The Tale of the Two Chambeyronia 'hookeri"

[joe_OC]

Let's try this again...

As I said, planted these two hookeris a couple of years apart.  One was in a tree pot liner.  The other was in a 15 gal pot.  Guess which palm is which:

 

Hooker 1:

 

Each ring is about 5"-6" tall.

Edited May 13, 2019 by joe_OC

[joe_OC]

Hookeri #2

Each Ring is about 10" tall

Edited May 13, 2019 by joe_OC

[Darold Petty]

Let me guess, the tree pot liner has surpassed the 15 gallon.

[joe_OC]

But of course!  It’s almost as big as my biggest watermelon 

[mwardlow]

I wonder if the difference in speed could be the difference between the fuzzy version and the smooth trunk version.

 

[Matt in OC]

What about sun exposure?

[joe_OC]

Both get filtered sun.  They face SW, but they have bananas and other palms protecting them.

They definitely are different types of hookeri.  As you can see, the slower one has a lot more tomentum on the trunk and is more yellow.  The faster one has a much smoother trunk and a greener hue to it.  Both throw very brilliant red fronds.

[joe_OC]

[joe_OC]

1 hour ago, Darold Petty said:

Let me guess, the tree pot liner has surpassed the 15 gallon.

I would say DOUBLED it in size...

[joe_OC]

[joe_OC]

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, joe_OC said:

Usually when I see this type of ring spacing difference it is due to light.  An example would be different trunks on a Dypsis pembana.  Due to abuse, a multi-stemmed plant ended up with only 2 trunks, one much smaller and younger than the main trunk.  The smaller one is on the north side of the bigger one, and experienced most of its growth after we added on to the house which also provided shade from the west.  Over the last 3-4 years, the younger trunk has shown the huge ring spacing, and has almost caught up in height to it's older sibling. 

That said, has the smooth trunked one had more filtered shade while the one with all the fuzz  gets more sun perhaps and less filtering of light?  If not than perhaps if you want a faster growing hookeri, get one with a little more greenish yellow, and no fuzz!  Do you think it will help sales of liner plants and hurt sales of 15 gallon plants?  IMO:  No. 

[joe_OC]

Yeah, you would think the smooth one is stretched, but it’s not.  The diameter of the base as well as the trunk is substantially larger than the slower, yellow one.  

I have a triple macrocarpa planted between these two palms.  Now that palm is stretched.  The growth rings are big, but the palm is also very thin.

I doubt that it will help the sale of liner palms...  We all want instant gratification.  

Edited May 14, 2019 by joe_OC

[Hilo Jason]

I think there is something to be said for the momentum of a palm growing. When you plant out a smaller palm it can get its roots in the ground and go without the limitations of being in a pot. Water is more consistent in the ground, etc...  I think some bigger palms in pots have just been in pots for too long and it takes them longer to get going. Roots are bound up, etc...  I saw this a lot in my Fallbrook garden. The 5 gallons would frequently outgrow the bigger 15 gallons. Maybe that’s what has happened here?

[joe_OC]

I agree.  Getting palms into the ground faster plays a key role.  In this case, I think the 15 gal was set back a few years because it originally was shade grown.  

The bananas and larger palms provide filtered light now, but when I planted them both, the slower one was in MORE sun than it was used to and had to spend time to harden up.  In fact, it shrunk for a few years as the leaves had to adjust for the amount of light.

[DoomsDave]

Hmm 

I’ll stick my neck out and suggest that the difference might be more a matter of plant type than anything else 

On the other hand maybe someone can repeat Joe’s experiment and check their results 

[Palm Tree Jim]

6 hours ago, Hilo Jason said:

I think there is something to be said for the momentum of a palm growing. When you plant out a smaller palm it can get its roots in the ground and go without the limitations of being in a pot. Water is more consistent in the ground, etc...  I think some bigger palms in pots have just been in pots for too long and it takes them longer to get going. Roots are bound up, etc...  I saw this a lot in my Fallbrook garden. The 5 gallons would frequently outgrow the bigger 15 gallons. Maybe that’s what has happened here?

Have to support Jason on this.

At least for me, this has been true.