in Hilo. - gmp

[Tyrone]

There are two things I've heard being said here in Hawaii from several people growing these palms (Satakentia liukiuensis). One is that you need very fresh seeds if you plan to have much success in germinating them. Also I've heard some say that they need sun in order to grow at a reasonable speed. In shade they sulk or grow super slow.

Has that been the case with some of you who are growing this palm?

Yes. Most marginal palms need warm winter positions to do well in my area. The trouble is, these winter "warm" areas are generally summer "bake" areas. My Satakentia was put in a nice winter warm position that yellowed it in summer. It was the one in my picture. It since has greened up and has adapted to the area. It's not fast, but it'd be really slow in fullshade I'm sure. I'm hoping it will continue to pick up pace and be a strong sunhardened specimen.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Dypsisdean]

There are two things I've heard being said here in Hawaii from several people growing these palms (Satakentia liukiuensis). One is that you need very fresh seeds if you plan to have much success in germinating them. Also I've heard some say that they need sun in order to grow at a reasonable speed. In shade they sulk or grow super slow.

Has that been the case with some of you who are growing this palm?

Al- Am going to put 3 in the ground in about 2 weeks. Nice sunny So. Kona location with irrigation. You can keep an eye on them and report how they do in comparison to those of our friends in Hilo. - gmp

George,

I'll be happy to show you what some nice 5 gals look like after about 3 years in the ground in full sun here in No Kona, when you're over. I'm guessing you got some of their "siblings" from Garrett.

[Dave-Vero]

Tyrone, your summer baking sounds like what happens to mine.... the leaves seem sensitive to excess light, to cold, and perhaps to the dry air that accompanies our cold. Here's a yellowish leaf that survived last winter, but hasn't looked entirely happy since.

[Dave-Vero]

And just for completeness, here's a trunk, freshly cleaned of old leaf bases.

[Dr. George]

There are two things I've heard being said here in Hawaii from several people growing these palms (Satakentia liukiuensis). One is that you need very fresh seeds if you plan to have much success in germinating them. Also I've heard some say that they need sun in order to grow at a reasonable speed. In shade they sulk or grow super slow.

Has that been the case with some of you who are growing this palm?

Al- Am going to put 3 in the ground in about 2 weeks. Nice sunny So. Kona location with irrigation. You can keep an eye on them and report how they do in comparison to those of our friends in Hilo. - gmp

George,

I'll be happy to show you what some nice 5 gals look like after about 3 years in the ground in full sun here in No Kona, when you're over. I'm guessing you got some of their "siblings" from Garrett.

Thanks, Dean - I will look forward to it - hearing that they are slow has me a little spooked, but we're moving forward anyway. These are actually of Hilo origin, but Garrett is the source of a bunch of other stuff that we are going to put in the ground at the same time. All of the palm nurseries on the Big Island tend to get an economic stimulus when we come to town. - gmp

[MattyB]

Tyrone, your summer baking sounds like what happens to mine.... the leaves seem sensitive to excess light, to cold, and perhaps to the dry air that accompanies our cold. Here's a yellowish leaf that survived last winter, but hasn't looked entirely happy since.

Dave,

That looks like a perfectly grown California palm leaf. What's the problem? You're spoiled with glossy deep green Florida leaves.

[bubba]

Any updates on the Satakentia liukiuensis in Cali?

[MKIVRYAN]

[BPK Palm Addict]

Nice inflorescence Ryan.  One of my 3 has just started that.

[PalmWarbler]

1 hour ago, MKIVRYAN said:

Now that's a beaut!

[Patrick Palms]

My little seedlings seem a bit weak..they are in small.pot in the shade..do they need more sun ?

[steve99]

 

Here's a few pics of mine two years apart.

 

9th Oct 2015

Today.

 

[Tracy S]

What a difference 2 years makes. It's shaping up quite nicely with those lovely drooping leaves.. It will be even more stunning  when it gets its trunk color. nice job!

[atlantisrising]

Give them more water, these are very thirsty trees. As someone mentioned earlier here it rains daily in habitat. Mine improved dramatically when I went to daily irrigation. Here's my biggest one, broken leaf is from hurricane Irma but they fared extremely well through that, very tough palm and not picky about soil type.

[MattyB]

On 5/17/2017, 8:12:13, bubba said:

Any updates on the Satakentia liukiuensis in Cali?

Mine is about 10' tall overall with 6" of clear trunk.

[Palm Tree Jim]

Clearly thriving for you Matty.

Not an easy grow in So Cal by any means.

I tried several years ago.....didn’t make it through the first winter.

Care to share how you succeeded?

[MattyB]

Good microclimate mostly. But I did keep it covered with 30% shade cloth for 3 full years before letting it see full sun.  It was full entire day sun after that.  Just this year the king palm next to it throws a little shade on some of the fronds. Probably will help it look better in the future. 

Edited November 23, 2017 by MattyB

[Josh-O]

12 hours ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Clearly thriving for you Matty.

Not an easy grow in So Cal by any means.

I tried several years ago.....didn’t make it through the first winter.

Care to share how you succeeded?

Let me guess...

south facing 700+' elevation hill top inland micro climate

open air flow with out obstruction with major air drainage.