(HELP) Flowering Caryota Gigas

[Palmgrover]

4 years ago I planted a 5 gallon C. gigas in my front yard ,it was maybe 48" tall. I was told I had maybe 15 to 20 years before it flowered and fruited before I had to remove it once it died... In the last 4 years it has grown very well for me here in So Cal and didn't even skip a beat in the freeze of 07.

Well the other day I noticed what I thought was a new leaf that was starting to come out crocked. I didn't give it much thought till I woke up this morning

and almost fell over. What I thought was a new leaf was really an Inflorescence that had popped out of it's spathe in the darkness of night.

Now to give you an idea of the size of my Caryota ,it's now about 15" tall from the ground to the tip of its tallest leaf. It's base is about 12" in diameter with no visible trunk. The inflorescence about 67" off the ground and about 36'' long.

AM I DOOMED?

Is this normal?

Will it continue to grow for a few years while it slowly dies?

Is there anything I can do?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Bob

[Darold Petty]

Bob, it takes a long time for the complete cycle of flowering. At our Lakeside Palmetum we have 3 Caryotas that have been flowering for several years. Oddly, the first spadix is at the highest point on the trunk and the subsequent ones appear lower down.

[DoomsDave]

Bob:

Things don't look promising. As Darold mentioned, flowering doesn't take place overnight, so your plant has a few years left.

That said, it's very odd that yours is flowering so soon, though I've seen it with other Caryotas, especially urens. Usually, it's a stress of some kind that makes them bloom young, including transplanting. I'm sure you give yours far better husbandry (wifery?) than I give my plants, which makes it more of a mystery.

I've also seen them bloom young when kept in pots too long. I've got two I'm worried about for that reason.

Keep us posted, I'm curious to learn more.

[Palmgrover]

Darold, When you say yours have been flowering for several years, how many years are you speaking of roughly and how young were they?

thanks

Dave, As far as stress goes I think I'm the one thats stressed!!! No really I think I've been taking pretty good care of it with regular water and fert.

I'm just bewildered by this

[Caryota_gigas]

The larger the plant is before flowering, the longer it will flower for, over successive years. With yours still being rather small, the energy required to flower may have your palm looking misrable sooner rather than later. 3 years-ish???

[Palmgrover]

Michael, Thats not what I wanted to here but i guess I knew in the back of my mind that this was the case.

Do you suppose if I were to cut off the Inflorescence it might prolong it's life expectancy? Just a thought!

Bob

[Darold Petty]

Our three Caryota urens 'David Barry' were planted in 1982 as small 5-gallon plants. They grew well and by 1998 had grown to approximately 15 feet of trunk and 25 feet overall height. That year, we had a fairly sharp frost, which was preceded by unseasonably warm weather. (frost without the normal California autumn cooling). The flowering began after this event and is now 10 years on. The spadices are now at the lowest point on the trunks, and the end is near. The palms have been unsightly for several years. We would have removed them earlier, but lack the manpower resources for this. Even worse, the palms have not produced any viable seeds, although the very last spadix does look more promising than any previous ones.

[Palmgrover]

Darold, thanks for the update . It gives me more of an idea of what to expect. I know it must be sad to know that the end is near for your once great looking palms. Good luck removing them.

[MattyB]

Bob, is that the same Caryota that you use as a bumper to stop your truck when you pull in your driveway?

[Palmgrover]

Matt, Thats the one!! You should see the dent in my bumper.

[Tyrone]

At least it's not too tall to remove. If it flowers and sets seed you can grow it's replacement. My thoughts are that it may have spent a good time in a pot and the plant gets into "survival of the species" mode, thinks it hasn't got long to live and tries to create the next generation which may have a better life. The same thing happened to my Abyssinia banana which went from a 300mm pot to flowering in 9 months after being planted out. It was basically an annual!!!!! My C gigas's take a while in their young years to get going. I think they put out an extensive root system, which is a good idea considering the enormity of the final product, but if they sit in pots for ages, they're denied this ability and may bolt to seed too early. That's my theory anyway.

As others have mentioned, a stressful cold event like your 07 winter may have kicked it into the "survival of the species" mode too.

Best regards

Tyrone