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An Update on a Few of My Palms


palmsOrl

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Lots of plants packed in tight at my apartment, with the two Cyrtostachys perched up high for maximum light.

A view of a few of the palms outside the porch.  It brings me joy to wake up and see them first thing everyday.

My dad and I were out walking in a local neighborhood last week and sadly there is a huge, ancient Oak tree full of now dead Tillandsia utriculata with strap leaves littering the ground, due to the weevil.  I found a branch under the tree covered in small Tillandsia utriculata and so I brought these home and plan to hit all my tank bromeliads with some insecticide and now I have some of this species of a local variety which may be more cold hardy than ones from South FL.

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My parents planted the coconut palms so that they would arch out over the water, though it is kind of tough to tell from the photos.

They are still working on the rest of the landscape apparently.  But my dad has been doing a lot of home repairs and my mom just finished school for ARNP,  so now they will have more time to focus on the yard.

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Got this one today for my mom for Mother's Day.   She has been wanting a bottle Palm.

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On 4/30/2020 at 1:17 PM, palmsOrl said:

My parents planted the coconut palms so that they would arch out over the water, though it is kind of tough to tell from the photos.

They are still working on the rest of the landscape apparently.  But my dad has been doing a lot of home repairs and my mom just finished school for ARNP,  so now they will have more time to focus on the yard.

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The last one has a very pronounced (and nice) lean to it. Did you plant it in that position on purpose?

  • Upvote 1

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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Yeah, my parents planted those and want them to grow so that they are leaning out over the water (which they tend to do on their own).  Do you think the planting angle is excessively acute for that purpose Alex?  Two of three are Jamaican talls and one is probably a Maypan.

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17 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

Yeah, my parents planted those and want them to grow so that they are leaning out over the water (which they tend to do on their own).  Do you think the planting angle is excessively acute for that purpose Alex?  Two of three are Jamaican talls and one is probably a Maypan.

If they're close to the waters edge, personally, I believe leaning them towards it to be a tad bit excessive. 

But not knowing there is water closeby, here again, I think it's nice.  Nature will do its thing. 

  • Upvote 1

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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Jeremy gave me this lovely Dypsis prestoniana as well as some recently sprouted seeds on our adventure this past weekend.  These include: Adonidia merrillii, Ptychosperma elegans, Archontophoenix alexandrae and Thrinax radiata.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

I sorted through a bunch of coconuts today that my parents brought up from Port Charlotte.  None of these were viable (shake test).

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These are viable.  I'm not sure if the individually pictured one might be a Jamaican tall.

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I put the viable coconuts here for now to hopefully get them started.

The one I planted by the lake looks like it may be putting on some growth.

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You're basically recreating the wreck of the Providencia in Orlando ^_^

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190109/from-archives-shipwreck-its-coconuts-led-to-palm-beachs-name

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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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2 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

I put the viable coconuts here for now to hopefully get them started.

The one I planted by the lake looks like it may be putting on some growth.

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Love at first sight!

  • Upvote 1

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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My Dypsis prestoniana's foliage got damaged somehow.  I am not sure what happened but I suspect dryness or maybe excessive heat in the car when I relocated it.

The good news is, this palm is putting out healthy new growth quickly.

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Chamaedorea elegans is enjoying the heat in partial shade.

Whatever the second palm is, it is doing great despite being under-potted.  The NOID palm's smaller counterpart is taking off too.

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My Veitchia winin triple is coming along well.  I need to figure out a way to speed up the smallest of the three.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I stopped by Lukas Nursery today for the second day in a row and was taking a last look through some of the aisles toward the back that I hadn't checked out yet.  I looked over and noticed that they have Florida royal palms for sale!  I already have two I got from Kinzyjr but he mentioned these might be a hybrid with local royals near the parent Palm(s) that would likely be the Cuban variety.

I know that Florida and Cuban royals are considered synonymous now, but supposedly morphological differences exist between the two.

I did go ahead and buy one of the five palms they had in that size.  It is interesting how the one I picked out has this purplish red coloration in the base, though it is much more pronounced in person versus the photo.

 

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Lukas Nursery also had a much larger Florida royal for sale, planted in the ground by the pond.  This Palm looks like it took some cold damage from last winter, likely from frost, as I do not think it froze at that location this past winter.

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Other palms I observed at Lukas Nursery include the remains of a massive Bismarckia (seen in the first photo) that grew on the grounds for many years.  I have no idea whether it was lightning or disease or what ended its life.

An Archontophoenix species, I'm not sure which, that has clearly been growing there for a long while (photo 2).

A large, healthy Butiagrus is seen in photo 3.

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Continuing into the greenhouse of Lukas Nursery, one can see a very large Cyrtostachys renda clump growing in a large plastic tub.  This Palm, and an almost equally large Pinanga kuhlii clump in back of it in the corner are clearly marked as "Not for Sale".

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Otherwise Lukas Nursery did not have anything too rare in terms of palms.  Offerings included Hyophorbe lagencaulis, and recently Cocos nucifera, both pictured below.

I also saw a couple different Chamaedorea species, Howea, Dypsis lutescens, Caryota urens, Adonidia, Ravenea rivularis, Beccariophoenix, Trachycarpus, Chamaerops, Serenoa repens, Butia capitata, Phoenix robellenii, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Bismarckia, Hyophprbe verschaffeltii and at least one other I am not thinking of no doubt.

Both visits were very worthwhile and enjoyable and parted me with some cash.

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3 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

Lukas Nursery also had a much larger Florida royal for sale, planted in the ground by the pond.  This Palm looks like it took some cold damage from last winter, likely from frost, as I do not think it froze at that location this past winter.

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That's a very elongated crownshaft. 

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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My new Florida royal palm is loving all the rain and has already put on noticeable growth.

My "bearded" :lol: Veitchia is also doing extremely well.  

Actually, I really don't have a single palm except for one teddy bear seedling that is not doing well.  Seen in the third photo, I think it will pull through.

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On 6/3/2020 at 6:10 PM, palmsOrl said:

Other palms I observed at Lukas Nursery include the remains of a massive Bismarckia (seen in the first photo) that grew on the grounds for many years.  I have no idea whether it was lightning or disease or what ended its life.

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Wow!  Is that the remains of the big one towards 417 from the checkout/register building?  That one was probably 40-50 feet tall, at least.  It's the monster that inspired me to plant 3 Bismarckia at my house.  The last time I was at Lukas in January-February it looked fine.  They had another big one in the ground on the South edge behind the tropical greenhouse too.

The potted Royals for $30 are a pretty good deal at that size.  I've wanted a Royal here, but I'd have to plant it somewhere away from other valuable palms.  I don't like the idea of 30' long fronds randomly crashing down and smushing stuff.  That's why I cut down ~40 old water oaks...

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This Bismarckia stump is towards the back of the nursery near the pond.

I remember seeing two large healthy ones when I was there last week.

I also thought that was a good deal for the Florida royal palms!

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I just discovered the first coconut to sprout in my care since receiving them from my mom a while back.

It is certainly not large by coconut standards but its shape indicates it could be a tall variety.  The 2 Kopsick coconuts I scored were basically the same size and a similar shape.

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I completed quite a bit of garden work today, including planting the newly sprouted coconut I recently posted about in a 50% sand, 50% soil mix.  Not exactly five-star accommodations, but it will give the palm a good start.  The coconut had two healthy white root tips emerging from the bottom, so it should really take off.

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This palm,  which I had tentatively identified as Euterpe edulis "Orange Crownshaft", finally gave up the ghost within the past few days.  Had I actually repotted it more promptly and tried more shade, I might have actually saved it.

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I just repotted these two small palms tonight.  Unfortunately the tag has worn off but in the first photo they really look like the same species.  So, the three potential species they could be are Trachycarpus fortunei, Thrinax radiata or Coccothrinax barbadensis (or possibly Rhaphidophyllum come to think of it). 

What say you?

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

I just repotted these two small palms tonight.  Unfortunately the tag has worn off but in the first photo they really look like the same species.  So, the three potential species they could be are Trachycarpus fortunei, Thrinax radiata or Coccothrinax barbadensis (or possibly Rhaphidophyllum come to think of it). 

What say you?

On those, Trachycarpus fortunei

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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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  • 2 weeks later...

I decided last night that it was time to give my Sanford Int'l Airport Adonidia some more room for the roots to spread out, so I treated it to this larger, decorative ceramic pot.

These two seeds were collected off the ground from mature Adonidia growing at the airport in May 2019 and germinated in June 2019.

I doubt this palm will prove to be anymore cold hardy than the typical Adonidia one finds on the market in Central and South Florida, since the "outdoor" location the mature ones at the airport are enjoying is so protected and surrounded by concrete, it probably might as well be Stuart or Fort Myers.

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I repotted these (what I thought were two Washingtonia filifera Jeremy gave me last fall) back into plastic cups with some fresh potting mix last night.  I looked closely at one of the original cups and noticed that it was labelled Coccothrinax barbadensis.  I can tell that the other plant is the same species, so I have two C. barbadensis to watch grow up!

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I have been caring for my Floribunda seedlings for one week as of today and still only the one loss.  All of the rest of the plants are still looking good, even the Licuala cordata.

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A couple nights ago, as I was applying some Dynamite brand Nutricote fertilizer to my newly repotted stuff, I decided to give even my seedlings a small dose to give them a head start.

I have killed more seedlings and other potted palms than I care to remember by applying cheap instant-release fertilizer but I have tended to have good luck with the expensive time-release feed.  Also, the seedlings should only be getting watered once per week tops so the fertilizer should be very slow to soak in and make it to the plant's rootzones.

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This Cocos I planted next to the lake is starting to take off.  I think the roots hit the water level recently.

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  • 2 months later...

Since this is Palmtalk(!), I wanted to remind everyone that i do actually have palms (not just ferns, haha) which I tend to everyday, lol.  It is just that, fortunately, they are, on a whole, doing so well, there is not much news to report.  Time for a brief update.

My Cyrtostachys bakeri and C. elegans, as well as my Licuala cordata were found to have root fungus two weeks ago.  I had to immediately un-pot the seedlings and get to work trying to save them.

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You can see the crosswise striations on the rootlets pictured below, indicating the portions of infected root tissue.

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This photo shows the base of a seedling after the (visible) infected root tissue had been removed.  What remained on all the Cyrtostachys seedlings was little to no rootmass.

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As a result, these seedlings are currently in an intensive care setup involving a makeshift terrarium on a shaded porch (would be inside but I want the added heat of outdoors), small, well-draining "pots", a bit of hardware cloth to keep the now mostly rootless plants upright, rooting hormone, H2O2 and propaconazole. 

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Some good news is, the Licuala cordata (in the back, on the right in the above photo), while infected, was the least infected of all the seedlings, so, as with the other plants, I debrided the visibly infected root tissue, soaked the whole plants in H2O2 and propaconazole solution, watered the new substrate with propaconazole solution (same treatment as the others), dipped the base of each plant in rooting hormone and as of three days ago, a flush of new rootlets are growing radially at the base of the L. cordata.  I didn't check the Cyrtostachys seedlings, but only three of, I believe 17 total have withered up so far and the rest still appear healthy as of today.  If I can end up with my one L. cordata, two healthy C. elegans and two healthy C. bakeri in three months, I will be happy.  This is why I ordered multiples!

As I believe I posted about recently, Palmtalk member Redant (Doug) gave my father and I a tour of his extensive garden back in July.  Needless to say, this experience was a real treat and both my father and I appreciate his taking the time to share his palmy paradise with us over several hours.

Additionally, he was kind enough to give me literally almost 200 palms, including: seven Jamaican tall Cocos, well over 100 Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, at least a dozen Dypsis lastelliana, around 25 Veitchia arecina, five or so Phoenix dactylifera, two Hyophorbe lagencaulis, two Licuala grandis, a few palm seeds that are still awaiting germination and a few other special plants.  These include a Schefflera actinophylla "Amate" (I love this plant!), a marvelously hued Tricolor Red pineapple (Ananas Tricolor), a dwarf pineapple and an adorable stowaway, the Florida native Pepperomia obtusifolia (90% positive on the ID for this one) pictured below.

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Interestingly, if the above Florida native plant is indeed correctly identified, it is not officially vouchered as being extant in Palm Beach County, so its having arisen as a volunteer in one of the Hyophorbe lagencaulis pots might represent the first time this plant has been observed as growing naturally in the aforementioned County.

At the end of the tour, I remembered some lovely potted four foot Chambeyronia macrocarpa Doug had adjacent to his shadehouse setup where he keeps his small potted palms.  I decided I had to have one and he was nice enough to let one go at a bargain price.  I repotted this palm a couple weeks later and it rewarded me with a lovely red new leaf which lasted over a week and has since transitioned to an attractive cream hue.  If only I had snapped a photo.

Thank you Doug for your kindness and generosity.  It meant a great deal to both my father and I.  I am slowly teaching him about palms and other plants and he learned a lot that afternoon!

It took me a good eight hours to get all of the bare-root seedlings potted, when considering the time spent treating with fungicide, trimming dead matter off, punching holes in the "pots", mixing the substrate, planting, staking the top heavy seedlings and putting everything in a sheltered spot.  I have had some attrition over the past, what, two months since I received the plants, but I would say that 80% of the bareroot palms are surviving as of today and I feel that I may only end up losing 5-10 more plants at most. 

As a side note, of the seven Jamaican tall Cocos Doug gifted to me (four seeds and three 3-4 foot seedlings), the seedlings are growing swiftly in their new, larger pots and three of the four seeds have germinated and are now between 4" and one foot tall.  The one seed given to me that had the most roots at the time of receipt did not make it.  The roots got a bit traumatized and dried out in transit and though I planted it and treated with fungicide, I lifted the coconut the other night to check it and all of the roots were gone, clearly long dead and rotted away.

The first photo below is of most of the seedlings I received bare-root, situated under a porch to keep the rain off of them.  The second photo is of a few select individuals I pulled aside for trading purposes.

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In the future, what I would I do differently?  First, I would not put a giant bundle of the seedlings in a 5 gallon bucket of water while they awaited potting, as even three days with the roots sitting in water was enough that the water fouled and rot started to quickly take hold.  Two more days like that and I am sure they would have all been too far gone.  Also, I would create much larger drainage holes in the plastic cups and would mix a much more well-draining, lighter soil mix with at least 35% coarse Vermiculite and maybe 5% sand.  The rest would be mostly peat moss and 15% leaf mold.

Finally, last week, Johnny Palmseed was nice enough to bring me a Thrinax radiata inflorescence full of seed and these are now all de-husked, cleaned, soaked and sown into a very light, well-draining mix into small pots with large drainage holes. 

Hopefully, the two months of warm temperatures that typically remain will be enough to germinate many of these before our usual cool down in November.  If the seeds have not popped before it gets cool, I will bring them inside and place their pots in a large clear plastic tub and position a heat generating light at the side of it to keep the inside temperature warm.

I did forget to get pictures of the Thrinax radiata seeds but I will post some palm photos over the next couple days.

-Michael

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I promise to post some palm photos tomorrow.

I did finally get this unruly Nepenthes alata under control and repotted.  Though it is the most commonly seen Nepenthes in cultivation, one of a couple genera of tropical pitcher plants, I have had the plant for over five years now and it has been through a lot.  

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This plant clearly enjoys our climate and I have done nothing carewise except hang it in partial sun and water it once per 5 days at most (usually every 7-10 days, in the absence of rain).  It tends to even look healthy in the winter and I only protect it if temperatures are forecast to get much below 40F (last winter this meant simply setting it among some azaleas on the southeast side of the house.  I think it could handle brief dips to 32F+ in the absence of frost and could probably survive 29F-30F with heavy damage.

One issue I have always had with Nepenthes is getting plants to produce and maintain fully healthy pitchers.  This plant, with all of its foliage, only had one healthy pitcher (as seen in this second photo). 

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All of the rest of the pitchers were partially necrotic and there were tons of leaf tips with tiny pitchers that had started to form but then the tips went necrotic.  This was also my experience with Nepenthes X coccinea, the most commonly seen Nepenthes sold at garden centers back in the late 90s.  The plant grew like mad, but getting the plant to produce healthy pitchers was a challenge.  I may recall reading that excellent water quality is critical to proper pitcher formation.

Again, palm pics tomorrow :D

-Michael

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