Palms you Don't like

[Trópico]

I've been pondering for a while what palm I dislike. The answer is none at this point. However, I used to dislike the (are you ready for this...) hybrids! Newbie me thought that hybridization would mess up species purity and eventually all the species would merge into something called Areca areca var. 'areca', like the ultimate mutt palm. But after seeing some nice examples that some of you have, trust me I've changed!

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

I've never been one to want to offend someone's likes or tastes by proclaiming my disliking, or even worse, my hate, of something they may hold dearly. What's the point? I have several of the palms on this thread's "HATE" list and they're SPECTACULAR in my opinion and that includes P. reclinata, queens, clumping palms, cold hardy palms, etc., etc., etc. So I hope I don't offend anyone's tastes when I proclaim my distaste for dead or dying palms or fake discolored palms. I think I'm pretty safe with those two.

:greenthumb:

I have to agree with you here. Very well said!!!!

There once was some palms I disliked, but not anymore. I suppose the only ones that I don't care too much for are most clumpers. That said, some of them do end up looking fantastic too.

Like a few others have said, Dead, dying, fake palms, I DISLIKE. Some palms I may not like, but just because I do not LIKE them, does not mean I DISLIKE them either. For me, a palm is a palm is a palm, in a very broad sense, and in that sense I tend to look at them all, and usually enjoy doing so. No matter where I am, if I spot a palm, I ALWAYS look. Just because they are palms tho, does not always mean that it would be something I personally would care to grow. So in stead of having any palms I DISLIKE, I think its better to say there are palms that are just kind of there to me, then there are palms that I really, really just love, and would love to have, care for, and grow.

[ghar41]

I have many of the cold hardy palms that have been mentioned, esp. Trachycarpus and queens. The queens have given me a quick canopy and the many different Trachycarpus sp. give a fan leafed counter in the canopy. Ive planted palms to grow in the mid canopy and others low to the ground, all in an effort to create an effect.

I guess what I'm saying is that my yard is a canvas and palms give it variations in color and texture, so I find it hard to dislike any palm that will grow here.

Now having said that, I still haven't found a place to plant even one Washingtonia.

[hanapalms]

I believe all palms have a place in the garden except for the dead ones. However, my choices of palms to reside in my garden is a matter of preference. I had early on decided that no palms with thorns would be placed in my garden until I found myself growing two species of Pigafetta, three species of Phoenix, a specimen of Deckenia nobilis, and the list goes on.

There's still room in the garden for more palms and I have quite an inventory of potted palms that could find a space there one day, or maybe not.

I enjoy the larger palms such as Metroxylon and Corypha; they have places in my garden. I don't know if I will witness their full potential; they do take time to grow. My Corypha umbraculifera is only four or five inches tall at this time. It's been growing in a large pot for several years. The C. utan seem to be doing better; there are several of those in gallon pots at this time. The Metroxylon salomonensis and M. warburgii are doing well in the ground.

Now look where I ended up. These are not palms that I don't like.

[sonoranfans]

IMO, some of the most spectacular palms are cold hardy. One of my favorite feather palms are Merill Wilcox's massive (blueish) jubaea butia crosses. I'd rather have a big one of those than almost any tropical palm. On the fan side, not many palms can match the beauty of a big sabal causiarum. Palms that take years to achieve their glory are wonders of nature, I submit that its not only the type of palm but its stature. 20-30 years of care and growth can be one of the most impressive aspects of any palm. Who can not be impressed by a huge Jubaea?? Also, I think fans are underappreciated and underplanted, palm gardens look much better when fans are added to the feathers in the landscape.

[velutina]

One of the most hated palms of all...

Edited August 23, 2010 by velutina

[Jim in Los Altos]

One of the most hated palms of all...

Adam, That's a really beautiful photo. The hues are great and the washies are silhouetted nicely. Was that picture taken during a big brush fire perhaps?

[velutina]

Jim, I believe so. I saved it from a thread on this forum and recall the poster mentioning a wildfire.

[ariscott]

There's still room in the garden for more palms and I have quite an inventory of potted palms that could find a space there one day, or maybe not.

I enjoy the larger palms such as Metroxylon and Corypha; they have places in my garden. I don't know if I will witness their full potential; they do take time to grow. My Corypha umbraculifera is only four or five inches tall at this time. It's been growing in a large pot for several years. The C. utan seem to be doing better; there are several of those in gallon pots at this time. The Metroxylon salomonensis and M. warburgii are doing well in the ground.

Now look where I ended up. These are not palms that I don't like.

William,

Plant those coryphas in the ground!!! They will thank you for it!! The first year, they won't do much.... but see them explode in the 2nd year. The longer you keep them in pots, the longer you will see their true potential!!! They don't grow in pots...

Regards, Ari

[Wanderanwills]

My pet dislike are clumping palms. Very few of them are even remotely attractive once they go from a nice looking palm into a celery bunch. Most hated palm is Phoenix reclinata....spikey, nasty, huge and takes over the place....also bloody hard to kill and believe me I have tried. Things with no trunk always look like messy shrubs nothing like my idea of an elegant palm. Many Dypsis turn into fat ugly things, nothing like the photos promise. I think its because the retailers know you will be so old and senile by the time its big enough to sit under that you wont remember what it was meant to look like. My big Areca vestiara put out lots of little shoots last week so I had to cut them off...a chore...if it does that again, it can go. Matty I like my V.splendidas, most of the time. It's now the end of winter here so they look quite vile and if they were getting the chop it would be this time of year it would happen.

Peachy

Hi Peachy,

That Areca vestiara is definitely going to sucker again, you may have to remove it and put onto the pile, don't worry I will remove that pile occasionally...LOL

Regards

Stephen

[ariscott]

Peachy,

I used to have 2 single Areca vestiara. The mites attacked them both that year and they died!! So, they are around... the orange variety though. I have never seen a red single one..

Regards, Ari

Edited August 23, 2010 by ariscott

[peachy]

Stephan you just keep your arse in Woy Woy and out of my compost pile thank you very much.

Jim, any dog that's breed starts with a P is bound to be gorgeous. Ugly kids ? Well until they moved across the country I made my sisters offspring call me Mrs (whomever I was married to at the time) so people wouldnt guess I am related to such ghastly looking creatures.

I don't hate any palms (apart from the spikes of death out in the yard, masquerading as a P.reclinata) but there are a lot of species I wouldnt want to look at in my garden.

I love my rommies....they are fast, great canopy and look so nice with little effort.

Peachy

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

I've lived most of my life in places that have snow and long winters. When you look outside and your palms are covered in snow, any that survive are just beautiful. It's not that you don't love the tropical beauties, its just they are way too wimpy for challenging climates. So, if you have to deal with a real winter climate, any palm that survives snow and ice is wonderful.

[Kumar]

Clumping varieties become a mosquito paradise in places like mine, where rainfall is heavy and humnidity high throughout the year. I am discovering that even the exposed roots of my royals are full of the agressive striped mosquitos that launch themselves in kamikaze attacks at anyone that gets within five feet. That's an additional reason why I don't like clumping types.

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Clumping varieties become a mosquito paradise in places like mine, where rainfall is heavy and humnidity high throughout the year. I am discovering that even the exposed roots of my royals are full of the agressive striped mosquitos that launch themselves in kamikaze attacks at anyone that gets within five feet. That's an additional reason why I don't like clumping types.

Black and white striped? Asian Tiger mosquitos. We have those here and they sure are the most aggressive things around. They outnumber our native brown mosquitos. I HATE those things. I'm not big on killing anything really, but there are a few exceptions and those damn stripped mosquitos are one of the biggest exceptions. So much so I almost ENJOY murdering them.

[hanapalms]

There's still room in the garden for more palms and I have quite an inventory of potted palms that could find a space there one day, or maybe not.

I enjoy the larger palms such as Metroxylon and Corypha; they have places in my garden. I don't know if I will witness their full potential; they do take time to grow. My Corypha umbraculifera is only four or five inches tall at this time. It's been growing in a large pot for several years. The C. utan seem to be doing better; there are several of those in gallon pots at this time. The Metroxylon salomonensis and M. warburgii are doing well in the ground.

Now look where I ended up. These are not palms that I don't like.

William,

Plant those coryphas in the ground!!! They will thank you for it!! The first year, they won't do much.... but see them explode in the 2nd year. The longer you keep them in pots, the longer you will see their true potential!!! They don't grow in pots...

Regards, Ari

Ari,

Thanks, will do ASAP

[glbower]

I dislike Sable palmetto, the ubiquitous cabbage palm. In Florida, why would you plant one of those in your garden when they grow out of cracks in the sidewalk? I also find the Butia capitata a bit too squatty looking for my taste, though I do like their color.

[bgl]

I just deleted six posts that were off topic as well as inappropriate, or in response to a previous inappropriate and off topic post. Please stick to the topic or this thread will be deleted.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Stephan you just keep your arse in Woy Woy and out of my compost pile thank you very much.

Jim, any dog that's breed starts with a P is bound to be gorgeous. Ugly kids ? Well until they moved across the country I made my sisters offspring call me Mrs (whomever I was married to at the time) so people wouldnt guess I am related to such ghastly looking creatures.

I don't hate any palms (apart from the spikes of death out in the yard, masquerading as a P.reclinata) but there are a lot of species I wouldnt want to look at in my garden.

I love my rommies....they are fast, great canopy and look so nice with little effort.

Peachy

Peachy, I can't imagine anyone related to you not being gorgeous.

There's one aspect of certain palms that I'm not thrilled about and it's sharply armed petioles. I have the battle scars to prove it.

[JasonD]

Trachycarpus fortunei, poorly grown, is a terribly ugly plant. (So are queens, but not so ugly as Trachys.) They're bad palm PR. The lower leaves yellow, and the fur on the trunk makes a poor complement to the yellowing/browning lower leaves, and the entire thing can look spindly and lonely when planted in a line or alone. Most of them in San Francisco look bad, as do many in Southern California. Too bad, because they're a nice size tree.

However, when I saw them in Japan, most grown very well, with sufficient moisture and fertility, I found them to be nice plants. I was amazed at how well-suited they seem to the climate and soils there. Very few have yellowing leaves -- usually leaves fade directly to brown from green. Seedlings pop up everywhere in the understory of parks, including the very sacred Shinto temple endowed by the Meiji emperor in Tokyo. Young plants in shade are quite pretty -- in fact, the prettiest Trachycarpus I've seen in the Bay Area are shade-grown. In the US, the nicest ones I've seen are in the Pacific Northwest. Judging from the similarity of the Japanese climate to our Southeast, I would expect Trachys to look good in the Carolinas, etc., but when I was last there I mostly paid attention to Sabals and Butias. I guess different soil from Japan's!

I do like seeing them with pruned trunks, or with thick skirts of dead leaves. But poor maintenance just kills this species for me. Even Trachycarpus wagnerianus is better looking with magnesium-deficient leaves.

[Alicehunter2000]

I just deleted six posts that were off topic as well as inappropriate, or in response to a previous inappropriate and off topic post. Please stick to the topic or this thread will be deleted.

How is it that my post got deleted? I showed a picture of the only palm I don't like (a picture of the palm of a hand with a caption that said "Slap")...... So instead of saying in words that there are no palms (i.e palm plants) that I don't like, as others have posted in this thread, I just showed a picture of a non-palm, palm (self explanitory).

I hope no one thinks I was "slapping" them? If it was construed as such, my apologies. Sorry that my lighthearted attempt at palm humor by showing a drawing of a palm (hand) was.......offensive?

I always try to keep my posts palm related. In fact I rarely post to the Off Topic thread for just this reason....So in order to keep this post palm related I will state that I like all palms. If I had to pick a least favorite it would be S. repens (green form)

[peachy]

Dont worry David, it was naughty old me being spanked mainly. I get a tad wicked when it comes to other peoples children and dogs that compete against my perfect specimens at the shows. Not quite on the topic about palms we dont like. Must ask you though...why dont Floridians like Sabal palmettos ? I think they are lovely, pretty things. Cant wait for mine to get big. On the other hand I really cant see what the fuss is about lipsticks, too gaudy and untidy for me.

A chastened and suitably contrite Peach.

[sonoranfans]

I am a floridian and I like sabal palmettos. I dont have any in my yard, but I see them and the serenoa repens in the conservation areas under the spanish moss cloaked live oaks, gorgeous!

[Moose]

I am a floridian and I like sabal palmettos. I dont have any in my yard, but I see them and the serenoa repens in the conservation areas under the spanish moss cloaked live oaks, gorgeous!

Not to mention that cultivated orchids like to grow on the trunks of Sabal palmetto.

[Kailua_Krish]

Dont worry David, it was naughty old me being spanked mainly. I get a tad wicked when it comes to other peoples children and dogs that compete against my perfect specimens at the shows. Not quite on the topic about palms we dont like. Must ask you though...why dont Floridians like Sabal palmettos ? I think they are lovely, pretty things. Cant wait for mine to get big. On the other hand I really cant see what the fuss is about lipsticks, too gaudy and untidy for me.

A chastened and suitably contrite Peach.

Floridian several generations back and I love Palmettos. People here just get snobbish and dont appreciate what we have, it must be time to send them up where Jason lives in the land of snow

-Krishna

[Alicehunter2000]

I like Sabal palmetto as well. I always tell people they are the best deal in landscaping. For $150 you can have a plant with 20+ feet of clear trunk (instant canopy), transported and planted in the ground and guaranteed for 1 year . I honestly don't know how people make money on them. They totally cold hardy to 15 degrees F. (maybe lower). They come booted, clean trunk, curved, strait and once established can handle drought moderately well. Love the water and can be planted near the salty ocean or freshwater lake. Stands up to hurricanes and self cleans to a certain extent. I appreciate them and always enjoy seeing a well grown specimen that hasn't been overly pruned......all hail the majestic "Sabal palmetto" Florida's state tree

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

I agree with David. In a hurricane, I'd rather have a grove of Sabal palmetto upwind from me than a grove of Roysonea. The Palmettos might even survive an impact with flying debris (assuming it's not to big or sharp).

[Kumar]

I agree with David. In a hurricane, I'd rather have a grove of Sabal palmetto upwind from me than a grove of Roysonea. The Palmettos might even survive an impact with flying debris (assuming it's not to big or sharp).

Why ? Roystoneas look pretty solid, no ?

[Kailua_Krish]

I like Sabal palmetto as well. I always tell people they are the best deal in landscaping. For $150 you can have a plant with 20+ feet of clear trunk (instant canopy), transported and planted in the ground and guaranteed for 1 year . I honestly don't know how people make money on them. They totally cold hardy to 15 degrees F. (maybe lower). They come booted, clean trunk, curved, strait and once established can handle drought moderately well. Love the water and can be planted near the salty ocean or freshwater lake. Stands up to hurricanes and self cleans to a certain extent. I appreciate them and always enjoy seeing a well grown specimen that hasn't been overly pruned......all hail the majestic "Sabal palmetto" Florida's state tree

South Carolina's too

-Krishna

[Sabal Steve]

Phoenix robellini

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I don't like any palm that looks poorly grown. Well watered and well fertilized queens and washingtonia look spectacular. It's the scraggly, ugly, drought stricken, potassium defficient public palm plantings that give species a bad name, especially when planted in large abundance. The xmas palm looks great, but it's overplanted and often looks unhealthy, no different from a poorly grown washingtonia or queen. The Newport Coconut is another example, why bother? Just to prove one can grow it? It looks terrible.

That's also why it's questionable whether it's truly worth it to grow marginal palms that just will never look decent in one's climate.

For example, I am having serious second thoughts about bothering with bismarckia. I question whether they will ever look good long term in my garden even if they will grow. Hedycepe here look spectacular, dark deep green, lush, and constantly putting out new fronds. I've seen some sad specimens growing inland in Southern California. But bismarckia there look fabulous.

Another example: when I visited DoomsDave's garden, his pride and joy was dypsis lutescens, but honestly, his dypsis baronii and onilahensis looked so much more spectacular.

[DALION]

The only palms i dislike are the palms that dislike my yard.

[Gtlevine]

Dont like copernicia macroglossa, an ugly weed.

[Sabal Steve]

Dont like copernicia macroglossa, an ugly weed.

Blasphemy!

[akamu]

PLASIC PALMS HURT OUR LAND FILLS AND DONT PROVIDE OXYGEN OTHERWISE ALL PALMS ARE BEAUTIFUL TO DIFERENT PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES ENOUGH SAID HAVE A NICE DAY

[HorsesnPalms]

I have been sitting here thinking about this question. Only to figure, that there isn't any palms that I really don't like. They are all beautiful and graceful in their own ways. I do have a soft spot for the sticky palms though. :-)

[rprimbs]

It is curious. Here in San Diego I am a little tired of all of the ratty Queens, and Washingtonia. But when I spend any time in a more tropical place I quickly tire of coconuts, Adonidia merrillii, and Dypsis lutescens.

[LilikoiLee]

Adonidia merrillii

Hey wait a minute! I've got 4 of those, and 11 of the golden variety!!

Jeff, How to you keep your golden ones yellow? It's a problem here on the Big Island.

Lee

[LilikoiLee]

This a post was a great idea - interesting to hear everyone's definition of beautiful and ugly - and hysterical as well.

Lee

[O'o Bar Master]

Let me be the first to say I don't like DEAD palms...

I've taken a vote and everyone here agrees.

Lee