Before and after: 4.5 years of growth of Beccariophoenix madagascariensis

[Zeeth]

Hi everyone. Kopsick has two B. madagascariensis (no windows) that I've been checking on for the past few years. The before pictures were taken in November of 2009, and the after pictures were taken today. I thought that the growth rate didn't seem too bad! They're definitely gaining some size at this point.

Here's palm number one. This one is growing in full, blazing sun, about a stone's throw away from the Tampa bay.

Before:

After:

Here's an after picture with me for scale. I'm 193 cm tall, or about 6'4.

[Zeeth]

Here's palm number two. This one is in shadier location. I would say that it's filtered sun, as it never seems to be in deep shade, but never full sun either. It's planted by some very tall Attalea cohune, Livistona, Bismarckia, etc. so it's got a lot of stuff around it to filter out the full sun. It doesn't really seem to affect the growth rate much though.

Before:

After:

Me for scale:

[Zeeth]

This gives a good idea of the rate that the base is expanding. My foot is included for scale. The shoes are different, but both are size 14. The palm seems to have somewhat of a heel on it, which is interesting.

Before:

After:

That's all for now!

[_Keith]

Killed post. Its dead, dead, dead

[Zeeth]

Killed post. Its dead, dead, dead

What?

[_Keith]

I wrote a response speaking of alfredii, but then realized you weren't. No way to delete it, so,,,,, What else can you do.

[Zeeth]

I wrote a response speaking of alfredii, but then realized you weren't. No way to delete it, so,,,,, What else can you do.

Oh I see! Makes sense. Well here's a pic of alfredii for your troubles.

[DoomsDave]

This is a helpful post, even without alfredii.

I have a no-window, and it's nowhere near as fast as that one, not even close. Seems like the heat and humidity make a huge difference.

Any year-by-year data on Alfie?

[DoomsDave]

I wrote a response speaking of alfredii, but then realized you weren't. No way to delete it, so,,,,, What else can you do.

I just say "URK"!

[Zeeth]

This is a helpful post, even without alfredii.

I have a no-window, and it's nowhere near as fast as that one, not even close. Seems like the heat and humidity make a huge difference.

Any year-by-year data on Alfie?

I agree, it seems that the range of this species extends to the sandy coastal region at 25 degrees south, so I imagine that culture there is similar to what we have in Florida. It's the slowest in the genus, but it's not that slow with out heat and humidity.

Looking through my photo archive, I think I can give you some idea on the growth rate of alfredii. It's definitely a speedy grower in Florida.

March 2010. This was one of many sprouted seeds, all of which sprouted within a month of each other.

July 2010.

June 2011

July 2014 (today)

[Pedro 65]

Thanks for the pics Keith, I think its the "most appealing" of the Beccariophoenix, to me anyway.

Pete

[DoomsDave]

Windows (fenestralis) turns into a FrankenBeccariophoenix in 7 years: 35 feet tall, and as wide across the crown in Hawaii. Scream.

[Tyrone]

Thanks for posting. The growth rate is awesome and the plants look very healthy.

I'm growing all 3 down here at 35S and so far so good this winter. One of my B mad's was fully exposed to the cold and even got a bit of frost on it and it's still totally green. It gets the sun for most of the day, and full baking sun in summer.

[quaman58]

Great looking palms! Here in San Diego my next door neighbor has his water drip system (& fertilizer injector) really dialed in; his B. madagascariensis has gone from a one gallon size to over 2 meters tall in 5 years. Not terribly slow when they're happy.

[Hammer]

Great documentation. Thanks for sharing the photos. I have to agree with Pedro. Best looking of the genus.

Hard to tell in the photos, but it looks like the width of the trunk hasn't gotten too much wider. Perhaps it's nearly maxed?

[QUINNPALMS]

So Kool! Love seeing before n afters!

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Great looking palms! Here in San Diego my next door neighbor has his water drip system (& fertilizer injector) really dialed in; his B. madagascariensis has gone from a one gallon size to over 2 meters tall in 5 years. Not terribly slow when they're happy.

I am really curious now what it is about your particular microclimate and soil that makes it possible for you to grow fenestralis the way you do and your neighbor to be able to get a no windows to grow that fast. I've seen the fenestralis struggle just about everywhere in the State, and two well known enormous no windows have croaked already, Len's and Matty's.

Alfredii however seems to be a no-brainer, it grows superbly well for me and for just about everyone.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I wrote a response speaking of alfredii, but then realized you weren't. No way to delete it, so,,,,, What else can you do.

Oh I see! Makes sense. Well here's a pic of alfredii for your troubles.

I am going to have to re-think where I planted a couple of alfredii's in my garden. That thing is a monster!!! It's also interesting how as a larger plant the alfredii looks a lot more similar to the fenestralis, yet the 'no windows' retains it's particular look.

Can't wait for all of these things to start seeding so we can hybridize them. I'd love to see alfredii crossed with fenestralis to get a version that will grow in my cooler Summer climate.

[Tyrone]

B alfredii has only been available for 9 years. So the picture of that big one is 9 years old from seed????????

[Zeeth]

Thanks for the comments guys!

Hammer, it's hard to tell, but the base has gotten quite a bit thicker. I think the shoe pictures might not be as helpful as the overall pictures now that I look at them. I think it'll probably be about 6 or 7 more years before it develops some trunk. I'll try to take pictures once every few years to continue showing progress.

Tyrone, hard to believe isn't it? I don't know the details, but that particular one was one of the first of the species into cultivation. The first expedition to formally find them was May 2004, so the palm can only be as old as that. Also, the picture is a year old, so it's probably even bigger today.

B. alfredii seems to be the best of the three species for this area, but the other two are great also. I got 1 seedling of B. mad out of a RPS order, and it seems pretty slow growing at this stage, but I'm hopeful that it turns into something like the specimens at Kopsick, which are exceptionally beautiful. I also recently got B. fenestralis seeds, so I'll get to see how they grow here as well. I agree with Axel though, a hybrid between B. alfredii and B. fenestralis would be very cool. I predict that some of the alfredii in Florida will be flowering in the next 5-10 years, so it might not be too far off, as long as someone is willing to try it!

[Tyrone]

B alfredii is really fast then. If that's from the first collection ever to come out of Madagascar that would make a lot of sense. It's still mighty quick. I can't wait to get a few in the ground here. Your pictures are inspiring.

[Zeeth]

Update for the end of 2015. 

 

 

[Jeff Searle]

Thanks for sharing this brief history of one of my favorite palms. They look really happy.

[DoomsDave]

Bravo to Zeeth!

Great pictures and give something to look forward to.

[User00]

Great work, great pictures 

[User00]

14 hours ago, Zeeth said:

Update for the end of 2015. 

 

 

 

 

 

what's the large fan palm with fruits ( right side of the photo )

[Palmaceae]

42 minutes ago, User00 said:

what's the large fan palm with fruits ( right side of the photo )

The tall one with seeds is a Bismarkia, then right below it to the left is a Pritchardia.

[Josh-O]

17 hours ago, Zeeth said:

Update for the end of 2015. 

 

 

Great pictures Zeeth  

[Josh-O]

Just now, Josh-O said:

Great pictures Zeeth  

it never gets old looking at the growth rate in palms with pictures like these 

[_Rob_]

Cheers Zeeth.

So sweet to see those. Kopsick was my first USA garden to visit on a working trip in Dec 2013. I did snap all 3: Beccario, Pritchardia and fruiting Bismarkia right next to it. Check the name tag on the Pritchie en the building behind it.

I did catch the one next to the tennis courts too

Zeeth, Out of curiosity: is the coconut beach side still looking OK today? It did look seriously tattered when i was there.

Edited December 19, 2015 by _Rob_
found pic at last...

[DoomsDave]

To give a better perspective over the differences a climate makes, it takes about 30 years for a B. madagascarensis (no window) to get about 15 feet tall, without a trunk. Both the Hoopers and Mardy Darian have specimens like that.

[edric]

Great work, thanks Keith, Ed

[PalmWarbler]

Thanks to all for posting what I would refer to as "timeline" photos, showing the dates along with the pictures so we can all see the growth that took place during the span of time.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I get excited to see any growth here at the house, in fact after an extended getaway I'm eager to get home and do my "walk" around the yard as my wife calls it, to see how things have growth while I was away.

[oliver]

The Beccariophoenix look great. I have a few that are a little smaller, but I can't seem to get them to look any good. They are extremely yellow. I assume the ones you posted are growing in very alkaline soil. Maybe I need to bump up my pH around these plants.

[DoomsDave]

3 hours ago, oliver said:

The Beccariophoenix look great. I have a few that are a little smaller, but I can't seem to get them to look any good. They are extremely yellow. I assume the ones you posted are growing in very alkaline soil. Maybe I need to bump up my pH around these plants.

I wouldn't assume that our Cali soil is alkaline. I can't speak for the Floridians, but I put lots of organics in the soil which brings down the PH a lot.

Oliver, how about a picture? In particular, close ups of the yellowed, yellowing and green leaves, if any. That will help to determine why yours are yellow and what to do about it. Maybe start a thread, asking why are your Beccariophoenix all yellow?

[Moose]

6 hours ago, oliver said:

The Beccariophoenix look great. I have a few that are a little smaller, but I can't seem to get them to look any good. They are extremely yellow. I assume the ones you posted are growing in very alkaline soil. Maybe I need to bump up my pH around these plants.

Sequestrian 138 will solve your problem. These palms need iron that gets locked up in high pH soils. Try to correct your pH but the sequestrian 138 should be used first. Its not cheap but this chelated iron supplement works amazingly on Beccariophoenix in alkaline soils!

[Zeeth]

Update:

[Reeverse]

I'm amazed at how massive they get.