Trachycarpus princeps growth performance.

[garrytsen]

A friend raised me a very interesting question that some Trachycarpus princeps have small ,broad and stiff leaves whereas others have soft,slim and long ones.

I think there are a dozen of factors affecting the growth performance of T.princeps.

1. Nutrition.

more nutrition T.princeps is fed with , the broader its leaves are.Nutrition makes a big difference in this respect.The seedling I grow separately in a pot has broader leaves than the ones growing in the same pot altogether. Very interesting different look T.princeps demonstrate under different conditions.It is noticed that some seedlings are bluish with little white stuff even on the upper side whereas others have that only to the underside looking bit of light green, differentiating themselves from regular T.fortunei.

2. Age

T.princep initially put out narrower leaflets and then broader and broader ones as time goes on.

Plus, the older it is, the more apparent the whiter stuff to the underside of the leaves are.

3. Sunlight.

Several of my T.princeps in the shade show white powder later than those growing in a sunny place.I think partly because they have slower growth in a shady place but when they are bigger, they develop whitish stuff as well.Another interesting thing is that the seedlings under heavy shade normally put out narrower and longer leaflets than their counterparts.

The following is a comparison.

Trachycarpus princeps in der Sonne

Trachycarpus princeps unter schwerem Schatten

[JakeK]

If my area of Cincinnati was a 1/2 zone higher (7a), i would definitely try T. princeps. I did manage to get a fortunei to survive outdoors at a colder location in Cincinnati for three years with artificial protection (wrapping) before I sold it. I found that they can survive extremely low temperatures for a palm if protected from the wind and if water is kept out of the crown.

[Alberto]

Trachycarpus princeps in der Sonne

Trachycarpus princeps unter schwerem Schatten

Garry,sprechen Sie Deutch???? I don´t!

For who didn´t understand what was written:

Trachycarpus princeps (growing)in son.

Trachycarpus princeps growing in heavy (dense) shade.

PS My T.princeps grown in shade shows elongated petioles and now it is growing in full sun the petioles are shorter.

[TheChemist]

I think it's normal that a palm growing in full sun will be more compact and stiff than a palm that is grown in shade. It's the same with T. fortunei, not only T. princeps.

In german forums it was discussed, that there may be also a difference between T. princeps germinated from seeds of Golden Lotus, Thailand (Ruud Meeldijk), and Coldplant.com (Garry Tsen). I don't know, whether that is true, because I only have very small T. princeps, germinated from Golden Lotus-seeds. But I can say, that the seeds look different and germinate in different ways:

T. princeps seeds from Golden Lotus are very small (clearly smaller than T. fortunei-seeds) and need a long time for germinating. Seeds from coldplant.com are bigger (like Trachycarpus fortunei) and germinate much faster. Perhaps they are two different varieties of T. princeps or even two different kinds of Trachycarpus? Who knows ...

Edited January 15, 2010 by TheChemist

[garrytsen]

I think it's normal that a palm growing in full sun will be more compact and stiff than a palm that is grown in shade. It's the same with T. fortunei, not only T. princeps.

In german forums it was discussed, that there may be also a difference between T. princeps germinated from seeds of Golden Lotus, Thailand (Ruud Meeldijk), and Coldplant.com (Garry Tsen). I don't know, whether that is true, because I only have very small T. princeps, germinated from Golden Lotus-seeds. But I can say, that the seeds look different and germinate in different ways:

T. princeps seeds from Golden Lotus are very small (clearly smaller than T. fortunei-seeds) and need a long time for germinating. Seeds from coldplant.com are bigger (like Trachycarpus fortunei) and germinate much faster. Perhaps they are two different varieties of T. princeps or even two different kinds of Trachycarpus? Who knows ...

Hi Chemist,

Nice meeting you here. Thank you for raising another interesting question after the first above one is put to me by Andreas as he found that he grew small leaved T.princeps and also some prolong leaved ones at the same time.

Regarding T.princep from coldplant, I should say first of all there is no doubt they are 100% real T.princeps collected by us as it is verified by many customers in Germany and around the world.

As for the seed size, the princeps seed is still bit of smaller than regular T.fortunei (Chusan) after I compare them together. See the following photo.

But I got no idea if our princeps seed is bigger than those from Golden lotus, it is hard for me to say as I did not get them ready at the same time and compare. For this you may ask Andreas and Dirk who got the new T.princeps seeds this year if you are interested.

As for the germination of T.princeps, it depends on the people. Say, Peter wisbar you may know got 80% germination of T.princeps whereas Andreas got around 20% ( www.exotenwiese.de) and I got around 30% from the same batch of seeds last year. Very big difference.

The main reason why T.princeps need a long time before germination is that they are not physiologically mature which is another big difference from other trachycarpus and so there is a long dormancy before they can germinate. The germination takes 6 month up to 3 years or above as I heard.

You are right sunlight makes a big difference in T.princeps' appearance ,also Nutrition is another important factor.

Comparison is made between both growing in fertile and sandy condition.

See comparison

T.princeps growing in fertile soil.

T.princeps growing in sandy soil

[garrytsen]

Trachycarpus princeps in der Sonne

Trachycarpus princeps unter schwerem Schatten

Garry,sprechen Sie Deutch???? I don´t!

For who didn´t understand what was written:

Trachycarpus princeps (growing)in son.

Trachycarpus princeps growing in heavy (dense) shade.

PS My T.princeps grown in shade shows elongated petioles and now it is growing in full sun the petioles are shorter.

Alberto,

Sorry I first put this posting on a German forum as it was raised by a German and forgot to change the name.

It means T.princeps growing under sunlight and T.princeps growing under heavy shade respectively.

Sure I also noticed this interesting thing. Plus, under the sun, T.princeps tends to show the white stuff to the underside of the leaves earlier than in the shade.

[TheChemist]

... As for the seed size, the princeps seed is still bit of smaller than regular T.fortunei (Chusan) after I compare them together. See the following photo.

But I got no idea if our princeps seed is bigger than those from Golden lotus, it is hard for me to say as I did not get them ready at the same time and compare.

Hello Garry,

a few members of german forums got seeds from both, Golden Lotus and Coldplant. There was a difference in the size of the seeds (bigger seeds from coldplant). That must not mean that this are two different varieties of T. princeps, because variation in size may also occur due to many other factors. But it is possible that it are two varieties of T. princeps (particularly if they also show a different habitus of the plants, what still has to be found out).

You can tell by the first seed leaf, wether a Trachycarpus seedling is a "real" T. princeps (silver, not "Green princeps") or not: The nerves/leaf veins of the T. princeps seed leave are highly symmetric, totally different from T. fortunei.

...

As for the germination of T.princeps, it depends on the people. Say, Peter wisbar you may know got 80% germination of T.princeps whereas Andreas got around 20% ( www.exotenwiese.de) and I got around 30% from the same batch of seeds last year. Very big difference. ... The germination takes 6 month up to 3 years or above as I heard.

I also heard about the 80 % germination of coldplant-princeps. Golden Lotus-seeds are reported to germinate with a typical quote of 25 %. But it will depend on the germination conditions: Day and night temperature, pH-value, humidity, ... My GL-seeds have a germination quote of 23 % after 44 weeks, but germination is still in progress and the quote will get bigger. I never germinated coldplant-seeds myself, so unfortunately I can't compare the germination quote under the exactly same conditions.

You are right sunlight makes a big difference in T.princeps' appearance ,also Nutrition is another important factor.

Comparison is made between both growing in fertile and sandy condition...

Another well known fact is that many palms only get the full bluish/silver color if they get enough sunlight. In the shade they will keep the green leaf-color and have long petioles and very soft leaves. I think it's the same with T. princeps.

Edited January 16, 2010 by TheChemist