Rhapidophyllum hystrix

[PalmGuyWC]

I have a Rhapidophyllum that does a sex change from year to year. Generally it's a male plant but sometimes it will have both sexes on the same inflorescence. I noticed this year it's produced a nice seed crop. They usually ripen for me about this time of the year, and you can tell when their ripe by the putrid odor of the fruit. They smell like something I can't mention here and the fruit is soft to the touch.

I learned years ago that the seeds should be chilled for about 2 months to get good germination. After cleaning the seeds and letting them dry for a few days I put them in moist sand and put them in the refigerator for 2 months. I did an experiment by chilling part of the seeds and the other were not chilled. Almost all of the chilled seeds germinated (with bottom heat) in about 2 months, while the untreated seeds took over a year and I got very poor germination on that group. If you try to collect seeds, be carefull with the sharp needles around the trunk. I use an instrument to collect the seeds which are hard to reach and embeded in the needles.

I don't know why more people don't have Rhapidophyllum in their palm collections, as a well grown one is a beautiful palm. They do require a lot of summer heat to grow, but it's probably the most cold hardy palm on earth. In California they look best if given broken shade or at least shade during the mid day heat. Given shade they will have a nice dark green color, but to much sun will yellow the fronds. They also like a wind protected enviroment.

I have a large one with 5 or 6 heads that gets shaded mid day by a CIDP which seems to be just the right amount of shade. Even with the cold weather we have had recently, I noticed each crown is opening up a new frond, but that could be caused by the rains we've had too.

Dick

[kristof p]

about the hardines of this palm...my R. hystrix does not look very good at the moment after -4.2°C and very low (+1/+2°C) daytime temperatures.

in climates with not much summer heat this one is definitely not as hardy as they claim to be...

[tjwalters]

I just harvested seed from mine yesterday and they do smell a bit (like baby's vomit ). Most flowers were male, but it did produce a female bract that had about 40 good seeds (and about as many bad - floaters). Some years it produces quite a few seeds, but I think all the flowers last year were male. I've never had much luck germinating them.

Here's a picture of mine. The cluster of trunks is about 2' in diameter at the base and the palm itself is around 7' tall.

[PalmGuyWC]

I just harvested seed from mine yesterday and they do smell a bit (like baby's vomit ). Most flowers were male, but it did produce a female bract that had about 40 good seeds (and about as many bad - floaters). Some years it produces quite a few seeds, but I think all the flowers last year were male. I've never had much luck germinating them.

Here's a picture of mine. The cluster of trunks is about 2' in diameter at the base and the palm itself is around 7' tall.

That's a beauty Tom. Try chilling the seeds as I mentioned and you might have better germination. Of course if it's growing outside in MD, you may have already had a chill.

Dick

[Alberto]

What a beauty!!!

That´s the reason that I planted 18 seedlings of this palm last week!

[tjwalters]

Thanks, guys! I could try chilling the seeds, though they've already seen temperatures as low as 11.7°F. These palms really do have gorgeous dark green leaves when grown in part shade and good soil. Alberto...if you are planting seedlings, I hope you are younger than I am!

[PalmGuyWC]

Actually, Rhapidophyllum is not all that slow once grown up to a good 1 gal. size. I grew mine to a 5 gal. size before I planted them. Most palm nurserys don't stock them because they are slow compaired to other palms, but they are well worth the wait. I saw some beautiful ones last spring growing in Dallas. They were nice and green after a cold winter.

Dick

[tjwalters]

Actually, Rhapidophyllum is not all that slow once grown up to a good 1 gal. size. I grew mine to a 5 gal. size before I planted them. Most palm nurserys don't stock them because they are slow compaired to other palms, but they are well worth the wait. I saw some beautiful ones last spring growing in Dallas. They were nice and green after a cold winter.

Dick

I grew mine (above) from a strap-leaved seedling. I don't remember exactly when I planted it, but it must have been after 1987, when we moved into the house. Here is a picture of it 10 years ago, so you are correct - they are not that slow after they get some size.

[PalmGuyWC]

Tom,

As your last photo demonstrates, there are not many small palms that look handsom, even in their juvinile form, but Rhapidophyllum looks nice small. I can only think of a few other palms that have that characteristic such as T. wagnerianus, Rhapis, Licuala, and a few others.

Dick

[ghar41]

R. hystrix is a great palm. I wish mine would grow faster, but they do look good as five gallon sized plants.

Is there a grower in USDA zone 7 with mass plantings of this plant and T. wagneranus? That would be cool!

[PalmGuyWC]

Glenn,

Your palms always look perfectly grown. Looking forward to seeing you Friday morning in case you didn't get my PM.

Dick

[ghar41]

Glenn,

Your palms always look perfectly grown. Looking forward to seeing you Friday morning in case you didn't get my PM.

Dick

Thanks but I think it's just my photography thats improving! I'll take a bunch of pics Friday, see you then.

[PalmGuyWC]

I thought I'd bump this thread again, because yesterday I made a discovery about Rhapidophyllum. As I stated earlier, one of my Rhapidophyllums produced a good seed crop this year. A couple of weeks ago Patrick Schafer was visiting and I let him have some R. seeds. He only got the seeds that were at the tip of the infrutescence, and easy to harvest, but I thought there were more there.

I carefully dug down to the base of the infrutescence and discovered the nicest fruit and seeds grow at the base. They are hard to get to because of the sharp needles around the trunk and the fruit is imbeded deep inside the fiber and the base of the petioles. I was surprised at the number of fruit about the size of a grape, and I must have collected about 100. The fruit was soft and squeshey, and smelled like rotten cheese. I spent about an hour using a paper towel to squeeze off the smelly fruit from the seeds. They are easy to clean as the soft exterior slides right off, and reveals a seed about the size of a large peanut.

I'll dry them for a few days, then refigerate them for about 6 weeks in moist peralite, then plant them.

It's hard for me to see how this palm regenerates its self as 95% of the seeds must stay embeded in the fiber around the trunk and they never reach the ground. I could see from previous infrutescences that the seeds remained in place and rotted. For those who have Rhapidophyllum, dig deep and you might find some nice plump seeds.

Dick

[tjwalters]

I thought I'd bump this thread again, because yesterday I made a discovery about Rhapidophyllum. As I stated earlier, one of my Rhapidophyllums produced a good seed crop this year. A couple of weeks ago Patrick Schafer was visiting and I let him have some R. seeds. He only got the seeds that were at the tip of the infrutescence, and easy to harvest, but I thought there were more there.

I carefully dug down to the base of the infrutescence and discovered the nicest fruit and seeds grow at the base. They are hard to get to because of the sharp needles around the trunk and the fruit is imbeded deep inside the fiber and the base of the petioles. I was surprised at the number of fruit about the size of a grape, and I must have collected about 100. The fruit was soft and squeshey, and smelled like rotten cheese. I spent about an hour using a paper towel to squeeze off the smelly fruit from the seeds. They are easy to clean as the soft exterior slides right off, and reveals a seed about the size of a large peanut.

I'll dry them for a few days, then refigerate them for about 6 weeks in moist peralite, then plant them.

It's hard for me to see how this palm regenerates its self as 95% of the seeds must stay embeded in the fiber around the trunk and they never reach the ground. I could see from previous infrutescences that the seeds remained in place and rotted. For those who have Rhapidophyllum, dig deep and you might find some nice plump seeds.

Dick

Dick,

I read somewhere once that it is thought the Giant Ground Sloth fed on and dispersed R. hystrix seed. Since the sloth is no more, it might explain the endangered state of the palm itself. I know of no animals that would brave the needles and stench to get at the seeds.

Update on the seeds I harvested in December: I dried them for a couple of days, cracked off the outer shell (which came quite easily), and then soaked them for a couple days. They are now bagged and sitting atop the water heater. When I checked them over the weekend, one had already germinated and has a half-inch long shoot.

[ghar41]

Ive had poor germination, and high dampening off rates in the past. So, Im going with the refrigeration technique...Im a few weeks in.

Any suggestions in potting the seedlings to avoid dampening off? It's been difficult for me to keep enough moisture on the radicle.

[PalmGuyWC]

Tom,

I forgot to mention that after a couple of days of soaking, I allowed the seeds to dry for a few days. THEN I cracked off the outer shell, which as you mentioned, came off very eaisly. I then refigerated them until I planted them.

Glenn, I planted the seeds in a regular potting mix, and left them outside in a sunny spot. Just with summer heat, I got excellent germination. I don't recall any of mine damping off.

I'm trying the baggie method this time, but once they throw a root and radical out, I would bury the seed about 1/2 inch. I wish more people would cultivate this palm as they are endangered.

Dick

[turfpro01]

I have 100 seeds, I soaked them and put them in the refigerator for 6 weeks. They have been on the heat matt for a few weeks with nothing yet. I think some of these hard to germinate seeds may also need day and night time temperature's. My heat matt is just on all the time. Does anyone run there heat matts on a 12 on 12 off timer?

[mnorell]

I firmly believe that if it were written that Rhapidophyllum inhabited only the hot, steamy Asian jungles in company with Oncosperma and Cyrtostachys, everyone would covet this beautiful palm. Unfortunately palms seem to lose some of their romance once we palm addicts realize that they're hardy and trouble-free! I have planted many of these amidst my Livistonas, Arengas, etc., where I can enjoy their glossy, beautifully shaped foliage (even in a juvenile state) and knowing that they will survive the inevitable single-digit, 50-year freeze here. As can be seen from Dick's photo above, a well-grown specimen is a gorgeous plant. Sadly we all too often are presented with photographs of stressed individuals that have been over-trimmed. And Dick, I think since your average winter temps are something like ours here in the Gulf states (which is of course the general native area for this palm), you probably would do fine just to put them in a community pot and set them outside during your "refrigerator" months and they'd sprout just fine when warmth comes. The only problem in the Bay Area would be perhaps retarded germination in spring/summer due to lack of nighttime heat, which I presume they prefer or need for quick germination and growth. Even the chill may not be that imperative, as I think the natural range is well into central Florida where the winter isotherm is something around 60F.

[ghar41]

I firmly believe that if it were written that Rhapidophyllum inhabited only the hot, steamy Asian jungles in company with Oncosperma and Cyrtostachys, everyone would covet this beautiful palm. Unfortunately palms seem to lose some of their romance once we palm addicts realize that they're hardy and trouble-free!

This is so true! Ditto Trachycarpus wagnerianus!

[tjwalters]

Ive had poor germination, and high dampening off rates in the past. So, Im going with the refrigeration technique...Im a few weeks in.

Any suggestions in potting the seedlings to avoid dampening off? It's been difficult for me to keep enough moisture on the radicle.

You should try the baggy method with barely moist soil. I have mine atop the water heater, which I'm sure is not constantly warm. It probably heats up in the morning when we are showering, but cools off after bedtime when no one is using hot water. (It's fairly well insulated, so the main heat source is the copper pipe coming out of the top.) So, cycling the temperature may help, as Ryan (turfpro01) mentioned.

[tjwalters]

Not sure what I did right this time, but I picked and bagged these R. hystrix only last month and already 4 have germinated!

(Btw, I checked the date on the bag and it was "01/09." Earlier in this thread I mentioned that I bagged them up in December. Must have picked them in Dec and bagged them in Jan.)

[jayfro6]

I read somewhere once that it is thought the Giant Ground Sloth fed on and dispersed R. hystrix seed. Since the sloth is no more, it might explain the endangered state of the palm itself. I know of no animals that would brave the needles and stench to get at the seeds.

Update on the seeds I harvested in December: I dried them for a couple of days, cracked off the outer shell (which came quite easily), and then soaked them for a couple days. They are now bagged and sitting atop the water heater. When I checked them over the weekend, one had already germinated and has a half-inch long shoot.

[PalmGuyWC]

Jay,

Zone 7A and north facing slope does not sound encouraging for any palm. I seriously doubt any palm would grow there without winter protection. I wonder what animal would clean off your seeds for you? I think I have heard rats are attracted to the fruit, but you would think they would eat the seeds too.

Dick

[Dave-Vero]

My tiny Rhapidophyllum is growing very slowly, but it may not like the local climate--I'm a bit south of the southern range limit.

The species is native in central Florida well south of Orlando along the Lake Wales Ridge, specializing in wooded seepage slopes and the edges of swampy areas. You don't see it anywhere there's any chance of fire (unlike saw palmetto, which famously tolerates fire. It was neat seeing some gentle prescribe burns in the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area from the Turnpike on Monday).

The Rhapidophyllum populations on the Apalachicola Bluffs west of Tallahassee, Florida are magnificent. What needle palms lack in terms of trunks, they make up in growing into big mounds of deep green leaves. There's a full page color photo of the Bluffs in the first edition of Genera Palmarum.

I'm a bit surprised that I haven't seen Rhapidophyllum cultivated in Japan. I think the climates of Tokyo and Kyoto would suit it well.

[PalmGuyWC]

Dave,

I'm surprised we don't hear ANYTHING from Japan. They have been growing Rhapis for hundreds of years and Trachs too. Their Rhapis culture has reached an art form and they even make special pots for them. I think I heard they can grow Dypsis lutescens in Osaka, so they must be able to grow a lot of palms.

Dick