Min temps for Areca catechu

[SubTropicRay]

What's the minimum temp for Areca catechu? It seems to be slightly hardier than I first believed. It doesn't seem as tender as the palms from the Seychelles.

[Tyrone]

I'm growing one in the ground and it's probably been down to 3C. My greenhouse one has been down to 5C and is fine. I've got a Licuala grandis in there doing fine too. It may go down a tad lower, but would need a bit of heat in the day to counteract the low temp.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Daryl]

Ray, I don't know about absolute minimums, but mine took -1C 18 months ago for most of the night and survived without much leaf damage, just some brown patches. It is back to normal health now, and has about 4 feet of trunk.

Daryl

[Tyrone]

Daryl, you have an amazingly hardy A catechu to handle minus 1C. Are you sure the plant actually experienced -1C? If so that's incredible. I never thought it could handle that sort of low temp.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Daryl]

Daryl, you have an amazingly hardy A catechu to handle minus 1C. Are you sure the plant actually experienced -1C? If so that's incredible. I never thought it could handle that sort of low temp.

Best regards

Tyrone

The fruiting Pritchardia lowreyana 2 metres away from it was totally defoliated, as was the Yellow Latania 4 metres away, and the Dypsis leptocheilos all around it. Admittedly it may have been 'slightly' warmer as there were a couple of palm fronds above it, but that was the only canopy it had to protect from the cold on that night.

This past winter it took 20 straight nights of 3-5C minimums with hardly a spot on it. The first post-winter leaf was slightly stunted though.

regards,

Daryl

[SubTropicRay]

It sounds almost as "hardy" as a Coconut. Do you gents agree?

Thanks for the responses.

[spockvr6]

It sounds almost as "hardy" as a Coconut. Do you gents agree?

Thanks for the responses.

Ray-

Before I killed mine with rope lights, it handled temps into the 34F range and only had some spotting.

However, there are a pair of them in a front yard in Safety Harbor, that were about 75% defoliated during this same cold front in 2006. I saw these palms again earlier this year and they looked fine.

[Daryl]

It sounds almost as "hardy" as a Coconut. Do you gents agree?

Thanks for the responses.

Ray, I'd put it on par with a coconut. I think it is leaf hardier though. I lost a dwarf malay in that same winter (my only in-ground casualty), and they are whimpier than standard coconuts IMO. My regular coconuts got burnt pretty badly that year but survived. Then again so did my red triangles!

regards,

Daryl

[Kathryn]

Ray - I have two small plants in the ground under some Livistona chinensis. They made it through last winter with several nights around 28ºF (-2ºC).

[SubTropicRay]

Thanks for all of the responses.

Daryl, I'm glad you said the part about the leaf hardiness. That's what I've noticed too. A. catechu certainly doesn't seem deserving of the zone 11 40F (4C) classification it gets here in the states.

[Daryl]

Yep, I'd say it is no less hardy than A.triandra or A.vestiaria (in my climate)

Daryl

[ariscott]

I think that is because it is still warm in Brisbane/Gold Coast during the day in winter....

Regards, Ari

[Tyrone]

I agree with Daryl in that it seems just as cold hardy as A triandra and vestiara, which I think makes it's slightly more hardy than a coconut in my climate. My little A catechu doesn't even mark up in winter, it just grows very slllllooooooowwwwwwwwlllllllly until spring when it gets out of 1st gear and speeds up again.

Best regards

Tyrone

[The Palm Nut]

I have two and this one is by far the tallest at over 20 feet. The last couple of years the winters have been cold and wet with many nights below 5C min and some that touched on freezing. Frost was light at best on the few spots of lawn I keep. But more importantly the ground was kept cold, around 12C, not changing much over the period of June to Aug. A heated pond was close by which would of helped as Iam certain the roots would have ventured under it. The other one is planted to recieve morning to late morning sun in the winter and has a nice canope to protect it, the soil tends to dry out quicker due to all the other much larger plants close by. Areca vestiaria in my opinion are more cold hardy, even more so the red leaf form. I would put these in the same category as the Licuala grandis, Pinanga caesia, and Aiphanes minima to name a few.

[The Palm Nut]

As far as the coconuts are concerned I think these are hardier only for the simple fact these do much better in the open winter or summer, they may black spot more but they recover faster by along shot and obviously take much lower temps.

Cheers

Mike

[Jeff Searle]

Ray,

As you know, every cold front that passes through, can be a little different from the next. many variables go into play. I think in your area, your pushing the limits. If your going to plant one out, try to put in a spot that shields it from the drying, cold winds on a front.

But hey, their pretty cheap to buy now, so it might be worth to go for it.

Jeff

[paulgila]

i keep hearing a.triandra is fairly hardy for an areca.anyone have any thoughts on this?

[SubTropicRay]

Jeff,

The coconuts around here have been setting seed for several years now so the A. catechu has a decent chance for awhile. They are cheap but look so good.

Ray

[The Palm Nut]

i keep hearing a.triandra is fairly hardy for an areca.anyone have any thoughts on this?

These would be on par with the red leaf vestiaria for my climate.

Mike

[paulgila]

probably just wishful thinking on our part in socal.

[The Palm Nut]

Jeff,

The coconuts around here have been setting seed for several years now so the A. catechu has a decent chance for awhile. They are cheap but look so good.

Ray

Ray, I have lost quite a few of these over the years and if you are able to keep it alive till its got some size to it, the more it can handle the cold and wet. Mine you in your area with a few frosts, will certainly kill it. Make a portable hothouse like it did while it's young!, you might get several years out of it then.

Mike

[The Palm Nut]

My challenge now is to see if one day I will get seeds from it! Anyone with knowledge on the length of time from flowering to ripe seed? If it flowers in spring, maybe a chance?

Cheers

Mike

[SubTropicRay]

Thanks Mike. I fortunately have plenty of high oak canopy. This is almost frostproof and our relatively infrequent freezing temps almost never reach this area.

[Eric in Orlando]

I would agree that they are about the same as a coconut in cold hardiness but they are slightly more tender to long periods of cool. They often will open 1 or 2 white leaves in spring if there has been a lot of cool weather but then these green up. Areca triandra is definitely hardier, to both cool and cold.

[Tala]

I agree the catechu palms are a bit tougher than previously thought, on par w/ Cocos but the big issue (for me anyway) w/ them is they do not grow back out from defoliation well at all. Very similar to Actinorhytis in this regard. I'm pretty sure Areca flowers yr round, thats what my triandra does anyway. Someone asked about them above, I think they are without question the best in the genus at handling cold temps but still its not saying much. One fortunate note is they can easily regrow from the roots if frozen to the ground. I've lost several woody stems over the yrs but the same palm always comes back. Last time was in '02, the tallest stem now has 4 or 5 ft of wood. The one negative about them is those blasted cold spots on the leaves, these appear as soon as my low gets to 40f or below. The same happens here to Veitchia, plenty of others I shouldn't be growing.

[paulgila]

thanks,eric!

[DoomsDave]

My place is for sure a Death Camp for Arecas, and not because of the lowest temps.

Rather, the problem is that evil combo of Stan Anal Winds, and that long cool season, which kills them dead like Raid.

If you can keep an Areca warm enough (in a suntrap) it will thrive.

But it's tough.

dave

[philinsydney]

As far as the coconuts are concerned I think these are hardier only for the simple fact these do much better in the open winter or summer, they may black spot more but they recover faster by along shot and obviously take much lower temps.

Cheers

Mike

Hi Mike,

Yours might be the most southerly coconuts on the east coast. There have been reports of one in Forster; is this true?

[chris78]

pohonkelapa

Areca triandra is hardier to both cool and cold and is the only Areca I was able to grow outside. I had a few for years under tree canopy.... They will burn if temperatures drop below 28F..... I did loss mine after several drops below 25F...... They do like a warm season.... and LOTS of water.. If you get one plant in a very warm spot and keep it moist..... I even had one in a bog garden......

[paulgila]

thanks,chris.i see them around at nurseries from time to time.next time i'll go for it!

[ariscott]

thanks,chris.i see them around at nurseries from time to time.next time i'll go for it!

Since when cold hardiness ever stopped you... Paul?? I think if you have them big enough, you should be right....

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

haha,benar ari