I've always loved the spindles, especially the beautiful mint-green/powder blue crownshafts.  I couldn't wait for mine to hurry up and GROW.

It's finally got a crownshaft forming!  While I'm thrilled to see it, I notice that its color is a dark olive-green, not nearly as nice as the lighter ones.

Does anyone know if the color lightens as it gets older, or will I just have to accept it as it is.

I too like Spindles.  In fact, I wish I planted more of them.  I should have made them centerpieces of the yard, especially out front.  These palms can be kept alive forever in marginal zones as they never get so big that they cant be protected!  But...too late now

Do you have a pic?  I am trying to visualize the coloring you are talking about.  I guess I havent looked at mine closely enough.

The only pic I have of it is from earlier this summer.  It has rocketed up in the past few months.  

The pic isn't very helpful - it shows the crownshaft color peeping out from a splitting leaf base - that's the color the brand-new crownshaft now is, a kind of muddy olive-green shade.  (The small palm next to it is my beloved glauca btw.)

Wow, that's carrying a lot of leaves for a spindle. Mine here in SoCal usually holds only 4-5 leaves and has a "heavier" look. May have something to do with a cooler climate out here..Mine has developed a crownshaft also, but is a sort of coppery color.

Bret

Bret,

the palm with all the fronds is the glauca!! The fronds on the spindle aren't visible in the photo!

Bo-Göran

This is a lovely group of spindles in Woodgate, Queensland. I took this photo about 2 years ago.

Look at the inflorescence on that spindle...very pink.    Just givin' you a hard time Bret!

I suspect that maybe these palms vary to some degree in the color of the crownshaft.  Here are a pair I photographed in the Old Northeast, that while not olive green, do not have the powdery greeny-blue tint of those in the photo Wal posted above.

Here are two of mine. They all tend to have the same bluish color on the crownshaft.

And this is why I can't post a full view shot of any of my spindles (they are all surrounded by numerous other palms). The one in this photo is dead center, with a few Hyophorbe lagenicaulis in front, a Pritchardia beccariana on the right, a Dypsis carlsmithii on the left and Clinostigma samoense in the background.

And Larry, those Florida grown spindles may be healthy but the nodes are awfully close together....!

Bo-Göran

Alright guys...now you know how I'd do on an ink blot test.  I kept rotating my head 90 degrees trying to see how that Rananea looking thing was really a Spindle. All this time I thought my wife was just giving me a hard time when she says I don't notice things. Holy cow. I thought the big thing to the left was a telephone pole. I'll go back to sleep now...   -_- zzzz

My spindles (they've all died) all had that darker green.

Yours are alive.  Give thanks!

dave

Sunny, Mine is still green. I am hoping that it will turn the powdery blue as it gets older. I got mine as a three gallon from Home Depot four years ago. I also have one a little smaller than this one that I grew from seed. Larry, Wal, and Bo, those are awesome photos above. Great motivation to get out in my garden and Fertilize, mulch, water, etc.  Tim

Yes, I have one of the blue/purple/green crownshaft ones (pictured with my wife):

This palm is getting ready to drop a frond , so can get a pic of a fresh new crownshaft . This is another angle of a recently posted pic.  It really is the best spindle I have ever seen , the base is quite small , real spindly !

Maybe the variation in crown shaft colour is caused by some hybridization .

Isn't a cross with the Bottle common ?

Until spindles get a couple feet of trunk,the crownshafts are always an olive green / purple color. Here is one of mine growing in Mesa,Arizona.

Here is a closeup of its trunk.

(Dave from So-Cal @ Sep. 23 2006,17:21)

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My spindles (they've all died) all had that darker green.

Yours are alive.  Give thanks!

dave

Believe me, I do  

I'm sorry yours didn't make it - maybe CA is too arid for them?

Bo, the blue on your spindle is beee-autiful.

Tom, yours has a gorgeous crownshaft too - it's obviously much taller than mine (oh, and "hi" to Mrs. Palmateer).....

Nice to see all the bodacious spindles in this thread - can't believe they're doing so well way up in Tarpon.   And Tim's in St. Augustine!  Gives me hope mine will survive here.

Until spindles get a couple feet of trunk,the crownshafts are always an olive green / purple color.

Thanks for the info, aztropic.  Mine isn't that tall yet - it's just got a crownshaft this past month, so there's still a chance at a nice bluish one, maybe.

True tropics = glaucous crownshaft

San Juan, PR

(bgl @ Sep. 22 2006,22:32)

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And Larry, those Florida grown spindles may be healthy but the nodes are awfully close together....!

Bo-Göran

Because of being in full sun?

(SunnyFl @ Sep. 24 2006,23:19)

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Thanks for the info, aztropic.  Mine isn't that tall yet - it's just got a crownshaft this past month, so there's still a chance at a nice bluish one, maybe.

I checked mine this weekend and it is also more olive colored.

But, while this palm has gotten really fat (it is actually splitting at the base) its still not all that tall (maybe 8-9 ft) so I guess its still got a ways to go before the blusih tiny can be displayed.

Heres one in Tarpon with a nice crownshaft.

by spockvr6

These two catch your attention as you drive by.

by spockvr6

Larry,

When the nodes are very close together, it means that growing conditions are not optimal. Being exposed to full sun would generally NOT be a reason. Lack of soil, or lack of proper soil/drainage is a more likely culprit.

Bo-Göran

(bgl @ Sep. 25 2006,13:15)

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Larry,

When the nodes are very close together, it means that growing conditions are not optimal. Being exposed to full sun would generally NOT be a reason. Lack of soil, or lack of proper soil/drainage is a more likeli culprit.

Bo-Göran

Bo,

     Now Bo...I must come to all my Fla. boys in support of some these pictures that others have posted. IMO,close growth rings are the norm. This is how I'v seen them for many years, on many different palms.

    Your palms in post #9, have growth rings that are spaced far apart, only because these are growing in deep shade. Their s t r e t c h i n g for some light. Also, the trunks are extreamly straight, where's the "spindle"? We"ll discuss it in the DR this weekend,see you then.....

Jeff,

I'm looking forward to that discussion!  

I know you have a lot of experience in the field, but I have to disagree. A shadegrown palm may have fronds and petioles that are stretched, and some much more than others - very much depends on the species. However, growing a palm in shade, or part shade, will NOT cause the trunk to be stretched out. With all due respect, but if you're used to seeing spindles (and other palms) in Florida with nodes that are close together then all it means is that growing conditions in Florida are not optimal for those palms. Nothing personal against Florida!

I have paid a lot of attention to this "little" detail over the years, and these are my observations: The growth of the trunk is directly related to the happiness and well-being of the roots. If the roots can expand and grow as much as they want to, the nodes are going to reflect this. I.e. being further apart compared to a palm that has its root growth restricted, one way or another.

A perfect example here is Clinostigma samoense, one of my favorite palms. You need to plant these palms right about the time they begin to form a trunk. Roots are very aggressive and from a practical point of view I don't believe it's possible to keep a C. samoense in a pot up until it has, say, 6 ft of trunk, and have the nodes as far apart as they would be on an individual that was planted just when it began to trunk. I know this because I have planted hundreds of C. samoense, from tiny seedlings to big specimens with 8-10 ft of trunk. I have also seen C. samoense planted in other areas here on the Big Island, where the soil is different and not as well draining as it is here at our location. Again, BIG difference. Nodes are closer together, probably a reflection of the fact that the Clinostigma roots require much better drainage than what you get in clay for instance. If they don't have superior drainage, growth simply is not going to be optimal.

Now back to Florida (and as I've said before, I lived there for 7 years, so I do know a little about local conditions...). In most of southern FL (and maybe most of central FL also - not sure?), the soil is, shall we say, less than ideal for a lot of palms. This is bound to have an effect on the growth. Sure, you'll have palms that are healthy, but they may not grow to their full capacity. And this obviously doesn't affect all palms. And I should also point out that many palms, certainly many smaller and medium size palms, are not as likely to show the dramatic effects (distance, or lack thereof,  between nodes) as some of the taller ones.

Makes me think of a picture that was posted some time ago of a beautiful Satakentia in FL (and if I remember correctly it was destroyed in '92 by the hurricane). GREAT looking palm, but the nodes were very close together. Nothing like what I have seen on Satakentias here on the island, including some that are in full sun! And Satakentias don't even have nodes that far apart, maybe 3 inches or so on the ones here. But when they're only an inch apart, or less, then that's an indication that growing conditions are less than optimal.

Aloha!

Bo-Göran

No trunk as of yet but this will be a very nice speciman once I get one. This one is very fast growing for a hyophorbe. Very thick base.

No doubt Hawaii is one of the best places to grow palms and tropicals.  Bo and Al post lots of photos of perfect looking palms that seem to be growing at full capacity. I agree with Jeff that our best grown Spindles do not have widely spaced growth rings. I have noticed among among Spindles as well as many other types of palms, that in a shaded situation the growth rings get further apart.  Palms that enjoy more sun like Adonidia M. will really stretch their trunks in the shade and be more compact in full sun with all other factors being the same. Tim

(bgl @ Sep. 25 2006,22:41)

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In most of southern FL (and maybe most of central FL also - not sure?), the soil is, shall we say, less than ideal for a lot of palms.

Beach sand is ideal isnt it?!??!?!  

(bgl @ Sep. 22 2006,22:27)

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Here are two of mine. They all tend to have the same bluish color on the crownshaft.

What are those, Never seen spindles without the spindle before. Why do they call them spindles? Bo, are those a different species. Maybe the growing condition is not right. You need to dig them up and plant them in the full sun.  :cool: