Majesty Palm (Ravenea rivularis

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Hi everyone

i stumbled across a large ( 1 m ) Ravenea rivularis at my local hardware store 2 weeks ago . I am planing on planting it outside in late spring . I know these palms love full sun but will mine burn to a crisp when i put it in full sun or do i have to put a frame of 50 % shadecloth around it ?

[Miccles]

Hi everyone

i stumbled across a large ( 1 m ) Ravenea rivularis at my local hardware store 2 weeks ago . I am planing on planting it outside in late spring . I know these palms love full sun but will mine burn to a crisp when i put it in full sun or do i have to put a frame of 50 % shadecloth around it ?

Hi Troy,

In my opinion it depends on whether it was inside or outside at the hardware store. If it has been grown as an indoor plant, it might pay to acclimate it slowly once you've planted it. They LOVE manure and heaps of water. Once established, full sun is fine. Mine coped with the Jan/Feb heatwave we had in Melbourne this year, but only because it was being flooded with water. Mine was in a large pot for several years and never burnt in a "normal" summer (ie; the summers before the most recent one... ). It will be fine.

Regards

Michael.

[Pivi]

I bought mine from a greenhouse so there were pretty much shade/half shade conditions.

It was kept under shade cloth for 2 weeks and removed it. No signs of leaf burn 3 months later.

It's on full sun most of the day...maybe some shade during day.

I hear they grow much faster when placed on full sun.

[edric]

They do horrible in full sun until they trunk, be careful not to get the crown wet when watering, my neighbor lost one of his from letting the sprinklers hit the crown, my other neighbor has one in deep shade, and it's dark green, and receives little care, except ground watering, and lawn fertilizer, Ed

[MattyB]

Full sun is fine, just keep real wet and fertilize it alot for a couple of years while it's getting established. The old leaves will burn bad but it's fast and will recover in one season easily.

[FRITO]

ive watered the crown with cold water in mid winter here for a couple years. never lost it due to crown rot or spear pull, they only thing that ever gets it is frost and below freezing temps, it gets damage but the bud on these is surprisingly hardy.

ive keept it in a pot outdoors for about 2-3 years now, I have found I CANT over water or over fertilize within reason.

they come back no problem from lower 20's although completly defoliated they regrow a new crown in 1 growing season here.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Thanks for all your replies . Ravenea rivularis IMO is a beautiful palm and its fast growth is a real bonus. I have a spot for it in deep sandy loam that has been enriched with pulverized cow manure veggie scraps and lawn clippings .

cheers Troy

[edric]

You may want to read this, Ed http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56987/

[Gan Eden]

Hi everyone

i stumbled across a large ( 1 m ) Ravenea rivularis at my local hardware store 2 weeks ago . I am planing on planting it outside in late spring . I know these palms love full sun but will mine burn to a crisp when i put it in full sun or do i have to put a frame of 50 % shadecloth around it ?

Hi Troy,

Here in Kalgoorlie, the heat gets very intense, as does the light, getting as high as UV index 14. I have a 2m Majestic and I have it planted under my large Melia trees which are great because the leaf litter is good for them this time of the year plus the winter sun gets thru and they provide great, but not too dense shade.

[Big Tex]

ive watered the crown with cold water in mid winter here for a couple years. never lost it due to crown rot or spear pull, they only thing that ever gets it is frost and below freezing temps, it gets damage but the bud on these is surprisingly hardy.

ive keept it in a pot outdoors for about 2-3 years now, I have found I CANT over water or over fertilize within reason.

they come back no problem from lower 20's although completly defoliated they regrow a new crown in 1 growing season here.

I have one with 2 foot of trunk and 3 other small ones with no trunk. Like you, I water mine daily from the top down just like it is raining. I also fertilize it every 3 months. Never had a problem with any of them. The small ones were inside, but the lack of light was slowly killing them. I put them outside and never had a problem with them and they are now growing healthy and quickly. The big one is planted on the East side of my house and it gets full sun until about 1-2 pm. Like you, the only thing that bothers my big one is the frost. I'm not really sure how many fronds the big one puts on each year but I am sure it is around 10-12. It's opened up 4 this year already.

[edric]

ive watered the crown with cold water in mid winter here for a couple years. never lost it due to crown rot or spear pull, they only thing that ever gets it is frost and below freezing temps, it gets damage but the bud on these is surprisingly hardy.

ive keept it in a pot outdoors for about 2-3 years now, I have found I CANT over water or over fertilize within reason.

they come back no problem from lower 20's although completly defoliated they regrow a new crown in 1 growing season here.

I have one with 2 foot of trunk and 3 other small ones with no trunk. Like you, I water mine daily from the top down just like it is raining. I also fertilize it every 3 months. Never had a problem with any of them. The small ones were inside, but the lack of light was slowly killing them. I put them outside and never had a problem with them and they are now growing healthy and quickly. The big one is planted on the East side of my house and it gets full sun until about 1-2 pm. Like you, the only thing that bothers my big one is the frost. I'm not really sure how many fronds the big one puts on each year but I am sure it is around 10-12. It's opened up 4 this year already.

[Ras]

Just got one (double with a much smaller one), and put in a large pot by the pool. Nursery had it in a much smaller pot which was rooted and had to "break the roots". Hoping it does well with more space and better soil.

From what I have heard, these need a ton of water so giving it that for the next few days. Any experts here - would appreciate tips on how to keep this baby healthy.

 

[Jubaea]

Put it in the ground if you can and give it plenty of water and a good palm fertilizer.  It looks like the main plant in your white pot is not planted deep enough.  If planted slightly deeper the main palm should be able to send down more roots.

[Ras]

Thanks @Jubaea

I read that you should not fertilize when transplanting, so I am holding off. Should I go ahead and fertilize anyway? Sure she will go through a bit of transplant shock, so trying to be as safe as possible. Also, do the roots grow from the top (not where the root ball is)? It came planted that high in the pot it was in, so tried to replicate as much as possible. Looked around and saw these that look planted up a bit as well. Hoping she will be OK, but if I need to get it down further to save her I certainly will.

Thanks again.

[Tracy]

9 hours ago, Jubaea said:

Put it in the ground if you can and give it plenty of water and a good palm fertilizer.  It looks like the main plant in your white pot is not planted deep enough.  If planted slightly deeper the main palm should be able to send down more roots.

 

55 minutes ago, Ras said:

Also, do the roots grow from the top (not where the root ball is)? It came planted that high in the pot it was in, so tried to replicate as much as possible. Looked around and saw these that look planted up a bit as well.

As pointed out above, yours is planted less than ideally high in the pot.  If you look at enough photos or around town, you can find examples of plants surviving in less than ideal planting situations like the ones in your photo that are planted high.  I don't normally think of R rivularis as a longterm candidate for keeping planted in a pot, which is probably why my Jubea loving friend also suggested that it go into the ground.  There are plenty of other palm candidates for container planting, but for R rivularis to look it's best it really needs room for roots to grow and plenty of agua!