Pritchardia pacifica

[MattyB]

I planted this P. pacifica last year, as a nice sized 1 gallon plant with large strap leaves, fully expecting it to perish in Winter. It spotted up pretty good, but due to a mild Winter, exceptional micro-climate, and very close proximity to a warming wall, not only did it make it through Winter, it's growing like a champion. Here's the large format still photography pictures from my hand held camera device.

[MattyB]

It's about 3" away from the corner of the wall. I just dug a small hole with a hand trowel and shoved it in there thinking that it would be dead in a few months. Maybe that's the secret. Just bump it up against a retaining wall and let the roots absorb the warmth from the wall. If it lives another year it's gonna get squished in there between the wall and the Archontophoenix. I really don't think it'll live another Winter, but who knows.

[MattyB]

I'm 99.999% positive that what I'm growing is Pritchardia pacifica because I collected the seed myself. Here's the only pics I have of the mother plant. P. thurstonii have tiny seeds that are held in long infructescens that exceed the leaves, so it's gotta be P. pacifica; it's just one of those avenue trees. DeanO, this was growing next to the makai side driveway of that candy shop you took us to in Kona.

[paulgila]

where did you get those last pix? you didnt even have a camera back then.

[MattyB]

Same crappy camera Paul. The battery used to last for up to 15 minutes.

[John in Andalucia]

That's beautiful Matt. I'm really pleased to see that P. pacifica looks so good in SoCal! The seed shot is trippy! Like a palm candy store!

[epicure3]

Matt, that PP looks awesome. Don't even think it will die this winter. At least, don't let it hear you say that. I'm stoked for you.

[sur4z]

The first shot doesn't look like a P. pacifica but you know your palms. Mine was very fast grower and the fronds spread quite wide. Do you have enough space where it is now? I transplanted mine once and it did fine...in fact it had 15 feet of wood when the January cold spell killed it.

[MattyB]

Randy,

I won't move it. It'll die, live, get crushed, whatever happens happens.

I made a note of where the tree is so maybe next time DeanO is in town he can get a shot of it or confirm that it's P. pacifica. Like I said, I'm 99% positive. That's 100% for most people.

[DoomsDave]

Hoo-ee, that's a first, if it's a paccy . . . .

[Rafael]

Maybe a little too close, but an amazing palm, and will be ok, for sure!

[brodklop]

Sorry to be a kill joy, but I don't think that is a Pacifica. You may have got your seeds mixed up. Do you have a photo of the full crown of the one you got the seeds off. Pacificas have a distictive look which is hard to see from underneath. As you say it's definetly not a Thurstonii.

Great palm though. What ever it is.

Cheers

Brod

[Daryl]

I agree, P.pacifica has a narrower,flatter leaf blade as well, and is held more upright at that stage of growth. Sorry Matty but I think you have something different...fortunately it is a lovely healthy Pritchardia sp! And now you get the fun of trying to ID it...

Are there any seed remnants left? Do you remember what size the seed was?

Here is a photo of typical P.pacificas at about the size of yours...

Daryl

[Dypsisdean]

Randy,

I won't move it. It'll die, live, get crushed, whatever happens happens.

I made a note of where the tree is so maybe next time DeanO is in town he can get a shot of it or confirm that it's P. pacifica. Like I said, I'm 99% positive. That's 100% for most people.

Let me know where Matty, and I'll iPhone it next time I pass by.

[Donald Sanders]

Aloha Matt, Your pritchardia is beautiful but it does not look like a 'pacifica' to me. I see tons of pritchardia every day and I can almost promise you it does not look like a 'pacifica'. Be glad the 'pacifica' is so sensitive. I had one when I had my LA garden and it hated it, died.

Decent size p. beccariana(sp), and hillebrandi(sp) had no problems with the winter for me. An early Santa Ana, 109' killed them. Good luck with your pritchardia, what ever it is, they are truly beautiful palms and many of them love S. Cal.

Aloha, Don

[John in Andalucia]

I thought it was a little incredible that P. pacifica could look so amazing outdoors in a Mediterranean climate! Still, I maintain that it's a beauty, and growing like a true tropical, whatever it is! If it were mine, the prospect of a new ID would be even more exciting. What do you say, Matty? Tell us how you came by the current ID. I recall somebody saying recently that P. pacifica were almost as cold-sensitive as Lipstick Palms. I'm pretty hooked on Pritchardias.

[Daryl]

I can't grow pacificas at my place, but Pigafetta is OK. Mine were all 'lingalonga' palms that would last 3 or 4 years and keep going backwards. Newcal has a couple that struggle through, but he has lost many trying as well. The most southern 'healthy' one I have seen was on the sunshine coast an hour north of Brisbane, on a hilltop in an ideal microclimate. It is the most sensitive fan palm I have tried to grow, except possibly Mauritia flexuosa.

Daryl

[ariscott]

I don't have any... not quite sure why... But that is ok, this wet season, I might put a few in :). And a few Mauritia flexuosa as well :) (yes, Daryl.... I am rubbing it in... )

Regards, Ari

[hanapalms]

Matty,

Looks like a healthy Pritchardia. From what I have found growing Pritchardias over the last thirty years is that location can make a difference in their habits. The photos of the mother tree look a lot like some of my mature Pritchardia pacifica. However, from the latest write ups by Don Hodel, all of the Hawaiian Pritchardias are suspected of descending from either P. pacifica or P. thurstonii. The give away is the infructescences; if it extends beyond the leaf crown it comes from P. thurstonii, if not then it comes from P. pacifica.

Your palm is obviously from the P. pacifica side of the family tree. The mother tree may have been either P. pacifica or a Hawaiian descendant species.

Now that I've made it clear as mud. Good luck. Don't worry about crowding, they don't mind at all:

[Rusty on Pine Is.]

Nice palm, Matty......and well grown as well....

...but to echo some of the other sentiments here, i found it to be the most sensitive of any palms i have grown here at the Flatts...get to 40 degrees F and POOF, hammered crap!

....before last winter (when all the true tropicals went belly up! ) even my Cyrtostachys looked better than the pacifica......

...just sayin'

oh yeh, just one more thing...P. pacifica grown in shade (as mine was) will cark where one in full sun will perhaps survive given the same weather conditions...perhaps the cell walls in the leaves are just not as robust when they are stretched in the shade.

Rusty

[ghar41]

That's a beautiful palm. Thanks for posting.

[Tyrone]

I don't know what Pritchie you have there Matt, but it's a beauty. There's something nice about growing a healthy specimen from seed. A good sense of accomplishment.

Best regards

Tyrone

[MattyB]

DeanO, this was growing next to the makai side driveway of that candy shop you took us to in Kona.

Thanks for all the comments everyone.

Daryl,

The seed was about 1/2" in diameter from what I remember. It did have those flat narrow leaves last year but these more mature leaves have fanned out more. All pritchardias immediately throw a full fan leaf once they are planted out in the sun, here in CA.

I have extreme confidence that it's P. pacifica, and if you saw it after Winter you'd agree. I wasn't growing that many Pritchardias and every single one was carefully labled, in addition to being kept in a different area, so I didn't get them mixed up. I just sold my last one to Quaman. Maybe he can post a pic of his. Due to being kept in a pot it's not as far along and has the narrow flat leaves. These spot up very bad, even in my greenhouse which doesn't ever drop below 40F.

[Walter John]

Your extreme confidence has won me over Matty, that's looking glorious, a true tropical look.

[Tyrone]

Your extreme confidence has won me over Matty, that's looking glorious, a true tropical look.

Me too. Well done Matt. You must try a Piggie next.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Daryl]

DeanO, this was growing next to the makai side driveway of that candy shop you took us to in Kona.

Thanks for all the comments everyone.

Daryl,

The seed was about 1/2" in diameter from what I remember. It did have those flat narrow leaves last year but these more mature leaves have fanned out more. All pritchardias immediately throw a full fan leaf once they are planted out in the sun, here in CA.

I have extreme confidence that it's P. pacifica, and if you saw it after Winter you'd agree. I wasn't growing that many Pritchardias and every single one was carefully labled, in addition to being kept in a different area, so I didn't get them mixed up. I just sold my last one to Quaman. Maybe he can post a pic of his. Due to being kept in a pot it's not as far along and has the narrow flat leaves. These spot up very bad, even in my greenhouse which doesn't ever drop below 40F.

Maybe it is just looking different due to your climate and growing conditions, but to my eyes it is not typical of the species. I guess there is also the possibility it is a hybrid. Was the fruit or the seed 1/2" diameter? That seems too large for pacifica. Most of the pacifica seed I have collected has been about 1/4" diameter, and slightly larger with the fruit on, but nowhere near 1/2 inch.

regards,

Daryl

[MattyB]

Daryl,

Take a look at the pics of the infructesence of the mother plant. Doesn't it look like P. pacifica? I'm just going off of memory so I don't have exact measurements. It seems to me that P. pacifica was about twice the size of P. thurstonii. P. thurstonii always reminded me of popcorn kernels.

[carver]

Nice palm Matty, this last winter took my pacifica. Hard year to be a palm. Good luck with the i.d.

[Daryl]

Daryl,

Take a look at the pics of the infructesence of the mother plant. Doesn't it look like P. pacifica? I'm just going off of memory so I don't have exact measurements. It seems to me that P. pacifica was about twice the size of P. thurstonii. P. thurstonii always reminded me of popcorn kernels.

Matty, yes the infructescence does look like pacifica, but some of the fruits do look a little large...though maybe just optimal Hawaiian growing conditions.

The thurstonii seeds I've collected have always been tiny...slightly larger than Washingtonia seeds. The pacifica seeds have always been larger, but maybe only 7-8mm diameter after cleaning.

From what I've experienced here, when pacifica gets exposed to cold temps, that is temps below 10C (50F) the leaves get destroyed...not just a few spots, but the entire leaf turns to a wilted papery texture. This usually happens to all leaves except for the newest one.

I guess the real test will be time, as pacificas look very distinctive by the time they start forming a trunk. Good luck with it, and if it does turn out to be pacifica, please send me some of the seeds off it!

regards,

Daryl

[MattyB]

If your leaves get destroyed at 50F then P. pacifica are more hardy here then at your place. I think I know why. With relative humidity regulalry dropping into the teens here in inland SoCal, the leaves are formed tougher. I'd liken it to taking a plant out of a greenhouse and asking it to take an extreme temperature change; it's not easy for that greenhouse plant to handle. Here, they spot up heavily in the upper 40's, but it takes lower 40's for the leaves to turn light papery brown, mold, melt and die like you were describing.

[paulgila]

so what yer saying is that this plant becomes a different plant because of where its growing.

i see.

[Dypsisdean]

OK Matty,

I think this is the palm you are referring to. But, the recent trimming, the super bright day, and only an iPhone may not help your case.

[MattyB]

Yeah, that's the one DeanO! Thanks for taking the time to take the pics. It might be either one of those because I didn't remember there being 2 right there at that driveway. It wasn't the one on the far left corner, not pictured. So, although they've been trimmed up pretty tight, and it looks like the wind is bending the leaves in the first pic, I think it's evident that these are P. pacifica. Daryl, wouldn't you agree?

[brodklop]

Matt,

Deans photos look like Pacificas that for sure.

Maybe there is something in the low humidity thing you were saying. Something we do have ,but not in the growing season which forms most of the leaves.

Best of luck with its future prospects. That photo of 3 of them planted together has inspired me for my future plantout in a month or so.

Maybe if I plant my pacifica with negative disdain in some neglected corner it may flourish.

Thanks Matt for this whole exercise.

[Daryl]

Yeah, that's the one DeanO! Thanks for taking the time to take the pics. It might be either one of those because I didn't remember there being 2 right there at that driveway. It wasn't the one on the far left corner, not pictured. So, although they've been trimmed up pretty tight, and it looks like the wind is bending the leaves in the first pic, I think it's evident that these are P. pacifica. Daryl, wouldn't you agree?

Hi Matty, yes those certainly look like pacifica to me. However, I am still not convinced with your young plant ... To my eyes it just doesn't look typical of the species. It may be the case that in the drier, harsher climate you have that the leaves take on a different look when young...but as it matures, it should take on more of the 'true' characteristics of pacifica.

regards,

Daryl

[mnorell]

Matt--

I'm wondering as Daryl suggested if you might have a chance hybrid there. I certainly experienced the typical meltdown with my P. pacifica in L.A. in the late '80s. They just cannot deal with the continuous cold and I think also the dry atmosphere, and expire very early into the season. Anyone who has been in the Florida Keys since this past February knows that this is one incredibly tender fan palm. Though specimens in Key West are finally looking good again, and I don't know of any that perished, the crowns were trashed by the extended cool weather there. I can't think of any other palm in the comparatively balmy Keys that showed any damage (even Cyrtostachys), and the temp went down to 42F one night in KW (one degree off the all-time record). As I remember, a few Cocos in the upper keys showed brown lower leaves, but that was it. P. pacifica is a major wimp!!!

If you do have a pure P. pacifica, you must have found the holy-grail "super Pacifica." Congratulations, and I hope you can propagate it!

[MattyB]

UPDATE

We had some cold a few weeks ago; a few nights at 40F and one night at 39F. For those who doubted that this was P. pacifica you can now see that it is by the cold damage. No other Pritchardia looks like this at such mild lows. Here's the pics taken this morning:

[MattyB]

and one more

[quaman58]

Yeah Matt, the ones I bought from you are spotted up even in the greenhouse. Actually, the P. thurstonii looks even more spotted. Nothing fatal (yet), we'll see.

[MattyB]

The good thing about the greenhouse is that they'll just keep on growing, spotted leaves and all.