Pritchardia hillebrandii blooming like crazy but not setting fruits

[Phoenikakias]

In my climate, which is strictly temperate, that is it has 4 clearly defined seasons, the blooming habit of a tropical plant should be also strictly seasonal. Except this Pritchardia, which has bloomed two times within current year, first during late spring and then during past fall. Strangely spring blooming has failed to set any fruits and even more oddly last year's blooming during fall, when bees are active in reduced numbers, did manage to set one fruit, which after a whole year has not matured yet. I wonder about the factors, which help to the pollination of flowers on plants of this genus.

Edited December 9, 2018 by Phoenikakias

[Phoenikakias]

In the same picure you can notice three flower stalks in different stage. The lowest is from last year and bears one still green but well developed fruit. The middle one is of past spring and is empty of any forming fruits. The highest above ground is of past fall.

[Nakheel1412]

From my experience, potassium deficiency and/or lack of maturity* limit the number of flowers setting seed ;
Since the oldest fronds seem to have yellow tips, feeding the palms next spring with extra potassium might help?

Otherwise I would guess that what's killing the fruits is either the cold or prolonged coolness, but your palm looks absolutely gorgeous (!), apparently no signs of cold damage...


*What I mean by that is that the first inflorescences emitted by a palm often have low fertility rates, like if the palm still needs some "training" to produce highly fertile inflorescences ;

[Morabeza]

From a Hawai'i perspective your loulu looks great!

[dwimss]

One of my friends has a P. hillebrandii in his garden and I asked him for seeds, and unfortunately I think he cutter the inflo before the seeds gets mature and ready  

Here some pics, (our climate is temperate just like yours maybe few more deg) : 

 

 

[quaman58]

I’ve noticed with Pritchardia that the first couple of flowering attempts result in few fruits. A beccariana in the yard produced 2 and a martii produced 3 viable seeds last year, out of hundreds of flowers. All Pritchardias seem to take at least a year for the fruit to mature, at which time they’ve already begun flowering again. Based on what I’ve seen at other gardens, by the third flowering cycle, they finally seem to really start producing. I think yours looks good & healthy. 

Edited December 11, 2018 by quaman58

[colin Peters]

dwmiss, 

Sorry, those are not close to being mature. Need to be all or mostly black and hard. Pritchardia baker, martii in habitat take at least 1.5 years to develop. P. hille. are about the size

of a marble when mature and also need to be black or mostly black, but probably mature faster than the larger seeded specie, IMHO.

aloha