Arenga micrantha- Tibetan Sugar Palm

[Eric in Orlando 4,837]

Arenga micrantha, Tibetan Sugar Palm, is a clustering palm native to Tibet and the eastern Himalayan region. Here is our biggest specimen, its around 10ft tall overall height and has started suckering. Its growing under tree canopy with bright filtered light and is thriving. It has been a slow grower but has picked up the pace in the last couple of years. This one was planted in Nov. 2003 from a 1 gal. pot. The undersides of the newer leaves have a nice silvery bronze coloring.

[paulgila 206]

nice specimen & one of the most handsome arengas.

[Z4Devil 26]

nice specimen & one of the most handsome arengas.

Eric, a very unusually palm, indeed. Such a growth in only 6 years? Woooow! Wish, my tropical ladies would do so.

Well done, nice palm!

[Eric in Orlando 4,837]

It had been a really slow grower the first few years but is picking up speed now since it has gotten larger.

[DoomsDave 10,022]

And, best of all, it might grow here in the Land O'La La!

Oh, horray!

[Palmy 17]

Got mine 4 years ago as a one gallon from junglemusic. Grown about 1 maybe 2 leafs a year. Very slow grower. Will post a pic next time I remember.

[ghar41 207]

Wow, Eric, awesome palm, with tremendous growth. How many leaves a year are you getting?

I planted mine in a lousy location but it doesnt care at all, and grows quite fast for an Arenga. Mines been in the ground for a few years, from a one gallon size. It opened two leaves this year, but only has only opened one in previous years.

[Eric in Orlando 4,837]

It puts out maybe 3 leaves a year but only holds 3-4 at any time. The one in the photo is opening its 5th leaf but the lowest one is yellowing. The suckers just hold 1-2. There is another specimen real close to this one in more sun and it only holds 3 at a time. So far they don't sucker heavily, just 2-3 offshoots.

[Kathryn 57]

I killed one of these recently. Not sure what happened. I had it in a pot for years, put it in the ground and 6 months later the center spear pulled and the three leaves were brown.

[JD in the OC 52]

I had a 4-footer growing in Riverside, CA (zone 9b) for a while... it did great! You got one at your place in Riverside Dave?

[ghar41 207]

Bump

This one continues to grow slowly but steadily here. The first leaf finished opening a couple of weeks ago. I think its more attractive than A. engleri...does anyone have a picture of A. micrantha in fruit?

However its not showing great cold hardiness as I had hoped. It burned in the Dec. 8th freeze....when my Kings were nearly completely defoliated. Arenga engleri didnt burn at all. It should be a great plant for So Cal.

[gyuseppe 584]

i have bought a Arenga micrantha in 2004(high price in 2004! )one leaf per year and very very slow !!!, Arenga Engleri much better 2 / 3 leaves in a year

[Eric in Orlando 4,837]

Took photos today of our 2 biggest specimens, the individual fronds are very heavy and the biggest are nearly 10 ft long

[Tulio 15]

Eric,

Can this palm take wet soil like A. engleri?

[Dean W. 0]

Nice palm, thanks for sharing a picture of it. Seems like it's a good one for marginal areas.

[richnorm 652]

Eric,

Can this palm take wet soil like A. engleri?

They seem to like a lot of moisture. Mine is sodden all winter and loves it. They need a sheltered spot to look their best as the leaflets break easily when they get big. I predict the clumps will become massive.

cheers

Richard

[Eric in Orlando 4,837]

Ours are growing under high tree canopy with bright but filtered light. The soil is well drained but very moist. Not sure if they will grow in permanently wet soils.

[buffy 477]

17.5F with lots of snow and wind murdered my Arenga micrantha. Let's see if it returns.

[AggiePalms 9]

I have one in a ten gallon that I purchased at the SE Palm Society meeting last Spring. The former owner wanted to find it a nice home, as it had nearly died in winter 2010 from the cold. I haven't tried to repot it yet; it put out a couple of leaves over the summer and is suckering, but didn't grow all that fast. It seemed OK with just occasional watering; no real water stress that I could tell. I will be interested in seeing how it will do when it goes back outside for the summer. Very nice looking palm, even after all that cold damage. I would definitely recommend it.

[Merlyn 2,058]

I picked up a pair of Arenga Micrantha from a fellow Palmtalker today, one is around 8' tall and the other is probably 12-14' tall.  They were growing in moderate shade and I'm trying to figure out the best spot in my lot for them.  I've read through quite a few threads here and concluded that they grow best in Central FL (just NW of Orlando) in filtered light with PM shade.  I'd like to get these in the ground ASAP, and have 4 possible locations for them:

• SE corner in the summer gets filtered sun all day, but gets lots of sun in the winter, especially in the afternoon.
• SW corner in the summer has direct AM sun but is shaded by oaks by about 1pm.  It has winter AM filtered sun and PM direct sun.
• NE corner in the summer has filtered AM sun but quite a bit of direct mid-afternoon sun, and is filtered most of the winter.
• E side of the house, direct sun all year until just after noon, then shaded by the house.

Is sounds like direct sun in the winter might not be a big problem, but direct afternoon sun in the summer could be a death sentence.  I have available drip irrigation in all spots, so a consistent water supply isn't a problem.  The soil is probably 50/50 sand and decomposed oak leaves.  Any suggestions for location or spots to avoid?

[Prof. Gibji Nimasow 0]

Is this species used for extraction of starch