Pritchardia minor or P. hillebrandii ???

[Darold Petty]

I have always admired Pritchardia palms and would like to try one in my tiny garden.  My climate is frost free, but suffers from a lack of warmth. (see link)

Which species would have the best chance of success in my garden?  Thanks for any and all comments !   

http://www.holiday-weather.com/san_francisco/averages/

 

 

[Ben in Norcal]

Minor supposedly do best in SF, Darold.  I have minor, hildebrandii, beccariana, and remota here.  P. beccariana and remota are the winners, the former the clear winner.  But then I have a completely different climate than you!

[Matt in OC]

I think the conventional wisdom is that Hillebrandii is one of the most hardy and it would also grow faster than minor. That being said, Minor is gorgeous and one of my favorites. It's small too, so why not both?  

[Ben in Norcal]

Remota and Beccariana are definitely hardier than Hildebrandii, which spots up something horrible.

P remota coming out of an East Bay winter...not too shabby I’d say!

 

[quaman58]

Darold,

I've got 16 or 17 species growing in my yard. (which may depend on whether there were mis-labled plants at purchase). I've noticed only small differences in temperature tolerance; more so in sun tolerance & water requirements. It's hard to beat minor for beauty & it stays petite. Hillibrandii gets really large in the crown prior to trunking, so it depends on how much space you want to give it. My two cents!

 

Bret

[peachy]

Remota is tougher than woodpecker lips. I was cutting back the big bougainvillea and found a perfectly healthy remota underneath it that had been buried for 5 years without water, light or food. It must be unkillable.

[richnorm]

minor copes better in cool wet Auckland especially when young.  Seems to be a couple of forms- large and small.  Let me know if you need seed.

[Phoenikakias]

My hillebrandii  grows still in the middle of the constantly cold winter here,  as long as it gets no freezing temps. But I guess that these are not an issue in SF bay. Even better I think that average winter temps are much higher in your area. Beside cold and cool hardiness there are several other factors that may advocate for one sp or another such as soil and drought tolerance, wind resistance, growth rate. In all those aspects my hillebrandii has performed well, it has even set a fruit this year, which it has been able to hold during past winter.