How long until Kentia palm trunks?

[Zeeth]

So I got 3 Kentia palms a couple months ago for $7 each (this happened during the few months I was in SC, the store apparently wanted to get rid of them before winter, because they couldn't bring them in and they would die outdoors). I was wondering how long before they start trunking, as I like the way they look a lot more when they have some trunk on them. They grow really slowly, but they have a pretty decent size on them already. I have all 3 in pots, one on the front porch where it gets shaded from the sun, one in my room, and on in the living room. Two of them lost all but 2 fronds when I got them, but the one my room never missed a beat. I have some attached pictures of the palm in my room, it gets better care and grows the fastest. How many years do you guys think I have before it shows some rings of trunk?

A note on the pictures, on the trunk photo, you see the soil is very sandy, but that's just for decoration. The layer of sand is actually very thin.

Thanks all

Keith

[BigFrond]

about 3-4 years grasshopper

[DoomsDave]

about 3-4 years grasshopper

That's at a minimum, outdoors.

Indoors? Who knows . . . . .

I had a full-on ready to trunk specimen, and it took five years to trunk, though there was a freeze and big/fungus damage in the meantime . . .

[BigFrond]

about 3-4 years grasshopper

That's at a minimum, outdoors.

Indoors? Who knows . . . . .

I had a full-on ready to trunk specimen, and it took five years to trunk, though there was a freeze and big/fungus damage in the meantime . . .

Mine was half the size of Zeeth's and it took almost 4 years to trunk. She's already pulled up her long dress past the ankles.

[Palmə häl′ik]

Keith! What up CoCoNUT.

These H. forsterianas are sloooooo-w.

If they went any faster, they'd leave snail tracks...

They've been in the ground for six months now... They were all in one 7gal container when purchased...

I seperated them, and then there were three! BRILLIANT!

Effin' lawnmower catches the frond ends cuz they droop so hard... C'mon!! grow palm grow!

I've got one on the side of the house too in a container...

~Ray.

[boko]

Hallo daar

As a potplant? probably never. They grow wider but hardly gain hight. I never seen any kentia,s with a trunk indoors, only if they imported with one, en I see en sell them a lot!

dutch greetings peter

[Zeeth]

So I'll count on 3 years being the minimum. About how thick will the base be before it starts trunking? As you can see in the pics it's about 3 inches thick at the moment.

Nice pics Ray, the trunk on your big one looks different from Kentia trunks I've seen before. On one's I've seen in pictures, the trunk is usually green and the rings are farther apart.

This seems to be a great plant, one of the best indoor plants I've had, the only thing that I've had that's as easy to take care of was Dracaena sanderiana that I've had for a few years, also a slow grower. I can't wait for it to start trunking though, if only there was a faster variety around. I've had this one for a few months and it's still pushing out the frond it was when I got it! It's only moved 18 inches since I got it, but it's a steady grower. Is there any type of palm fertilizer that will work with container palms? Right now I just use miracle grow, so it's not exactly getting the caviar of ferts, but I don't know if the slow release stuff designed specifically for palms will be good on an indoor palm. Any suggestions? Thanks all. If anyone has any trunking indoor Kentias post them, I want to see what mine will look like after 3-5 years of delicate care. Thanks again,

Keith

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Keith, here is one growing in Pinellas Park (Pinellas County) at Falcon1988's house. I'm not sure how old it is. This photo was taken more than 2 years ago and I think it was just starting to trunk at the time.

I had two of them in pots at my house in Tampa. They were the best indoor palms I've ever grown. I would keep one in the house in my living room and the other was kept outside in the shade. I would swap them out every 4 months or so and bring the indoor Kentia outside, hose it off to get off all the dust, then I would bring the outdoor plant inside the house. I did this for years and the Kentia's grew really nicely for me - but they never trunked in a pot.

[Zeeth]

Thanks, that tree looks to be about 7 or 8 fronds ahead of mine, so maybe 28-30 years

I'm actually doing something like that with the other 2 I have. It never trunked for you? That stinks, I hope mine do. I like the look of them when they're trunking a lot. Especially when they are shade grown and trunking, and they have a nice deep green color to the trunk. These are quite excellent indoor palms, and they have the deserved reputation as such. I read up on them a lot, and when they were $7 each for as big as this one is, I got all the ones they had (3).

If I get another Beccariophoenix alfredii or 2 I'll test them out for an indoor environment. They'll at least grow with a little speed, where Kentia's well... don't. I like what Ray said about them with the snail thing, it's really true. How long did you live in Tampa?

Keith

[Palmə häl′ik]

OH YEAH.

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Nice one Jeff... or Falcon... Who's ever it is...

I can't wait to 'thin out the oak canopy' for mine...

[BS Man about Palms]

I'm not quite sure if its quite the same in Florida as here, but long time grower Jim Wright (who has some 30'plus Kentia's) told me if its nice and warm, you almost can't overwater them, as soon as it cools down, STOP the water.

I have noticed on mine that if I leave the water on a little long, I can SEE the extra growth over the next day or two from my van in the street!!

[Zeeth]

I'm not quite sure if its quite the same in Florida as here, but long time grower Jim Wright (who has some 30'plus Kentia's) told me if its nice and warm, you almost can't overwater them, as soon as it cools down, STOP the water.

I have noticed on mine that if I leave the water on a little long, I can SEE the extra growth over the next day or two from my van in the street!!

Actually that bit of info helps. I've been underwatering them a little, but the one outside from now on is getting drenched until the temps cool down.

Anyone know of any fertilizers that are good for indoor palms?

Keith

[Zeeth]

I found a nice trunk close up:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9...iana_Palms3.jpg

Hopefully in 10-20 years indoors mine will be like that...

[Brad Mondel]

was that at cactus sands in myrtle beach?! anyway......i got mine for 12$ and its already got 2 rings of trunk,it seems faster than its reputation has said.-brad

[peachy]

The bad news is that the trunks dont stay green. In time they turn a very ordinary grey. I had an old house in Melbourne and there were about 10 of them, 6 or 7 metres tall and they all had gone grey !! I dont know how long they take to trunk here as I never keep them long enough. Inevitably somebody will always admire them when I am at the losing patience (and interest ) stage and they get given away. They are quite cheap here so I am not as generous as people think either.

Peachy

[Zeeth]

was that at cactus sands in myrtle beach?! anyway......i got mine for 12$ and its already got 2 rings of trunk,it seems faster than its reputation has said.-brad

It was in Columbia. How much bigger does yours seem than mine? A picture would be nice, a picture of the fronds and also a close up of the trunk.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

My Howea forsteriana is not far off trunking . I bought it in 1997 as a small 3 gallon grows about 3 fronds a year .

Here is one in a neighbourhood not far from me thats got a small amount of trunk .

[mlovecan]

I agree, trunking in a pot is quite unlikely - though not 100% impossible - only ever seen a couple that seemed to have trunked in smaller pots after long periods of time in quite airy places like airports.

A few years back I purchased a quadruple in Germany on ebay that was about 20 years old. The couple that owned it were getting rid of it due to the fact that the stretched petioles were pushing the palm into the ceiling and it was no longer practical to keep it. I planted it in my garden here where it was quickly reduced to a 2 1/2 foot single. After four years in the ground it is now trunking - and starting to get much faster ( about half the new fronds of an archo ).

[Brad Mondel]

i have a pic of the whole plant but not a closeup yet on my pc i will get you one later,here it is,the leaves are so heavy they bend the stem over!

was that at cactus sands in myrtle beach?! anyway......i got mine for 12$ and its already got 2 rings of trunk,it seems faster than its reputation has said.-brad

It was in Columbia. How much bigger does yours seem than mine? A picture would be nice, a picture of the fronds and also a close up of the trunk.

[Brad Mondel]

here it is it.

Edited August 25, 2009 by ArchAngeL01

[Mark Heath]

My Howea forsteriana is not far off trunking . I bought it in 1997 as a small 3 gallon grows about 3 fronds a year .

Here is one in a neighbourhood not far from me thats got a small amount of trunk .

Troy,

Wow, what a beauty!!! Makes me wish i had some cash, i know where to buy Kentias that are that large but $400 is too

steap for me!

[Tassie_Troy1971]

My Howea forsteriana is not far off trunking . I bought it in 1997 as a small 3 gallon grows about 3 fronds a year .

Here is one in a neighbourhood not far from me thats got a small amount of trunk .

Troy,

Wow, what a beauty!!! Makes me wish i had some cash, i know where to buy Kentias that are that large but $400 is too

steap for me!

Hi Mark

The kentia in that picture isnt mine its in a neigbourhood closeby . They should grow quicker in your climate as you are alot warmer than Tasmania maybe 5 fronds a year . 400 is cheap for a kentia that big believe me .

Troy

[Eric in Orlando]

This one was planted in 1998, a little bigger than the one in your photo. Its been showing some clear trunk now for a couple years. Its growing in bright filtered shade.