Licuala peltata var. sumawongii

[MattyB]

Licuala peltata var. sumawongii....Licuala elegans

Potato...Potahtoe

Whatever you wanna call it, it's a real beaut of a palm.  The one's I've seen growing here in So Cal haven't looked that good.  Has anyone seen any good lookin' ones?  How are they growing in Florida?  New York?   Bo, I know yours are nice!  Dean, I didn't see yours last time I toured your place.  Did it die?  Just read a good article in the IPS Journal about Licuala and their picky requirements (ie. constant heat, humidity).  Please chip in with your experiences with L. elegans.  Thanks!

[paulgila]

i bought one about 2 years ago & thought "this palm obviously is an understorey palm" & so put it in the shadiest spot i could find.after it hovered near death for a  year i ripped it out,put it in a pot & put it in the sunniest spot i could find & its finally starting to move!

[quaman58]

Hey Matt,

Got one a couple years back; liked it so much I got another this year. How do they look? Pretty good. Green, steady growth, but oh soooo slow. They seem to push about 1-1/2 spears a year no matter what. That translates into my biggest being about 15 inches tall. Actually, now  I recall the reason for buying the second one; because they do appear to grow here, and I figured I might as well get started on another because I'll be an old man before it thay get any size at this rate. But they sure are pretty...  

Bret

[Walter John]

I have one which I planted when only young, it has not done  that well. One of those palms that one should spend a little more on to get a larger size.

[tikitiki]

I put mine in the ground in shade as well and it maintained two leafs for about two years. I have since put it in about 6 hours of sun and it is doing much better now.

[MattyB]

I'm thinking the lack of pictures thus far speaks volumes....eh?  I think I hear Bo coming down the hall....

[Dypsisdean]

Matt,

I have to echo some of the others. I put all my California Licualas in very shady locations, and they all languished. As you know, since my L. ramsayi has been in the sun it is actually doing well. I imagine the same may be true of the L. spinosa and the L. elegans. Hot inland sun may be a different story.

[paulgila]

l.spinosa seems to be doing quite well in filtered light for me.

it seems the l.elegans,on the other hand,really needs to get sun-blasted.

[Gileno Machado]

My baby grown from seed, 18 months old, 1 hour of direct sun exposure in early morning at a bright location indoor (the floor is 20X20 cm for scale). Growing faster now...

[quaman58]

Interesting comments regarding the sun. I'm thinking of maybe a move for my biggest one & acclimating it in a pot for a spring re-plant. I'd be thrilled to have it prefer some sun; at my dive, filtered sun micro-climes are the "high rent" areas of the garden. I'll grab a pic when I get home.

Bret

[Matt in SD]

Wow,

I can't imagine throwing my L elegans into full sun.  Mine are still in my greenhouse (unheated).  I've had them for ~3 1/2 years now from 1g size plants and they are slow, but definitely grow.  The leaves are ~12" in diameter now and have the adult round shape.  My most common problem with L ramsayi and elegans is that the leaves turn very yellow, almost white sometimes, mostly in winter.  My elegans have grown out of this problem, but the ramsayi still have it.  I think it may be due to improper potting soil structure (not airy enough?).

I haven't seen any L elegans in SoCal that I would say look very good.  But from photos, it looks like Louie Hooper has a nice one.

Matt

[bgl]

Not a single photo of a SoCal specimen!!  Come on guys, these palms are supposed to do OK there!

I posted this in a thread on the old forum. Licuala grow very well, if somewhat on the slow side, here. They can take some sun, but I wouldn't think full sun would be a particularly good idea. They love the rain, and the dilemma is finding a good partly shaded spot that will still give them the maximum amount of rain. If the canopy is too thick, the rain won't reach the Licualas and they will slowly fade away.

[Davidl]

I have three that are doing real good so far. They have put out three fronds this summer. I do have them in shade and they will always stay in the shade because I am pretty sure they will burn. We had temps around 30 in February and it didnt affect them at all.

[Gtlevine]

I don't have the photo, but Elva West in LA has a monster Elegans on his patio that is insane gorgeous. It will do fine outdoors in So Cal in the ground if planted larger, but this is a real winner as a potted patio plant, even takes some frost.

Gary

[bgl]

Here's another shot, showing an entire palm. Most of mine are in areas with lots of shade, and because of that they also tend to be somewhat stretched out. This one is getting more sun than most of the others.

[The Palm Nut]

Ok, Iam due to be some place other than here, wife ready to go, **** time flies. Anyways what are we talking about. Right  L elegans, yes these are tough.

gotta go

Mike

[palmtreesforpleasure]

They are tough Licuala's,

They grow well in socal if you know how

and Lou and carol hooper know how

regards

colin

[Tyrone]

Colin, Where was that photo taken? In your garden or the So Cal garden you mentioned. Just stunning. Not much wind gets that one by the looks of it.

regards

Tyrone

[chris.oz]

Hi,

Down in Melbourne in my garden [ effectively 10a on year low temp,  but temperate not sub tropical] this palm survives winters quite well as an understory palm.... that is,  under deciduous trees.  Then during summer it has to survive our blazing sun,  thats where the canopy helps.  However, it is growing 2 leaves per year only.  

Based on that,   its the loss of leaves which will determine the palms fate.   However tatty,  I am leaving the old leaves on until they shrivel,  and as long as the leaves are bigger eachtime,  then it has a future.   Looks tatty now,  but give it another 5 years and we will know.

Bo,   You Licuala pic is now my wallpaper !

chris.oz

[quaman58]

I'm almost afraid to post this after seeing some of the beauties already posted. But here's one of mine, in the ground for about 2 years plus, in filtered sun underneath a row of large P. roebellinis. It shows a bit of burn on a couple older leaves, but is opening a new leaf and pushing another. I've moved another into a somewhat sunnier locale, and am interested to see any differences in growth between the two..

Bret

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hi Tyrone

it was taken in LA at lou hoopers place

regards

colin

[Jeff Searle]

No one from South Florida has chimed in yet...uhmmm. First of all, Licuala elegans is not the valid name and at least here in our area, no one uses that name, not for many years.

    They do great here and many of these are sold at the local palm sales. It's probably my second best seller after L. grandis. Mine got a real thrashing after Hurricane Wilma and is still trying to recover. It takes a few hours of sun, but does need some shade to look it 's best. Also, it tolerates any cold(into the low 30's) we get. It's a winner. I love the species and would choose it over L. grandis if I had to choose one.

[RainForestt Robert]

These photos were taken a couple of years ago in Grenada, pre Hurricane Ivan.  Not sure how well they are recovering.  Hope to post updated photos in a few weeks.

As the photos show they can take a bit of sun in the tropical setting.  Seed can take a couple of years to germinate.  I have a community pot with quite a few seedlings.

[RainForestt Robert]

Here is my 3 gallon L. peltata var sumawongi.  Repeating this latin name to those unfamiliar with it just cracks me up.

Robert

[tim_brissy_13]

Chris,

I am thinking of planting my L. peltata v. sumawongii out this year or next.  Is it worth it of should I keep it inside until its a bit bigger (15cm small plant now)?

[Moose]

Nice old thread worth revisiting!

Ron.

[Kai]

slowslowslow...

[Jeff Searle]

Nice old thread worth revisiting!

Ron.

Ron,

Just HOW MUCH coffee do you drink??

Jeff

[rockos82]

Here is a pic of mine with a car key for scale. I got it 6 months ago from Florida it has pushed about 3 inches since then and is in my greenhouse.It is an overall height of about 3.5 ft.

[joe_OC]

I just got a nice sized one of these and wanted to see if people can provide an update. I am looking to put mine in a wind protected area that gets a lot of morning sun. The soil stays consistently moist.

I have seen the Louis Hooper sumawongii. It is by far the largest specimen that I have seen in person. How is everyone's doing since this was posted four years ago?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[bgl]

These are fantastic palms! In an earlier post here (#12), when I still had my first garden, I made a statement that I didn't think they would too well in full sun. That was incorrect. They do GREAT in full sun here. Planted a dozen of them in early 2011 and they may not be the fastest of growers but they have done very well since. Two photos:

[joe_OC]

Here's a couple of pics of mine (all the fronds emerged in CA):

[joe_OC]

Thanks, Bo...

Those are amazing looking.

[Jeff in St Pete]

This one is starting to get some size on it. With my buddy Ben for scale.

I agree that they can handle a lot of sun. Most of the ones I've seen growing in this country are planted in full sun.

This one is growing at The Paradise Tropical Garden in Rio Claro.

[MattyB]

Here's mine after a year in the ground. Shade cloth came off last month because the sun is behind some foliage for winter. Next summer it'll get several hours of full sun, but I have a vigorous shrub nearby that I can use to create some shade as needed.

[Bags]

This one is starting to get some size on it. With my buddy Ben for scale.

Licual peltata var Sumawongii.jpg

I agree that they can handle a lot of sun. Most of the ones I've seen growing in this country are planted in full sun.

This one is growing at The Paradise Tropical Garden in Rio Claro.

Is that Ben Morris?

[Jose Maria]

I got one gallon plant from "The Paradise Tropical Garden in Rio Claro".

about 3 years ago, now I am already harvesting seeds from it.

Tomorrow I will post a picture.

Growing in full sun, but here it´s mostly cloudy even during the dry season.No comparison with the sun in California.

[Jim in Los Altos]

These shots were taken last January and this Licuala has put out two leaves since then. I need to take a current picture soon. This Licuala has been in the ground in full shade, except for roughly an hour in the afternoon, since about 2009 and has gotten no special treatment. I consider it a really easy but slow palm here in the Bay Area.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I've noticed the licuala are only slow when they are small. It's worth getting bigger specimens. Even in my heat forsaken coastal garden I have a lot of luck with bigger specimens. My ramsayi were 15g plants when they went into the ground and they haven't missed a beat, and they simply look spectacular. I need to look at the labels on some of the smaller ones which are definitely slower. I noticed that nice acid soil and a ton of moisture really kicks them into guear. I wish I knew were to get some big versions of the other ones.

[joe_OC]

Here's mine after a year in the ground. Shade cloth came off last month because the sun is behind some foliage for winter. Next summer it'll get several hours of full sun, but I have a vigorous shrub nearby that I can use to create some shade as needed.

Matt, thanks for sharing. Your's looks amazing! How much has it grown this past year? Looks like one new flush?