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Dypsis Pembana v. Ptychosperma Macarthurii... a draw?


Oviedo_z10b_lol

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I have a sheltered spot for a one of these in the garden. However, I cannot truly tell the difference between the two in terms of appearance (on a macro level, I’m sure under a microscope variations can be seen), cold hardiness, shade/sun tolerance, mature size, etc. perhaps the D. Pembana grows faster, but that’s about it. Does anybody have any insight? 
thanks in advance. 
oh yea... and stay home, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, so on and so forth... 

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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Pemabana is a much slower grower for me and not as vigorous at clumping.  Has more relaxed leaves.  Bluish green trunk vs green with Macarthur palm.  Both take scorching sun or part shade equally well.  Appreciate watering in the dry season.  Both easy grows.  Pembana is 4 years old from seedling and Mcarthur is 6 to 7 year from a 3 gallon.  First 2 pics are Pembana.  Heard Pembana is more cold tolerant.  I'm zone 10a to 10b here.  Never any cold damage on either palm.  More wind damage on Macarthur palm leaves vs Pembana but now that Macarthur is well above the roof it gets much more winds.

 

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I had both planted next to each other at an old property. Here’s how they compared:

- Both slow, but D Pembana was probably a little quicker. My P Macarthurii had very little growth over the two years I had it.

- P Macarthurii was much more sun tolerant. (Planted in full sun.)

- P Macarthurii was much more cold tolerant.

 

I would own P Macarthurii again, but I was put off by how slow it was so I probably won’t buy one at my new place. D pembana just wasn’t a good palm for this area all around.

Edited by RedRabbit
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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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I believe Dypsis pembana is one of the most superb landscape palms for FL. I have two adults that take full sun and months of heat yet have taken to the upper 20s without a mark here in Cape Coral. They look great all the time. Most of them cluster but sparingly - about 3 trunks each. They may not grow as fast as a Ptychosperma but they are rockets compared to most of the Dypsis genus - from seeds to seeding in fewer than 10 years.

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Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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Im gonna afree with meg, I have one solitary pembana that split above the ground after spear pull in a 28 degree freeze event in 2010 and is approaching 25' tall in a wet spot irrigation wise.  Its nearly as fast as my alexandre archies.  I also have a pembana clumper that was in a poor planting spot, waterwise(construction clay near the fence, modest watering) and it is slow, though it is now around 15' overall since planting in early 2011.  Water and feed and they do grow well here in florida.  The blue green trunks are quite attractive.

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Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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  • 1 year later...
On 4/8/2020 at 2:17 PM, Oviedo_z10b_lol said:

I have a sheltered spot for a one of these in the garden. However, I cannot truly tell the difference between the two in terms of appearance (on a macro level, I’m sure under a microscope variations can be seen), cold hardiness, shade/sun tolerance, mature size, etc. perhaps the D. Pembana grows faster, but that’s about it. Does anybody have any insight? 
thanks in advance. 
oh yea... and stay home, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, so on and so forth... 

I ve got both for many years in open spots  in my marbella garden (36 ° lat north no freeze ever winter minimum so far 4,5° celsius)

dypsis pembana is growing side by side with a ptychosperma elegans which  leaves are similar to mc arthurii and the difference is notorius between pembana and mc arthurii 

also d pembana keeps a whitish tomentum on its stem where as Mc arthurii is green 

last Mc arthurii is multi stem when my pembana is single stem 

in terms of cold resistance d pembana is definitively more cold resistant than p.mc arthurii which is one of the most borderline palm for our area 

 

 

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On 4/8/2020 at 8:17 AM, Oviedo_z10b_lol said:

I have a sheltered spot for a one of these in the garden. However, I cannot truly tell the difference between the two in terms of appearance (on a macro level, I’m sure under a microscope variations can be seen), cold hardiness, shade/sun tolerance, mature size, etc. perhaps the D. Pembana grows faster, but that’s about it. 

Kind of necro-dredging on this post, but did you ever buy one or the other?  My Pembana went through the two 12/20 and 2/21 frosts with 100% top leaf burn/defoliation, but the second layer of fronds were totally fine.  It grew new spears quickly and looked like nothing had happened by around April.  The Macarthurii was across the pathway from the Pembana, but only about 2-3' tall at the time.  It spotted a little bit, but probably was not heavily frosted like the Pembana at 12' tall.  My Macarthurii is now a bit over waist height, so around 3-4' overall.  The next fronds will probably be 5' to 6'.  I like the "fishtail-esque" leaflets on it, they are a bit more interesting than the Pembana leaves.  

I planted a triple Pembana in a 3g around April 2019, it was around 3-4' and it's now around 15' tall.  The Macarthurii I planted as a triple as a small 1g in April 2020, and it's now 3-4' tall.  In late July I planted a solo P.  Schefferi about 5' away, as a decent sized 1g about 2' tall.  With all three palms in close proximity to each other it should be a good comparison on cold hardiness and growth rate!

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Pembana is a good choice if you want a 3-4 trunk clumper.  Pembana trunks can be quite colorful with light blue and green colors if not in lots of sun.  They will also be more cold tolerant as they are established.  They will defoliate starting at 30F if its that cold for long enough(hours).  But they do recover quickly.

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Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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18 hours ago, Oviedo_z10b_lol said:

Not yet but I have decided to go with a D. Pembana once I have this wretched bamboo removed. 

Keep us posted on how it does there. :greenthumb:

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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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my clumper has 3 trunks with OA heights of 15' 10' and just 2-3ft.  I can't get an overall pic top to bottom anymore and the crown is swallowed up by taller archie and kentiopsis(chambeyronia) Oliviformis crowns.  Here is the color on the upper trunk its kind of nice.  PembanaTrunk1.thumb.JPG.be1ea3bbb210646dca4957bb15a0f269.JPG

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Formerly in Gilbert AZ, zone 9a/9b. Now in Palmetto, Florida Zone 9b/10a??

 

Tom Blank

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