Beccariophoenix alfredii 8 years growth.

[Stevetoad 2,024]

I planted my beccariophoenix alfredii October 16th 2011. It was a tall one gallon. I wouldn’t call it fast at all but it’s gone from about 1 foot to about 15 feet. 
 

Post em if you got em 

[GottmitAlex 3,953]

Fantastic! Do you know how old it was at the time you acquired it?

[Stevetoad 2,024]

6 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

Fantastic! Do you know how old it was at the time you acquired it?

I think it was 3 years old from seed but I don’t remember for sure. 

[quaman58 2,436]

Looks fantastic Steve. Such a great palm for us. Although I have to admit, they have a lot bigger proportions than they looked like in the original habitat pictures. I figured the B. fenetralis would be the bigger of the 3 species. It may end up being the smallest. Alfredii and madagascariensis just have gigantic proportions. But heck, with a 15 acre backyard, you’ve got plenty of room..

[Stevetoad 2,024]

2 minutes ago, quaman58 said:

Looks fantastic Steve. Such a great palm for us. Although I have to admit, they have a lot bigger proportions than they looked like in the original habitat pictures. I figured the B. fenetralis would be the bigger of the 3 species. It may end up being the smallest. Alfredii and madagascariensis just have gigantic proportions. But heck, with a 15 acre backyard, you’ve got plenty of room..

Yeah. I saw lens a while ago and was taken back but how big it was and it wasn’t even trunking yet. Your windows is still perfection to me. 
 

my back 15 acres is over run with carpoxylons at the moment. You know how weedy those things are. 

[Chris Chance 1,068]

Looking good Steve! I can't believe how big alfredii get but still such a great palm. Even in my area they seem to do good. I'll post money tomorrow if I get a chance. I think mine is the same age but I had it in pots for years and now it's getting size as well.

[Hilo Jason 3,788]

Looks great Steve!

[sonoranfans 2,932]

My largest was a little under 3' overall(palm on right, up close) and had divided leaves in sept 2011 (view towards street).  Today (view from the street) a little over 8 years later it is ~25' overall with adirondack chair under it for scale.  It is in high drainage sandy soil and gets ~60" rain a year and irrigation 2x a week when it isnt the rainy season.  I fertilize with florikan palm special 2-3 times a year.  I have 3 from 15-25', all the same age but lowest to highest sun exposure is what makes them grow differently.

[Stevetoad 2,024]

22 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

My largest was a little under 3' overall(palm on right, up close) and had divided leaves in sept 2011 (view towards street).  Today (view from the street) a little over 8 years later it is ~25' overall with adirondack chair under it for scale.  It is in high drainage sandy soil and gets ~60" rain a year and irrigation 2x a week when it isnt the rainy season.  I fertilize with florikan palm special 2-3 times a year.  I have 3 from 15-25', all the same age but lowest to highest sun exposure is what makes them grow differently.

Holy smokes!!!! I need to feed mine more.....maybe move to Florida too. 

[sonoranfans 2,932]

cant deny florida effect for rain and 10 month growing season.  But that rain/humidity prevents some species from doing well here also.  BA seems to grow well anywhere as long as soil drains well and roots can expand and there is heat and sun.  

[Daryl 1,805]

Nice alfrediis gents! 

I planted 2 of them  not quite two years ago, and have been impressed with their growth.  Faster than B.fenestralis and much faster than B.madagascariensis. This is the faster of my two...the oldest three leaves were the largest leaves when I planted them....they just pump them out! It will be interesting to see how big they are after this coming summer...hopefully we get some good rain and heat.

 

Dec 2017

  

 

October 2019

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Daryl

[Brett in Mission Viejo 485]

One of my favorites. Sorry for the poor photography. Planted March 2012 as a tiny thing (lower left in lawn):

And now putting on some girth and 15-20ft height (ignore the weed lawn as I am sneaking it away with canopy!):

Close-up

Has anyone seen a trunking Alrfedii in California yet??

[Stevetoad 2,024]

42 minutes ago, Brett in Mission Viejo said:

One of my favorites. Sorry for the poor photography. Planted March 2012 as a tiny thing (lower left in lawn):

And now putting on some girth and 15-20ft height (ignore the weed lawn as I am sneaking it away with canopy!):

Close-up

Has anyone seen a trunking Alrfedii in California yet??

Dang Brett! You garden has blown up since I was out there last (probably 2012). When are you going to do a photo tour for us?  I see a lot of goodies in these pics. Do you still have that oraniopsis?

[Brett in Mission Viejo 485]

55 minutes ago, Stevetoad said:

Dang Brett! You garden has blown up since I was out there last (probably 2012). When are you going to do a photo tour for us?  I see a lot of goodies in these pics. Do you still have that oraniopsis?

 

Steve, I remember when you and Jastin came over in 2012. How time passes by so quickly! That Oraniopsis struggled a lot and bit the dust a few years ago. Not enough humidity that I could provide, I think. I have tortured my fair share of marginal palms, that is for sure!

[Sabal Steve 902]

Maybe even as nice as your Brahea!

[pj_orlando_z9b 1,243]

You all have great BAs. Nothing special here but mine is on the right track. 18 months growth. 

[Stevetoad 2,024]

12 minutes ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

You all have great BAs. Nothing special here but mine is on the right track. 18 months growth. 

Looking great for just a big over a year

[5150cycad 604]

Here are a couple pictures of my BA.The smaller palm is about 3 1/2 years from a small 15 gallon. The larger palm was bought from Rancho Soledad as a good sized 15 gallon about 4 years ago. Once’s these palms get tapped in they really start taking off. They are both trimmed more than my liking but at least this way my neighbors are okay with it. 

[Chris Chance 1,068]

This one was planted 4 years ago. It was a 15 gallon size and didn't look real happy.  Now it's doing well here inland SoCal. 

[Merlyn 2,418]

Here are my 5 B. Alfredii, purchased as big 3G 5-6' tall pots from MB Palms last summer.  I transplanted this from the side yard to the front yard in April and it only slowed down a little bit while growing new roots.  It was also in part shade until I took down some water oak canopy 2 months ago:

This was the biggest originally at about 6' and is now 9-10':

This pair were the shortest and still are, the right one got blown over in Hurricane Dorian because a hole in my dripline hose was washing away soil from the base.  Both are ~7' tall.

The second largest at 8-9' just got some agave and Dioon company today.  It's staked as a precaution because it was a little loose after Hurricane Dorian.

Edited November 4, 2019 by Merlyn2220

[redbeard917 284]

Looks great, everyone. A very worthy addition to any palm garden. I saw some for sale in Orlando the other day. $399, bigger than it looks in the picture, about 6-7' not counting the pot. I don't know if that's a good price but other plants in the nursery were on the expensive side, I thought. They also had smaller sizes for $199 and $299.

[Stevetoad 2,024]

1 hour ago, redbeard917 said:

Looks great, everyone. A very worthy addition to any palm garden. I saw some for sale in Orlando the other day. $399, bigger than it looks in the picture, about 6-7' not counting the pot. I don't know if that's a good price but other plants in the nursery were on the expensive side, I thought. They also had smaller sizes for $199 and $299.

That’s a great head start for 399

[redbeard917 284]

I'm not wealthy, and that's about 10x the most I've paid for a plant, but I bet I could easily derive $399 worth of enjoyment out of it. Heck, that's not much more than $1/day if you glance at it every day for a year.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr 1,190]

34 minutes ago, redbeard917 said:

I'm not wealthy, and that's about 10x the most I've paid for a plant, but I bet I could easily derive $399 worth of enjoyment out of it. Heck, that's not much more than $1/day if you glance at it every day for a year.

Very nice purchase for a palm that has prolly been in a pot for over 5years easy. Instant gratification and I can't wait to see its progress on here =) 1$ a day is how I'm gonna convince my wife on my next large palm purchase haha wish me luck .... 

[Jeff985 634]

8 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Very nice purchase for a palm that has prolly been in a pot for over 5years easy. Instant gratification and I can't wait to see its progress on here =) 1$ a day is how I'm gonna convince my wife on my next large palm purchase haha wish me luck .... 

Wait a minute TJ. You said you were done with big palm purchases... Did that large double bizzy for sale in Galveston change your mind? I knew it would. 

[redbeard917 284]

I did not purchase, unfortunately it's too cold where I live. I was just posting so anyone interested could find one. They had a lot of them. I'm glad to help with justification, another tactic might be to work a day of overtime or have a garage sale to pay for it.

[Jeff985 634]

16 minutes ago, redbeard917 said:

I did not purchase, unfortunately it's too cold where I live. I was just posting so anyone interested could find one. They had a lot of them. I'm glad to help with justification, another tactic might be to work a day of overtime or have a garage sale to pay for it.

You could always sell blood and seaman. Preferably your own. That’s how I pay for my plants. 

[Merlyn 2,418]

Lucas is generally 2x the price of anywhere else in Orlando, but does have a few palms not available anywhere else in the Orlando area.  They have a really nice pot of Cyrtostachys renda in the greenhouse in the SE corner, nice but it's not for sale.  Unfortunately the B. Alfredii hasn't caught on yet with the other Orlando area nurseries, at least not that I've seen.  Maybe in a few years it'll become more common!

[OC2Texaspalmlvr 1,190]

9 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

Wait a minute TJ. You said you were done with big palm purchases... Did that large double bizzy for sale in Galveston change your mind? I knew it would. 

Your right I am done with specimen purchases but you never know when the right palm at the right price shows up haha 

[wrigjef 275]

On 11/23/2019 at 8:41 AM, redbeard917 said:

ILooks great, everyone. A very worthy addition to any palm garden. I saw some for sale in Orlando the other day. $399, bigger than it looks in the picture, about 6-7' not counting the pot. I don't know if that's a good price but other plants in the nursery were on the expensive side, I thought. They also had smaller sizes for $199 and $299.

Hey Guys,

 I Live in Arizona so not really a fair price comparison to Florida but I just bought this B Alfredii from a local nursery for $199 a few weeks ago. I had no intention of buying anything but when I saw this and the price I had to buy it.  Seeing the $399 one in Florida makes me feel great about my purchase.

I will keep it in a pot until spring and then plant near my pool.  I have it in a screened porch for now.  It’s hitting the ceiling which is 8 feet high.

[Butch 618]

I wish I had room for one of these ....

Butch

[SWFLchris 260]

On 11/23/2019 at 10:41 AM, redbeard917 said:

Looks great, everyone. A very worthy addition to any palm garden. I saw some for sale in Orlando the other day. $399, bigger than it looks in the picture, about 6-7' not counting the pot. I don't know if that's a good price but other plants in the nursery were on the expensive side, I thought. They also had smaller sizes for $199 and $299.

$399 is disgustingly expensive. Take a day day trip down to Homestead and get the same palm for $150.

[branislav 80]

2 hours ago, SWFLchris said:

$399 is disgustingly expensive. Take a day day trip down to Homestead and get the same palm for $150.

That's disgustingly cheap. It's just wrong!

[OC2Texaspalmlvr 1,190]

That palm at that size for 150$ I'm on my way if you could hold me 1 haha definitely could be worth the drive =) 

[pj_orlando_z9b 1,243]

I wouldn't pay the $399 but for comparison, the one I bought (posted Nov 3) was $80 from MB palms. I guess now my palm is worth $150.  An investment just like real estate! Lol

[pj_orlando_z9b 1,243]

12 hours ago, wrigjef said:

Hey Guys,

 I Live in Arizona so not really a fair price comparison to Florida but I just bought this B Alfredii from a local nursery for $199 a few weeks ago. I had no intention of buying anything but when I saw this and the price I had to buy it.  Seeing the $399 one in Florida makes me feel great about my purchase.

I will keep it in a pot until spring and then plant near my pool.  I have it in a screened porch for now.  It’s hitting the ceiling which is 8 feet high.

My first thought was are you sure you didn't purchase a coconut. Nice palm!

[GottmitAlex 3,953]

12 hours ago, wrigjef said:

Hey Guys,

 I Live in Arizona so not really a fair price comparison to Florida but I just bought this B Alfredii from a local nursery for $199 a few weeks ago. I had no intention of buying anything but when I saw this and the price I had to buy it.  Seeing the $399 one in Florida makes me feel great about my purchase.

I will keep it in a pot until spring and then plant near my pool.  I have it in a screened porch for now.  It’s hitting the ceiling which is 8 feet high.

Nice find!!!!

[Merlyn 2,418]

Here's a growth reference for mine.  The right one is still in the same place, and is the fastest grower.  The left one got transplanted to the front yard and is the palm in the top photo in my earlier post:

The pair next to the Philodendrons were planted in August 2018 just after I took down 15 water oaks in the backyard:

The 5th one was planted also in August 2018 and about the same size:

[thallo 122]

Any updates on these awesome palms? I’m living vicariously because mine has only been In the ground a year from a 5g pot and I’m waiting for it to take off!

[ExperimentalGrower 232]

On 9/19/2021 at 11:34 AM, thallo said:

Any updates on these awesome palms? I’m living vicariously because mine has only been In the ground a year from a 5g pot and I’m waiting for it to take off!

Same here! Haha, we probably bought ours from the same stock at Flora Grubb. I won’t even bother posting a pic yet. Steady grower, less than a year in the ground but really started looking much nicer once I started it on a drip cycle and fed it Palm Gain.