Chambeyronia (Houailou)

[paulgila]

i am glad i bought one of these when i did. will post pix of it soon in my garden thread.

[BS Man about Palms]

Pogo,

How much sun does yours get? I have a large 15g in a pot that im thinking of putting in 3/4 day sun. Right now in the pot it gets about 1/4 to 1/2 day sun and accclimated well.

Nick, mine is in full sun all day and each leaf gets more "aqua" and less burn/bleach out. I'm thinking the acclimation is about the same as a macrocarpa. By the 4th leaf, you're pretty well good to go. Bob and Braden thought mine looked pretty good on Sat.

[The Germinator]

Chambeyronia houailou looks a lot like hookeri when larger. I do not see to much difference. I have a larger hookeri that I will have to post a picture of when I return to Hawaii and you all can judge the differences if any.

One of the differences may be the cold hardiness the Chambeyronia houailou seems to take the cold better than the hookeri.

As far as being a beautiful palm I think that Chambeyronia rivals some of the best looking palms out there, of course this is my opinion.

Jerry

Jerry is this a hybrid or does it naturally occur? Where did the name come from?

[The Germinator]

Dean,

Adults are better than juveniles, with a compact crown of stiff, arching leaves and lots of yellow (sorry... "golden" hues.

I can guess that adult traits are defined once a specimen starts fruiting. Maybe Bo's specimens are growing among trees and they don't build arching leaves because they are still looking for light, coming from above.

Can anybody post a picture of a large one?

Are there any old plants at FTBG or Montgomery?

Carlo

Here are some pics from a site everyone here knows(I know, shame on me)they are adults in NC, I believe, in full-sun. You can definitely see the a compact crown of stiff, arching leaves and lots of yellow.

So they do occur naturally, the name sounds Hawiian to me, I thought it was a cross from Hawaii.

[ellidro]

Here's mine happy (so far) in its new home

[BS Man about Palms]

Nick yours looks good. I see you have the same issue they all do until quite large. At least in so cal, it takes a good 3 years to "root out" or not be wobbly.

I took my ties off a couple months ago, but still have rocks propped up there. This is my only planted one and its been there just over 1 1/2 years.

[Matt in OC]

*BUMP* Let's see some updates!

[BS Man about Palms]

Here' s one of the top... they grow pretty fast!

And a few months back, another angle..

[ellidro]

Here is mine today. Definitely a slow palm but worth the wait.

[BS Man about Palms]

1 hour ago, ellidro said:

Here is mine today. Definitely a slow palm but worth the wait.

Nick has that not rooted in well even at that size?

[ellidro]

No its rooted in Ive just been too lazy to remove the stakes! Mine took a while though, being planted on a hill didn't help.

[Matt in OC]

Do you guys have emergent green leaves?

[BS Man about Palms]

A very slight pink tinge for a few days at best..

 

[Josh-O]

13 minutes ago, BS Man about Palms said:

A very slight pink tinge for a few days at best..

 

same here Bill

It does not last to long unfortunately. It seems the smaller the palm the more pronounced the color. As mine goes up in age its loosing the cotton candy pink coloration

[Matt in OC]

Good to know. A leaf just opened on my new Houailou and no red to be found!

[pasto]

On 3/10/2008 at 2:11 AM, jdapalms said:

Chambeyronia houailou looks a lot like hookeri when larger. I do not see to much difference. I have a larger hookeri that I will have to post a picture of when I return to Hawaii and you all can judge the differences if any.

One of the differences may be the cold hardiness the Chambeyronia houailou seems to take the cold better than the hookeri.

As far as being a beautiful palm I think that Chambeyronia rivals some of the best looking palms out there, of course this is my opinion.

Jerry

Hi !

Would you have some Chambeyronia houailou seeds to sell ? Or maybe you know somebody who does ...

Best regards.

Georges Pastel

georgespastel@gmail.com

 

[joe_OC]

On 3/8/2008 at 12:27 AM, jdapalms said:

This is my Chambeyronia houailou in Hawaii. I have two others planted in Calif. one in San Clemente and the other at my Fallbrook nursery.

Anyone else growing these? Post your pictures.  

 

Jerry,

I have your houailou from your Fallbrook nursery.  The fronds were very long when I got it from you.  They have shrunk substantially since.  Here is a pic of it’s last new leaf:

 

[Palmə häl′ik]

[Palmə häl′ik]

[RedRabbit]

On 11/1/2019 at 9:07 AM, Palmə häl′ik said:

What palm is that with the green trunk to the left of your chambeyronia?

[Palmə häl′ik]

That would be a tribear

[RedRabbit]

20 minutes ago, Palmə häl′ik said:

That would be a tribear

Thanks! Tribears are awesome, glad you have one!

[iDesign]

Bringing back this thread because multiple people mentioned that this palm tends to be "wobbly" when young. I just put mine in the ground and observed that it was indeed "wobbly" right after the install.

The palm does seem to stand fine on it's own, and just wobbles when my daughter tries to walk past it (and brushes the fronds). I should probably tell her to be careful not to touch the fronds when she plays in that area, right? And should I stake it as well? If @BS Man about Palms or @ellidro are reading, I'd be curious how long yours took to get a sturdy base.

Here's a photo I took right before putting it in...

* I was originally planning to plant it on the landing right above it, but that area gets very poor drainage. So my solution was to cut out a corner of the grass and put it there instead! Who needs grass, right? Despite the shady look in this photo, it actually gets TONS of sun in this spot, and a lot of water (water from the hill above tends to gather in that corner). Hoping this spot will be ideal for it, since it's in a highly featured area of the yard.

[ellidro]

I had mine staked for about a year or two before it felt solid. Mine was on a hill though so I also had gravity to deal with.

[Billeb]

This guy is 3yrs from a 5G. Growing well. Not a speed demon but not slow either. I have noticed it picks up speed dramatically in the summer. 
 

-dale 

[tinman10101]

40 minutes ago, Billeb said:

This guy is 3yrs from a 5G. Growing well. Not a speed demon but not slow either. I have noticed it picks up speed dramatically in the summer. 
 

-dale 

Man that's a beauty 

[iDesign]

18 hours ago, Billeb said:

This guy is 3yrs from a 5G. Growing well. Not a speed demon but not slow either. I have noticed it picks up speed dramatically in the summer. 
 

-dale 

Ours look like they could be twins! Will be fun to watch them grow... and happily mine is finally in the GROUND so they should grow similarly.

What's the sun level on yours?

Mine is in nearly full (semi-coastal) sun, which I've been acclimating it to for a couple years. Last summer it got a bit of brown burn spots when I tested it... but did well in its "mostly sun" replacement position. And now this summer it's back (permanently) in its nearly full sun spot... but in the ground. Fingers crossed it thrives, but I've officially committed to this placement. 🤞

For documentation, here's the sun damage from last summer (when it was in nearly the same spot as it is now, but before fully sun acclimated)...

[Billeb]

30 minutes ago, iDesign said:

Ours look like they could be twins! Will be fun to watch them grow... and happily mine is finally in the GROUND so they should grow similarly.

What's the sun level on yours?

Mine is in nearly full (semi-coastal) sun, which I've been acclimating it to for a couple years. Last summer it got a bit of brown burn spots when I tested it... but did well in its "mostly sun" replacement position. And now this summer it's back (permanently) in its nearly full sun spot... but in the ground. Fingers crossed it thrives, but I've officially committed to this placement. 🤞

For documentation, here's the sun damage from last summer (when it was in nearly the same spot as it is now, but before fully sun acclimated)...

Stacey, 

My plant is facing North but protected at its back from a wall so in winter it gets less direct sun than summer. Maybe this is why it tends to thrive in Summer? In its position, it has never really experienced leaf tip burn or had many issues at all. It doesn’t look stretched to me. the leaflets are close together and tight akin to a sun grown plant so I think it’s good positioning. 
 

im sure yours will do good there. 
 

As a clarification to my above post, I got the plant as a 5G about 4.5yrs ago but did not plant it out until 3-3.5yrs ago. 
 

-dale 

[BS Man about Palms]

On 5/31/2025 at 9:28 AM, iDesign said:

Bringing back this thread because multiple people mentioned that this palm tends to be "wobbly" when young. I just put mine in the ground and observed that it was indeed "wobbly" right after the install.

The palm does seem to stand fine on it's own, and just wobbles when my daughter tries to walk past it (and brushes the fronds). I should probably tell her to be careful not to touch the fronds when she plays in that area, right? And should I stake it as well? If @BS Man about Palms or @ellidro are reading, I'd be curious how long yours took to get a sturdy base.

Here's a photo I took right before putting it in...

* I was originally planning to plant it on the landing right above it, but that area gets very poor drainage. So my solution was to cut out a corner of the grass and put it there instead! Who needs grass, right? Despite the shady look in this photo, it actually gets TONS of sun in this spot, and a lot of water (water from the hill above tends to gather in that corner). Hoping this spot will be ideal for it, since it's in a highly featured area of the yard.

 

I think mine was about a year or two. Yours should be growing great soon!!

[Cape Garrett]

I have a 5 or 7 gallon size with juvenile leaves yet.  I tried to acclimate it to some sun and it burned.  How old can it be to acclimate it to sun?  Even half day sun?  It looked great, now not so much.  

[BS Man about Palms]

On 7/17/2025 at 2:17 PM, Cape Garrett said:

I have a 5 or 7 gallon size with juvenile leaves yet.  I tried to acclimate it to some sun and it burned.  How old can it be to acclimate it to sun?  Even half day sun?  It looked great, now not so much.  

Depends on the humidity frankly. If you have coastal humidity, they usually can take a fair amount of sun...if not full sun. However it may take 2 or 3 leaves forbfull acclimation. You may need some partial protection until then.

[Tracy]

10 hours ago, BS Man about Palms said:

Depends on the humidity frankly. If you have coastal humidity, they usually can take a fair amount of sun...if not full sun. However it may take 2 or 3 leaves forbfull acclimation. You may need some partial protection until then.

Bill no photos?  Yours is spectacular looking last time I was over (too long ago).

Back to Stacy's question, I don't recall having staked my palm in Leucadia. I lost one in clay soil in Carlsbad that was very wobbly and again not staked.  Perhaps staking that one would have helped with stability and it would have survived.  The view of mine looking out a window.  It is a bit tight planting but hindsight is 20/20.

[Cape Garrett]

20 hours ago, BS Man about Palms said:

Depends on the humidity frankly. If you have coastal humidity, they usually can take a fair amount of sun...if not full sun. However it may take 2 or 3 leaves forbfull acclimation. You may need some partial protection until then.

Super humidity and toasted

[BS Man about Palms]

On 7/19/2025 at 6:19 PM, Tracy said:

Bill no photos?  Yours is spectacular looking last time I was over (too long ago).

Back to Stacy's question, I don't recall having staked my palm in Leucadia. I lost one in clay soil in Carlsbad that was very wobbly and again not staked.  Perhaps staking that one would have helped with stability and it would have survived.  The view of mine looking out a window.  It is a bit tight planting but hindsight is 20/20.

 

Okay... since I wasbout talking to an SDGE rep earlier today checking to make sure not trimming or removal needed... (yet).

From today.. many weeds as usual.. so I won't show those..

 

I'm 6 foot tall,  so there's your size reference. 

[BS Man about Palms]

Okay... it may not be me you want to see so much... so more of the palm.

[BS Man about Palms]

On 7/20/2025 at 5:04 AM, Cape Garrett said:

Super humidity and toasted

Usually that means it was in deep shade for some time.  😐

[Hilo Jason]

Looking good Bill!  You and the palm 

[JD in the OC]

Wow Bill. Nice size.  Should be flowering soon.  Jeff Brusseau's is. 

Is that the Houailou i sold you?

JD

 

[BS Man about Palms]

On 7/25/2025 at 6:19 PM, JD in the OC said:

Wow Bill. Nice size.  Should be flowering soon.  Jeff Brusseau's is. 

Is that the Houailou i sold you?

JD

 

Actually, no...  it was from near your current whereabouts though!

[Kim]

Late to the discussion, but... I've grown my share of wobbly palms, and never staked a one. My solution was rocks. Large rocks to help support the palm at its base. Or if no rocks around, one could use bricks, or if you're into that kind of thing, garden gnomes, concrete bunnies, or an upside-down clay pot -- something with some heft that will encourage the palm to stay upright. Then a year or two along the calendar, you can simply move them elsewhere. No marring of the trunk from any ties, and the palm ends up with a firm grip on its place in the soil.