Chambeyronia lepidota

[www.dadluvsu.com 244]

Anyone growing this one? How does it hold up in Cali? Got pics? Share your experience!

[Tyrone 2,120]

I've got a few I germinated and are starting to open leaves. I didn't use any botom heat. I just put them into a pot in the shade during the summer. They seem to be growing well as we enter winter. If I get time I'll take some pics.

Best regards

Tyrone

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

Pushing 2nd spears. So far so good.

[www.dadluvsu.com 244]

Tyrone and Bill, are the seed similar to C macrocarpa? size shape etc?

[Geoff 267]

Not had any luck with this one... but here's a nice on in the Marcus garden, Hawaii

[cfkingfish 214]

This is a higher elevation plant, I would bet it is not going to do well here, although mine is living. Then again so was Strom Thurmond the last ten years of his life.

[Jeff Searle 1,061]

Pushing 2nd spears. So far so good.

My 4 plants are this size too, probably from the same batch of seeds. C. lepidota comes from a much higher altitude, therfore I suspect this species will be very difficult to grow and remain alive here in South Florida. But, I couldn't resist to try a few.

Jeff

[Tyrone 2,120]

Beautiful palm Geoff.

William, the seed seems a little smaller than C macrocarpa but about the same shape from memory.

A friend of mine that went in with the RPS order with me, put his seed on bottom heat, and not one came up. I told him to just let ambient heat do its job on them, but he didn't listen. In this respect I think this species will perform in similar conditions to Hedyscepe. It seems to be a great winter palm so far, along with my Hedyscepes, and all my different Rhopies, and Trachycarpus.

Best regards

Tyrone

[street124 16]

How are your lepidota seedlings doing Jeff, Bill, and others. Heres one of mine, first pic is recent, 2nd is when I got it and planted right away.

[Jeff Searle 1,061]

Jeff,

I planted my seedlings up a month or so ago into 1 gallon size pots. Their doing well, but stilll very small. I know just as little as everyone else in our area. I'm really hoping I can include this species into the ground here at the house in the near future.

Your look very happy.

Jeff

[Tyrone 2,120]

Mine are doing well pushing there second spears mostly. I need to break the com pot up. Another one doing well in the same area is my one and only Ptychococcus lepidotus.

Best regards

Tyrone

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

I need to post an update, but I also may start another thread too. I did an expirement , to make it interesting... I have watered mine TWICE? since my last pic and they are on their 3rd leaves?

JC yours looks great!

[Central Floridave 84]

Here is my small seedling. Growing under a rootspine palm. It is an experiment...

[STPETEDALE 1]

The seed is one of the weirdest ones I've seen when you break them down. Toby informed me that the fruit of the C. lepidota you got is partly filled with a strange, gelatinoussubstance that seems to have no function other than filling the space (abouthalf) in the fruit that is not occupied by the endosperm. The endosperm of what he calls the low altitude form of C. lepidota thus has a hemisphericalshape. He doesn't know what the soft stuff is, but you can remove it along withall the fibers and should eventually be left with something that looks likea small hemisphere and that is actually a perfectly good seed. See picture attached. The second from the right is what it whittles down to. After reading about the embryo tickling technique in previous topics, I've had a few more germinate.

This is my first picture post so hopefully it goes thru.

[www.dadluvsu.com 244]

Very good info Dale! Thanks for the pic. I had heard rumor of this but was unwilling to experiment with the few seeds I have. I need to plant out my compot...

[STPETEDALE 1]

Toby actually offered the sacrificial lamb. I don't have it in my heart to do something so cruel. I thought the lot of seeds I ordered were not viable because the seed collapsed when squeezed. However, Toby responded quickly and informed me of the seeds distinctive characteristics. This is one species that I have to keep a close eye on. As far as the high, low, and mid elevation seeds I would be curious to know how different the seeds look.

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

Here are my two since posting several months back. I'm also starting a thread about how I'm growing them.

[Darold Petty 2,673]

Hello all, I wanted to bump this thread with the hope of additional information. I was looking at the RPS website last week and just learned about the C. lepidota 'high elevation'. This plant, as shown on the website photo, is now my latest 'must have' obsession! As I grow Archontophoenix, Hedyscepe, and Rhopalostylis well, I cling to the hope that I might grow this one day. Your comments, please.

(I have already tried, and failed, with C. macrocarpa, assuming my temperatures are just too low all year round.)

[Alberto 1,547]

I read that they are tricky seedlings,but what i see are very healthy ones...!!!

[Tyrone 2,120]

Hello all, I wanted to bump this thread with the hope of additional information. I was looking at the RPS website last week and just learned about the C. lepidota 'high elevation'. This plant, as shown on the website photo, is now my latest 'must have' obsession! As I grow Archontophoenix, Hedyscepe, and Rhopalostylis well, I cling to the hope that I might grow this one day. Your comments, please.

(I have already tried, and failed, with C. macrocarpa, assuming my temperatures are just too low all year round.)

I think they'll do really well for you. I spent summer trying to keep mine cool and moist and have not had one die. So far they're an easy grow. I think your climate will be to their liking.

Best regards

Tyrone

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

My terrarium experiment continues well on these. Taken tonite.

[Tassie_Troy1971 1,076]

Hello all, I wanted to bump this thread with the hope of additional information. I was looking at the RPS website last week and just learned about the C. lepidota 'high elevation'. This plant, as shown on the website photo, is now my latest 'must have' obsession! As I grow Archontophoenix, Hedyscepe, and Rhopalostylis well, I cling to the hope that I might grow this one day. Your comments, please.

(I have already tried, and failed, with C. macrocarpa, assuming my temperatures are just too low all year round.)

I think they'll do really well for you. I spent summer trying to keep mine cool and moist and have not had one die. So far they're an easy grow. I think your climate will be to their liking.

Best regards

Tyrone

These should be good for down here as Hedyscepe grow well here all year !

Gorgeous Palm

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

Troy that pic looks like the palm would have to be 40+ years old!!

[Dan OKeeffe 4]

What a great palm! Just curious who purchased the high elevation variation vs the mid elevation variation.

Thanks

[richnorm 535]

I was lucky and got 10 seedlings from 10 seeds of the high elevation form. I found that a heat pad at 25C was faster than ambient temperature. The advice I was given (from someone who has been growing them here for maybe 15 years ) was to treat them like a Nikau. Not sure I will be that bold this first winter but C. macrocarpa seedlings cruise through winter in my cool shadehouse. Interesting Darold that you can grow C. elegans but not C. macrocarpa. Have you got any other New Caledonian species? I remember well the B. hapala at Oakland so am surprised that C. macrocarpa will not grow for you.

cheers

Richard

[Central Floridave 84]

As an epilogue to my seedling in the photo above...a rabbit or some other rodent gnawed it down to the ground. R.I.P.

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

I decided to move my bigger C. lepidota out to the greenhouse floor today. (It was the one in the drink cup, potted up @ 6 weeks ago.)

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

I was just looking at post #3. Basically 1 year ago. For a New Cal. palm, thats not bad growth in So Cal.

(Be sure to keep your Cals straight. )

[Geoff 267]

This plant is truly a slug in California and most can't keep it alive through too many winters... but here is Ralph Velez's plant (now about 15 years old) in Orange County

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

Thanks Geoff, Ralphs is the biggest in So Cal I know of also. But mine put on 4 leaves in the past year, I would think Ralphs would be bigger except for where its planted. I know Jeff B. has a couple I think, but smaller.

Then again, that may be why its alive!

What I'm curious about is mine the high or mid elevation one, and what is Ralphs?

[John in Andalucia 623]

Interesting seeing everyone's C. lepidotas. I got one from Jeff M. a few months ago and it's outside in my shadehouse (45%) on the ground under a few more potted palm fronds! It's just about to push a third spear, but I have to say that the 2 open leaves on mine have long thin leaflets, very dark green and with a gentle downward curl to them. Quite a contrast to your perky little babies, Bill! If I'd of come in earlier, I could have added a photo.

[richnorm 535]

The picture in post 16 is what RPS sold as the mid (low?) elevation form. This has been confirmed by a local New Cal seed collector as the typical lepidota seed shape. The "high elevation" form has a seed more like a standard macrocarpa. Could this be a possible new species?

cheers

Richard

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

Mine have sat in that "terrarium/tupperware" I noted elsewhere since arrival. That has kept the temp between 60-85F I'm sure. Not sure whether that was a help or not, but the "hardening off" starts now....

[John in Andalucia 623]

The picture in post 16 is what RPS sold as the mid (low?) elevation form. This has been confirmed by a local New Cal seed collector as the typical lepidota seed shape. The "high elevation" form has a seed more like a standard macrocarpa. Could this be a possible new species?

cheers

Richard

That's what I have, then. I thought the end of the seed had been gnawed off by a rat, but it's the weird, soft cavity someone mentioned earlier. So this palm is found between 400m and 1500m and apparently, 1200m is where the most striking specimens occur. Still, it must be the same palm, surely? I wonder to what extent the altitude at which various seeds were collected, will play out among the seedlings being grown?

[John in Andalucia 623]

This is my C. lepidota on the right (Bill's is on the left for comparison). One thing I noticed from looking at a few of the photos here, is that the leaf stems on mine are no different in colour to the leaf blades. Very little colour variation throughout. Is this a result of seeds from trees at different altitudes? Bill and I have similar climates, so it will be fun to compare shots in a few more years.

[LJG 1,174]

Bill, did you pot up the second one too or are you leaving it in the "terrarium experiment"?

[Gtlevine 316]

At 48 I will be dead long before that palm gets even the size of Jeff Marcus palm, providing it lives that long, so I will leave the growing of this species to the rest of you.

[richnorm 535]

This is my C. lepidota on the right (Bill's is on the left for comparison). One thing I noticed from looking at a few of the photos here, is that the leaf stems on mine are no different in colour to the leaf blades. Very little colour variation throughout. Is this a result of seeds from trees at different altitudes? Bill and I have similar climates, so it will be fun to compare shots in a few more years.

I noticed that too. I think maybe Bill has the other one and it is perhaps a faster grower... I'm hoping to get both so they can be grown side by side.

[BS Man about Palms 2,352]

John, not sure, but to me it looks merely like the environmental growing differences. Keep in mind, mine sat in that closed terrarium tub the whole time. Since I watered them like twice, I used bottled water and watered sparingly. It was probably 90%+ humidity in there, but not generally over 80F, so I think all contributed to good growth. Hasn't yours been outside? With the resultant swings in temp and humidity?

Len, yep the other is still in the pot in the terrarium. They both are actually growing about the same. I might say the pictured one is 5-10% faster/bigger...

[Big50 16]

Here are mine,are in my shadehouse with 50% shade.

Regards.