I took these photos for Randy/yachtingone. This is such a great palm with so much going for it - beauty, wind, sun and cold-tolerance and for all I know brains, too. I bought this palm from Jeff Searle in March 2008 and planted it beside the back walk in full sun. Its fronds now reach to the eaves. It has taken freezing rain and a low to 28.5 in Jan. 2010 with only a bit of spotting. Mine has one auxilliary small trunk.

Dypsis pembana

Wow ! It looks great Meg.

Thanks for putting the photos up for us all to enjoy.

How big ( tall or gallon size ?), was it when you planted it

Take care,

Tom

Wow ! It looks great Meg.

Thanks for putting the photos up for us all to enjoy.

How big ( tall or gallon size ?), was it when you planted it

Take care,

Tom

Hey Tom, good to hear from you. I think it was a 3g when I got it, certainly not larger.

I can't find a reason to plant this palm since I already have a cabada(pretty much the same palm, aesthetically)--dug up my lanceolata for the same reason. If I'm gonna make the most of my limited space, I can't be planting a bunch of look-alikes

Meg,

Thank you for posting those wonderful pics:drool:

I am going to have three in the ground soon!

I already have two in the ground that took 113f. with no problem.

They did burn just a little bit at I want to say 26f.

Randy

Meg,

Great pictures! I planted 5 a coupleof years ago from3 gallon pots. They sailed through the last 2 winters with almost no damage and are doing great. Mine are in full sun. This is a great palm. All of mine are clumping but not a lot.

Andrew, I also have D. cabadae and D. lanceolata and find them quite different from D. pembana. D. cabadae does have nice powder blue stems but it clusters more readily and its fronds are not as leathery and sturdy as D. pembana. D. lanceolata has fronds in between D. cabadae & pembana, clusters less actively than cabadae and is greener. The biggest difference I see in D. cabadae and lanceolata is that they require more shade and are far more cold-sensitive than D. pembana. D. cabadae was burned badly during the epic winter of 09/10 even under canopy of my queens. All 3 are fantastic species worthy of planting if you have room for them.

I had 3, 2 in ground at 2 1/2"+ thick stem base. Mine all had single trunks, no secondaries(they were termed "single trunk pembanas"). They grew pretty fast and were in ground 8 months before they got hit with 28.5F and frost this winter, even though both were covered with sheets and wrapped in blankets. Both had spear pull and are dead as a door nail, multiple(5x) peroxide and daconil applications not withstanding. The lone survivor was in a container(10g) and spent the frost event on the porch near a glass slider, protected by a number of more cold hardy potted palms. I would say, based on my experience, that they are less hardy than Kentiopsis olivisformis and archontophoenix alexandre which were also covered and hit with frost but are pushing out new growth now. The (3) alexes were of the same size and the kentiopsis was quite a bit smaller(1" base) than the pembanas. The coldhardiness of this dypsis seems a bit of a misnomer to me. Certainly the (2) lutecens I have weren't even covered and pulled through, so they are FAR less cold/frost hardy than lutecens. My other dypsis, decaryi x leptcheilos of the same size was similarly protected, completely defoliated and is pushing a nice new spear.

Edited April 7, 201115 yr by sonoranfans

My Dypsis pembana has done very well this last two winters here in Apollo Beach, FL. It is about the same size as Meg's. The palms faces S/SW, and it is about 8 feet from the wall of the house so I imagine it got some needed heat from the wall during the winter. I didn't see any frost form on it. It performed as well as my Dypsis lutescens, which is in a similar planting location.

Andrew, I also have D. cabadae and D. lanceolata and find them quite different from D. pembana. D. cabadae does have nice powder blue stems but it clusters more readily and its fronds are not as leathery and sturdy as D. pembana. D. lanceolata has fronds in between D. cabadae & pembana, clusters less actively than cabadae and is greener. The biggest difference I see in D. cabadae and lanceolata is that they require more shade and are far more cold-sensitive than D. pembana. D. cabadae was burned badly during the epic winter of 09/10 even under canopy of my queens. All 3 are fantastic species worthy of planting if you have room for them.

I can tell the difference between the three--lanceolata is smaller, with broader leaflets. Pembana has a shorter crownshaft than Cabadae, but if I invite people over to my house(who are novice palm buyers) and try to show them the differences between the three, I am not only going to bore them, but I might also lose a sale!

Cabadae and Lanceolata may be cold sensitive(lanceolata more than cabadae)but both have no problem with full and direct sun, from an early age.

Edited April 7, 201115 yr by Mandrew968

And how cold hardy are we talking about with Pembana? What's the lowest that anyone has seen one come out of? Don't mean to hijack your nice thread, PalmatierMeg!

My Dypsis pembana has done very well this last two winters here in Apollo Beach, FL. It is about the same size as Meg's. The palms faces S/SW, and it is about 8 feet from the wall of the house so I imagine it got some needed heat from the wall during the winter. I didn't see any frost form on it. It performed as well as my Dypsis lutescens, which is in a similar planting location.

I had one pembana right off the porch(2') and one away from the house near the (2)lutescens which went all brown but came back and werent covered as I said. A larger 7'OA spindle out in the open across the street made it through, all brown, but came back, for reference But my pembana were only 3 1/2' overall, probably 7 gallon size(?) I also noted that the pembana in container burned(leaflet tips) notably more than my archonto myolensis of the same size while both were on the porch next to each other.

Edited April 7, 201115 yr by sonoranfans

Cabadae is a wimp compared to Pembana, there's your difference.

Are these hardier than Archontos? Faster too?

I love D pembana. I wouldn't call D lanceolata more cold sensitive than cabadae. Quite the opposite actually. I love all 3 and they look completely different to me. D cabadae grows alright for me, but out of the 3 D lanceolata is my favourite. D pembana is the largest of the clumping Dypsis and pretty fast too.

Best regards

Tyrone

So for Dypsis pembana--are we talking zone 9? Cuz I'd love to place one at my beach house in Panama City.

Edited April 8, 201115 yr by Mandrew968

no, we're not talking zone numbers here. Panama city sounds perfect though, last time I was there.

Meg, Thanks for starting this post. After reading it, I purchased three 2 gallon D. pembana from a seller on eBay. I've been gradually adding to my Dypsis collection since I love the genus but didn't used to think I'd have much luck with any other than D. decipiens here in the Bay Area. So far so good.

Well next time your there, Wal, I can put you up for your trip-my family is good people!

I planted out a pembana in Hollywood, FL about 4 years ago as a 2g. Here it is today:

I also planted a D. sp. mayotte at the same time, same size:

And one of these is supposed to be lanceolata; not sure of the other. And I'm also not sure which is which, but here they are. Also planted at the same time as the others:

Edited April 8, 201115 yr by Peter

Sorry, here's the sp. mayotte:

Thanks for the thread & pics Meg. This palm has been a delight for me as well. Have been growing this species from seed and am impressed with its speed and hardness here in SoCal. Planning on planting out a hedge in our front with a half dozen or more between us and our neighbor.

Thanks for the photos Meg, really a nice palm. Mine is turning into a huge clump and I love it.

Peter, wow those look great. If I were to guess, I'd say the one on the right in post #20 is the lanceolata. Just a guess. How often do you guys get back to Florida?

Thanks Tim. I haven't been back for about 4 years, which means that the garden down there hasn't been fertilized since 2007-yikes!

" all I know brains, too"

LOL

Cabadae is a wimp compared to Pembana, there's your difference.

Wal agreed. Andrew - Dypsis cabadae and Dypsis pembana are distinct. Pembana's habit does resemble a cabadae on steriods. I can show you the difference when you visit Andrew.

Very nice Meg!

The maintaining of the green stems for a very long time makes both these species a very attractive addition to any garden.

Dear Meg, it seems like only two short years ago that you gave me two pembana seedlings and here's a photo of them this morning. They're incredible! The tallest of the two is nearly six feet tall, each with a main trunk and each with little suckers at the base.

Thank you again for a beautiful addition to my garden, Peter

Dear Meg, it seems like only two short years ago that you gave me two pembana seedlings and here's a photo of them this morning. They're incredible! The tallest of the two is nearly six feet tall, each with a main trunk and each with little suckers at the base.

Thank you again for a beautiful addition to my garden, Peter

Peter, you're more than welcome. I can't find any fault with this palm here. My original D.p. I got from Jeff Searle as a 3g is taller than the eve and has a sturdy second stem. I have some more seedlings I plan to plant on the west side of the house just inside my new property where it can receive irrigation. I also have D. lanceolata & Gaussia on tap. I put them out in full sun to acclimate before planting.

Hi Meg, I also have a Gaussia maya planted in full sun. It got a little burned at first but the new leaves are healthy and green and, by the way, likes a lot of water. Good Luck. Peter

Hi Meg, I also have a Gaussia maya planted in full sun. It got a little burned at first but the new leaves are healthy and green and, by the way, likes a lot of water. Good Luck. Peter