king palms

[cencalpalmguy]

I know those of you that live in Florida and So. Cal. probably refuse to grow these due to the abundance of them, but here in the Fresno area of Ca. we are limited due to the heavy frosts and fog of the winter and the intense heat and drought of the summer. Every yard around has queen palms, so if I were to go with a king, what would it be? Are a. cunninghamiana and a. illawara the same thing? Which is more cold tolerant? I looked on Ortanique and r.p.s. and neither site had them listed. Thanks, Chad.

[freakypalmguy]

A. cunninghamiana, but heavy frost can burn them pretty good. My illawara burns below freezing or with light frost.

[Gonzer]

I know those of you that live in Florida and So. Cal. probably refuse to grow these due to the abundance of them

Chad, a well grown King out here (or anywhere FTM) is still a thing of beauty.

[osideterry]

From what I'm hearing, the Illawara's aren't much more coldhardy than the regular cunninghamiana. I bet they are harder to find good deals on of any size.

Having planted 11 of the things in my yard (3 triples and 2 singles), I highly recommend planting them as multiples. My triples always look way better than the singles. There "nested" fronds don't get nearly as beaten by the wind.

[John Case]

I am 'experiementing' with A. cunninghamia here in beautiful downtown (well, the outskirts) Brentwood.

The first photo is one I got as a landscaper return at a local nursery and sold to me as an A. cunninghamia last year in August. It spent this winter in the ground after lots of thought. The second was one I got as an auction winner at our chapter meeting 2 years ago, as an A. cunninghamia var. 'Illawara'.

So far so good. We shall see.

[ghar41]

Hi Chad,

Ive been growing different types of Kings here in the Modesto area at two different locations over the past 13 years. Im in Sunset Zone 14, somewhat bordering your Sunset Zone 8. According to the literature the main difference between you and I are that I am more likely to recieve marine influence, the movement of air moderating the deep freezes. The fact that I am closer to your Zone 8, than I am to Zone 16 or 17 (both better for Kings) means that you and I are more alike in climate than different.

A. cunninghamiana "illawara" has done the best for me. It is no more freeze tolerant than A. cunninghamiana but it grows faster at my place. A. purpurea is the only other one ive tried and it didnt last through the winter.

Mine have survived winters best when planted next to the house. Young trees always do better for me if they are under a canopy. Clear exposure to cold winter nights should be limited to emergent palms only. Beware of dry freezes and dry trees. On mild days they grow, and we often go weeks without rain, so always, always keep them watered in the winter. The deadliest scenario, by far, is a dry hard freeze followed by lots of rain. When the spears burn, necrotic tissue rots and spreads quickly in cold, wet weather.

A Fresno summer can dry out a King palm to its death in an hour. Water them in the summer like you are filling a fish bowl. Tons, as much as your water bill can take. Use mulch to enrich the soil, conserve water and to help keep the roots an even temperature. Automatic sprinklers have worked great for me, and they never forget, or go on vacation. Strongly consider planting them in morning sun only, if at all possible. When they are tall enough to emerge through a tall overhead canopy, they have a better chance of surviving our central valley summers.

Mine replace their crowns every year with 5 or 6 new fronds. Good thing...as they can look pretty rough after a long winter. The "illawara" pictured is from a 5 gallon pot planted 6 years ago. It flowered last Fall, the seeds didnt set.

Good luck to you, trying as I do, to grow tropical palms here in the greatest food producing region on Earth!

[cencalpalmguy]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Glenn, I was hoping you or some other valley guys would chime in. Oh, and thanks for the great pics. Everything in my yard now is on drip and is doing fine. With the water problems we are facing here I might have to stay away from these though. My queens can't seem to get enough water, so I had to place corragated drain pipes straight down a few feet deep on each side and run the drip line into the pipe filling it up to get the water to the roots. When I did this they took off, but I can't afford more thirsty palms. I am looking for a few acres near the river a few miles from here that would look good covered in palms . Untill then thanks for all the help. Chad

[ghar41]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Glenn, I was hoping you or some other valley guys would chime in. Oh, and thanks for the great pics. Everything in my yard now is on drip and is doing fine. With the water problems we are facing here I might have to stay away from these though. My queens can't seem to get enough water, so I had to place corragated drain pipes straight down a few feet deep on each side and run the drip line into the pipe filling it up to get the water to the roots. When I did this they took off, but I can't afford more thirsty palms. I am looking for a few acres near the river a few miles from here that would look good covered in palms . Untill then thanks for all the help. Chad

Glad to have you aboard! When I started growing palms, I thought Kings were the pinnacle of feather palm possibilties in the central valley. Now, if I were giving the opportunity to do it all over again, I would plant feather palms in this order of preference:

1. Dypsis decipiens

2. Parajubaea sunkha

3. Parajubaea toralyi var. torallyi

4. Jubaea chilensis

5. Canary Island Date Palm

These are all way more spectacular and drought tolerant than Archontophoenix. They are slower growing, but definitely worth the wait.

[Jonathan]

Good luck to you, trying as I do, to grow tropical palms here in the greatest food producing region on Earth!

Glenn,

I think there may be about a billion Chinese who would dispute California being the greatest food producing region on earth!!!

And I think you are being a bit tough on Archontophoenix...maybe you should add "in my climate", to the statement "these are all way more spectacular and drought tolerant than Archontophoenix"....because I can tell you from experience that a forest of Bangalows filling a rainforest gully in Queensland is a VERY spectacular site indeed.

Sorry to be contrary, but there's a lot of subjectiveness flying around here...and I'm the Subjective Police - and you're under arrest

Cheers,

Jonathan

[ghar41]

Good luck to you, trying as I do, to grow tropical palms here in the greatest food producing region on Earth!

Glenn,

I think there may be about a billion Chinese who would dispute California being the greatest food producing region on earth!!!

And I think you are being a bit tough on Archontophoenix...maybe you should add "in my climate", to the statement "these are all way more spectacular and drought tolerant than Archontophoenix"....because I can tell you from experience that a forest of Bangalows filling a rainforest gully in Queensland is a VERY spectacular site indeed.

Sorry to be contrary, but there's a lot of subjectiveness flying around here...and I'm the Subjective Police - and you're under arrest

Cheers,

Jonathan

My apologies to the Banga's and the Chinese!

[swamptreenelly]

Hi,

In Newark, Ca. I have seen old Kings two stories high, they are gone from the freeze of the century in 89-91?

But the are making a comeback in the Tri City area. It's hard to tell the regular kings from illawara. The illawara grows a little faster. They all have had fronds burn in the winter, but not to bad this year.

I love queens too. 7 new fronds a year with flower and seed drop. The seeds stick to the ashalt. Heavy fronds can hit the walkways at times. Still very tropical and worth the efforts.

I love the Jubaea, Braheas, Sabals, Livistona, Chamaerops, Trachycarpus, Butia, Bismarckia, Phoenix and Parajubaeas. We have them all growing here now thanks to the Northern California Palm Society connections.

http://www.fremontica.com/roadside/list.ph...+cunninghamiana

http://www.palmsnc.org/

[Mark Heath]

Chad,

I would deffinatly plant the King palm if i were you! Drip irrigation is the best way and does'nt take much water.

Yes, they like alot of water but you will be rewarded w/ a beautifull palm! They don't like frost but recover very fast!

[_Keith]

I live in a frost intensive area, so I planted my A. cunninghamiana under tall canopy. Sure, it'll grow to its death eventually, but I should get to enjoy a good decade out of it before then. And when it goes, I'll just start another.

[Jonathan]

My apologies to the Banga's and the Chinese!

Theres nothing like a good Chinese Banger!!!