I was reading a Robert Lee Riffle book on cultivated palms and came across this palm. The book states that these are rare in cultivation but has anyone had success growing these beauties? Would love to see some pics

Some people germinate and grow them....... for their great grandchildren to enjoy

I have some Guihaia grossefibrosa seedlings.

I have one! I love it however, it is a real slow grower. It does like bright light, but also likes to be well watered.

Seen on our last So Cal tour a couple weeks ago.

Mine took a couple of years to germinate and have been extremely slow since- some still have a single strap leaf after more than a year!

Mine is very slow, one palm a year for 10 years or so, and is in a bad shape, as you can see.

There is something wrong: soil, temperatures, exposure?

I have small Guihaia argyrata and Guihaia grossefibrosa , from seed 3 years ago, germination and duration of 3 months, when they are small they are delicate.

but grow very slowly!

(25 years ago were called Rhapis)

I have G. argyrata growing in filtered light with lots of water.

They are slow growing. Here is our largest Guihaia argyrata. It was planted March 1995

These are the largest I have seen. They are growing at Fairchild. They closely resemble Rhapidophyllym hystrix, Needle Palm.

I have had a small one (9-10" diameter) in the ground in my front garden for a year. It is indeed slow but in good company with all the Coccothrinax. At least it is supposedly more cold-hardy. Until the last few months of summer I wasn't sure it would make it but it seems to have settled into my hot, humid climate. I've had no luck at all growing these from seed.

Guihaia arygata

They are cold hardy. Back in the mid 90's I planted one at my exwifes parents house in N Virginia just south of Washington DC. They had temperatures down to about 5F that winter and the palm was defoliated but survived It started to grow back in the spring but a rabbit kept chewing on it and then it died.

They are slow growing. Here is our largest Guihaia argyrata. It was planted March 1995

Eric, Good to see you posting photos-- how large was it when you planted it? 3 gallons perhaps?

Best regards

Ed

Here's my little Guihaia argyrata...growing slowly but happily in Melbourne Australia.

Rumour has it that the initial batch brought into this region were done so under the presumption they were Rhapis. When they were eventually correctly identified, the importer was very upset, and ordered the whole lot to be dumped !!

This one has been in the ground for nearly 3 years, and was several years in a pot before that.

Regards

Michael.

Ed, they were in 1 gal. pots

G. argyrata is doing well here in Dallas and has had no problem with 18* lows. I like it- it is just very slow. It make the needle palm growth look fast.

Tony Avent at Plant Delights has a report on his site that an argyrata survived a winter low of 9F unprotected in perfect condition. And I agree with Meg, to me it looks for all the world like a Coccothrinax, though transplanted onto a Rhapidophyllum trunk. A real beauty in my opinion and one I've been searching for for years. I bought some seed but it has not germinated as of yet. Does anybody know where one can find one of these guys in plant form? I have a strapleaf grossefibrosa but can't find argyrata. Frustrating!

What really makes G. argyrata nice is the bronze colored underside of the leaves. If I ever see one for sale, I'm grabbing it.

Here's my little Guihaia argyrata...growing slowly but happily in Melbourne Australia.

Rumour has it that the initial batch brought into this region were done so under the presumption they were Rhapis. When they were eventually correctly identified, the importer was very upset, and ordered the whole lot to be dumped !!

This one has been in the ground for nearly 3 years, and was several years in a pot before that.

Regards

Michael.

Yeah, I heard that rumour. I don't find this palm slow. Mine was completely defoliated during the Feb 2009 Heatwave and I thought it was Guihaia toast. In that time, it has suckered profusely and regrown new leaves:

Love the silvery leaves (mine from the New New leaf thread):

I've just repotted this and it will stay there for many years!

Question: Is it possible to divide this plant? I have three trunks.

Cheers,

Adam

Here's my little Guihaia argyrata...growing slowly but happily in Melbourne Australia.

Rumour has it that the initial batch brought into this region were done so under the presumption they were Rhapis. When they were eventually correctly identified, the importer was very upset, and ordered the whole lot to be dumped !!

This one has been in the ground for nearly 3 years, and was several years in a pot before that.

Regards

Michael.

Yeah, I heard that rumour. I don't find this palm slow. Mine was completely defoliated during the Feb 2009 Heatwave and I thought it was Guihaia toast. In that time, it has suckered profusely and regrown new leaves:

Love the silvery leaves (mine from the New New leaf thread):

I've just repotted this and it will stay there for many years!

Question: Is it possible to divide this plant? I have three trunks.

Cheers,

Adam

Eric thanks for the reply

Heres a photo of one I got at the palm sale FTG --- it was in the groudn this winter so has seen 20F

Note large but I have high hopes.

Best regards

Ed

I have small Guihaia argyrata and Guihaia grossefibrosa , from seed 3 years ago, germination and duration of 3 months, when they are small they are delicate.

but grow very slowly!

(25 years ago were called Rhapis)

Giuseppe,please can you show a picture of your Guihaias? I also have seedlings about the same age. I would like to see how they compare in different growing conditions.

Alberto My son is on holiday,when comes post a photo .

I have seen this plant many times at different locales over the years....but none were near as large as the one I saw last weekend at David Sylvia's in San Jose. This was planted from a 5 gallon pot over 20 years ago.

What are the best light conditions for Guihaia.

Most of the places above look all very ´´light´´ and not the shade you read about everywere.

Is that Darold Petty I spy?

I have two in Augusta, GA. One (at 2' tall) started into a slow decline a few years ago. I think that it was in too much shade. The other one is in dry sand in nearly full sun and is doing fine, but growing slowly like everyone says. Cold never seems to be the problem. Both are irrigated regularly.

in nearly full sun and is doing fine, but growing slowly like everyone says. Cold never seems to be the problem.

yes the same from me too

One of those threads where you think Oh dear, I think I'm growing mine in the wrong place... If not for a sluggish Rhapis and a comatose Encephalartos, my Guihia would be the slowest thing in the garden.

Here are my two Guihaia just received last week,they are 15 years old. The other 6 lighter color ones are Trachycarpus Geminisectus. I saw one in Guilin China might be over 100 years. 

I have one that's doing OK, but it's slow.

 

Not the best looking specimen. I think san marcos is a palmy area being in proximity to carlsbad, esconido and vista. So something else must be done wrongly.  Mine look better though they get trampled by my dogs every year. They have both bloomed one being male and the other female but blooming times have not overlapped until now. They like a dolomite application now and then and a mulch with stones.

Purchased in 2010 as 10 year old plants in 1G tree pots.  Planted in the summer of 2013 and they are not much bigger than when they were planted.  SLOOOOOOOW.

They are in moderate to heavy shade as I was afraid they would bake in our summer heat, but so far no problems. 

Why do they have burnt tips? Same symptom as in the previous post. My plants never have so extended burnt tips. There must be taking place a horticultural mistake. 

Edited December 15, 20169 yr by Phoenikakias

In their Chinese habitat they are growing on steep limestone slopes in full sun, so I guess the dried tips of the leaflets might be a problem of insufficient drainage.

Here are my two specimens. I do not pay much attention to them.

Reviving an old thread. I don’t hear too much about these . I have had mine over 25 years and it is so slow I forget about it. Earlier this year it looked like it was dying but recently opened a couple new fronds. I think it would have done better with more shade, it gets quite a bit of sun. Harry

‘the new frond looks healthy but it may be some time before I see another!

I was out and about back in 1995 or so , on my way home from Santa Barbara , when I stopped for coffee in Montecito . I decided to go for a walk and stumbled onto a nursery that looked interesting . I mentioned to the owner that I collected palms . He perked up and said “ I bet you don’t have one of these”. He took me back to a run down , old greenhouse that he was taking down and there it was in a one gallon pot . He let me have it for $25 . I keep it tucked in between rocks because I read that it’s habitat is rocky ledges but maybe I will try a bit of organic fertilizer and mulch just to see if I can kick start it a bit. Harry

I have 3 plants grown from seeds. They grow in the shade of the native ipê- amarelo trees (Tabebuia alba) and get more sun in winter when the trees loose there leaves. Lately there are some suckers forming on the palms. 

15 minutes ago, Alberto said:

I have 3 plants grown from seeds. 

 

They're looking great Alberto, how old would they be now?

I have one I planted in about 2005.  It was as a seedling.  

It stayed very messy looking until a few years ago. That was when I trimmed it for the first time.   After trimming it looked decent!

Restarting this thread made me go and revisit today!  The first two pics are before I trimmed it up.  The next three are after trimming.

It's starting to look special to me!  The underside of the leaves is very silvery!

The last pic the snips are there for scale.

I will turn 67 next month so if I live to 100 it will grow from special to spectacular!!!

Randy

 

@yachtingone Does yours get shade? Also what watering schedule. Harry