Easy To Grow Crownshafted Palms?

[PalmTreeDude]

What are some easy to grow crownshafted palms? Which have proven the easiest for you? What are some quick growers? 

[kinzyjr]

Here, probably the easiest is Roystonea regia.  Hardy, native, fast growing and gorgeous.

[Silas_Sancona]

My experiences germinating / growing the following.. in such order..

Veitchia,  All 3 sp. common in FL. Fastest by far..  X Foxy Lady would be next, but no luck from seed yet. Easy and fast otherwise..

Archontophoenix ( cunninghamiana, alexandrae, *cunninghamiana X alexandrae * = fastest of the 3, for me anyway..)

Adonidia, and Dypsis lutescens,  tie

Roystonea

Kentiopsis oliviformis.. Not slow for me,  but, i'm also patient.. Even held up here in the desert ( in shade )  ( Growing Copernicia cowellii  Still on one or two strap leaves ..a year..   <That  <is  <SLOW,  lol )

Edited May 21, 2019 by Silas_Sancona
edit

[PalmTreeDude]

I love royals! I always wanted to germinate one because it would be cool. 

[RedRabbit]

I agree on Veitchia. Also, my Dypsis leptochellos was great in all respects.

[Ben in Norcal]

It's tough to get easier or faster than Archies.

[Jim in Los Altos]

I’d put Foxy Lady in super easy and fast. Wodyetia bifurcata x Veitchia arecina is my fastest and most tropical looking palm and I have dozens of mature Archontophoenix which were previously my fastest growers. Roystonea and Wodyetia are much slower for my but I’m in the relatively cool SF Bay Area. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Jim in Los Altos

[buffy]

I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my hatred towards all of you crownshaft growing folks. I'm so jealous. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

36 minutes ago, buffy said:

I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my hatred towards all of you crownshaft growing folks. I'm so jealous. 

hahahaha  I know the feeling now, since I have left that mess of a state =/

[sarasota alex]

Can't believe no one mentioned a Carpentaria. The easiest in my book. And hardier than Veitchias

[PalmTreeDude]

My Archontophoenix cunninghamiana seeds that I potted up in late April have not germinated yet, is this something to worry about or can these take a few months? 

[PalmTreeDude]

They're in the long community pot. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by PalmTreeDude

[Ben in Norcal]

21 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

My Archontophoenix cunninghamiana seeds that I potted up in late April have not germinated yet, is this something to worry about or can these take a few months? 

They aren't THAT fast!  Give it a few weeks and I'm sure you will start seeing action.  Generally mine come up in a month or so, depending on temps.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Ben in Norcal said:

They aren't THAT fast!  Give it a few weeks and I'm sure you will start seeing action.  Generally mine come up in a month or so, depending on temps.

Agree, even outdoors, situated under my benches -in Bradenton -this time of year ..took roughly 4-6 weeks before i started seeing these germinate. Rewarded kindly is the patient person..

Swaying a bit.. Forgot to add Ptychosperma elegans to the above list.. would place speed on these somewhere between Veitchia and Kings, at least in Florida..

[RedRabbit]

3 hours ago, sarasota alex said:

Can't believe no one mentioned a Carpentaria. The easiest in my book. And hardier than Veitchias

I’ve never owned a Carpentaria, but it does seem like it would be an easy and very fast grower. I’d gladly put one on my Sarasota property, but I don’t know of anyone selling them around here. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by RedRabbit

[sarasota alex]

6 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

I’ve never owned a Carpentaria, but it does seem like it would be an easy and very fast grower. I’d gladly put one on my Sarasota property, but I don’t know of anyone selling them around here. 

There are quite a few around Sarasota, although not enough to call it a common palm here. However, I was just thinking about your comment, and true - I don't see them in local nurseries at all. Not sure why. Many local palm sales, however, like CFPACS events or the ones in Rob Branch's yard would have a 1- or 3-gal for sale. Also there are publicly planted fruiting Carpentaria in town where you could easily collect seeds, when in season. I could give you some locations.

[RedRabbit]

1 hour ago, sarasota alex said:

There are quite a few around Sarasota, although not enough to call it a common palm here. However, I was just thinking about your comment, and true - I don't see them in local nurseries at all. Not sure why. Many local palm sales, however, like CFPACS events or the ones in Rob Branch's yard would have a 1- or 3-gal for sale. Also there are publicly planted fruiting Carpentaria in town where you could easily collect seeds, when in season. I could give you some locations.

I’ll try to pick one up at a palm sale sometime. 

Sarasota has a pretty good variety of palm species, but I haven’t figured out where they’re all coming from. Perhaps they’re being brought in from SE Florida? It seems like there are too many for that... Its kind of disappointing to be honest, I bought a property in a solidly zone 10 area and can’t find anything interesting to plant. 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, RedRabbit said:

I’ll try to pick one up at a palm sale sometime. 

Sarasota has a pretty good variety of palm species, but I haven’t figured out where they’re all coming from. Perhaps they’re being brought in from SE Florida? It seems like there are too many for that... Its kind of disappointing to be honest, I bought a property in a solidly zone 10 area and can’t find anything interesting to plant. 

Most of the people i met while in Bradenton / working in Sarasota would either pick up stuff at some of the plant sales ( Selby, various events in Tampa /St. Pete, etc, ) Collect off stuff planted around town / up at Kopsick, or would make trips down south. ( Still miss being able to make such day trips to both places ) Nursery-wise, there weren't that many that carried more than the usual suspects.. Most of which did come from Miami / Homestead, or Naples.  Made suggestions where i worked for regarding stocking more unique stuff but they weren't interested.. I'd refer most clients i'd interact with interested in "different" palms to do Saturday / Sunday lunch in downtown St. Pete, followed up with a tour of  Kopsick  ..or visit to Selby, etc.

That said, ..and i'm sure @sarasota alex  and /or @Zeeth ( among others in the area ) might know a few of the same people i'd met, you can find stuff if you know who to talk to.. Still bummed i couldn't make a garden tour i'd been invited to attend at the time.  

 

[The Gerg]

For me, I have to agree with Jim in Los Altos. Foxy Lady’s are fast and easy. (So far at least). 

Another easy crownshafted palm for me are teddy bears (Dypsis leptocheilos) once they get large enough to avoid leaf burn.

[PalmatierMeg]

Dypsis pembana takes full summer sun and temps down to the upper 20s here with only minor cold spotting.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Where can 1 get a foxy lady in Texas =) 

Edited May 23, 2019 by OC2Texaspalmlvr
.

[redant]

15 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I’ve never owned a Carpentaria, but it does seem like it would be an easy and very fast grower. I’d gladly put one on my Sarasota property, but I don’t know of anyone selling them around here. 

Heaviest seeders on the planet.. They spring up like weeds too.

 

[redant]

Palmtreedude, try Pseudophoenix sargentii, you could keep one of those in a pot for years and years they are so slow. Reasonably easy but sloooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww.

[palmsOrl]

3 hours ago, redant said:

Heaviest seeders on the planet.. They spring up like weeds too.

 

Wish I had some!

[kinzyjr]

I have a few seedlings of Pseudophoenix sargentii.  Even slower growing than Thrinax radiata... if that is possible  ;)

[GottmitAlex]

3 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

I have a few seedlings of Pseudophoenix sargentii.  Even slower growing than Thrinax radiata... if that is possible 

You should try D.plumosa from seed sometime. That is slow.

[PalmTreeDude]

How do Sabals compare on the rate of slowness we are talking about here? 

[Reeverse]

Florida needs more foxylady seeds or young palms. Hard to find 

[James B]

Archontphoenix: Cunninghamiana, Alexandrae, and Maxima have all been much easier growers than Roystonea for me.

I planted 30 various Kings and 28 have been trouble free. 2 developed pink rot(1 Bangalow, 1 Alexander) both were very young palms less than 5 feet tall at the time. The Alexander is in a far corner of my yard surrounded by bananas and giant bird of paradise and is still alive but has a nasty hole in the trunk from the damage. All have been pretty fast growers for me.

Roystonea Regia: I have 2 planted. One planted late winter and it is in total shock. The other I planted 1 month ago and is doing good so far. A new spear is growing but not super fast. However it has been a cool spring so I expect it will pick up speed in summer.

I'm in 9B at 1600 feet elevation in Mediterranean climate. It makes sense that Royals would have a harder time than Kings where I am as they are at sea level in both Florida and Cuba and are native to swampy humid environments quite different from anywhere in Cali that has some elevation.

Kings can grow at quite a bit of elevation in Australia so it makes sense they can hang a bit better in my climate.

That said, I have seen 2 homes in my area with beautiful Royals so I am convinced it is possible, albeit much more of a challenge.

This week I planted 2 Majesty Palms which I have read on Palmtalk can be a bit of a challenge but my next door neighbor and neighbor across the street have Majesty Palms which are doing just fine. The palm next door is in the shade of a large Magnolia tree and is about 14 feet tall and is one of the best looking Majesties I have seen in California, big bulbous trunk but with long beautiful leaves until many I see in full sun which have impressive trunks but short tiny leaves.

This yearI'd love to find a Foxy Lady or Chambeyronia to put under the canopy of the Kings I have in my yard.

Edited May 25, 2019 by James B
typo