Ravenea rivularis

[Tampa Scott]

Often sold for house plants,not to often seen in the landscape in Central Florida. My favorite palm. Planted from a 3 gal pot in 1998. This Female tree flowered for the first time in 2007.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Tampa Scott

[Tampa Scott]

and another one of mine. Planted from a 3 gal. pot in 1998. Flower stalks now appearing on this one.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Tampa Scott

[Tyrone]

Bewdiful.

This is one species that's kind of close to my heart, and I only have one.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tampa Scott]

and a picture of the trunk of my shade grown R.rivularis. This was also planted in 1998 from a 3 gal pot. Growth is much slower than the two growing in full sun.But the trunk has a more attractive look.

[The Germinator]

and a picture of the trunk of my shade grown R.rivularis. This was also planted in 1998 from a 3 gal pot. Growth is much slower than the two growing in full sun.But the trunk has a more attractive look.

Wow, I must have a monster. Mine has about 4 foot of trunk and the girth is about twice as thick as yours. It is next to a sprinkler so it gets planty of water. Based on the name I would think they like wet feet.

This one of the most under rated palms around here. Everyone is always complaining that it is sold as a houseplant. I planted mine out less than a year after I moved to my house and it has been 7 years and the thing look gorgeous. Scott yours look awsome, I wish mine was flowering.

[Lauriek]

They are lovely. I have 2 of them in pots but they are only 1 meter in height. I wasn't aware they liked a lot of water.

Cheers,

Laurie

[Phil]

Scott,

Ravenea rivularis is typically knocked because it's around so much. But, well grown, it's quite nice. My largest one was planted from a box about 1985. Below is a picture I took in 1987 of the tree. At the time it had about 6 feet of trunk. That's my wife next to it in our garden. It now has about 35 feet of trunk. Sorry, I haven't taken a photo recently that I can show. The trunk diameter at the base is about 24 inches or more. It's as big as a well grown Royal Palm. It, like all others, seems to taper the trunk at the top. They like lots of water, good draining soil and plenty of fertilizer.

Phil

Ravenea rivularis: Picture taken in 1987, San Diego, CA

[realarch]

Nice photos guys, this really is a beautiful palm and for being so common in San Diego, you see so few that are well taken care of.

Tim

[Tampa Scott]

The pictures of the two sun grown R. rivularis do not show the trunk base in the pictures to well. Here is a photo with mens Lg size Croc. The shade grown palm has a much smaller trunk.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Tampa Scott

[Tampa Scott]

and another picture of trunk...

[Mike4284m]

Nice looking palms! It is too bad they get passed over because they're common. A bet a small grove of these guys of various heights would look spectacular. I see some grown around here, but most are dieing for more water and some fertilizer.

[Exotic Life]

It's a really beautifull one, thanks for sharing this pictures with us. I've got two seedlings couple years ago, but the died after the winter when the sun was burning on them.

Robbin

[Jeff in St Pete]

Scott, those are the nicest R. rivularis I have seen in the Tampa Bay area. Most people don't take care of them and they never look as good as yours! They are really stunning palms when they get that big.

[MattyB]

Anyone got any pics of multiplanted majesties?

[freakypalmguy]

That shade grown trunk is nice looking. One of my favs as well.

[JimStPete]

Scott,

I bought two 'triple' Ravenea rivularis in 3 gallon pots and planted them in my yard two years ago. I cut off two of the three trunks from each group because I honestly didn't have enough room to have a triple grouping in the spots I've planted them. Does it take these palms a while before they start to get fat and tall? The first year they barely grew at all (but were nice and dark green/healthy looking). Each one now has about 3 feet of clear trunk on them, but the trunks are still fairly thin. They look healthy and happy, but they sure don't look like some of the pictures I've seen on here. I was just wondering what your experience was with their growth speed? Does it take many years for the trunk to fill out?

[Mark Heath]

Scott,

WOW, impressive!!! I have a few large ones too but they are yellow. I allways figured it was the hard water that caused that. Should i give them more Nitrogen??? What is your fertilizer that you use???

Your Majestys look FANTASTIC!!!!!!

[Tampa Scott]

Here are pictures of these palms in 2002. I do feed these palms with Lesco palm fertilizer. I feed a light feeding every other month. My home was built on the site of a Dairy Farm and for the most part my soil is a very rich black type of soil. I do not have the typical sandy soil found around here. I do try to keep the soil moist for these and they have their own sprinkler for watering. If you notice (in 2002 pics)the palm near the house had out grown the one by the Koi palm,but two years ago the one by the house lost the crown to bud rot ( you can see a little scarring on trunk) so it lost some growth time and the other one caught up with it in size.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Tampa Scott

[Walter John]

These guys yellow worse than any other around my digs. I gave mine away quite a few years ago now. Not a big fan but I have seen some real big ones and they impress me. Like these guys from a palm society outing we had a few years ago.

[Tyrone]

Scott,

WOW, impressive!!! I have a few large ones too but they are yellow. I allways figured it was the hard water that caused that. Should i give them more Nitrogen??? What is your fertilizer that you use???

Your Majestys look FANTASTIC!!!!!!

Load em up with lots and lots of Nitrogen Iron Magnesium, and watch them just take off like a Saturn V rocket from Cape Canaveral.

regards

Tyrone

[newtothis]

I have a 6' one from Lowes that I bought in June. It's been in the house all summer but the spears never grew any once I got it home. I just put it outside a week ago and now its all yellow. My neighbor has 5 or 6 outside that look great, I'm guessing its the first time in full sun and sunburnt? Expecting 37f saturday night so who knows if this guy will make it.

[brodklop]

More than anything these need water. They grow naturally in water. As Wal said we have many a sad looking Majestic around our parts. Mainly lack of irrigation. Unfortunately the market was flooded with these and where labeled as drought hardy. If they are well watered and fertilized as Tyrone said they live up to their name. I recon if we planted some in the middle of a creek they would flourish.

[Tampa Scott]

Here is a picture (taken April 2004) of the palm pictured in post #1 and pic #1 in post #18. I did not notice untill I compared these pictures, but its growing at a good clip.

Edited November 13, 2008 by Tampa Scott

[gcyao]

Anyone knows of a source of seeds in small quantities? Seeds are usually available in minimum quantity of a thousand.

[MattyB]

Once I learned that these can be kept happy by planting in heavy soil, heavy watering, and heavy fertilization I had great success growing one up to a Fatty McFatterson. I have a double in a 5 gallon that I'm going to try in the area below where my septic lets out. I think it'll be monsterish.

[Big Tex]

Often sold for house plants,not to often seen in the landscape in Central Florida. My favorite palm. Planted from a 3 gal pot in 1998. This Female tree flowered for the first time in 2007.

So that is what my 4 year old Ravenea will look like in 6 years! Cool! Never seen one that big.

[DoomsDave]

Often sold for house plants,not to often seen in the landscape in Central Florida. My favorite palm. Planted from a 3 gal pot in 1998. This Female tree flowered for the first time in 2007.

So that is what my 4 year old Ravenea will look like in 6 years! Cool! Never seen one that big.

Nice to meet you!

Hmm.

Majesties in Hugetown kick butt, till a freeze lays 'em low . . . . .

[Tampa Scott]

After noticing the growth rate of these palms from the pictures, I went out today and took measurements. As I said all 3 were planted inground in 1998 from 3 gal pots with no clear trunk. I think they were around $7.00 each. Palm #1 has 17' clear trunk (avg.1.7' year) #2 has 12.5' clear trunk (avg 1.2' year) and #3 grown in the shade 5.4' clear trunk (avg .5' year).

Edited November 13, 2008 by Tampa Scott

[Tyrone]

When I went back through my pics last week, I realised that my rivularis started trunking in Nov 06. It now has about 5ft of clear trunk. So that's 2.5ft of trunk a year.

regards

Tyrone

[Tampa Scott]

Bewdiful.

This is one species that's kind of close to my heart, and I only have one.

Best regards

Tyrone

Only one ? What are you waiting for? Go and get a few more. I will be adding a few this spring. I will be planting them at the edge of my lake. It was suggested that I plant Royal palms, but I think I will add a few more of my favorite palm.

[Joe palma]

Here is a picture of one of the three that I have. The pic is about a year or so old and this palm has at least another 2 feet of trunk on it.

They have done very well and are in mostly full sun and fairly high wind area. As mentioned lots of water and fertilizer. Planted from a 25 gallon about 5-6 yr ago.

I'll try to post a new pic of it.

[Walter John]

Here is a picture of one of the three that I have. The pic is about a year or so old and this palm has at least another 2 feet of trunk on it.

They have done very well and are in mostly full sun and fairly high wind area. As mentioned lots of water and fertilizer. Planted from a 25 gallon about 5-6 yr ago.

I'll try to post a new pic of it.

Now that's an oustanding palm photo. That is the look many wish/search for.

[Tyrone]

Bewdiful.

This is one species that's kind of close to my heart, and I only have one.

Best regards

Tyrone

Only one ? What are you waiting for? Go and get a few more. I will be adding a few this spring. I will be planting them at the edge of my lake. It was suggested that I plant Royal palms, but I think I will add a few more of my favorite palm.

I've sort of run out of room. The crown of my big one is 1/3 the width of my property, and besides, I have to fit an Arenga westerhoutii in somewhere and my Caryota gigas has to grow yet.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Eric in Orlando]

Around here 99% of Majesty Palms that get planted end up taking a dirt nap. They need lots of water and nutrients to grow well. I see lots get planted since they are so widely available and cheap and within months look like crap or are dead.

Here is the one at Leu Gardens I have posted before. It was planted in Sept. 1995 from a 5 gal., typical specimen sold as a houseplant. It is planted in black muck that is always wet, a small spring trickles out of the ground in the area. Often there is standing water at the base of the palm. It is now about 30ft and has started flowering but no seed yet.

This photo was taken 4 years ago, it is the base of the palm and you can see the growing conditions

[Walter John]

How about this one in Nambour, Sth East Queensland, featuring aussie ratpackers Mike, Andy and Wal.

[Jeff in St Pete]

I've been searching for this palm for a long time and finally found one in Escazú last week. It was sitting out on the sidewalk in front of what I thought was a nursery, but upon entering it was more like a vegetable/poincettia market. He had hundreds of poinsettias in there. Anyway, he told me this palm was rare (it is rare here kinda) and he also said it was very slow growing. I told him it would speed up when it was planted in the ground I'm going to find a nice soggy area of the property to plant it.

[MattyB]

That is a perfect size palm to plant Jeff. Good luck.

[SunnyFl]

Thank you for all the wonderful photos. This palm is one of my favorites, too. When it's healthy and happy, it looks amazing.

[PalmatierMeg]

My R. rivularis isn't as tall as some but looks pretty good for FL. Its fronds top the roofline and its trunk is 3.5' clear wood. It thrives on runoff from the a/c and as much fertilizer as we can afford.

[ThunderSRQ]

Just an FYI that a friend of mine has a transplantable (is that a word?) majesty palm that is "free to good home" here in Sarasota -- it's about 6' or so to the top of the fronds and has been growing right next to a lake (so it's in good shape). PM me if interested.

Tim