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Archontophoenix sp


quaman58

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Hey all,

i got this palm years ago at a big box store labeled "tropical foliage". I assumed that it was A. Cunninghamiana, since that is pretty much all they sell in this area. I planted in on the hillside with pretty low expectations, but to my surprise it grew reasonably well. I also noticed the leaflets were whitish underneath, that the leaves had little twist to them and that the crown drooped well below the horizontal point. It is at the moment probably the prettiest, most elegant palm I'm growing. Coming out of winter, it looks like it could be growing in Hilo. Anyway, any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

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Bret

 

Coastal canyon area of San Diego

 

"In the shadow of the Cross"

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Hmmmm.

hard to tell but to me at the first glance looks like a alexandrae

here in Ca, Cunny's have a much Skinner trunk then it's brother Mr. alexandrae. they can get a swollen base if watered correctly

Carlsbad, California Zone 10 B on the hill (402 ft. elevation)

Sunset zone 24

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great pic's Bret :) 

Carlsbad, California Zone 10 B on the hill (402 ft. elevation)

Sunset zone 24

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Thanks Josh. Another thing is that for some reason it does not suffer from the brown tipping that affects the cunninghamianas & maximas I have. 

Bret

 

Coastal canyon area of San Diego

 

"In the shadow of the Cross"

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Related story.  Trawling around this weekend, and was thinking I wasn't finding anything interesting.  Then I see these and do a double-take:

12802835_10153285103077234_2730804055491

 

Brighter green crownshafts, silver sheen underneath leaflets, and no ramenta:

12794400_10153285103072234_2362218361666

 

So I'm thinking these are A. alexandre, which are about as rare as a unicorn in big boxes around here.

1935993_10153285103067234_72524400580669

 

I picked up TEN of these 5 gallons, all as described above.  Cleared out my local Lowes and left the A. cunninghamiana behind.

 

Excited to grow these out!

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Certainly isn't your typical looking Archontophoenix alexandrae.......... Outwardly it looks very much like A. cunninghamiana but with the grey under the leaflets it could possibly be a hybrid between the 2 species.

Andrew,
Airlie Beach, Whitsundays

Tropical Queensland

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nice score Ben!

I know the owner of the company who sold them to Lowes.

These were bought in from Florida and shifted into "cheater" 5 gals and shipped to Lowes and Home depot.

They all came in as  Archontophoenix alexandrae. Kings like queens have tons of variance when they are little.

only time will tell and may I say the price was right :) 

 

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Carlsbad, California Zone 10 B on the hill (402 ft. elevation)

Sunset zone 24

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6 minutes ago, Josh-O said:

nice score Ben!

I know the owner of the company who sold them to Lowes.

These were bought in from Florida and shifted into "cheater" 5 gals and shipped to Lowes and Home depot.

They all came in as  Archontophoenix alexandrae. Kings like queens have tons of variance when they are little.

only time will tell and may I say the price was right :) 

 

Thanks for the intel, Josh!  I think they are, indeed, A. alexandre.  They definitely aren't pure cunninghamiana, with the silver sheen and no ramenta.  Whatever they are, as long as they are different, I'm psyched!  These will be nice for grow out - will probably throw a couple in the ground after these rains stop but most will be potted up.  Fun!

  • Upvote 1

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Nice ones Ben. I'm curious to see if the cold hardiness is the same for your area as well. Mine always seems to be okay with temps right at or just below freezing for short duration, plus it grows reasonably well even in the winter months.

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Bret

 

Coastal canyon area of San Diego

 

"In the shadow of the Cross"

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I notice one of my big box A. cunning's (purchased last year) was throwing an orange frond this weekend, I'll have to take a closer look at when I get back.  I'm pretty sure they all had ramenta, so they maybe hybrids.

Carl

Vista, CA

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Wish they were so easy to find here... 

Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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9 hours ago, nachocarl said:

I notice one of my big box A. cunning's (purchased last year) was throwing an orange frond this weekend, I'll have to take a closer look at when I get back.  I'm pretty sure they all had ramenta, so they maybe hybrids.

Most of my "plain Jane" cunninghamiana throw orange in cool weather.

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Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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20 minutes ago, enigma99 said:

Thanks to the tip by Ben I got SIX alexandrae from Lowe's 

image.jpg

Yeah, and you only had to hit up 42 different Lowes stores to find them! :D

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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1 hour ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Yeah, and you only had to hit up 42 different Lowes stores to find them! :D

haha. I kept seeing ramenta and was getting frustrated. Got some 20g pots for them so I'm going to grow them for a couple years before deciding where they should be planted

Edited by enigma99
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1 hour ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Most of my "plain Jane" cunninghamiana throw orange in cool weather.

same here

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10 hours ago, nachocarl said:

I notice one of my big box A. cunning's (purchased last year) was throwing an orange frond this weekend, I'll have to take a closer look at when I get back.  I'm pretty sure they all had ramenta, so they maybe hybrids.

pictures?

Carlsbad, California Zone 10 B on the hill (402 ft. elevation)

Sunset zone 24

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I'm pretty sure they have A. cunning in them if they are not a pure species, I will take a pic this weekend. 

Carl

Vista, CA

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I haven't looked much, but not used to Archontophoenix at the big boxes here.  At least the California ones are growing happily.  

On the side, my young A. maxima has been yellowish with a bit of die-back on leaf margins.  A knowledgeable friend suggests it was the super-wet late fall and early winter.  The plant was stuck in genuinely soggy soil.  

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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I just saw some of the theorized A. alexandrae at Lowes in my 'hood. How do they grow vs. "regular" A. cunninghamina?

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1 minute ago, ChrisJordanDDS said:

I just saw some of the theorized A. alexandrae at Lowes in my 'hood. How do they grow vs. "regular" A. cunninghamina?

Based on what I have read, they should take sun and wind a bit better, though they might be a degree or two less hardy.  I've had a 15g plant in the ground here several years and it has done well, as well as some 1g size plants that went straight in the ground.   They might be faster than A. cunninghamiana too.

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Chris,

 

It's hard for me to generalize based on just the one I'm growing, but the group of cunninghamiana in my yard always seem to have some leaf tip browning issues on the older leaves. Can't figure out why. So they always look less than perfect. Same with the maximas I'm growing. Early on, I tried the cunninghamianas on the hillside, but could not keep them hydrated enough for their liking. So this palm not only "finds" much of it's own water, but looks way better than the standard kings in the wetter parts of the yard.

Bret

 

Coastal canyon area of San Diego

 

"In the shadow of the Cross"

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Thanks guys. My main concern is sun and wind hardiness. If they hold up better than cunninghamina I think I'll grab a couple. As described, my cunninghamina always looks a bit beat up on the lower leaves. 

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Nice silvery underside to the leaf, no ramenata, and one looks like the newest leaf is a bit reddish. Cool find. 

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I just found more of these guys at another Lowes up here. But perhaps my existing 10 of these guys are enough?

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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54 minutes ago, Ben in Norcal said:

I just found more of these guys at another Lowes up here. But perhaps my existing 10 of these guys are enough?

Which Lowes Ben?

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I bought mine at the Lowes in Rancho Santa Margarita. They had 3 mixed in with a bunch of cunninghaminas. I bought all three :D

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Thanks, I'm off to Hawaii this week, I'll have a peek when I get back!

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17 minutes ago, NorCalKing said:

Thanks, I'm off to Hawaii this week, I'll have a peek when I get back!

Bring back seeds!

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Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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3 hours ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Bring back seeds!

Have already thought of that lol

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