Licuala grandis in South Florida

[bubba]

In reading Ryan's outstanding coverage of the recent tour of some incredible Gardens in the Miami area, one suprising note was the difficulties encountered by Licuala grandis even in locations where C. renda remained robust.I have seen numerous shots of browning leaves in many specimens. To my suprise,my six year old that I purchased from Jeff Searle at a Nov. sale in 2004(now trunking)has done rather well:

Three months after the cold, you can view browning on the tips but otherwise I can see no obvious damage:

Another:

Looking for other green Licuala grandis in South Florida. Please chip in.

[peachy]

Okay I am not in Florida but the browning on the edges happens to L.grandis here too and its nothing to do with the seasons. I have been told its water related but who really knows ? Cold doesnt seem to worry them much as long as the frost is kept off them. Mine grow reasonably fast, the big one (about a metre high) doubled its size this summer and the smaller one put up 5 new fronds. Also I have a sick one, that was sick when I bought it, (a sympathy purchase) and while it is yet to recover after 6 months, it hasnt croaked either. I am a big fan of this little fan.

Peachy

[PalmatierMeg]

My 5' Licuala grandis did not make it. We tried our best to cover it and protect it with a space heater - to no avail. Freezing rain, lows below freezing and months of temps 10-20 degrees below normal took their toll. We removed it a couple weeks ago - one of my greatest losses. It was in the ground over 12 years and cost us a fortune back in the mid-90s. All I got left are memories. RIP

[palmislandRandy]

Bubba, I've must have seen 20+ in South Florida with only one "maybe" surviver in the American Orchid Society Garden in Delray Beach. I lost 3 large ones, but I did buy 3 more at the Palm Bch Palm Society sale this past weekend. I guess if you think of them as cut flowers & admire them as long as they survive & maybe get a few years outa them! Randy

Sorry for the disturbing photos!

[Ken Johnson]

I have seen a LOT of dead ones!

[bubba]

Does this mean I have the only healthy unprotected Licuala grandis in South Florida? I do not believe it. Come on in lurkers!

[rozpalm]

I have 4, two near trunking and 2 about 1/2 the size. Both large ones sustained damage that took over a month to display. Both of the large ones look bad, but have mostly green fronds, however, the largest one had a spear pull. The small ones appear to be fine and show almost no damage, other then a small amount of brown on the edge of the leaf. In normal situations I have found this species to recover 100% of the time from spear pulls (even when no fungicide is applied). If any of them die, they will be replaced with L.ramsayi, which came through like a champ.

My biggest disappointment has to be my Verschaffeltia's. I lost 4 out 5 and am down to my largest one. What gets me really pissed with them is that they give all the signs of recovery...pushing the new spear out and staying green...and then you go out the next day and they've fallen over at the growing point.

[Mike in LW Florida]

I can't help... My dog eat mine before the cold arrived. I no longer own the dog.

[sur4z]

Hey Bubba...you've seen my little guy...it's still trunking along.

[bubba]

Pedro, Yours looks great but I am talking about ones that count.

[redant]

I live in what seems to have been a really cold part of Jupiter. Mature coconuts dropping dead all over the place. Out of 4 L. Grandis, 3 seedlings and one about 18" hight, only the 18 inch one survived. A spear pulled but new growth is coming in. This palm was not protected in any manner.

[Moose]

I can't help... My dog eat mine before the cold arrived. I no longer own the dog.

Three made it, one looking great, one carked (Aussie for biting the dust)!

[Jeff Searle]

This past weekend I did a further investigation of mine at the house and was quite surprised, and relieved! My two taller ones( 6-8' approx.) are in the middle of pushing a damage spear up through the middle. So they will survive. The two smaller ones next to them( 4-5')still have no visible spear down in the middle. The leaves still have brown areas in them, but the plants don't seem to be getting worse, so I'm hoping they'll pull through as well. Other Licuala species either were not affected at all, or did have bud damage and also are slowly recovering.

[Eric in Orlando]

We had 3 Licuala grandis growing outdoors here at Leu Gardens. 2 were killed outright. One survived, its growing in a very protected patio location. A 3ft Neoveitchia growing behind it was killed and a 10ft Normanbya just to the right was undamaged.

[JANAIY]

On 4/12/2010 at 9:41 AM, peachy said:

Okay I am not in Florida but the browning on the edges happens to L.grandis here too and its nothing to do with the seasons. I have been told its water related but who really knows ? Cold doesnt seem to worry them much as long as the frost is kept off them. Mine grow reasonably fast, the big one (about a metre high) doubled its size this summer and the smaller one put up 5 new fronds. Also I have a sick one, that was sick when I bought it, (a sympathy purchase) and while it is yet to recover after 6 months, it hasnt croaked either. I am a big fan of this little fan.

Peachy

I fell in love with this palm and purchased 4 different sizes of them just 2 weeks ago. It was said to be a slow growing palm. I live in Miami Beach and I have them in pots in the corner of 2 house walls to protect them from windy days. 

I really want to know how I should water and when fertilize them here in S Florida. Also what kind of fertilizer is the right one and where can it be purchased? 

Since it is a palm species and loves humidity common sense tells me that it needs and wants water. Now I have been holding myself back with watering too much and am not using saucers underneath like I do with my lipstick palm what sits in water.  But maybe they like to have  some water in a saucer as well? Since they are in fast draining soil even too much water shouldn't be a problem for them. For now I decided to rather spray water on their leaves every evening since it is not hot at the moment and they should get enough water doing so. Your input is very appreciated since I want to treat them right and I think in those nurseries they are really not getting the full attention they deserve (with no offense to the nurseries). 

If those Licualas seen in Miami gardens have browing tips, why is it happening? We have very good water here. Couldn't it be rather a deficiency in the soil? 

[bubba]

The brown leaves in this thread for my Licuala grandis definitely resulted from the long term cold spell experienced in South Florida during January 2010. Mine is under and oak tree, which I am certain creates a favorable temperature and light environment when the specimen is young. I understand that they do well in direct sunshine as they grow older.

You are giving much more attention to your palms than I gave to mine. Much of the work is already done for you as a result of your high humidity and rainfall in south Florida. I understand that watering is only necessary in the event that we have an out of the ordinary dry season.

Your soil should be fine in your location. Although I have not fertilized mine ( which has caused it to grow more slowly/it is only 5 feet), I understand that it should be fertilized sparingly 6 inches away from the base tri-annually with slow time release 15-5-10. Great to hear you are growing Lipsticks!

[bubba]

Something to work for:

[Merlyn]

I bought my Licuala Grandis from MB Palms and NatureGirl.  The MB Palms pots were solid on the bottom and had what looked like hand-punched holes about 2 inches up the sides, only 4x 1" drain holes.  This means the bottom 2 inches of the pot is permanently soaked in water.  They seem happy that way, and when I stepped up the one from NatureGirl I used a similar pot with no bottom drainage.

I didn't have any damage from 2 nights @ 33F last winter.  I did have some leaf edge browning last May when we were in a borderline drought and daily 90+ temperatures.  I moved them to a spot that got more spray in my "palm seedling nursery area," and the browning stopped.  If you are getting brown edges and it's not related to near-freezing temperatures, I'd guess it needs more water.