Double Up

[Palmlover_78]

Hey Guy's I always see Christmas Palms doubled or tripled up, Can you do this with Trachy's or no?

Thanks Guys

[BeyondTheGarden]

Yes. 

I've heard they grow more slowly this way as they're competing for nutrients.  I have a triple clump that I planted this summer so we'll see how they do.  

[Keys6505]

I think one of the main differences is the Adonidia will curve away from each other which is why they always look so good grouped.  Not sure if Trachys will do that. You might just end up with 3 toothpicks way too close to each other unless you start with trunked trees and plant them angled away from each other.

[Chester B]

Yes you can - I have six clumps of triples going on 6 years now.  All three palms in the clumps do not ever seem to grow at the same rate so expect a staggered look.  So far I can say the dominant tree in each clump seems to grow at the same rate as the solitary specimens and the others in the clump aren't far off.

The ones I planted 4 years ago had maybe 9 inches of trunk for the largest palm in each clump and most of them now have 6'-7' of trunk.  So roughly 18" of growth per year which seems to be pretty average.  The weakest palms in some of the clumps only have around 3' of trunk.

There is a house nearby that has mature triples planted, probably around 20 feet overall height or more and they look pretty fantastic.  With theirs it seems they all eventually caught up to one another.

[Las Palmas Norte]

I did a triple grouping of Trachycarpus fortunei. Planted as 2 gallon small palms about 5 feet apart in a triangular pattern.  They grew straight up without trunk curvature.  A friend of mine grew two side by side and same results. 

I have only seen one (in a publication) that was done intentionally.  I believe it was planted horizontally and weighted or tied down while it developed. The trunk fibers and petiole bases where removed, creating a much different appearance. Sorry pic is oriented wrong.

 

[BeyondTheGarden]

There's one like that near me, it looks like it was planted at an angle.  But then from there it turned and grew straight up.  So instead of having a nice graceful curve, it looks more like one of those straws with the bendy necks.   I need to get a pic of it someday.