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Looking for Chambeyronia hookeri


atlantisrising

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I have a hookeri that's croaking on me, looking to replace it. Big ones seem to be scarce right now. Anyone have one for sale or know where I might find one? Thanks for helping.

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Betrock's shows that currently you can get good-sized C. hookeri at Action Theory; Southeast Growers; Redland; and Excelsa. You may have to order from a local nursery from some of these above, who may sell wholesale only. Do you know the cause of impending doom on your palm? I have one down here on Big Pine that started as a 1gal from Floribunda and I stuck it mostly directly in the rock with a little soil/fill and watered it off and on for a year. Three or four years later is is really getting large, has never shown nutritional deficiencies and throws a couple of nice red leaves every year. I'm adding more since they seem absolutely trouble-free here.

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Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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This one was in a newly dug bed jackhammered 30" deep, 17 cu. yds total. Filled with a mix of Fl. topsoil (muck) and silica sand. I suspect they gave me unwashed sand meaning it was salted. I lost 4 vestiaria, 3 Pinanga copelandii, 2 Drymophloeus and this is the second hookeri. I have removed the top 18" and refilled this time using bagged sand and all the replant from Marcus is doing well. Carpoxylon, Satakentia, and leptocheilos are growing through it but showed serious damage. Pretty pissed about the whole mess. I can tell who not to trust for silica. Thank God the lepto made it, paid $450 for that one. I've checked Action and Redlands 4" stuff only right now. Excelsa is wholesale only so I don't buy there. Didn't think to call southeast, thanks. Also checking Searle, he had some nice ones last spring. Thanks again.

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I would be worried to plant Pinanga copelandii or Areca vestiaria down into the limestone. For me they seem happy in a well-mulched, raised bed of neutral-to-acidic, organic, black soil and I think that more closely matches their natural habitats. I have both and P. copelandii does very well (now 9' tall) with little attention (some micro deficiencies but growing out of that), but in my experience A. vestiaria demands constant water and a specific soil texture/composition and exposure, particularly the orange and yellow forms, and I have lost many. The maroon/red does much better for me and is more forgiving of my terrible watering habits. Satakentia I also planted on top of the rock in a mixture of mulch and miscellaneous soil/manure products and it still showed some micro deficiencies during establishment and was slow to get going, but after it had about 5-6 leaves it began to look extraordinarily happy, it has quickened its pace and I don't touch it...it is growing nicely in a mostly shaded spot. Tim O'Donnell has sung the praises of this species in his landscapes around Key West and says it takes salt, limestone and other abuses (makes sense considering its origin in Okinawa). But for me C. hookeri has been spectacularly easy. Nobody's more surprised than I am, as in the past I lost C. macrocarpa (regular and watermelon forms) here, seemingly just for looking at them wrong. Sometimes it's just hard to pinpoint why some things survive, or don't.

P.S. If Jeff Searle doesn't have it, you may want to check D'Asign Source for C. hookeri, if they have it I think they may be willing to ship plants down to the store in Marathon for you. They also have a palm society member discount.

  • Upvote 1

Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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I have a nice sized Houailou. 15 gallon I think. May handle your location better than any other Chambeyronia as they are from the beach... PM me if you are interested.

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Thanks Mandrew968. Really wanted a hookeri in this spot for the blonde trunk, it's located as the focal point of the bed.

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4 hours ago, Mandrew968 said:

I have a nice sized Houailou. 15 gallon I think. May handle your location better than any other Chambeyronia as they are from the beach... PM me if you are interested.

Whoa.  I'd be all over this!  Damn you Floridians...:rant:

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Thanks for your input mnorell. I agree and have had the same experience as you with those species. This bed is raised 12" but also dug down in and filled with Fl. topsoil and sand. I went to this degree so I could grow understory species which typically like more acidic soil than what occurs naturally here. I have killed many vestiaria trying to get them started in this rock so was quite excited to finally have a medium designed for them. When all the sensitive species started dying I began to suspect salted sand. Since I've removed it and started over using washed sand  the new stuff is growing well. Of course the specimen trees were stuck but did survive with the exception of the hookeri. Even the super sensitive P. maculata replacing the copelandii are doing good. Also added A. macrocalyx, L. rupicola, and Heterospathe longipes this time from my last Floribundle. As to Satakentia, I agree totally with Tim. I have 3, 2 in rock doing spectacularly and the third in this new bed adapting well to more acid and surviving salt. A fantastic species. I got mine from Ken Johnson, great guy, knowledgeable, awesome material and decent prices. It's interesting that you too had the same experience with the red vs. orange vestiaria, for me the reds are much more tolerant of imperfect conditions. I might add here that in the past I've been using the palm special fertilizer which doesn't have the entire package coated for slow release, just part of N and K. I still had potassium deficiency everywhere so I increased amount and went to monthly but the problems seemed to get worse or at least not better.  I think it was simply washing through or perhaps not releasing at all. Tim kindly directed me to the 18-6-8 nutricote, more than twice the money of the cheap stuff but in 3 weeks I can see much greener and faster growth throughout my landscape. Definitely worth it. The fert. issues may have contributed to the hookeri's demise.

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Yes, I'm trying to come up with another spot to put the Houailou as I don't have one of those yet and they are hard to find. Thinking,thinking,thinking...

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1 hour ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Whoa.  I'd be all over this!  Damn you Floridians...:rant:

Wow... have to agree on this one!  I can get hookeri's almost anywhere... houailous... not so much.

  • Upvote 1

Zone 10a at best after 2007 AND 2013, on SW facing hill, 1 1/2 miles from coast in Oceanside, CA. 30-98 degrees, and 45-80deg. about 95% of the time.

"The great workman of nature is time."   ,  "Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience."

-George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon-

I do some experiments and learning in my garden with palms so you don't have to experience the pain! Look at my old threads to find various observations and tips!

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4 hours ago, BS Man about Palms said:

Wow... have to agree on this one!  I can get hookeri's almost anywhere... houailous... not so much.

Thanks to you Californians for opening my mind a bit. I see the houailou has a yellowish crown and is even harder to find than the hookeri, plus it would complete my collection of Chams. The only one missing would be the lepidota. So if one of you more astute collectors hasn't already taken it, I'm going to see if I can afford it. Hopefully only my wife OR my firstborn, not both. And god help me if he wants my cat also!

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7 hours ago, atlantisrising said:

Yes, I'm trying to come up with another spot to put the Houailou as I don't have one of those yet and they are hard to find. Thinking,thinking,thinking...

Do what I do, Stephen - buy it and find the spot later!  A houailou of that size would be too much to pass up.  I was super-psyched to find a big 5g recently (Joe Palma).

  • Upvote 2

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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7 minutes ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Do what I do, Stephen - buy it and find the spot later!  A houailou of that size would be too much to pass up.  I was super-psyched to find a big 5g recently (Joe Palma).

Thanks Ben, I know you are right. I'll be mad at myself next week if I pass it up, so working on it now.

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On 12/21/2016, 9:48:59, atlantisrising said:

Thanks Mandrew968. Really wanted a hookeri in this spot for the blonde trunk, it's located as the focal point of the bed.

What kind of trunk do you think houailou has...

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Did you try Ken Johnson (I saw you mentioned that you bought from him before)?  in the past, he had nice field grown C. Hookeris for a steal.

C. Hookeri is really an exceptional plant, and can be a fast grower for us, out here.

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  • 6 months later...
On 12/21/2016, 2:49:13, mnorell said:

I would be worried to plant Pinanga copelandii or Areca vestiaria down into the limestone. For me they seem happy in a well-mulched, raised bed of neutral-to-acidic, organic, black soil and I think that more closely matches their natural habitats. I have both and P. copelandii does very well (now 9' tall) with little attention (some micro deficiencies but growing out of that), but in my experience A. vestiaria demands constant water and a specific soil texture/composition and exposure, particularly the orange and yellow forms, and I have lost many. The maroon/red does much better for me and is more forgiving of my terrible watering habits. Satakentia I also planted on top of the rock in a mixture of mulch and miscellaneous soil/manure products and it still showed some micro deficiencies during establishment and was slow to get going, but after it had about 5-6 leaves it began to look extraordinarily happy, it has quickened its pace and I don't touch it...it is growing nicely in a mostly shaded spot. Tim O'Donnell has sung the praises of this species in his landscapes around Key West and says it takes salt, limestone and other abuses (makes sense considering its origin in Okinawa). But for me C. hookeri has been spectacularly easy. Nobody's more surprised than I am, as in the past I lost C. macrocarpa (regular and watermelon forms) here, seemingly just for looking at them wrong. Sometimes it's just hard to pinpoint why some things survive, or don't.

P.S. If Jeff Searle doesn't have it, you may want to check D'Asign Source for C. hookeri, if they have it I think they may be willing to ship plants down to the store in Marathon for you. They also have a palm society member discount.

Michael,

Are your C. hookeri still performing as well?  I have been struggling with a C. macrocarpa for some time and I think it may be time to replace it.

Joe

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Joe--

The C. hookeri is still doing great and I have another containerized specimen growing along ready to go in nearby. It seems carefree here if not a speed demon. It is in an area that is neglected at present, and in probably too much shade, under a lot of coconut and dicot foliage. I'm sure it would grow faster if I watered it even once in a blue moon. But I am busy and tend to water only what's newly planted or right in front of me. I just checked on it, it is holding three open leaves and one spear about to open, seven or eight feet overall height (but not trunking yet). As I think I had noted previously, I had problems with the standard and watermelon forms of Chambeyronia and that could be from any number of issues. But this 'Hookeri' form in limestone has done well, as has the one in a container with a mixture of composted mulch and commercial potting mix (and hence a much more acidic substrate). So I would say it is probably quite adaptable. I also think I have read it does well in coastal Southern California, which is of course a hugely different environment and climate.

And by the by, the other New Caledonia species I've tried that seems virtually indestructible here despite drought, constant deer-molestation and lengthy stays in neglected containers, etc. is Cyphophoenix nucele. That one comes from a limestone habitat (which is rare in New Caledonia) but it seems to be a winner here as well.

Also, for what it's worth, and these are casual observations relevant only to my personal style of cultivation...all of the above I have sourced from Jeff Marcus at Floribunda in Hawai'i. His material is of stellar quality and for the most part, for me, seems to adapt here beautifully. The various Chambeyronia that failed for me were all Florida (peninsula)-grown material, from multiple growers, and I have noticed a difference, as often the Florida-grown material seems pumped full of nitrogen for quick growth, which at the very least is a detriment from the standpoint of damage from Key Deer (who obviously can smell that rich nitrogen...often taking a year or so until they start to ignore it...if they haven't already killed it completely). And I think Jeff Marcus gives more sun to his plants at an earlier age, where many mainland outfits grow under heavier shade-cloth for maximum growth and stretch...which usually equals a crispy demise in our sun-drenched, lower-rainfall Keys. It may also be that the Hawai'i-sourced material (grown in lava cinders and sphagnum/peat) usually seems to adapt easily to my substrate and planting media here.

Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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Hi Joe,

I finally settled on replacing the hookeri with another hookeri. Searle had some nice 15 gals. This one is growing like a weed, in good topsoil/sand mix with daily irrigation. I think the problem with this species is it is very sensitive to transplant shock and the two I lost were field grown. The container grown stock worked best for me. I bought a smaller spare one that is now in 10 gal and should have trunk by fall and will need a home soon if you are interested.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/25/2017, 5:54:22, mnorell said:

Hi Joe--

The C. hookeri is still doing great and I have another containerized specimen growing along ready to go in nearby. It seems carefree here if not a speed demon. It is in an area that is neglected at present, and in probably too much shade, under a lot of coconut and dicot foliage. I'm sure it would grow faster if I watered it even once in a blue moon. But I am busy and tend to water only what's newly planted or right in front of me. I just checked on it, it is holding three open leaves and one spear about to open, seven or eight feet overall height (but not trunking yet). As I think I had noted previously, I had problems with the standard and watermelon forms of Chambeyronia and that could be from any number of issues. But this 'Hookeri' form in limestone has done well, as has the one in a container with a mixture of composted mulch and commercial potting mix (and hence a much more acidic substrate). So I would say it is probably quite adaptable. I also think I have read it does well in coastal Southern California, which is of course a hugely different environment and climate.

And by the by, the other New Caledonia species I've tried that seems virtually indestructible here despite drought, constant deer-molestation and lengthy stays in neglected containers, etc. is Cyphophoenix nucele. That one comes from a limestone habitat (which is rare in New Caledonia) but it seems to be a winner here as well.

Also, for what it's worth, and these are casual observations relevant only to my personal style of cultivation...all of the above I have sourced from Jeff Marcus at Floribunda in Hawai'i. His material is of stellar quality and for the most part, for me, seems to adapt here beautifully. The various Chambeyronia that failed for me were all Florida (peninsula)-grown material, from multiple growers, and I have noticed a difference, as often the Florida-grown material seems pumped full of nitrogen for quick growth, which at the very least is a detriment from the standpoint of damage from Key Deer (who obviously can smell that rich nitrogen...often taking a year or so until they start to ignore it...if they haven't already killed it completely). And I think Jeff Marcus gives more sun to his plants at an earlier age, where many mainland outfits grow under heavier shade-cloth for maximum growth and stretch...which usually equals a crispy demise in our sun-drenched, lower-rainfall Keys. It may also be that the Hawai'i-sourced material (grown in lava cinders and sphagnum/peat) usually seems to adapt easily to my substrate and planting media here.

Michael, 

I have a hookeri but it is looking like it wants something more than what I'm giving it.  It may be just the additional hot summer sun.  I also have a small Cyphophoenix nucele still in a pot.  Is yous in the ground?  How much sun does it get? I am trying to find a good spot for it but can't decide on the sun exposure.

Joe

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