Trachycarpus Fortunei and Full Sun?

[smithgn]

Does anyone have a Trachy in full sun? I have two, both about 3-4 feet tall in spots that receive absolute full sun; at least 6 hours of direct, unobstructed sunlight a day. I've read that Trachy's generally like the shade and do pretty well in bright sunny spots, but I was wondering if anyone has their Trachy's in full sun like I do?

As for mine, my two have fared quite well. It was kind of an experiment at first since I got both of them for very cheap. They're in ground and putting out new fronds regularly. Although, during one week when I was out of town, temperatures got into the high 90's and hit 100 a couple of days. This had been during a time of 2 weeks with little to no rain. One of my Trachy's, which receives the most sunlight of the two (~8 hours or so), began to have brown, slightly frizzled tips. Will they adjust over time to the amount of sunlight they receive?

[kahili]

yes they do well in full sun and in fact grow quite a bit faster than the ones that are in partial or full shade. I would water them in well the first year-when it hasn't rained and the soil is dry but they have proven to be pretty drought tolerant after they get established

[NorthFlpalmguy]

I have about 300 in full sun and they do grow faster than the partial shade ones. I always try to grow them in full sun.

Edited July 24, 2014 by bbrantley

[smithgn]

Thanks guys for the info! I feel a little better now.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Depends which trachy you grow, fortunei is good in both full sun and in shade, but it makes bigger, nicer looking leaves in the shade. Wagnerianus looks better in full sun, and princeps is best in full sun to part shade, but not full shade.

I have about 300 in full sun and they do grow faster than the partial shade ones. I always try to grow them in full sun.

You grow 300 of them? Why so many? How big is your property?

[Ben in Norcal]

Depends which trachy you grow, fortunei is good in both full sun and in shade, but it makes bigger, nicer looking leaves in the shade. Wagnerianus looks better in full sun, and princeps is best in full sun to part shade, but not full shade.

IMO it also depends on where you are. I opt to give my fortune part sun because they can yellow in dry heat, even with ample watering (I find, anyway.)

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Depends which trachy you grow, fortunei is good in both full sun and in shade, but it makes bigger, nicer looking leaves in the shade. Wagnerianus looks better in full sun, and princeps is best in full sun to part shade, but not full shade.

IMO it also depends on where you are. I opt to give my fortune part sun because they can yellow in dry heat, even with ample watering (I find, anyway.)

it's true, it's really hard to keep them looking nice in full sun in California because of the dry heat. The ones in full sun in the Pacific Northwest always look so much better.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Depends which trachy you grow, fortunei is good in both full sun and in shade, but it makes bigger, nicer looking leaves in the shade. Wagnerianus looks better in full sun, and princeps is best in full sun to part shade, but not full shade.

I have about 300 in full sun and they do grow faster than the partial shade ones. I always try to grow them in full sun.

You grow 300 of them? Why so many? How big is your property?

I run a palm-specific nursery as a side business. I combined my love of farming and palms and it just happened.. so it's like long-term row cropping haha

I have a few thousand field grown pindos as well and others, mostly cold hardy palms. That property is 300 acres but only 15 acres or so are in palms at this time.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Good for you, sounds like a lot of fun! I also have too many palms, will sell some. What zone are you in?

[sashaeffer]

This one(I have a few) has been in ground longest, and gets 1/2 day full sun...noon till dusk so hottest part of the day and it's surrounded by concrete, my house walls etc and does really well.

[SailorBold]

Not here in the Albuquerque area. the sun is just way too strong. They need lots of water and eastern exposure to look their best. A shady southern exposure will work well too and can survive north exposure if properly sited. Generally the crowns of the sun grown palms are more compact and look washed out even with water. Soil plays a small roll also IMHO but this is mainly for moisture retention- here in a desert area at least.

[Cindy Adair]

Our larger T. fortunei trees are in full sun and thriving in Virginia Beach, VA ( zone 8).

The volunteers start out in partial shade and grow well too. They are the easiest palms to grow in our area in my opinion.

[smithgn]

Nice microclimate you've got there, sashaeffer!

Not here in the Albuquerque area. the sun is just way too strong. They need lots of water and eastern exposure to look their best. A shady southern exposure will work well too and can survive north exposure if properly sited. Generally the crowns of the sun grown palms are more compact and look washed out even with water. Soil plays a small roll also IMHO but this is mainly for moisture retention- here in a desert area at least.

I feel like the sun is brutal here also, along with the extreme heat (it's suppose to hit 100 again today). Although, one main difference between us is that you have the dryness, which may sap palms like Trachy's of their water a lot quicker than a palm that's accustom to a dry, brutally hot environment (I have no idea if this is true, just what I think). So I can see that happening your way for sure.

Our larger T. fortunei trees are in full sun and thriving in Virginia Beach, VA ( zone 8).

The volunteers start out in partial shade and grow well too. They are the easiest palms to grow in our area in my opinion.

Trachy's are very agreeable. How I managed to kill one last year still baffles me

[sashaeffer]

Thanks, I'm sure it likes the pond next to it as well as the hot concrete.

[SailorBold]

Agree.... the other factor is wind. Generally speaking if you decide to plant a windmill in an exposed site with full sun- the leaves will look terrible and ratty. They are actually a good palm for my area- Just need to site them well and fertilize them well too.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Our larger T. fortunei trees are in full sun and thriving in Virginia Beach, VA ( zone 8).

The volunteers start out in partial shade and grow well too. They are the easiest palms to grow in our area in my opinion.

Trachy's are very agreeable. How I managed to kill one last year still baffles me

Trachys are one of the species I have ever grown that will die so quick that you can not diagnose the problem so don't feel so bad. I have 10-15% of mine die before they make it to 3'.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Trachys are bullet proof here, pretty hard to kill. Now coccothrinax is a whole different story.

[Palm crazy]

The best way to grow trachys is to grow the roots in shade and the crown in full sun or mostly full sun.

I have some that are in full sun now but they stated out in full shade. I only have a few that are planted in full sun when they were little. I really can’t tell if one is better than the other cause the do good in both growing conditions here.

All most full shade, only sun in the morning, 12’ of trunk.

Full shade.

Started out in full shade now in full sun.

Same with these, shade when planted now the crowns are in full sun.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Palm crazy

[Palm crazy]

Planted in full sun and still in full sun.

This one is in full blazing sun all day.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

It's very difficult to grow trachycarpus fortunei to that level of beauty outside of the Pacific Northwest, they just don't look that good down here. Our trachycarpus of choice is trachycarpus martianus, looks fantastic in our climate.

[Peter Timmermans]

Some pics of my tallest Trachy in January 2014, two years after complete defolation in winter of 2012 with lows of -15^oC (5 ^oF) and -22^oC (-7.6 ^oF). It grows in full sun. We have cool summers so they grow best in full sun.

[Peter Timmermans]

Summer summer pics of same Trachy.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Peter, those are some pretty darn healthy and good looking trachys, congrats on your beautiful garden.

[Alicehunter2000]

WOW! ...... that's got to be one of the prettiest ( if not THE prettiest) non tropical looking garden on Palmtalk. It almost looks fake in some of the pictures.....outstanding!

And you get how cold ? !!

[Peter Timmermans]

WOW! ...... that's got to be one of the prettiest ( if not THE prettiest) non tropical looking garden on Palmtalk. It almost looks fake in some of the pictures.....outstanding!

And you get how cold ? !!

Peter, those are some pretty darn healthy and good looking trachys, congrats on your beautiful garden.

Thanks Axel and Alice for your kind comments. I use Ikea duvets to protect my palms in cold spells. The tall Trachy gets only root protection. I'll post more pics this week. These are a few of my favourite back yard pics.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Wow man that totally looks photoshopped it is so pretty!~

[Palm crazy]

What a lovely garden you have, my favorite are the ones with the sun shinning through the leaves and hitting the dewy lawn. Beautiful garden.

What gardening zone are you in?

[sashaeffer]

Wow, amazing pictures. Using a US zone map, what "zone" would your location be considered??

[Alicehunter2000]

Looks to be Zone 8

[Palm crazy]

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Looks to be Zone 8

I might even guess 8b since he is so close to the coast. His average winter lows are about the same as mine, low 30’s. So definitely solid zone 8. But cooler daytime temps than me all year.

Dronten highest average summer temp is 70F, (warmer inland) mine is 78F. Good trachy growing weather for sure.

[Peter Timmermans]

Thanks. An average winter would be zone 8. Under the right conditions it can get much colder, like -17C (1.4F) in 2005 and -22C (-7.6F) in 2012. The tall Trachy is too tall to wrap with duvets so I am glad that it survived. Both in 2005 and 2012 it was completely defoliated. What zone are you in Alice?

[Explorer]

Well I would say Trachycarpus fortunei is a zone 7 palm. One of the very few, and the only one growing well in a climate with cooler summer like up here in The Netherlands. They should be planted much more here in gardens. And also the coldhardy selections of Magnolia grandiflora.

Palms give just that extra to a garden especially in climates and parts of the World where people do not expect them to grow!

Alexander

[Explorer]

Summer summer pics of same Trachy.

Those are very good looking Trachycarpus fortunei and T. wagenerianus. Maybe the very fertil claysoil is also a factor. I have them growing on sandy soil and closer to the coast, so more wind here.

Alexander

[Matthew92]

This past spring I tried transplanting this T. fortunei out in a sunny median to spruce up our neighborhood landscaping. Unfortunately, right after planting there, there was weeks without rain on end, and it was hard for me to get out there 24/7 watering it. Transplant had a lot of root disturbance also- not sure which did it in more.

Now it's dead, and just recently, someone in the neighborhood jokingly tried to complete the look- Charlie Brown's Florida Christmas Tree for you!