Appreciting Archontophoenix Purpurea

[The Gerg]

So I think most the time people talk about purple king palms they talk about how purplish the crown shaft can get. And that is a nice feature.

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But recently I have really been appreciating the color to the leafs/leaflets. In the right light the yellow rachis & petiole makes for such a great contrast to the deep forest green leaflets. The yellow practically glows. The backside of the leaflets are actually silver but golden yellow shines through.

In the evening when the sun starts going down the deep green leaflets tend to look almost a deep ocean blue. The purple king leaflets are so curved they practically go full circle towards the tip of the leaflets. No matter what time of day it is I can always flick the leaflet or give a little shake to the whole leaf and water will shake out. Apparently the leaflets hold on to the morning dew all day long.

Anyway, thanks for letting me go on about this palm.

[kinzyjr]

Very nice!  Have been a fan of the Archontophoenix genus since I first saw them in 2003.

[The Gerg]

Oops! I misspelled the heading. "Appreciating" Oh well. Not sure how to edit that.

[JohnLight]

Great pics! Now I look forward to watching mine grow even more!

[GottmitAlex]

1 hour ago, The Gerg said:

So I think most the time people talk about purple king palms they talk about how purplish the crown shaft can get. And that is a nice feature.

.

But recently I have really been appreciating the color to the leafs/leaflets. In the right light the yellow rachis & petiole makes for such a great contrast to the deep forest green leaflets. The yellow practically glows. The backside of the leaflets are actually silver but golden yellow shines through.

In the evening when the sun starts going down the deep green leaflets tend to look almost a deep ocean blue. The purple king leaflets are so curved they practically go full circle towards the tip of the leaflets. No matter what time of day it is I can always flick the leaflet or give a little shake to the whole leaf and water will shake out. Apparently the leaflets hold on to the morning dew all day long.

Anyway, thanks for letting me go on about this palm.

OMG.    Magnificent!

[GottmitAlex]

Unlike the King palm,  the purpurae keeps its leaflets shuttlecocked as the majesty palms.  Interesting. Such a magnificent palm. Thank you for sharing.

[Rickybobby]

Great pics 

[PalmTreeDude]

Now that's a nice palm! 

[The Gerg]

Thanks guys. Sometimes our palms are just begging to be photographed.....and shared. Right?

 

[Briank]

1 hour ago, The Gerg said:

Thanks guys. Sometimes our palms are just begging to be photographed.....and shared. Right?

 

Yup.  Mine are constantly talking to me lol. 

I have a Double Purpurea that is getting big. I planted about 7-8 king palms in front n back yard.  My goal was to have every type in my yard.   I think the only one I didn’t plant was the Alexandrae! Couldn’t find anything but Seedlings. 

 

To happy growing and more Purpureas in the neighborhood ! 

 

[Fusca]

15 hours ago, The Gerg said:

But recently I have really been appreciating the color to the leafs/leaflets.

I really like these also - yours look great!  Are they as thirsty as the other Archontophoenix 'kings'?  My 2 are just seedlings.

[Matt in OC]

Driving around town, the way to spot a purpurea is the silver undersides and spacing of the leaflets. It's a beautiful palm.

[akamu]

Great photos of your palm. The less rare trees sometimes get overlooked in a my opinion these are great when grown well like your tree thanks for sharing 

[The Gerg]

11 hours ago, Fusca said:

I really like these also - yours look great!  Are they as thirsty as the other Archontophoenix 'kings'?  My 2 are just seedlings.

They do like plenty of water, but truthfully mine has been on a drip system going only 3 days a week for 6 minutes a pop. But we are coming off of a super rainy season for us. I also hand water on occasion when I get the hose out to water the potted plants.moving into summer I will add an extra day to the timer.

11 hours ago, Matt in OC said:

Driving around town, the way to spot a purpurea is the silver undersides and spacing of the leaflets. It's a beautiful palm.

Here is a shot showing the silver underside. This is more how it looks when after the sun goes down without the yellow glow from sun.

10 hours ago, akamu said:

Great photos of your palm. The less rare trees sometimes get overlooked in a my opinion these are great when grown well like your tree thanks for sharing 

Thank you. I agree. Sometimes we do tend to overlook or under appreciate the palms hat are not super rare. And most the time those palms are still quite rare for the average landscaper. 

[DoomsDave]

Oh, purps are grand!

But, they're also susceptible to pink rot, so keep them exposed and a bit on dry side, or at least allow to dry a bit between waterings.

We still babble about a PSSC board member's infamous Purple People-Eating Purpurea, it was so fat it almost looked like a royal.

[richnorm]

Yes they are prone to rot (here at least). I had two trunking specimens doing well but am back to seedlings again!  Beware over-grooming!  Archontophoenix myolensis is looking promising but seldom see this one mentioned.

[The Gerg]

Yes, I did lose two larger Arch. purpureas myself to pink rot several years back. I chalked it up to my inexperience and poor drainage. 

Since you mention myolensis.....I just stepped out back and took a quick pic. Not necessarily at its grandest right now. It tried to die on me about a year or two ago but I think it’s back.  This gets all day sun where as the purple gets shaded by the house around 2:30 or so. It’s been a pretty slow grower for me. It is about 5’-6” to top of crownshaft.