All My Cham tuercks - Fall 2021

[PalmatierMeg]

I haven't done an update on my 14 potted Chamaedorea tuerckheimiis since fall, maybe spring, of 2019. Last year was a time of upheaval because of the virus. So was this past spring so I didn't get around to taking photos of them. But I'm finally back on track with my container garden and am preparing for the coming winter/dry season. Today I finished the Cham tuercks so they were ready for their closeups. The process starts with semi-annual check-ups and grooming and repotting as needed. I treat all my container palms with imidacloprid to take care of mealybugs, scale and the like. Then I spray them thoroughly with a miticide (Cham tuercks are spider mite magnets, as are Areca spp). The following day I sprayed them with a solution of Dithene 45 to ward off cold weather fungus. Finally today I fed them with time release fertilizer. After photographs I returned them to the shade of the back yard jungle. Cham tuercks do not want to be put on prominent display or constantly fussed over, so much of the year I leave them to their own devices. That's worked for the past dozen years. So, here they are for their closeups.

NOTE: They are the Veracruz form of the species. The coveted Guatemalan cloud forest form is impossible to grow in the US outside of perhaps San Francisco

Chamaedorea tuerckheimii, Cape Coral, FL 2021

[D. Morrowii]

What an interesting looking palm! The taller ones almost look like mini Verschaffeltia splendidas to me. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

I absolutely love this palm and genus. Meg as a professional palm grower no luck with these in the ground ? I have to believe you've tried. Have you gotten viable seeds from any ? What a cool lil palm. Nice growing Meg 

T J 

[Xenon]

Very pretty. They really do look like Ruffles potato chips 

[Jeff Searle]

A great collection Meg....and pictures too!

[hbernstein]

How old are the tallest ones?

[PalmatierMeg]

16 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

I absolutely love this palm and genus. Meg as a professional palm grower no luck with these in the ground ? I have to believe you've tried. Have you gotten viable seeds from any ? What a cool lil palm. Nice growing Meg 

T J 

Thanks. Wouldn't dare risk planting them here - they are too valuable to experiment with. My soil is highly alkaline, sandy, calcareous dreck and those are just its good points. Some Chams, i.e., ernest-augustii, find Cape Coral soil so lethal they die within weeks. I've read Cham tuercks are uber finicky about soil and water although my experience indicates they are a bit more forgiving than that. But they don't tolerate outright abuse and can keel over at a moment's notice. I lost 2 large ones a few years back within a couple months after repotting from sudden damping off/rot. So I approach repotting with great trepidation now and only do it every 2-3 years. I moved all the tiny ones up to 6" pots about a week ago and am holding my breath. Spider mites are their Achilles' heel and I make sure to proactively spray them with targeted miticides every fall and again in mid-winter. They stay outside in the jungle year round. I think FL's sweltering summer heat bothers them more than winter chill. They need total shade, but a couple of them have burns where sun managed to pierce the canopy.

All the larger plants I grew from juvenile palms I got from Dale Holton, Scott Cohen and Jeff Marcus over the years. The tiny ones I germinated from seeds from RPS 4-5 years ago. RPS hasn't offered them since. If you can find decently priced 1g plants (under $100?) or fresh seeds pull the trigger. Unfortunately, I will get no seeds from my dioecious adult plants. They require an insect pollinator that doesn't exist in the US. And I'm too visually impaired to try hand pollination.

[PalmatierMeg]

6 minutes ago, hbernstein said:

How old are the tallest ones?

The largest two came to me as 1g from Dale Holton circa 2010, so I would say they are 14-15 y.o.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

If this palms are tricky for you i won't even dare to try haha I'll just enjoy the pics of them thru my phone screen haha 

T J 

[LJG]

Well grown.