Post your Caryota photos!

[Brett in Mission Viejo]

34 minutes ago, Tracy said:

So Matt & Brett you got me thinking I should look more closely at my Caryota (appears to be urens but purchased as a Caryota no).  Sure enough I went out this morning and saw the telltale sign of flowers or fruit hanging down but pretty well disguised.  I won't wait for a winter storm as its too close to the house to invite a problem like that.  There is a little bit of petiole exposed which is why I'm going with C urens versus C mitis and it's pretty small.  See last photo for petiole base.

I have another small Caryota purchased as Caryota no but I'm doubting it actually is.  It is still only about 5' tall from base to tip of newest leaf.  I put it in a spot that I'm now not happy with.  I seem to recall that Caryota's don't like to be dug if I wanted to relocate the little one once I pull out the flowering one.  Any thoughts on trying to transplant the little one?

Tracy, I have no experience transplanting Caryota, but I would think the smaller the plant the better the chances of it making it if you get a good rootball. Probably worth a try since it won't be a ton of work. A large plant would probably stress and flower.

[joe_OC]

Love Caryotas!  But, they are not worth the pain in an urban garden.  The only Caryota I have is C. mitis.  Am seriously considering getting C ophephelia.    Both are much smaller in scale.

[Hilo Jason]

I can only contribute my small Caryota Ophiopellis to this thread, but here it is:

 

 

[John hovancsek]

5 hours ago, Hilo Jason said:

I can only contribute my small Caryota Ophiopellis to this thread, but here it is:

 

 

Such a great palm I had to get a 1 gallon last time I was at florabunda.  Yours is stunning 

[palmfriend]

I found a C. mitis two years ago at our home depot - probably a one time sell, never seen

before and after that again - so I took the only plant they had and put it quite soon into the 

ground. So far a solid grower and as steady as a rock...

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

[Hilo Jason]

23 minutes ago, John hovancsek said:

Such a great palm I had to get a 1 gallon last time I was at florabunda.  Yours is stunning 

Glad you got one. Sounds like these are slower growers here (compared to Zebrina) so hopefully we can Enjoy the markings for longer at eye level. 

[Matt in OC]

Here are mine. No flowers to be seen...yet. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

@Matt in OC Your garden makes me really wish i would've gotten on Palm Talk when i was still there. I was even in the PSSC for a couple years but never made it to a garden tour =/ I definitely missed out haha 

[Matt in OC]

@OC2Texaspalmlvr SoCal is prety great. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

1 hour ago, Matt in OC said:

@OC2Texaspalmlvr SoCal is prety great. 

Nice place to visit 

[Hilo Jason]

5 hours ago, Matt in OC said:

Here are mine. No flowers to be seen...yet. 

Great pictures!  Caryota Gigas is responsible for my palm addiction today.  The first one I saw one, I was floored!  Yours is incredible. 

[Matt in OC]

1 hour ago, Hilo Jason said:

Great pictures!  Caryota Gigas is responsible for my palm addiction today.  The first one I saw one, I was floored!  Yours is incredible. 

Thanks,  Jason! I agree, it was one of my gateway palms. Just for kicks, here it was right after planting in August 2013.

[Tracy]

6 minutes ago, Matt in OC said:

Thanks,  Jason! I agree, it was one of my gateway palms. Just for kicks, here it was right after planting in August 2013.

So Matt the palm to our right when looking at your Caryota doesn't appear to exist anymore in the newer photos.  Was that a Dypsis decipiens?

[Matt in OC]

4 minutes ago, Tracy said:

So Matt the palm to our right when looking at your Caryota doesn't appear to exist anymore in the newer photos.  Was that a Dypsis decipiens?

It was a D. decaryi. There was another one to the left of the Caryota. Both bit the dust. They got shaded and crowded and didn't like it. The only things in this photo that still exist and are noticeable in my current landscape pic are the Foxtail (far left behind the BOP) and Melianthus (bottom right corner). 

[Pal Meir]

C mitis with yellow leaflets:

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, Matt in OC said:

It was a D. decaryi.

I'm always calling my decipiens a decaryi and the decaryi a decipiens.  I was guessing the decaryi didn't make it because of the shade when I saw the early and current photos.  I have a Pseudophoenix sargentii below my Caryota gigas in Carlsbad that remains an absolute twig because it has been shaded out for the last decade.  It is actually surprising it has survived.  When you plant the big Caryota's you have to consider what is going to be below them because they generate so much shade.

[DoomsDave]

Yow, I hate to do this, but I'll have to give a public service post.

Be really careful about C. urens, and, maybe C. ochlandra, big, tall fast growing.

This one fell on my friend's van last February, and it took out the power, too.

[DoomsDave]

[Hilo Jason]

8 hours ago, Matt in OC said:

Thanks,  Jason! I agree, it was one of my gateway palms. Just for kicks, here it was right after planting in August 2013.

That’s some impressive growth in 6 years!

[Palm Tree Jim]

Guess I should get some pictures of mine.....stay tuned.

[Palm Tree Jim]

Planted in 2004 and today for my remaining gigas.

 

[Palm Tree Jim]

And another from today.

 

[Hilo Jason]

4 minutes ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Planted in 2004 and today for my remaining gigas.

 

Beautiful palm Jim! 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Thanks Jason.

On another note, as beautiful as Caryotas are, I would never plant one again. Last year a gigas was removed that was larger then picture above.  It flowered after 14 years.

In my mind, I have been coming to the realization that they need to come down sooner then later, as I have 3 left.

It's not a question of if but when.

[caixeta]

Caryota obtusa. 

[Daryl]

Game over for this one...

[Daryl]

On 8/26/2019 at 10:01 PM, Daryl said:

Saw this beauty yesterday...the photo is deceiving as it is a lot larger than it appears...check out the steel star pickets for scale...

 

I found this photo on my computer today...same palm as above, after a fire torched it a few years ago...survivor!

 

[Daryl]

Caryota ochlandra

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

@DarylThats amazing the Caryota made it thru the fire it looks torched beyond life haha 

[GottmitAlex]

Caryotas sure look more like trees than they do palms.

[Tracy]

On 8/28/2019 at 9:03 PM, DoomsDave said:

Yow, I hate to do this, but I'll have to give a public service post.

Be really careful about C. urens, and, maybe C. ochlandra, big, tall fast growing.

Since mine was flowering, I decided not to wait and have an early Autumn storm hit and be out trying to trim my Caryota urens last minute.  I didn't want it falling on the house which is east or my fence to the west.  So this Labor Day weekend provided my window of time to get the job done.  Well almost done.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

@Tracy bummer about your Caryota, doesnt seem like they last very long. Im thinking C.Mitis is the way to go unless you have space for Gigas =)

[Matt in OC]

I’m surprised your guys’ are flowering so early. I think mine are around 30 ft.  Too tall to do it myself at this point, unfortunately. 

[DoomsDave]

5 hours ago, Tracy said:

Since mine was flowering, I decided not to wait and have an early Autumn storm hit and be out trying to trim my Caryota urens last minute.  I didn't want it falling on the house which is east or my fence to the west.  So this Labor Day weekend provided my window of time to get the job done.  Well almost done.

You go!

Wish I'd done the same earlier.

[greysrigging]

On 8/28/2019 at 11:00 AM, palmfriend said:

I found a C. mitis two years ago at our home depot - probably a one time sell, never seen

before and after that again - so I took the only plant they had and put it quite soon into the 

ground. So far a solid grower and as steady as a rock...

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

Mitis are a curse of a thing in my yard.... I'm forever weeding out seedlings, in fact I have lots that I have let grow and now they are seeding too. Environmentally, they are spreading into Riparian native habitat, courtesy of Flying Foxes, Fruit Bats and several bird species that find the seeds irresistable....unlike humans who tend to break out into allergic reactions from handling the seeds. They are very fast growing in my climate and young healthy plants are quite attractive.

[Daryl]

15 minutes ago, greysrigging said:

Mitis are a curse of a thing in my yard.... I'm forever weeding out seedlings, in fact I have lots that I have let grow and now they are seeding too. Environmentally, they are spreading into Riparian native habitat, courtesy of Flying Foxes, Fruit Bats and several bird species that find the seeds irresistable....unlike humans who tend to break out into allergic reactions from handling the seeds. They are very fast growing in my climate and young healthy plants are quite attractive.

I remember a few years ago we were checking out the Ptychosperma macarthurii 'Bleeseri' population near Howard Springs, and could not believe how many Caryota mitis were growing there...certainly a weedy species around Darwin...

[Merlyn]

On 8/27/2019 at 9:30 PM, palmfriend said:

I found a C. mitis two years ago at our home depot -

Lars are you sure that's a Mitis?  I'm by no means a good ID'er of palms, but the Mitis I have is profusely clustering.  I planted mine last fall (and transplanted this spring) with about 4 or 5 stems, it's now up to over 10 stems.  If it's a Mitis, do you trim back the offsets?

[greysrigging]

10 hours ago, Daryl said:

I remember a few years ago we were checking out the Ptychosperma macarthurii 'Bleeseri' population near Howard Springs, and could not believe how many Caryota mitis were growing there...certainly a weedy species around Darwin...

Yes, that 'Bleeseri' population is out at Black Jungle. In every park in suburban Darwin, where there are large shady trees ie Banyans, there a lots of seedling Mitis growing.... birds and bats roosting in the trees drop the seeds. Certainly weedy, especially in areas of permanent water like Black Jungle and Holmes Jungle.

[palmfriend]

On 9/3/2019 at 1:05 AM, Merlyn2220 said:

Lars are you sure that's a Mitis?  I'm by no means a good ID'er of palms, but the Mitis I have is profusely clustering.  I planted mine last fall (and transplanted this spring) with about 4 or 5 stems, it's now up to over 10 stems.  If it's a Mitis, do you trim back the offsets?

Merlyn,

 

my Caryota is indeed endlessly pushing out new stems - but I don't want a clustering palm on this spot, so I trim them back all the time. It was labeled as a mitis when

I bought it and I think it is one. (...as far as I can say with my limited knowledge) May be I will "allow" a second or third stem to develop one day but not at the moment.

 

Best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

[Merlyn]

55 minutes ago, palmfriend said:

Merlyn, my Caryota is indeed endlessly pushing out new stems - but I don't want a clustering palm on this spot, so I trim them back all the time. It was labeled as a mitis when I bought it and I think it is one. (...as far as I can say with my limited knowledge) May be I will "allow" a second or third stem to develop one day but not at the moment.

Very cool!  I'd never seen a solo Mitis before, I just looked up some additional photos online.  When they are a few feet taller they look just like a miniature Gigas, that's really neat!  I may have to try growing one like that myself, thanks for posting this!