This South Florida native loves hurricanes...

[TikiRick]

Dictyosperma album probably rates in the top 5 of my all time favorite palms. I always lean toward the deeply tropical, pinnate palms that sway in the breeze. They are being used more and more in South Florida....but I believe that there are a few reasons why we don't see more of them.

Fairly slow growing (when compared to say, Veitchia)

Moderately susceptible to lethal yellowing (isn't everything?)

Some nutritional deficiencies are seen (again, what isn't without care?)

Advantages are that this palm truly has earned its name of Hurricane Palm. For its resistance to strong wind, I planted two framing my steps down to the river in my back garden. After 5 hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, not ONE frond was broken. They laughed while coconuts, veitchias, ptychospermas, and foxtails all came crashing down or who's crown bent over.

Here are some pictures of the incredibly versatile and beautiful 'Hurricane' palm.

These first four shots are from my own two Hurricanes....

[TikiRick]

Hurricanes being used for new condos that recently went up downtown. They are amazingly drought tolerant once established.

This shot is taken at a small Convention Center built right after WWII to honor the Floridian service men and women (and all US service(wo)men for that matter) who served in the war. I believe it was built in the late 1940's or early 1950's and I would bet these were planted at that time. They must be 50-60' tall.

[TikiRick]

This grouping is planted in a small community park not far from my home. Who said that palms do not create shade? What better place for a relaxing cookout?

[TikiRick]

And what's a better shot than Ole Glory and some tall palms swaying in the spring breeze???

[Cristóbal]

thanks to put the fotos this is very beautiful palm one i have on list.

but the palms not native of florida is from madagasacar or some islands close.

[redant]

I too think these are one of the top palms for FL. I was hesitant to plant them as I'm marginal for them but now have about 5 in the ground.

Great photos of these fantastic palms.

[tjwalters]

(Cristóbal @ Apr. 13 2008,18:04)

QUOTE

thanks to put the fotos this is very beautiful palm one i have on list.

but the palms not native of florida is from madagasacar or some islands close.

I think Rick is the native in the title.

Btw, nice palms!

[Walter John]

(Cristóbal @ Apr. 14 2008,09:04)

QUOTE

thanks to put the fotos this is very beautiful palm one i have on list.

but the palms not native of florida is from madagasacar or some islands close.

D.album is from the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Reunion, Rodrigues, and Round Island.

[ruskinPalms]

(tjwalters @ Apr. 13 2008,18:59)

QUOTE

(Cristóbal @ Apr. 13 2008,18:04)

QUOTE

thanks to put the fotos this is very beautiful palm one i have on list.

but the palms not native of florida is from madagasacar or some islands close.

I think Rick is the native in the title.

Btw, nice palms!

Yeh, I think Rick is referring to himself. By the way, beautiful palms! I think these are too slow and to marginal for my area, but I have seen them sold at the box stores here...

[Tyrone]

They're a beautiful genus of palms. I love them. Thanks for the pics.

regards

Tyrone

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Rick, great pictures of a palm that doesn't seem to get much attention here and I'm not sure why.  It sure is a beautiful palm.  I had one in Tampa that I grew in shade (in a VERY large pot) and when the petioles stretch, the palm has a completely different look to it.  It's marginal for Central Florida, but it can be grown in a good microclimate.

[brodklop]

Rick, thanks for the feast.

These really are tough palms.

No matter how big the storm or drought they keep themselves in perfect condition.

Here is an old one in Brisbane's old BG

Neck breaker

[TikiRick]

Wow...that IS a neck breaker, Brod. That guy has got to be about 60 or so years old.

[Rusty on Pine Is.]

I have a couple of Dictyosperma that have been straining to get out of their pots.....your great photos have convinced me to plant em soon.Thanks for posting some  great pics!

[Really full garden]

I too love these palms and have wanted to try some at the beach.I have tried several times to geminate seeds and have had little luck.I ended up with a couple of sickly seedlings that slowly declined and died.I have grown many palm species from seed and have never had such bad luck.

[Jeff Searle]

Wow ! It looks like all that seed I threw out of the helicopter ride I took about 15 years ago worked.

Jeff

[spockvr6]

(ruskinPalms @ Apr. 13 2008,20:00)

QUOTE

I think these are too slow and to marginal for my area, but I have seen them sold at the box stores here...

You know Bill...I thought the same thing.  But, my father has one (the "rubrum" form) that we planted about 2 years ago from a 7 gallon and that thing must be 12-14 ft tall now with more than a foot of trunk on it.  And, its gotten very fat as well.  Its really a great looking palm one that not seen very often around here.

Ive also got a couple of these palms as well (green form) but mine havent really trunked yet.  But, they certainly are cold sensitive.  Mine took on some damage (maybe 50% leaf burn) last January.

[SubTropicRay]

Ricardo,

Your Dictyosperma are the best looking specimens of that genus that I've ever seen.  

Ray

[TikiRick]

(Ray @ Tampa,Apr. 14 2008,12:54)

QUOTE

Ricardo,

Your Dictyosperma are the best looking specimens of that genus that I've ever seen.  

Ray

Well thank you, Ray. That's what they all say once they've seen it.  ???

[ruskinPalms]

(spockvr6 @ Apr. 14 2008,10:36)

QUOTE

(ruskinPalms @ Apr. 13 2008,20:00)

QUOTE

I think these are too slow and to marginal for my area, but I have seen them sold at the box stores here...

You know Bill...I thought the same thing.  But, my father has one (the "rubrum" form) that we planted about 2 years ago from a 7 gallon and that thing must be 12-14 ft tall now with more than a foot of trunk on it.  And, its gotten very fat as well.  Its really a great looking palm one that not seen very often around here.

Ive also got a couple of these palms as well (green form) but mine havent really trunked yet.  But, they certainly are cold sensitive.  Mine took on some damage (maybe 50% leaf burn) last January.

Yeh, I am guessing they are about as tough as V. arecina except V. arecina are a little faster and can be grown as semi-annuals (well, maybe ten years at a time) between the big freezes that can attain several feet of real trunk and landscape proportions in a few short years. Doesn't your father live in Bradenton ??? The western parts of Bradenton are probably close to 10B in reality so they should do great down there. It sounds like his has grown fast, but I am sure you make sure he keeps it well fertilized and watered. I try to grow marginal palms at my parent's very nice microclimate 1/2 mile from the gulf down in south venice yet I can't get them to water or fertilize the damn things so they tend to slowly decline in their sugar sand soil and fairly dry (for FL anyway) climate. I swear they probably only average 30 inches of rain a year, and dog pee an poo is not water and fertilzer......

[spockvr6]

(ruskinPalms @ Apr. 14 2008,19:50)

QUOTE

Doesn't your father live in Bradenton ??? The western parts of Bradenton are probably close to 10B in reality so they should do great down there. It sounds like his has grown fast, but I am sure you make sure he keeps it well fertilized and watered.

My parents actually live in Palm Harbor just about 7 miles south of me.  

I do havwe an aunt/uncle who live in Bradenton out in Palma Sola (extreme western part of town) and its definitely 10b out there most years. The landscape looks alot different than in my neck of the woods.

[SubTropicRay]

Rick,

It's Dictyosperma not Borassus.

Ray

[Logolight]

My wife thinks the name is kind of funny so I got her one...

[TikiRick]

(Logolight @ Apr. 15 2008,14:27)

QUOTE

My wife thinks the name is kind of funny so I got her one...

Well, that's reason enough for her, then it should be good enough for you!

[MattyB]

This is not know for being a very good grower for us here in SoCal.  But I think Matt in SD has a nice small one that throws red leaves.  I can't get over the fact that the vertical twisting leaf habit reminds me of A. cunninghamiana which just grows so much better for us.

[ffeuillade]

Hi all, from Dictyosperma album country

Here, in Reunion Island, we call that palm "palmier cyclone" (Hurricane palm). They are known for being really strong against heavy winds. They are sadly rare in natural condition, cause they were used in the past for their "cabbage" (in french, we call it "choux", wich are used in salads...). They have been cultivated for culinary purposes... and was almost extinguished :/

Hopefully, recents laws protect that palm (and protect also the rare Acanthophoenix crinita (black palmist), Acanthophoenix rubra (red palmist) and Hyophorbe indica).

The palms on the pictures are really nice for sure It's nice seeing some Dictys on the other face of the world

Here is a picture of a Dictyosperma album in the Cilaos cirque in Reunion:

Here, some black palmists in rainforest in Reunion:

And here, some red palmists in the south of the island, in "l'anse des cascades":

ps: Please forgive my english, everybody knows that the french are very bad in languages...

Edited June 18, 2008 by ffeuillade

[John in Andalucia]

Hi Franck,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for posting some great shots. I bought a few D. album seeds from a seller on Reunion just three weeks ago. It will be at home with the wind we have here in southern Spain, if not too dry. Keep posting more great photos! Reunion looks like an enchanting place to live.

[ffeuillade]

Hi John and thank you for your message. Well, that's really funny cause this morning i went at Jardin Naturel, a seeds and plants seller. We spoke about the worldwide orders he have (and palms passion over the world) and the guy told me about a spanish order he had few days ago. Maybe it was yours lol. If you used a Iphone to order, for sure it was you

I hope your seeds will be ok and spread some nice dictyosperma in spain You have to keep me informed of that

And yes, Reunion is very cool for palms, it's the little french Hawaii lol

[John in Andalucia]

Hi John and thank you for your message. Well, that's really funny cause this morning i went at Jardin Naturel, a seeds and plants seller. We spoke about the worldwide orders he have (and palms passion over the world) and the guy told me about a spanish order he had few days ago. Maybe it was yours lol. If you used a Iphone to order, for sure it was you

I hope your seeds will be ok and spread some nice dictyosperma in spain You have to keep me informed of that

And yes, Reunion is very cool for palms, it's the little french Hawaii lol

Hi Franck,

No, it was a guy in Le Tampon with a website here: Barbadine. A highly recommend seller, and good communication too. He's not uniquely a palm seed seller, mainly tropical plants, but as D. album is endemic to Reunion, he went out and picked the 200 fresh seeds I ordered. Latania lontaroides was another species I bought from him.

[Alicehunter2000]

Hi all, from Dictyosperma album country

Here, in Reunion Island, we call that palm "palmier cyclone" (Hurricane palm). They are known for being really strong against heavy winds. They are sadly rare in natural condition, cause they were used in the past for their "cabbage" (in french, we call it "choux", wich are used in salads...). They have been cultivated for culinary purposes... and was almost extinguished :/

Hopefully, recents laws protect that palm (and protect also the rare Acanthophoenix crinita (black palmist), Acanthophoenix rubra (red palmist) and Hyophorbe indica).

The palms on the pictures are really nice for sure It's nice seeing some Dictys on the other face of the world

Here is a picture of a Dictyosperma album in the Cilaos cirque in Reunion:

Here, some black palmists in rainforest in Reunion:

And here, some red palmists in the south of the island, in "l'anse des cascades":

ps: Please forgive my english, everybody knows that the french are very bad in languages...

Gorgeous Island shots............I'll bet the food is great too.

[Ken Johnson]

Rick and All,

Great palm subject. Love the Island photos and the Broward County tour.

Another reason we do not see many of them here (South Florida) is that the crownshafts break easily during transport.

I have sold some over the years but recently got a bunch of seedlings from Murray Corman and they grew like a bat out of hell. I planted about 75. In 5 years they will sell for good money but will only have a few feet of wood.

I woud think the one in the Old Brisbane Garden is much older than 60.

BTW is there anyone else here that never heard of a black variety?

[Logolight]

I've never heard of a black variety but I have a rubrum. I must say that it's a faster grower than published.

[rozpalm]

Welcome Franck. I love the last picture in your post. I never realized how tall these palms can get. I have a double with about 8ft of wood. I would say it grew maybe 3' in 4 years, if that. I can only imagine how old these palms must be.

[realarch]

Nice pics! I guess I've only seen the younger palms or didn't know what I was looking at. I had no idea they got so tall...beautiful palm.

I'll have to make some room for a couple of them.

Tim

[PalmGuyWC]

I don't know if this was an unusual situation or what, but years ago Paul Drummond in Miami had a small Dictyosperma var rubera. It was less than knee high and just sat for many years with hardly any discernible growth. Finally it formed a trunk and exploded into growth. In no time we were looking up into the palm instead of down on it. I don't know if this is the regular growth pattern of Dictyosperma or not. I remember years later Paul was complaining about all the seedlings that came up under the tree. He distributed the seeds and seedlings far and wide, so I'm sure there are dozens, if not hundreds, of palms growing from that one plant. At the time it was not a common palm.

Dick

[Moose]

A great palm that has added a tropical ambiance to many South Florida landscapes.

[stevethegator]

There's a super tall one like the one in Brisbane pictured above near the beach in Delray. I'll have to take a picture next time I'm down there

[Zeeth]

I think this palm is an excellent choice for Florida. I had a seedling planted at our other house before we moved that was undamaged by the winters of 2010, where it saw down to 26F. I didn't bring it with me when we moved, but it was still doing well the last time I checked on it a year ago.

[palmsOrl]

Wow Keith. Dictyosperma album is renowned as quite cold sensitive, at least as much as Cocos nucifera from what I gather. That palm must have been in an incredible microclimate to survive unscathed not only the absolute lows of 2010, but the prolonged chill as well.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Wow Keith. Dictyosperma album is renowned as quite cold sensitive, at least as much as Cocos nucifera from what I gather. That palm must have been in an incredible microclimate to survive unscathed not only the absolute lows of 2010, but the prolonged chill as well.

Definitely cold sensitive but not like Cocos. Cocos wouldn't survive my Nor. Cal. winter for a minute but I have a small Dictosperma in my front yard that, although spotted, is generally healthy. We had a rough early December and a mild rest of winter and it even pushed a spear during the cool season. It's a fun experiment to see if it grows much this summer and pushes through another long cool season next winter.