Syagrus ruschiana

[chris78]

Has anyone try growing this palm? What does it like or dislike...sun, shade, water, cold tolerance etc..... I have 4 plants in 5 gals and want to plant out but not sure of placement. I know they take some cold because my plants took 28F with only some leaf damage....

Also any pictures of larger ones?

[galveston1602]

http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Syagrus/ruschiana.html

Some good info here, Theres even some adult pics.

Did you germinate these or buy seedlings?

[PalmGuyWC]

Chris,

I've never seen or heard of Syagrus ruschiana, but it sure looks like a good canidate for hybridizing with something more cold hardy. Maybe there are some mature ones growing in Fla. or Hawaii? A cold hardy, clustering, hybrid would be nice to have.

Chris, I noticed you were growing some Parajubaeas in AZ. How have they done this summer? Mine seem to have speeded up in growth in Sept. and October too. Thus far it's been quite warm in N. Calif. in Nov. and the Parajubaeas are still growing. Do you have any pictures of your S. ruschianas?

Dick

[mnorell]

Syagrus ruschiana has done surprisingly well for me here in Natchez. I placed a small plant (really still a large seedling) in the ground in 2007 and it was subjected to three good, hard freezes last winter: one 15-hour event bottoming out at 23.3F; and two others of about 8 hours' duration with lows of about 25-26F. Also two freak (albeit brief) snowstorms here in my low-9a climate-zone location. I did mulch the plant somewhat, and ultimately the leaf-tissue above the mulch-line was destroyed, but the plant itself was just fine. Our average temps here at the low-point in January at my location are about 43/60 with rather wet and overcast conditions, so just a tiny bit warmer than the 50-degree isotherm...so soil is wet and chilly December-Jan-Feb...and hence this palm even when small can tolerate those dreaded cool, wet conditions.

The palm regrew well in spring and unfortunately became completely shaded out by other vegetation...the result being only two leaves this year, though they are larger than last year and quite healthy. The plant endured a good amount of heat and periods of drought this summer and fall, punctuated by Hurricane Gustav's torrential rainfall. I'm amazed how well this plant has grown here, and would encourage others in zone 9a&b areas to try it with some protection/mulching while young. In desert areas like Phoenix I would think morning sun only would be your best bet.

S. botryophora has also done well in a protected area against the SW-facing front of the house. This like ruschiana is a slow grower in its pre-pinnate stage. I planted a small S. flexuosa this year, which is a much faster grower for me here even when small (and has reputed cold-tolerance). This latter species I think may be the best bet for a rather hardy clustering Syagrus.

[mppalms]

S. botryophora has also done well in a protected area against the SW-facing front of the house. This like ruschiana is a slow grower in its pre-pinnate stage. I planted a small S. flexuosa this year, which is a much faster grower for me here even when small (and has reputed cold-tolerance). This latter species I think may be the best bet for a rather hardy clustering Syagrus.

I thought Syagrus flexuosa was from a more northerly locale in Brazil. Any thoughts on why it would be more cold-tolerant than S. ruschiana (which purportedly is from middle elevations further south)? I have one small S. ruschiana, but it hasn't seen anything below 35 deg. F yet.

Jason

[mnorell]

According to Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas S. flexuosa and S. ruschiana have overlapping ranges. S. ruschiana has a small range nearer the coast (at 100-400m elevation) whereas S. flexuosa extends far outward (including southward) from ruschiana, and at elevations to 1200m.

See Dave Witt's info on cold tolerance for various Syagrus in central Florida here: Central Florida freeze observations.

[mppalms]

According to Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas S. flexuosa and S. ruschiana have overlapping ranges. S. ruschiana has a small range nearer the coast (at 100-400m elevation) whereas S. flexuosa extends far outward (including southward) from ruschiana, and at elevations to 1200m.

See Dave Witt's info on cold tolerance for various Syagrus in central Florida here: Central Florida freeze observations.

Michael,

Thanks for the references. I think I need that book.

Jason

[chris78]

Thanks everyone for the info.....

Dick, I do not have a picture of the S. ruschiana but will take one soon... the Parajubaeas torallyi are doing good and they came through their 2nd summer in great shape..... So far after 2 long Arizona summers they have not shown any heat stress and grow through the summer months... They do grow faster in Sept/Oct as you noticed with yours.....

Michael, I glad your Syagrus ruschiana did so well during the cold It gives me hope that it will do ok here as well.... they are in part shade now....I hope they prove hardy for you as well.... Keep us posted on how they do and I will keep everyone posted on how they do for me..

Allen, no I did not grow them from seed, I got them from a guy who collected the seed while he was in Brazil. He has about twenty 5 gal plants which he says no one wants because they never heard of this palms before, so I got them at a good price...

Again thanks everyone for all the info....

[mnorell]

Chris: The fact that a tiny ruschiana survived an "average" winter here (no such thing actually in this part of the country) tells me they may at least have the possibility of resprouting after severe freezes if mulched properly. I have high hopes for this and other clustering Syagrus...I am originally from coastal southern California where of course the generally frost-free conditions give a wide choice of solitary arborescent palms...but I've had to shift gears here in southern Mississippi due to the vastly different climate in terms of the potentially disastrous deviations from "average" winter lows in the occasional year...and am therefore concentrating on either the relatively few very hardy arborescents or the moderately frost-hardy, winter-cool-tolerant and summer-heat-tolerant clustering species. The clustering Wallichias, Arengas, and Syagrus are at the top of my list due to their general toughness and resilience and decent speed of growth...and I would think the various shorter-statured Syagrus would be good candidates for desert areas like Phoenix so that you can control canopy and exposure to keep the scorch factor at bay. Your winter average lows are about five degrees warmer than here and you also, of course, have tremendous summer heat for growth.

Jason: The Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas is out of print and very pricey, though mint copies can be had pretty easily through ABEbooks or Amazon...but believe me it is a very worthwhile purchase, lots of great information, quite exhaustive and the distribution maps for each species are super!

[Al in Kona]

I have this Syagrus ruschiana growing in our garden altho' it really should be in a bit more open location to appreciate it more as well as photograph it better. Be that as it may, see the below pic of it which is now approximately 9 ft.+ tall and has one main trunk with several other smaller ones and a new one just forming. It has produced some seed already. It seems to grow well with very little supplemental water. Definitely has some drought tolerance. Sorry for the quality of the picture due to so much other vegetation growing nearby making a clear picture difficult.

[Austinpalm]

Allen, no I did not grow them from seed, I got them from a guy who collected the seed while he was in Brazil. He has about twenty 5 gal plants which he says no one wants because they never heard of this palms before, so I got them at a good price...

Chris,

Do you know if this gentleman still has seedlings for sale?

Regards,

Clay

[mnorell]

Al--

Do you have any notes on its growth-rate? i.e., have you noticed that it speeds up once it gets out of the strapleaf stage? I've heard that this is the case with botryophora...my botryophora, like my tiny ruschiana, is painfully slow even in our prolonged heat and humidity, producing 1-2 juvenile leaves per year, yet I have read that once it is beyond this stage it becomes one of the fastest growing palms. That's a very beautiful specimen you have there!

[Tala]

Mike that is certainly my exp. w/ growing botryophora, they are extraordinarily quick once pinnate, but not sure on ruschiana, these are new to me. I rec'd about 10 seed from RPS about 3 yrs ago, only 2 came up and both of those just recently formed their 1st pinnate leaves. I highly doubt it is as fast as bot. or even romanz. but who knows... guess we will all find out together.

What originally attracted me to rusch. is exactly what you see in Al's terrific pic above - it is very un-Syagrus like in appearance. Upon closer inspection it sort of resembles the aforementioned botry. only w/ flat instead of recurved leaves. Anyway the very first specimen I ever saw was palm guru Bernie P's place, when he told me it was a Sy all he rec'd in reply were a couple of raised eyebrows. He lives in Cocoa and was able to grow one rather well so I surmise there is hope for it here. Its native range is fairly harsh rugged territory, very rocky so this "should" help w/ regards to drought & cold tolerance, always a concern here. Also it has the splitting fruits which are rare in this genus but a trademark of the dainty Lytocaryums.

addendum - with regards to the POA lit, I highly recommend it, a must have book, fascinating read and very handy at IDing a vast amount of material. Also has real purty pictures for us word-challenged peoples.

Edited November 19, 2008 by Tala

[Al in Kona]

Yes Mike, just as Tala says, Syagrus botryophora and perhaps to a slightly lesser degree, Syagrus ruschiana, grow very slowly until they become pinnate. Then they really pick up speed (especially S. botryophora). That's been my experienced anyway. In habitat S. ruschiana grows in very rocky "soil," so apparently it doesn't require ideal soil conditions. There's certainly lots of volcanic rock in my soil. Would be interesting to see how this palm grows in a more clay-like soil.

[JD in the OC]

Here is one I have been growing for 2 years. Bought it from KW Palms and Cycads. Does this look like a S. rushiana to you Al?