Where are people growing Kerriodoxa elegans?

[redant]

The 2 I have are ultra slow growers.

[Frond-friend42]

I have one in a heated area indoors, in Utah. Germinated from seed forming the first strap-leaf.

[Tyrone]

I trekked into the jungle to see these in the wild and boy they are just awesome in the wild. I should dig out some pics.

[mnorell]

I grew this as a test in 9a Mississippi, planted in 2006, and each year it endured three months of cold, wet soil (50-degree isotherm in winter) but protected under a line of cherry-laurel trees, which kept frost off of them. If my memory serves, they took damage somewhere around 25-26, defoliated around 23, but pushed right back up in spring. Obviously since it's a clustering palm it has at least the possibility of sending up new stems after any kill-outs. It made it through the horrible winter of 2010 (18F, 64 continuous hours below freezing) as my notes say it came back up in 2011. I did ultimately lose it at a later point, but I have just forgotten the details of its demise, I think probably from drying out, as that area got little rain and I wasn't watering it regularly. But I would say it is certainly one of those "unexpectedly hardy" palms from a very tropical area (others in that region are, such as Licuala peltata). 

[DoomsDave]

I have some in La Habra; they’re definitely slow, but, as noted a lot tougher and more adaptable than you might expect .

My small one and my big one.

 

[Frond-friend42]

Took a long time to pop the surface but I'm very excited and proud.

[Jimhardy]

On 3/15/2021 at 3:26 PM, realarch said:

Just a, ‘jaw dropping’, palm and boy, if you can grow it, don’t hesitate. The only drama I want in my life would be in the garden, and Kerriodoxa does it well.

Tim

I can't write WOW big enough, just gorgeous and that just from the top,

the stems,trunk and undersides make this a sight to behold for sure.

They also do well as house plants...but really glad to hear its so hardy too!

[Jimhardy]

Heres a pic of mine I got a few years back...petiole is 20" leaf is about 28" wide..

I could see it putting out a 3' leaf by summer/falls end. Love these palms!

 

[Jimhardy]

Bump

This thread kinda dropped off....anymore pictures?

If someone can dig out some more pics that would be great

[PalmatierMeg]

These are my two Kerriodoxa. This is a solitary palm species. Very slow growing.

Front Yard, 2012

Back Yard, 2018, 2020, 2021

[Jimhardy]

Nice!

[akamu]

These are fantastic palms mine is Facing north  semi wind protected  good drainage  

[Merlyn]

I have one Kerriodoxa Elegans in my yard.  It was in the SE corner in very sandy soil and under two 80' pines.  It did not grow very much, and when I had the pines taken down in January I had to move it.  So I planted it under the canopy of my SW side Beccariophoenix Alfredii.  The ratty leaves are from 28F with frost in December, then a transplant, then 30F with heavy frost in February.  But it's opened one pretty nice looking new leaf already, so it seems to like the new home!

[Rick Kelley]

I'll have to second Realarch's comments. When given comfy growing conditions 365 days a year plus Biblical amounts of rain, this is not all that slow and eventually gets some size. This came from Floribunda as a 5 gallon plant. It's been in the ground about seven years. The first three years or so were quite slow, but once it developed a good root system, it has been steady. It is about nine feet tall with five foot wide fronds. This photo used a flash to accentuate the silver undersides of the fronds. It is growing mostly in shade in the winter, but the summer sun moves overhead. This occasionally leads to a little sunburn around the tips, especially if we hit a dry spell. I'm not sure why the petioles are so erect. Most Kerridoxa I see in other gardens seem to spread more horizontally so the upper green surfaces are easier to see.

It is just beginning to show a bit of a trunk., maybe a foot wide. I don't think it will ever get tall, but it still has a way to go.

This is a female that was hand pollinated a few months ago using an inflorescence taken from my only male plant. It's easy to tell when the male flowers are producing pollen (it's yellow), but for me it is a bit of guesswork to tell when the female flowers are open. Maybe I should invest in a magnifying glass. I should find out if these seeds are fertile by the end of the year. Last year's pollination attempt was successful and the seeds are in pots now.

[palmfriend]

Hi,

Knowing that they are not the fastest palms, I have got to ask this...

My K. elegans seeds popped in February, planted them in deep pots soon after that, run out of patience in May and 

checked them them very carefully - they looked all fine with healthy roots and a strong loooking cataphyll (if I got the 

terminology right) - now we have July but still no "movement" on the soil's surface. Does anyone know how long it takes

for seeds to develop the first strap? 

 

Lars

 

[kinzyjr]

The city uses Kerriodoxa elegans here at Common Ground and Hollis Gardens.

[PalmsandLiszt]

4 hours ago, palmfriend said:

Hi,

Knowing that they are not the fastest palms, I have got to ask this...

My K. elegans seeds popped in February, planted them in deep pots soon after that, run out of patience in May and 

checked them them very carefully - they looked all fine with healthy roots and a strong loooking cataphyll (if I got the 

terminology right) - now we have July but still no "movement" on the soil's surface. Does anyone know how long it takes

for seeds to develop the first strap? 

 

Lars

 

Did you bury the seeds? They don't need to be buried as this would make the emerging leaf deeper than it wants to be. You could try gently shaking off or otherwise removing a few inches of soil to see if they are putting up spikes. I don't think the soil above the point of leaf emergence is of any importance.

[SubTropicRay]

I have mine on drip irrigation and it moves along a modest pace.  It's in shade with lots of organic mulch, leaves, compost etc.   The later seems to prevent the lime green appearance I see on so many specimens.

 

[palmfriend]

3 hours ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

Did you bury the seeds? They don't need to be buried as this would make the emerging leaf deeper than it wants to be. You could try gently shaking off or otherwise removing a few inches of soil to see if they are putting up spikes. I don't think the soil above the point of leaf emergence is of any importance.

Thank very much for your reply!

I do never bury seeds because it seems to be inconsequent for me as long I do not hear about a specific palm species whose seeds are/were always picked up by certain

creatures (eg. birds) and buried for whatever (nutritional) significances - so that this (specific) palm species got somehow used to deep seed planting to be able to sprout....

(I hope this sentence makes any sense...)

Having this in mind I always put them on top and cover them with just a bit soil to keep the seeds moist and that had worked pretty well so far. When I checked the

sprouted seeds in May, the root system and cataphyll looked very healthy. I was just wondering about how long it may take for the first spear to appear after the seed has

sprouted. 

However, I'll give them a few more days and then start to check the soil's surface again. 

 

regards

Lars

 

[Jimhardy]

After looking at this thread again I really need to give mine more love...such a gorgeous palm!

 

BTW

 

Mine survived -15F this past winter,I don't know if that counts because it was inside the house.

[Merlyn]

My in ground Kerriodoxa did amazingly well at 24-26F for 4-5 hours with frost.  It had some frost protection from the B. Alfredii above it, but I was very surprised to see little damage other than about 25% leaf burn.  So far this is a much hardier palm than it looks.

FWIW, here are the Kerriodoxa seedlings I received from Floribunda in May.  They appear to have not buried the seed at all, growing on top of the lava rock substrate.

[Rick Kelley]

17 hours ago, palmfriend said:

Hi,

Knowing that they are not the fastest palms, I have got to ask this...

My K. elegans seeds popped in February, planted them in deep pots soon after that, run out of patience in May and 

checked them them very carefully - they looked all fine with healthy roots and a strong loooking cataphyll (if I got the 

terminology right) - now we have July but still no "movement" on the soil's surface. Does anyone know how long it takes

for seeds to develop the first strap? 

 

Lars

 

I'm sure your seedlings are fine and the first leaf will soon emerge.  Here is what I've been getting. My seeds ripen in late October.  Freshly picked seeds generally germinate in about two weeks in a  ziplock bag with Sphagnum moss.  On the left below is a plant started from seed germinated in November 2020.  I didn't write down how long it took to emerge, but it was at least 8-10 months.  Once the first leaf sprouted about this time last year, it has been growing nicely.  On the right is a pot containing one seed (shown on the tree in the April 11, 2021 post above) that germinated in November 2021. Nothing is showing above the surface, yet.

However, if I carefully remove the pot, the media is filled with happy roots.  I expect the shoot to emerge in the next month or two. I live only about two miles from Floribunda, so we have the same microclimate.  I'm guessing mine take longer to sprout because I start with much larger pots.  I'm never going to ship any of my plants, so might as well give the babies plenty of room.

[palmfriend]

On 7/6/2022 at 7:20 AM, Rick Kelley said:

I'm sure your seedlings are fine and the first leaf will soon emerge.  Here is what I've been getting. My seeds ripen in late October.  Freshly picked seeds generally germinate in about two weeks in a  ziplock bag with Sphagnum moss.  On the left below is a plant started from seed germinated in November 2020.  I didn't write down how long it took to emerge, but it was at least 8-10 months.  Once the first leaf sprouted about this time last year, it has been growing nicely.  On the right is a pot containing one seed (shown on the tree in the April 11, 2021 post above) that germinated in November 2021. Nothing is showing above the surface, yet.

However, if I carefully remove the pot, the media is filled with happy roots.  I expect the shoot to emerge in the next month or two. I live only about two miles from Floribunda, so we have the same microclimate.  I'm guessing mine take longer to sprout because I start with much larger pots.  I'm never going to ship any of my plants, so might as well give the babies plenty of room.

Thank you very much for your reply and for your efforts to check your own youngest sprout!

Providing a time frame is very kind of you - it seems that just the very first strap takes some more time to develop...

In comparison the one on the left looks indeed very happy and not slow at all - but I guess this is because of your favorable growing conditions.

However, I have just checked my own four ones very gentle. Two of them are looking very promising, I guess we will have a further development 

very soon. 

 

Lars

 

 

[realarch]

Snapped a few photos yesterday of the grouping of three Kerriodoxa. Such an incredible plant. 

Tim

[mike in kurtistown]

I've been reading about efforts to germinate seeds of Kerriodoxa. I have done so on two occasions, but had no memory of any special problems, so had to look in my notes. I germinated them in pots in potting soil (my special mix) both times. I had one germinate in 2012, sprout at soil surface after four months. The second occasion when I was given 20 seeds. Nine sprouts at soil surface at about six months. I have five in the ground in morning and midday shade, donated one to auction, and have another four nice-looking in pots.

[Merlyn]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:19 PM, Merlyn said:

My in ground Kerriodoxa did amazingly well at 24-26F for 4-5 hours with frost.  It had some frost protection from the B. Alfredii above it, but I was very surprised to see little damage other than about 25% leaf burn.  So far this is a much hardier palm than it looks.

I'll unfortunately need to revise the above statement.  On Sunday I was trimming up the Alfredii and discovered 2 more dead fronds and a dead spear.  It didn't pull, but I dosed it with a Daconil + Hydrogen Peroxide mix in the crown and a soil drench of Banrot.  Hopefully it'll pull through, but it only has 2 decent looking 2' diameter fans.

[palmfriend]

Hi there,

it took a while but here we go:

Must have happened during the last three, four days....

Number one and...

number two emerged.

Happy growing! 

 

Lars

 

 

 

[palmfriend]

Hi,

just a very short update excactly a month after my two K. elegans emerged...

It looks good - it seems that they are doing fine! 

Thank's again for all those pieces of advice -

 

Lars

 

 

[fotodimatti]

On 1/11/2011 at 7:26 PM, tank said:

 

Hopefully it will be another 20 years before we see last years conditions again.

😂😢

(we could have known better)

[palmfriend]

Hi,

 

just a short update, showing that my two "babies" are looking good so far...

I think a give them one more year before planting them out.

(No highjacking intended!)

regards 

Lars

 

[realarch]

Those look good Lars. You have to patient with Kerriodoxa, but eh wait will be worth it. After planting mine out, they actually got smaller and entered a state of suspended animation before finally getting a groove on. 

After that they grew relatively fast and now I can use them as cover during a rainstorm. 

Tim

[Moose]

On 1/22/2015 at 4:59 PM, DoomsDave said:

Kerries do better than you think here in Cali, as Matty's post attests.

 

They are slow, but they're steady and they'll take a lot more sun and cold than you think.

 

If you have a protected spot and you're in the OC or coastal SD, LA or Ventura, try some.

Haven't killed it yet

[palmfriend]

Hi there,

I thought it is ok to bump this one, because...

Number one and...

...number two went into the ground (after the expected one year).

So, now I can call myself one of those "people-growing-kerriodoxa-elegans". Thread's mission accomplished - happy growing!

 

Lars

 

 

[happypalms]

Oh there growing them by the hundreds @happypalms nursery.

[happypalms]

Kerriodoxas are one of my absolute all time favourites! 

[palmfriend]

Hi,

@realarch and @Rick Kelley, since you supported me so nicely with this topic I just wanted to make sure

that this newest development reaches you. 

 

Lars

 

[realarch]

A BIG thumbs up Lars! Those look great and with your climate should grow into impressive specimens. Be patient, the first few years are rather slow, but then…….stand back. 

Tim

[Rick Kelley]

Thanks for the bump. I have not been checking PT recently, so glad I caught this update.

Before he left on a trip to South America a few weeks ago, everyone's favorite Big Island palm nurseryman called to check on this year's crop of Kerridoxa seeds. 'Are they ready yet? You can drop them off at the nursery while I'm away.' 'No, they are still rock hard, but typically begin to fall in mid October. I'll drop them off after you get home.' Well today I discovered the horrible dry weather we have been suffering this year has apparently accelerated ripening. 

I have three females but only one male. This year the male bloomed several weeks before the females, so I was only able to get wilted male flowers with the last traces of pollen to shake over the female flowers. Apparently if you can see any trace of dust falling out of the male flowers, that is more than enough to get the job done. In previous years I was probably treating with a 100-fold excess of pollen. One female inflorescence emerged a few weeks later and got no pollen at all (yellow arrow). No pollen, no fruit. The last couple of years I've been delivering 1000-1200 seeds. I expect about the same this year. Someone should be happy when he returns from his trip later this month.

Here is a context shot. When they don't get set back by cold winters, Kerridoxa can get some size. This one is 12 years old and about 10-12 ft tall (3m). You might be able to make out some Verschaffeltia stilt roots in the back to the right.

Most photos on PT are looking down at knee high plants. It is a different experience when you have to look overhead at the huge fronds. 

[palmfriend]

Hi there,

just a short update - my two young fellas are now in the ground for more than a month...

...and they seem to adapt to their new environment well. It is always a pleasure to look at them.

 

Lars