Other then Jeff's beauty who has had positive results from this palm. I have had them croak in pots and in the ground. I presently have three planted in mixed sun on a berm of topsoil. They looked OK going into the winter, look less OK now but not burnt, just yellow. Most of the decline seemed to have started before the winter though. So if you have a nice one where it planted and any other particular information to your success is appreciated.

We have 2 growing well here. They are about 4-5ft tall. They suffered some burn this winter but are fine.

I'm one my 3rd - a 3g I received last week. So far, I've killed a 1g in a pot and a 4-footer in the ground. This latest will be the charm or a final kiss-off. I'm still not sure what I did wrong, but the 1g never made it to winter in 2008 and the larger one survived winter of 2008/09 only to croak last summer. It stopped growing, then in a matter of a few weeks collapsed and died, starting with outer leaves in to the spear. I had shaded it from direct summer sun, so maybe full shade was too much. This palm may be far more persnickity than easy.

I can honestly say now, that I have seen plenty of nice looking ones and some with good size like mine growing in Broward and Dade County. Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens also has several large ones now established. From what I have seen from a grower and seller of these palms, I would say the biggest problem people have had when starting out with one, is that they plant it in full sun as a small palm, and they seem to resent this. They prefer a semi shade area at an early age. If they can then later on break out of the canopy into the full sun, they will do just fine. Or, if they can be planted where they get some protection from say the hot summer afternoon sun early on, this will help also. I think they also prefer a good supply of water when trying to get established.

This palm is so beautiful, it's worth trying another one if you lost one already. They came through the cold weather real good, and are extreamly tough when hurricanes become an issue.

Jeff

I'm not in Florida but as Jeff was saying, I've found that sun is the enemy of this palm when young. I tried my usual, shade cloth tent for the first year and then when I thought it was time to take it off and let the palm acclimate it fried very quickly, way too much to just let it tough it out. So I had to reinstall the shade cloth and install some foxtail canopy plantings around it for the future. It's since recovered from the sun burn and is much happier. It dosen't seem to mind the upper 30's and only the newest most tender leaf shows minor spots on those really cold nights.

I'm not in Florida but as Jeff was saying, I've found that sun is the enemy of this palm when young. I tried my usual, shade cloth tent for the first year and then when I thought it was time to take it off and let the palm acclimate it fried very quickly, way too much to just let it tough it out. So I had to reinstall the shade cloth and install some foxtail canopy plantings around it for the future. It's since recovered from the sun burn and is much happier. It dosen't seem to mind the upper 30's and only the newest most tender leaf shows minor spots on those really cold nights.

Matty,

Interesting to hear this,thanks.

I have 3, ~ 4' tall that survived this winter, with only 1 or 2 leaves burned. The rest of the leaves look good. They are in the ground & moderate oak canopy overhead. One morning, it got down to 25 - 26F. This palm has proved its self for the cold & plan on putting a few more in the ground. Anything that survived this brutal winter & looks pretty good, is still on my list to plant. I noticed that a large one at Fairchild garden (Miami) had its upper leaves burnt, even though it was under dense canopy. Other large ones located in the immediate area looked unfazed. Must be in the genes. BTW, I think this is one of the most beautiful palms.

I got my first one in a 4 inch pot from Faith Bishock. I put it in the ground and it is now 4 1/2 ft tall. It has a little spotting on the leaves but is pushing up a healthy spear right now.

At Rosita Stoiks house, I planted a & gallon, 3 gallon and 1 gallon we got from Jeff Searle. They are under an oak canopy, look perfect and are developing just fine.

Secret - dig big holes and amend the soil.

Thanks for this post, I have a lone one here next to the shed and was wondering how it will do in this climate. As it is pushing a spear, I am assuming it is happy in the sheltered location. How long do they take before they can handle full sun? My palm is about a foot high and is just starting to show pinnate leaves. Do I need it to trunk before exposing to full sun?

Laura

Thanks for this post, I have a lone one here next to the shed and was wondering how it will do in this climate. As it is pushing a spear, I am assuming it is happy in the sheltered location. How long do they take before they can handle full sun? My palm is about a foot high and is just starting to show pinnate leaves. Do I need it to trunk before exposing to full sun?

Laura

Leave it where it is. It gets big and will love your climate!

I've killed 2 from Jeff and now I'm on my third. This one is the biggest of the 3.

I took everything I had (wife) not to buy the 100 dollar ones Jeff was selling this

past show. Mine got some wind damage from the drive back up to Lake Worth but so far

so good. It gets afternoon shade but lots of sun in the morning. As it gets closer

to summer I think I will make a shade cloth. I've been told this is my last chance.

Unfortunately Moose, I am unable to leave it there as it is in a 1 gallon container in my container ranch . It will eventually need to be planted into the landscape. If it is planted there, I will have a problem accessing the shed and all my other container ranch plants will need a new sheltered home.

Laura

Hmm, I planted all 3 of mine in quite a bit of sun last summer and they all seem to be growing pretty well. I'm sure the sun is much less intense here compared to south Florida, but I would have thought Matty has roughly the same conditions...

Here is mine in Miami. It was planted as a 3-gallon plant in the late 1990s. The first photo is from August 2002:

And the second photo is from January 2010:

I have a friend in Homestead (10 miles southwest of here) who has several in his yard that are 25-50% larger than mine -- and are seeding. Ironically, he bought his at the same Fairchild Tropical Garden members day sale where I got mine. The difference is that his are irrigated with an automatic irrigation system and mine is not.

It has had no special care whatsoever and is thriving in our south Florida climate. It took 28F two nights in a row back in January with no significant damage -- only some minor leaf spotting. I agree that it is well worth trying... again and again if necessary.

Jody

Edited April 6, 201016 yr by virtualpalm

Wow. That palm looks good Jodie.

Hmm, I planted all 3 of mine in quite a bit of sun last summer and they all seem to be growing pretty well. I'm sure the sun is much less intense here compared to south Florida, but I would have thought Matty has roughly the same conditions...

Obviously climactically we're very similar, so maybe the exposure is different. Mine was in full sun from 11:00 am to sunset. That 6+ hours of direct sun didn't go well at all. Now it gets full sun for about an hour and then goes in to shade cloth and foxtail dappled light after that. I have to admit that unlike most of my palms I was not willing to show this one tough love when it comes to acclimating. I'm lucky to have this one live through 3 Winters in the ground so I'd like to take it slow to ensure it's future health.

Well that didn't take long. One day of reading how this palm likes partial shade, I've gone

down to the home depot and made a sun shade. Hopefully it gets me through the summer. I'll

try and post some pics. I think I'll sleep a wee bit better now.....

Well that didn't take long. One day of reading how this palm likes partial shade, I've gone

down to the home depot and made a sun shade. Hopefully it gets me through the summer. I'll

try and post some pics. I think I'll sleep a wee bit better now.....

Mike - you may want to plant a Kentiopsis oliviformis as well . I planted one about 9 years ago at my mothers home in Lake Worth. It is trunking, beautiful and best of all - looks super, no cold damage at all. Perfect palm for your area!

There is a Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society Sale at Caloosa Park this weekend!!!!

Mike - you may want to plant a Kentiopsis oliviformis as well . I planted one about 9 years ago at my mothers home in Lake Worth. It is trunking, beautiful and best of all - looks super, no cold damage at all. Perfect palm for your area!

There is a Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society Sale at Caloosa Park this weekend!!!!

I will put in on my list..... As for the sale, I will try and squeeze it in around travel baseball. Thanks for the heads up..

Redant - I'm not in FL but I do have a reasonably good sized Carpoxylon macrospermum that I thought perhaps you might like to see to get a better idea how they grow here. It is a very attractive palm IMHP.

Redant - I'm not in FL but I do have a reasonably good sized Carpoxylon macrospermum that I thought perhaps you might like to see to get a better idea how they grow here. It is a very attractive palm IMHP.

Al, very nice specimen

Redant - I'm not in FL but I do have a reasonably good sized Carpoxylon macrospermum that I thought perhaps you might like to see to get a better idea how they grow here. It is a very attractive palm IMHP.

Well I'm giving the three I have more water as that's the only thing I can see they might be short on as they are on a berm. When I see these picture I realize I will try and try till I get it right. Good thing there is a palm sale this weekend!

Seeing Al's largest Carpoxylon in it's compact, full sun form, in person is what inspired me to try and acclimate mine to sun as soon as possible. After Winter leaf spotting I realized that I'd want to keep it under some sort of canopy to minimize that.

Redant - I'm not in FL but I do have a reasonably good sized Carpoxylon macrospermum that I thought perhaps you might like to see to get a better idea how they grow here. It is a very attractive palm IMHP.

Wow, yes indeed, that is an incredibly beautiful specimen.

Thank you!

here is my small one. It survived the winter unprotected. It is planted under deep live oak canopy/partial shade. A bird bath right next to this palm froze over twice in the past Jan/freeze. So it was exposed to around 30 degrees. Of course oak canopy helped save the palm. I don't think it would have lived with no canopy.