Syagrus ruschiana

[Jonathan]

Hi all,

I was given some S. ruschiana seeds from Donald Sanders in Hawaii (thanks Don!), of which three have now germinated.

I was surprised to notice that the seeds were remote germinators - I couldn't remember any of the other Syagrus I've grown (romanzoffiana, flexuosa, abreojos) being remote - but then its been a while since I germinated them.

Is this common in Syagrus species? I know that other Cocoid palms like Parajubaea are remote germinators.

Is anyone else growing this species - any ideas about cold tolerance, etc?

The photo's I've seen on the net suggest it comes from dry, rocky areas, so it should like full sun I guess.

Like S. flexuosa, there just dosn't seem to be much info around about it.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[gyuseppe]

Jonathan, I too have sowed syagrus ruschiana , the seeds have been given me by Donald Sanders in Hawaii ( again thanks don).

say frost resistant lightweight, hopefully good

[Jonathan]

Jonathan, I too have sowed syagrus ruschiana , the seeds have been given me by Donald Sanders in Hawaii ( again thanks don).

say frost resistant lightweight, hopefully good

I'm glad you got some Gyuseppe - we can compare notes later - we seem to have similar taste in palms!

Hopefully someone can give us a bit more information about this species.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Wai`anae Steve]

Jonathan, I too have sowed syagrus ruschiana , the seeds have been given me by Donald Sanders in Hawaii ( again thanks don).

say frost resistant lightweight, hopefully good

I'm glad you got some Gyuseppe - we can compare notes later - we seem to have similar taste in palms!

Hopefully someone can give us a bit more information about this species.

Cheers,

Jonathan

I have 3 seedlings a few years old that are still in the "strap" leaf stage. Plan to put them in the ground in the fall.

Also have more seeds waiting to sprout. I hope :-)

[PalmatierMeg]

I too got S. ruschiana seeds from Don - thanks again, Don. Four germinated in just a few weeks. I potted them about 6-8 weeks ago and they are sending up their first green spike. I don't know much about them, except what I've read in the Encyclopedia of Cultured Palms.

[Z4Devil]

I have one, too. Bought it as a seedling from a seller in Australia, no real progress is recorded. Hope dies at last, especially after such a winter ... pics will follow tomorrow.

[chris78]

I have 2 in the ground and 3 more still in pots. All are developing suckers. I have not placed any in full sun yet, and they done well in part shade. I feel they can take full sun in az but will do this slowly.

As for cold, mine have taken upper 20's F with overhead protection. and light frost in the lower 30's F without much problems.

They do like water untill they are well rooted in the ground. I will post pix of them when I take some.

Edited April 6, 2010 by chris78

[Al in Kona]

Jonathan, I have several planted in the ground but are still not that large (see pics below). They are multiple trunked palms that when once established do well for me with very little supplemental watering. Other than in photos I've never seen a full grown mature S. ruschiana. Hopefully I will when I go to Brazil for the IPS Biennial this month.

[Jonathan]

You're a lucky man Al - firstly for having such nice looking ruschiana's and secondly for going to Brazil!

Love the look of this species - far more delicate leaves than most Syagrus.

Chris - it sounds like they might do ok down here if they can handle a light frost every now and then - although I've got plenty of frost free areas where I could put them, so hopefully they wont have to endure that. Upper 20's is about -1 to -3C, it never gets below 0C here, so should be fine.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[realarch]

Jonathan, my S. amara were remote germinators. Fairly quick to sprout, very slow for awhile, but now starting to

grow faster.

Tim