Chamaedorea stolonifera - kinder than brachypoda

[PalmatierMeg]

Scott in Nebraska recently posted photos of his potted Cham. brachypoda. Responses reminded me why I don't want this species: in my climate and in the ground, it is an invasive runner that overwhelms anything it meets. But I also remembered I have its mild-mannered cousin C. stolonifera planted on the east side of my back lanai. So, as I am on a photo-taking kick lately, I included it on my list. This little palm also spreads by stolon but at a slow pace I can keep up with. While C.b.'s stems appear straight, C.s.'s sprawl and twist, even crawl along the ground. The big clump came from a Palm Beach sale and I'd love to get another. Despite signs of flowering, I get no offspring - all plants appear to be female. Bummer

Chamaedorea stolonifera

[Sir Oxylon]

I have both species in a warm temperate climate. Both are currently growing nicely in a warm glasshouse. I am surprised with the bad wrap that brachypoda is getting regarding its weed-like status. Despite it growing by rhizome is it easy to control? Wouldn't it be a  matter of just digging it up where it comes up where you don't want it-I wouldn't imagine it creeps too far under the ground surface. You then have a plant to swap/give away. Am I naive? I do plan on planting mine out in the next couple of years. Wont grow as quickly for me as it would in Florida.

[XYZ]

I don't think anyone here is giving C. brachypoda a "bad wrap". It is an absolutely gorgeous colonial tropical rainforest palm when well-grown and can be a superb tall ground cover for people who have the space, conditions and inclination to let it ramble. Points being made are that it is, a). entirely unsuitable for indoor (house or apartment) cultivation in temperate climates and, b). that it can, over time, cover a lot of ground and overrun smaller ornamental neighbors (e.g. bromeliads, other small palms, dwarf gingers, etc.) if left unchecked. While it is clearly not anywhere close to being as aggressive as a rattan or a running bamboo, many palm growers have limited spaces in their beds to dedicate to single species; so this one may not be the best choice if diversity in the planting is paramount. Invasiveness is relative. Many people (farmers, botanical gardeners, etc.) find gigantic, ever expanding plant colonies on their properties to be a good thing. I would hazard that gardeners with limited lot space generally do not.

I have grown C. brachypoda to large sizes in oversized pots outside in Guatemala and they do indeed thrive up until some time after they fill up the space in the pots. Obviously they can be kept trimmed back by clipping rhizomes every year or so...the question is whether this is a desirable trait for the grower? There is often a big difference between growing a potted palm in a climate-controlled greenhouse for a few years and how they perform in a garden on the other side of the glass over the period the grower maintains an interest in it.

I have seen very nice-looking C. stolonifera being grown outdoors in a garden nearby in the SF Bay Area and is indeed a better choice for cooler, drier climates than C. brachypoda. This is hardly surprising give their respective origins. As Meg points out, while it does ramble it appears to be a slower grower and puts a bit more space between stems than C. brachypoda on the edge of the colony.

J

[Really full garden]

10 hours ago, stone jaguar said:

I don't think anyone here is giving C. brachypoda a "bad wrap". It is an absolutely gorgeous colonial tropical rainforest palm when well-grown and can be a superb tall ground cover for people who have the space, conditions and inclination to let it ramble. Points being made are that it is, a). entirely unsuitable for indoor (house or apartment) cultivation in temperate climates and, b). that it can, over time, cover a lot of ground and overrun smaller ornamental neighbors (e.g. bromeliads, other small palms, dwarf gingers, etc.) if left unchecked. While it is clearly not anywhere close to being as aggressive as a rattan or a running bamboo, many palm growers have limited spaces in their beds to dedicate to single species; so this one may not be the best choice if diversity in the planting is paramount. Invasiveness is relative. Many people (farmers, botanical gardeners, etc.) find gigantic, ever expanding plant colonies on their properties to be a good thing. I would hazard that gardeners with limited lot space generally do not.

I have grown C. brachypoda to large sizes in oversized pots outside in Guatemala and they do indeed thrive up until some time after they fill up the space in the pots. Obviously they can be kept trimmed back by clipping rhizomes every year or so...the question is whether this is a desirable trait for the grower? There is often a big difference between growing a potted palm in a climate-controlled greenhouse for a few years and how they perform in a garden on the other side of the glass over the period the grower maintains an interest in it.

I have seen very nice-looking C. stolonifera being grown outdoors in a garden nearby in the SF Bay Area and is indeed a better choice for cooler, drier climates than C. brachypoda. This is hardly surprising give their respective origins. As Meg points out, while it does ramble it appears to be a slower grower and puts a bit more space between stems than C. brachypoda on the edge of the colony.

J

I wish mine would take over immense areas of my garden! Mine is from you by way of Silvia. It has done nothing for two years.I recently moved it to a more open spot with dappled sun and lots of leafy mulch.There was no sign of new rhizomes emerging.

[XYZ]

Scott:

Glad to read you have that male clone. Surprised it's been a bust for you. Knowing the Ps, suspect they were not particularly generous with the division, in spite of having way quite a bit of it both in the greenhouse in Z 10 and the garden at Mariscos. No new growth suggests to me that it hasn't rooted properly either. You might way to pull it out of the ground, drop it into an oversized pot and submerge roots to just over top of the stolons with well-composted oak leaf litter (broza cernida), which is usually available by the bag at Botanik or Jardines de Babilonia. Give it six months to reset in moist, shady spot and see if you've got it re-rooted. Have not heard of anyone else having problems growing it down there, so something must have set it back before you got it.

Have you seen same accession growing free at La Concha? They have it in the main house garden, behind the pool and under the shade of a big amate. Last year when I was there it had gone fully bananas after a decade's worth of growth. I am guessing they have rogued out quite a bit of it by now or it's run over into some of his prized zamia plantings. What a beautiful critter it is, though. The lightest breeze sends the leaves on that colony fluttering like hundreds of butterfly wings.

J

[Really full garden]

37 minutes ago, stone jaguar said:

Scott:

Glad to read you have that male clone. Surprised it's been a bust for you. Knowing the Ps, suspect they were not particularly generous with the division, in spite of having way quite a bit of it both in the greenhouse in Z 10 and the garden at Mariscos. Have you seen same accession growing free at La Concha? They have it in the main house garden, behind the pool and under the shade of a big amate. Last year when I was there it had gone fully bananas after a decade's worth of growth. I am guessing they have rogued out quite a bit of it by now or it's run over into some of his prized zamia plantings. What a beautiful critter it is, though. The lightest breeze sends the leaves on that colony fluttering like hundreds of butterfly wings.

J

Jay, you are right it was a tiny division. I will talk to Jaime to see if i can get a few more divisions and try them in several spots in my garden.

[XYZ]

Hahaha! They never change.

Hopeless at "paying it forward"...

See my late edit above suggesting how you might get your start going.

Good luck,

J

[DoomsDave]

Confine the stolonifera, too. They can run WILD, at least here in California. (Maybe everything goes wild in California . . . )

[Mandrew968]

My brachypoda has not travelled at all. It would be nice if it did, but it just sits there and looks like it did the day I planted it, more or less. Within my clump is both male and female but no seeds to report ever. Been in the ground a good four years.

[Sir Oxylon]

I look forward to seeing how mine performs in the ground. It will probably be on the smaller side given we have cool winters. I also have stolonifera. I will plant them out at the same time and compare.

[Eric in Orlando]

Chamaedorea brachypoda is very susceptible to nematodes on our sandy soil here in Orlando. It is hard to keep them alive unless they are planted in a low area with heavier soils. Chamaedorea stolonifera is one of the more nematode resistant Chamaedorea and grows well in in the sandy soil as long as it gets shade and is kept moist. It spreads but not uncontrollably. 

There used to be a huge colony of C. brachypoda at the FIT campus in Melbourne. It was back in a swampy area near the stream. Then years ago the uneducated landscape maintenance people began weed eating the area for some reason. The palms grew back for awhile then gave up. Now that they have a botanical focus again, this palm is gone.