Elaeis guineensis

[Tyrone]

Does anyone have cultural information on Elaeis guineensis, the african oil palm. How much water, fertiliser, cold tolerance etc.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Eric in Orlando]

They like moist soil, the more water the better. They even will grow in boggy sites.

Foliage wise, the palm is semi-tender. Around 29-30F it will burn but the palm seems bud hardy and can survive down to 24-25F if not prolonged. They grow fast so can regrow a canopy quick if it is damaged. Back in 1996 our young specimen was deoliated by 26F but by the end of summer it had 20 or more leaves again. They grow in sun or shade but are more robust in sun.

[paulgila]

there are plenty of microclimates in socal that never see temps that low.i wonder why these palms arent grown here?

[Eric in Orlando]

They probably like heat since they are a lowland tropical African species.

[Jeff in St Pete]

In Costa Rica, they are mostly grown in hot humid coastal areas with plenty of rainfall. They thrive here and grow very fast.

There are a couple of them growing at Kopsick Palm Arboretum in St Petersburg although one always seemed to be stunted.

I've been photographing the larger one for the last 7 years or so.

2001

2004

2005

2007

I'm sure this palm is even bigger now. I've noticed that after a cold spell, the fronds would brown and the new ones would be stunted, but the palm always recovered by the end of the summer. It's growing in a 10a/10b microclimate next to the bay.

[surgeon83]

2008 (Sept 27)

Its hard to appreciate how massive this thing is from the picture. I have a 3-gallon I'm going to try, so we'll see if it shades out my whole backyard someday.

[The Palm Nut]

Hi Tyrone

Buy a good size one as they dont like cold wet feet and this will better your chances of survival. Give them plenty of water in summer. Mine is planted where the soil is raised, well mulched and fertile. Midwinter it gets the best part of 5 hours of sun and its in one of the warmest parts of the garden. Last winter it spotted badly but kept pushing out frons. It's slightly more hardy than the coconut palm here in Port Macquarie.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Mike

[cfkingfish]

E. guinnensis has an interesting history in Florida. It was one of the first non-natives introduced to the area, as it seemed to tolerate the tough conditions of South Florida. It was almost the Queen Palm of yesteryear, and you can tell a garden or area in Florida was developed a while back if there are wild African Oils growing on the property. When I would drive to work at Fairchild, I would go by the same ones growing on the edge of Snapper Creek as it heads south, parallel to 57th Ave from 88th St to 111th St.

They are not on any invasive list, but can get weedy in localized areas.

[Tyrone]

Thanks for all the info everyone. It's helped me a lot.

Best regards

Tyrone