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Pseudophoenix are Sweeeeet, Need Info


Xerarch

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Hey I have a real appreciation for the Pseudophoenix genus, I think they are beautiful, all of them.  I would like to know about which one is the most cold tolerant, is it sargentii?  Seems like sargentii is approximately as hardy as a Royal, but much slower growing, which means recovery is more difficult.  If I remember correctly lediniana is the fastest so it might recover from damage better, but if it is less hardy that also means that it will damage easier.  Also it sounds like sargentii var. navassa is faster than normal, but is it more tender also?

Are these grown with success in 9b/10a areas of central Florida and south Texas where Royals are grown and might experience periodic damage?  If so, pics please!

I'm thinking about ordering some seeds and getting some going, that way in a few years when I'm able to move to a more blessed climate than Ohio I'll have some going as they are pretty expensive to buy even in small sizes.

Any input and pics are appreciated!

Corpus Christi, TX, near salt water, zone 9b/10a! Except when it isn't and everything gets nuked.

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Out here in coastal Southern California, the sargentii seems the easiest & "fastest". This whole genus needs heat (lots in some cases) which make the other 3 species either glacially slow or practically impossible. I'm not aware of any ledenianas actually growing here, although BS man has tried. It just wouldn't grow for him although it wasn't entirely dead when I last saw it. MattyB is one who has enough heat to get both ekmanii & vinifera to look decent and actually grow a bit. I have a sargentii that looks nice and is just starting to trunk. I've had it for 10 plus years & it was supposedly 8-10 years old when I bought it. In 10 years it's grown from about 3-1/2 feet to about 7 feet, give or take. So unless they have real, consistent heat, they are slow on an unbelievable scale. On a scale of  1 to 10, with royal palms being a 10, these are a 1 in terms of speed. But they certainly are a beautiful genus if you can pull it off. Regarding the "navassa", I have a smaller one that seems to handle the cold as well as the regular one. Too early to tell if it's any faster though!

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Bret

 

Coastal canyon area of San Diego

 

"In the shadow of the Cross"

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6 hours ago, quaman58 said:

I have a sargentii that looks nice and is just starting to trunk. I've had it for 10 plus years & it was supposedly 8-10 years old when I bought it. In 10 years it's grown from about 3-1/2 feet to about 7 feet, give or take.

:blink: Holy Cow, that makes a glacier look like a rocket. 

Corpus Christi, TX, near salt water, zone 9b/10a! Except when it isn't and everything gets nuked.

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P. sargentii are the easiest to find and marginally the fastest. I've not had success with lediniana - I don't know why - and it's pretty rare. I also have vinifera I grew from seeds and it is comparable to sargentii, only thinner and more upright. Ekmanii is in an orbit all its own - rare, expensive and glacially slow. I lost my only palm as a result of combined 35" of rain this fall that rotted its roots. I don't have enough lifetime left to try it again. There is a recently discovered 4th species but I've seen only photos of it.

If you want to try sargentii seeds, make it known here and maybe someone here will provide fresh ones next year. Several of mine have flowered but never produced viable seeds so far. Be aware they need high heat, lots of sun and well draining soil. You will need to make serious concessions for them to live through an Ohio winter in a dark, dry, cold house. 

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Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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Here's a 1 year comparison of my sargentii. It grows over winter on a south facing window sill. Seems to do ok inside. I hardly water it.

I put it outside over summer and it grew at the same pace...very slowly!

I may get half a leaf a year I reckon.

20171219_064404-COLLAGE.jpg

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22 hours ago, quaman58 said:

Regarding the "navassa", I have a smaller one that seems to handle the cold as well as the regular one. Too early to tell if it's any faster though!

I've shared elsewhere that my "regular" P sargentii isn't getting enough sun so I can't do a fair comparison between it and the Pseudophoenix sargentii ssp saonae var. navassana.  That said, the "navassana" variety seems to hold it's leaf tips pointed down more, so more arch than the regular sargentii I've seen here on the west coast.  The navassana is pictured below, and it is among the slower palms I'm growing.

20170819-104A7277.jpg

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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That's a nice one Tracy. You're right, there's a much stronger recurve to the leaves on that than on mine. (Which I assume is the "standard" variety). I generally get 1-1/2 leaves per year. How does this one do?

Bret

 

Coastal canyon area of San Diego

 

"In the shadow of the Cross"

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9 minutes ago, quaman58 said:

I generally get 1-1/2 leaves per year. How does this one do?

Similar, 1 1/2 to 2.  While I have mine situated well on my lot for maximizing heat, I probably still slow it down with my mild climate and relatively rare days that it gets above the low 80's.

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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1 hour ago, Tracy said:

I've shared elsewhere that my "regular" P sargentii isn't getting enough sun so I can't do a fair comparison between it and the Pseudophoenix sargentii ssp saonae var. navassana.  That said, the "navassana" variety seems to hold it's leaf tips pointed down more, so more arch than the regular sargentii I've seen here on the west coast.  The navassana is pictured below, and it is among the slower palms I'm growing.

20170819-104A7277.jpg

Very nice Tracy.

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