Cyrtostachys renda indoors

[David_Sweden]

To my knowledge watering from the top works well for any plant, and it is then easy to deliberately water a bit "too much" and then empty the tray thus leaching out some of the salt that builds up over the months which is otherwise a common pitfall.

I don't have a life long experience of growing palms but still I'm surprised it is even possible to kill a Lipstick palm by too much water since it naturally lives in peat swamp forests. I'm assuming it has some way of getting oxygen to the roots even though I haven't seen any aerial roots like for my Licualas (which also live in swamps).

I believe it is possible to grow any plant in any type of soil (even if some soils make life easier) as long as you care for it accordingly. E g both my succulent plants (a Jatropha podagrica and a Brighamia insignis) came in 100% peat when I bought them long ago which is a poor idea since they easily rot if too wet but by measuring the soils moisture level and making sure it dries out between waterings they have done fine.

My room is 23-24degC which is fine since I have artificial light, the palm grows like in summer all year round even with just 1-5 klx illumination. If you dont have >=1klx light from lamps or sun all year round then most plants do better with lower temp and less watering but then they don't grow much either and some might get damages like losing leaves.

Regarding humidity the first thing you should do is get a cheap digital hygrometer, since the majority of "tips" to increase humidity don't work and all palms suffer more or less from low humidity. Even cheap digital hygrometers are usually only 2-5%RH off.

[Pal Meir]

As I am using very fast draining soils I water all my palms from top.

[sashaeffer]

I do as well as all my other palms just not this species.

[Pal Meir]

But if you do so (i.e. watering from top) with the »standard« potting mixes the soil may get soggy what can result in rotting roots.

[sashaeffer]

 Aside from the palms that I buy that come in their own pots anything that I step up I always use a faster draining soil but even then a lot depends on the species and if the palm is going to be inside all the time or outside half of the year where it might get rained on.

[David_Sweden]

I'm guessing you do like I when you repot palms: Leave the old soil untouched (except maybe some at the top) and add more soil under and around. Which means if the palm came in some poorly drained soil and you add soil with good drainage it might keep wet for much longer in the old soil than in the new soil. And using a moisture meter you can probably verify this is often true. Tricky to do much about. Over time I think the palm will create a mesh of sturdier roots which give drainage similar to e g sand of the same dimension (at least that is a theory of a professional grower which I read about). And roots die and new ones come, which evens out the situation. But I think you might have this situation for several months. The way I see it, this requires careful watering, and I can't see how people can live without a moisture meter.

I agree well drained soil is probably always a good idea, although too well drained could mean very frequent watering is needed. But with a Lipstick I would think even pure peat should be fine.

Are you sure the palms that died weren't buried too deep? I read that palm are very sensitive to that. Especially at repotting one should make sure they don't get deeper. Being a bit high, even showing some roots between stem abd soil, is no problem for the palms I read about.

I'm thinking there must be some explanation other than too much water (even with extremely poorly draining soil) when a Lipstick dies. Just based on what I read and my experiences over 2 years. I'm very interested in learning from people who tried growing palms for longer than me.

[David_Sweden]

I've been thinking.. Seems that in its natural habitat January is the coldest month with average low of about 24C and high 31C but record low 14C (i only checked one city). Many people say it is ok to leave Lipsticks constantly wet, and i already wrote i concluded they do fine with normal watering (i e dont keep wet, just water when moist). But maybe one should revise this advice to: Ok to keep wet if not too cold (nights 23-24 C or so, maybe less if sunny days) but if colder then avoid keeping wet

[sashaeffer]

I think while there is some generalities in culture for any palm there are exceptions to every rule. That's why it's great to have these forums where indoor culture from various members from around the world can be shared so we all can learn, especially with this species since everyone would want to grow them indoors if they could.

[David_Sweden]

Yep this forum is great. I've spent a lot of time reading books and university publications and professional grower's reports on growing palms and other plants in pots but in addition to that experience is needed. Most people in this forum seem to grow palms either outdoors in climates which they are not used to or even indoors, and experience from others is invaluable

[sashaeffer]

Update. While I have to add water a lot, once a month I totally dump out any old clean the container and add fresh water.

 

Small lipstick came from Ebay/7_heads vendor and looked great when it arrived. I decided this one I would put in master bath where humidity would be higher and while light was bright, no direct sun at all. It quickly went downhill and all stalks died except this last one when I put it outside for the summer...where it stopped it's decline with our summer heat and sun. This one last stalk has pushed out a new spear and maybe in many years it will get back to what it was when I received it lol.

 

[sashaeffer]

Larger one came from Florida vendor and strictly bought inexpensive enough to experiment with.  Deep container, submersible fish tank heater same set up as smaller one. This has always been in same east facing window, always indoors and while slowly...it has pushed a spear and has new off shoots so seems to be happy with set up as well.

This one even has some color.

 

 

[David_Sweden]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing!

[Plantasexoticas]

Very interesting read everyone. Just read the entire thread as I was looking for tips on germinating cyrtostachys. I'm on my second batch of seeds - the first batch I purchased almost a year ago and I've still got the seeds - they don't seem to of rotted so I'll wait and see. I soaked the newest batch for 24hours then I've put them into sealed plastic pots in moist and well drained soil. The pots I've wrapped in aluminum foil and I've put them on heat during the day with a slight decrease at night. In trying to get the temperature quite high during the day (30 celcius or slightly higher) night time is 20-25. Nearly all my palms are seed grown as you learn more about all stages of their lives and I believe it makes for stronger plants. Plus it's less expensive and you get many more plants as a result. Saying that I do keep looking at C.renda plants online and I'm tempted! 

James

[Plantasexoticas]

I've only seen C.renda once and that was in southern Thailand on Ko Lanta. They were going through a severe drought but the Palm seemed "ok" (they were going a bit brown in places) It was in pretty blazing sun too

Edited February 11, 2017 by Plantasexoticas

[Ivorhooper]

Here's a very impressive road lined with C.renda in Sepilok, Borneo. Not one had any seeds! Typical...

[Plantasexoticas]

57 minutes ago, Ivorhooper said:

Here's a very impressive road lined with C.renda in Sepilok, Borneo. Not one had any seeds! Typical...

Wow! Stunning - 

[Ilovepalm]

How much time do you germinate seeds? Because I have sown the seeds of 17 January and didn't germinate. 

[maxum2610]

On 15/2/2017, 12:56:33, Ilovepalm said:

How much time do you germinate seeds? Because I have sown the seeds of 17 January and didn't germinate. 

Try placing them in relatively warm water 45-50 degrees Celsius. They should pop very quickly (mostly immediately). look for a white tip on one end. Another method that gives decent results is placing them between moist folded kitchen paper in a plastic bag (look up the technique on google => "germinate seeds between paper towels"). Check very often, at least twice a day because they will rot if left too long. Seedlings should be left standing in a little bit of water at all times, as seen on the picture. Temp at 25-30C is best. The one thing these can not stand is sudden change in temp/humidity. The ones in the picture below are in a mix of equal parts, perlite, pumice (from YES...Ikea) and peat moss (not cococoir due to the possible salt content of some brands). If you want to ensure a stable environment, put the small pots inside a ziploc plastic bag, but sterilize first.

[Ilovepalm]

My seeds are on a hot radiator, have a higher temperature than the 25-30  degrees Celsius. I planted them in box in coconut fiber.

[maxum2610]

On 21/2/2017, 10:59:26, Ilovepalm said:

My seeds are on a hot radiator, have a higher temperature than the 25-30  degrees Celsius. I planted them in box in coconut fiber.

C. renda need more than 30C to germinate. Using hot water to "wake" seeds is a technique used on various other palm species (please google for references). On a side note: did you remove the outer black skin from the seeds before sowing. The fruit (outer skin) is a natural germination inhibitor, and you need to take it off to allow germination. The method I described above of course only works on seeds that had the fruit remove and after a few weeks of sitting in 30C plus environment. I don't know how many seeds you currently have, but you could try a few and see what happens. If they do pop don't touch the white growing tip. Good luck

 

[Ilovepalm]

46 minutes ago, maxum2610 said:

C. renda need more than 30C to germinate. Using hot water to "wake" seeds is a technique used on various other palm species (please google for references). On a side note: did you remove the outer black skin from the seeds before sowing. The fruit (outer skin) is a natural germination inhibitor, and you need to take it off to allow germination. The method I described above of course only works on seeds that had the fruit remove and after a few weeks of sitting in 30C plus environment. I don't know how many seeds you currently have, but you could try a few and see what happens. If they do pop don't touch the white growing tip. Good luck

 

I sowed them, as they bought. I not plucked husks. I have 5 seeds and I soaked them 48 h in warm water. I am not able to provide a higher temperature on hot radiator, because as?

Edited February 22, 2017 by Ilovepalm

[maxum2610]

You should peel off the outer skin (the fruit layer) so they look like in the picture (notice the hairs). What also worked well for me in the past, is planting the seeds in pure Seramis, at about  0.5 cm depth.

[PsyPalm]

Well, just received this in the mail today, $55 on ebay shipped.  Coming from Hawaii, I'm in Seattle.  Starting the journey, wish me luck.

[Than]

David_Sweden how are your cyrtostachys doing? Please update us. I've been considering one. I live in Greece where it is hot most of the year and humidity indoors is about 75% in the winter (unless I switch on my A/C when it goes down to 45%) so I may stand a slim chance. 

[David_Sweden]

Hello,

 

I gave it away, when it became too big for my apartment. It was still doing very well. I've written about this (including tips) in other threads:

 

I don't know why so many threads..

Good luck!

[Than]

Amazing! A C. renda indoors in Europe. I'm so tempted now.. By the way how did you manage to keep humidity high indoors?

[MelvinB]

Sowed a few Lipsticks seeds at 27-10-2021 and here it is now. 
Only one seed germinated.

I wonder when i can put it in a new container? 

Edited February 26, 2022 by MelvinB

[wimmie]

On 2/13/2017 at 9:27 PM, Ivorhooper said:

Here's a very impressive road lined with C.renda in Sepilok, Borneo. Not one had any seeds! Typical...

Wish I had a driveway like that!

[shalveen]

I have a 2 month old lipstick palm seedling grown from seeds bought from ebay. I just want to verify if its a real red palm or something else.

[PalmsandLiszt]

50 minutes ago, shalveen said:

I have a 2 month old lipstick palm seedling grown from seeds bought from ebay

Wow, you bought seeds off ebay and they actually germinated? What witchcraft is this!? Ebay is usually a repository for decade-old useless seeds which sellers can palm off on people (no pun intended) with zero liability.

As for the seedlings, they don't not look like C. renda (some look a bit long, but I'll put that down to low light), but so don't not numerous other palms at this stage. Considering you managed to find a honest seller who sent you viable seeds, they're probably what they say they are, although you'll have to wait to find out for sure.

[beliz1985]

On 3/16/2022 at 3:24 AM, shalveen said:

I have a 2 month old lipstick palm seedling grown from seeds bought from ebay. I just want to verify if its a real red palm or something else.

They don't look like Cyrtostachys renda seedlings. Look like washingtonia seedlings. 

[MelvinB]

On 2/26/2022 at 5:52 PM, MelvinB said:

Sowed a few Lipsticks seeds at 27-10-2021 and here it is now. 
Only one seed germinated.

I wonder when i can put it in a new container? 

 

My cyrtostachys renda now. No problems so far. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by MelvinB

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Well, after years of wanting, I’m finally officially joining this palms fan club.  This okie will remain a potted specimen for now unless I end up in an area where ground planting is viable.    I have to admit, now that I have it, I’m in true love.  Lol.  
 

Meet Reddy Renda! lol.  
 

 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

Beautiful palm. I kept mine under shade cloth on the back lanai. Eventually, they grew so large I placed them on sturdy rolling carts I could roll indoors on cold nights.