Cyphosperma Balansae

[street124]

I have never seen or heard of any growing in ground in fla, such a neat looking palm . Can anyone tell me what kind of conditions they like.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello JC

What location and temperature range do you have, condition of soil etc

regards

Colin

[cfkingfish]

Jeff-

Its tough but after seeing what you have grown, I think you are good to go.

[JD in the OC]

Won't grow here... we've tried small and larger ones in the ground.

[street124]

Hello JC

What location and temperature range do you have, condition of soil etc

regards

Colin

Colin, I am five minutes from fairchild in a 10b with high ph soil, although I have a canopy of old oak trees which may help lower it some (never tested it).

thanks

JC

[Jeff Searle]

Ditto......I tried two nice size plants in the ground and only watched them slowly die. Spend your hard earned dollars on something else.

Jeff

[street124]

Jeff-

Its tough but after seeing what you have grown, I think you are good to go.

Christian,Have you tried it or know anyone that has? I put a couple of small ones in the ground recently because some were damping off. I think my shade house is too shaded and damp and some other small stuff that I planted out really perked up once they hit the ground. Are you still in town?

Thanks,

Jeff

[street124]

Ditto......I tried two nice size plants in the ground and only watched them slowly die. Spend your hard earned dollars on something else.

Jeff

Jeff, I remember you said that, it is strange that they will grow in pots but die when they go in ground. I have had it happen with other palms but I always thought it was My high ph soil,but you have good dirt.

Thanks,

Jeff

[BS Man about Palms]

Save it for my next trip. I'll take it.

[Tyrone]

Out of 20 or 30 seeds I had one come up, then I watched it slowly turn black and melt away. What did I do WRONG!!!!!

Tyrone

[Jeff Searle]

Save it for my next trip. I'll take it.

You mean my two 7gallon size plants? The ones that all of your other buddies out in Cali. want too?

Jeff

[BS Man about Palms]

Save it for my next trip. I'll take it.

You mean my two 7gallon size plants? The ones that all of your other buddies out in Cali. want too?

Jeff

I put those in a place you'd never look while I was out there... That way I'll see them again..

[JD in the OC]

IMO, they seem to like soil that is allowed to dry out in between waterings. Its really humid and wet here in FL. Also like cooler weather. They are really hard to get up to a 3gallon size from a seedling. May have something to do with their native soil... strange elements and such...

JD

[street124]

IMO, they seem to like soil that is allowed to dry out in between waterings. Its really humid and wet here in FL. Also like cooler weather. They are really hard to get up to a 3gallon size from a seedling. May have something to do with their native soil... strange elements and such...

JD

JD, Thanks for your info. I have 7 out of the original 10 plants that I got from Jeff Marcus last year and going to put a couple more in the ground and keep a few in pots.

JC

[palmtreesforpleasure]

The appear to like warm temperate climates, do not like high heat and constant humidity, seem to like reasonable temperature changes between night and day

regards

Colin

[Tyrone]

The appear to like warm temperate climates, do not like high heat and constant humidity, seem to like reasonable temperature changes between night and day

regards

Colin

That's what I did wrong then. Babied them too much. They should do fine here then. They look great in Sydney BG. They even seed there. Worth the plane trip I think.

Best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

Cyphosperma is very temperamental but WILL grow here provided the soil is extremely fast draining. As JD said, they like to completely dry out between waterings. The application of a root disease controlling fungicide also helps about once a month. Root rot is the primary problem with these things. My saplings are all in the greenhouse where I can control the amount of water they get. At this size, the Florida summer rain induces root rot problems. Cyphosperma is also highly susceptible to spider mite infestations. I apply a Bayer product miticide to keep those little monsters at bay. It 's the toughest palm I've ever grown but it can be done.

[Eric in Orlando]

Wow, didin't realize this was such a hard palm to grow in FL. I just ordered several seedlings so we will see how they do here.

[BS Man about Palms]

Cyphosperma is very temperamental but WILL grow here provided the soil is extremely fast draining. As JD said, they like to completely dry out between waterings. The application of a root disease controlling fungicide also helps about once a month. Root rot is the primary problem with these things. My saplings are all in the greenhouse where I can control the amount of water they get. At this size, the Florida summer rain induces root rot problems. Cyphosperma is also highly susceptible to spider mite infestations. I apply a Bayer product miticide to keep those little monsters at bay. It 's the toughest palm I've ever grown but it can be done.

Yep Ray, I found my few smaller ones did better OUTSIDE my greenhouse where the mites have a harder time and I barely remember to water.

[Matt in SD]

Nothing really new to add, but I can confirm what has been said. I've had trouble with these in my greenhouse, both fungal and spider mite issues. I had a 2g sized plant that had stopped growing in my greenhouse for at least 6 months and was down to 1/2 a leaf. I treated with Subdue and Daconil fungicides, repotted to very light/loose mix and moved outside. It actually started growing again and has made it through a very cool winter with no issue. I have a second, larger one in the ground doing great that was also starting to have trouble in the greenhouse before I planted it. I plan on getting several more of these and trying to grow them up in a shadehouse, rather than greenhouse, as that seems to be what they like.

Matt

[cfkingfish]

Jeff C-

There is a 15 gallon in the ground in a private garden that as of last time I checked, was doing just fine. There are a few others scattered around South Florida, one larger one died, but there are a few large ones still. You will want to backfill with acidic material like you have with some of the other tropical acidic lovers in your yard. Soil breakdown and high pH seem to be its worst enemies.

If any of you have seen Jeff's yard, you would send him your plants to grow there. It is like a magic bubble where everything lives!

[Moose]

Christian of Jeff - what is the growth rate? It is such a beautiful palm that I am considering to keep it as a container only. Your valuable opinion would be appreciated.

Kindest regards,

Ron.

[Jeff Searle]

Christian of Jeff - what is the growth rate? It is such a beautiful palm that I am considering to keep it as a container only. Your valuable opinion would be appreciated.

Kindest regards,

Ron.

Ron,

Their growth rate is pretty slow.But they can look beautful when grown in the shadehouse. I still have one left in a 10gallon size pot. I'm going to sell it eventually though.....

Jeff

[Moose]

Wow, didin't realize this was such a hard palm to grow in FL. I just ordered several seedlings so we will see how they do here.

Eric - any luck?

[Eric in Orlando]

Wow, didin't realize this was such a hard palm to grow in FL. I just ordered several seedlings so we will see how they do here.

Eric - any luck?

I have 2 in the greenhouse to plant out later this year

[PalmBossTampa]

So i was wondering what the experiences were with this species since i have a 3gal I’d love to plant in the ground one day.  I am glad I’m encouraged by success stories rather than discouraged by multiple failures by experienced folks.  

I took these pictures today at Leu Gardens in Orlando. Anyone know how long these have been there?  There’s also naboutinense and trichospadix planted to the sides but they are about 1/3 the trunk height of the balansae (which is 4’ clear trunk).

I cleaned the leaf litter and moss for better pics 

[PalmBossTampa]

Best pic - overall size

[Jim in Los Altos]

I can’t speak for Orlando but here in my Bay Area location, the species does very well without any special care. 

[rizla023]

Mine is growing well in SoCal, Santa Ana, CA. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

2 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I can’t speak for Orlando but here in my Bay Area location, the species does very well without any special care. 

This one was a tiny seedling three years ago when planted in this position. Slow but steady growth. This nighttime photo gives the impression of discolored fronds. They are solid green however. 
 

[SubTropicRay]

I think they're temperamental when young for a myriad of reasons.  Once past the sapling stage, they have a better chance of growing here as the photos above illustrate.  All of that said, it's not a beginner's palm 😆

[flplantguy]

They need lots of air movement and as cool of temps as you can in summer. They do not like the heat waves and need to be kept dry or they rot out. The above advice is what I found with mine this summer, lost a naboutinense and almost lost this one, but when I put a trichospadix in sharp draining mix it started recovering quickly. I love to water and found that most need to have mix that drains like cactus mix here, so I use turface, biochar, perlite, and zeolite for grit, and the trichospadix seems to like it so far.  Nothing smaller particle at all

[quaman58]

In my opinion, this is one of the world‘s most beautiful palms. Pete’s picture above is a great one. These seem reasonably easy for us to grow on the coast in Southern California, although slow. I have one that is about eight years old, probably just on the verge of trunking. Every once in a while, there will be some sort of fungal or insect issue that creates a funky leaf or two, then it goes right back to growing nicely. Wish I had about 10 of them. 

[quaman58]

I should also add that C. naboutiniense has been a remarkably durable palm as well, while trichospadix has proven ungrowable in my climate, at least in my garden. Funny, because they look identical as young seedlings.

[Than]

14 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I can’t speak for Orlando but here in my Bay Area location, the species does very well without any special care. 

Not too much heat in the summer and no freezing is what they need from what I've read, so no wonder they do well in your zone. 

[PalmBossTampa]

Might as well add the pics of the other two species here . I didn’t bother to try to clean them up for pics. Nice frond size for height IMO. These two never get full sun where they are planted. Very sandy soil, uphill location on property, and lots of leaf litter . I don’t think they ever get overhead irrigation either 

[realarch]

4 hours ago, quaman58 said:

I should also add that C. naboutiniense has been a remarkably durable palm as well, while trichospadix has proven ungrowable in my climate, at least in my garden. Funny, because they look identical as young seedlings.

Bret, my C. naboutiniense has grown well, albeit kinda slow. The C. trichospadix planted at the same time perished straight away. 

Tim

[quaman58]

49 minutes ago, realarch said:

Bret, my C. naboutiniense has grown well, albeit kinda slow. The C. trichospadix planted at the same time perished straight away. 

Tim

Tim,

The remarkable thing about mine is that I planted it in a pretty terrible part of the yard; against the East facing wall and directly underneath a sloped roof. So, for a few years when the rains came in the middle of Winter, water came right off the roof into it's crown. I remember thinking repeatedly "No way it survives this". Yet it does. Coming from Fiji no less, crazy.

[PlantMorePalms]

My small plant is growing well for me in SF, so far it's the fastest of any of the New Caledonian palms I've tried, at least in terms of leaf production. I might have gotten lucky with a robust plant based on what others say about speed, mine has opened three fronds in the past year, compared to one leaf every nine months or so for Chambeyronia and Burretiokentia. Maybe a concerning data point for Florida growers!

 

[tim_brissy_13]

Amazingly I’ve got a couple of C naboutinense going ok as seedlings and they’ve now survived 2 winters without damage. They generally seem more trouble free than C balansae which seems to be tricky even in favourable climate as small seedlings from what I’ve heard.