Palm Container Ranch on my lanai

[PalmatierMeg]

Most reasonably sane people in SWFL with a 10' x 31' screened lanai overlooking a freshwater canal would fill it with patio furniture and lounge chairs where they can catch some rays. I, however, have turned our lanai into a paradise of potted tropical palms by attaching shadecloth to the birdcage and introducing shelving to hold dozens of palms. Most of these plants can never be planted in the ground - they are too cold-sensitive or keel over when confronted with my hideously alkaline, sandy so-called "soil." So they are doomed to lives in pots where I can monitor and move them as conditions dictate.

Earlier today, I decided to take photos of many of them. Midway, I realized some of them were in the early stages of mealybug infestation. That required a trip to the local big box to buy $50 worth of Bayer feed & kill granules and a couple hours of treating and watering in every plant on the lanai. Then I broke out the Samsung again.

I have a passel of photos to post, so I will probably do them in stages. They will be in alphabetical order although I took them randomly - I'm not that organized but my computer is. And, of course, I've lost the tags on several mystery palms so IDs are always welcome. Here goes....

Areca catechu dwarf: At the end of last winter (record cold December) and after losing my A.c. semi-dwarf, I realized this little palm was a goner if I left it in the ground. In early July I started trenching around it, then in mid-August transferred it to a pot. Except for a slight lean I'm trying to correct with staking it has done well. I keep it on a dolly and roll it indoors when temps fall below 50F. I also have a smaller one in a 2g but didn't take photos of it.

Areca concinna: This little palm is one of several I germinated in 2009 from my late and lamented 10' A. concinna. The record cold in 2010 winters finished this beautiful little palm off. I hope to keep its offspring safe in pots.

Areca latiloba: I germinated seeds of this species but have a heck of a time keeping them alive longterm

Areca vestiaria maroon: I had 3 seedlings in the ground but dug them up before winter. All 3 are hanging on so far.

Areca vestiaria yellow: Same story with this one. At one time it was several times larger than this. I hope it regains its glory.

Balaka or Drymophloeous?: These next 2 palms were also rescued from my shade garden after brushes with death by freezing. Now I can't remember what they are. They may be the same species - one larger, one smaller. Or not.

Larger mystery palm

Smaller mystery palm

Bentinckia nicobarica: Absolutely can't survive in the ground in Cape Coral. But it's such a beautiful palm I have to try it in a pot.

Burretiokentia vieilliardii: I germinated a couple dozen seeds. Most of the seedlings have croaked. This is one still living - for now. I suspect this one may be a no-go longterm even in a pot. Too bad. Anyone else in FL having luck with this species?

[PalmatierMeg]

That takes care of A & B. Moving on....

Calyptrocalyx hollrungii: I lost all my in-ground Calyptrocalyx except one clumper. The ones left in pots will spend their lives there. They are much too cold-sensitive for winters here.

Calyptrocalyx polyphyllus

Calyptrocalyx sp: I lost the tag for this lovely clumper. Note the reddish new leaf.

Cyrtostachys elegans: Green Lipstick. Cyrtostachys wrote the book on cold sensitivity. I've kept my 3 alive the past four winters by hauling them inside when temps fall below 50F. They've gotten so large they now sit on dollies on the lanai. C. elegans shows reddish new leaves.

Cyrtostachys lakka/renda: I got this palm as C. lakka but apparently it is C. renda. It is the smaller of my two red lipsticks.

Cyrtostachys renda: I got this as a 3g from Jeff Searle. It now towers over 6' above its pot and dolly. A magnificent palm.

[PalmatierMeg]

Drymophloeous Irian Jaya: Its predecessor met untimely death after 1 winter in the ground. This one stays in its pot.

Drymophloeous oninensis

Dypsis fasciculata: Just too cute

Dypsis pinnatifrons: This species apparently hates my hot, humid summer days and sultry nights. It also hates my alkaline soil. Its predecessor keeled over - splat! - before my eyes a couple years ago. When days go above 90F I will move this one and a smaller one into the depths of the shade garden where green canopy cools the air. Gotta love those red fronds.

Dypsis procera

Dypsis sp dwarf: This is the largest of 7 seedlings I germinated from seeds I got from Ortanique. Apparently, that seeds source is gone now - too bad. This is a very handsome palm with a reddish new frond. The fibers/hairs on the stem make me wonder if it is part of the D. crinita/utilis/fibrosa complex.

[Rusty on Pine Is.]

Wonderful arboretum, Meg....really like that pinnatifrons. Is that the same plant that has been called D. 'Pink Crownshaft'?

Rusty

[Kathryn]

Beautiful palms Meg! I had a lot like them years ago, but got tired of the care required and slowly let them go. I have a few cold sensitive ones left on my screened porch that can make it through the upper 20's but that's about it. Yours look so nice, I almost want to place an order.

[BS Man about Palms]

Fantastic Meg!!!

[PalmatierMeg]

Hydriastele beguinii: I had a gorgeous one in the shade garden that succumbed to the winter of 2009/2010.

Hydriastele dransfieldii: I love those huge, full, dark green leaves.

Iguanura wallichiana & multifida: I.w. (left) survived the winters of 2009/2010/2011 in the ground with protection so it may be the hardiest of the genus. But I dug it up last summer because I knew its longterm outlook would be grim. So far, it is surviving the move. I.m. (right) on the other hand is a wienie. This is the only survivor of two and I'm not betting on a secure future for it - just so fragile.

Licuala aurantiaca: The golden Licuala. My second try at this species after the first croaked in the shade garden.

Licuala cabalionii

Licuala concinna

Licuala grandis: My large one in the front garden fell to the winter of 2009/2010. I know this palm has become "common" but I had to try it again.

Licuala malajana v malajana

Licuala sp: I lost the tag. Is this another L. malajana?

Linospadix monostachya: This is my larger palm. It pretty much sails through my winters but hates hot, humid summer days and sultry nights. When days top 90F I will move them deep into the shade garden where green canopy will keep them cooler. Both my palms put up flower spikes year after year but I've never gotten seed one. Can someone tell me why they don't set seed?

[Jeff in St Pete]

Meg, Love all those different Licuala's!

Thanks to your photos, I now need to find a Hydriastele dransfieldii. What a beautiful palm!

BTW, nice use of those clips. Are they hair clips?

[Walter John]

Thanks Meg, I most assuredly recognise that maintaining palms in pots is hard work. Inspiration to the potted palm ranchers of the world.

[richnorm]

Awesome collection Meg. Keeping them in that condition in pots is a real skill. Why all the hair grips?

cheers

Richard

[PalmatierMeg]

Wal, thanks for the kind words.

Rusty, I believe D. pinnatifrons is also called "pink crownshaft". I bought a D. sp "red crownshaft" that now looks suspiciously like D.p. Oh well.

Jeff, those are hairclips. I buy them by the dozens at Dollar Tree. Very useful for staking palms. H. dransfieldii should do well in C.R. Unfortunately my winters are too cold for me to plant it.

[PalmatierMeg]

Marojejya insignis: Why did I get this? Because I could. That's palm insanity.

Pinanga: Another genus that can't take winter in the ground. I still like them but will keep toward smaller species.

Pinanga adangensis: I germinated a bunch of these from seeds. They have nice yellow stems.

Pinanga curranii: Those mottled leaves are spectacular!

Pinanga gracilis

Pinanga limosa: got this in 2009 in a 4" pot.

Pinnate Mystery Palm #1: Any IDs?

Pinnate Mystery Palm #2: Ditto?

Ptychosperma cuneatum

[bgl]

Meg,

That's a VERY impressive collection! And all are perfect looking. That's quite an accomplishment! Good luck with them in the future! All beautiful palms! And that Dypsis looks like the "pink crownshaft". In that case, it's going to get its old species name back and be known as Dypsis sambiranensis.

Bo-Göran

[GTClover]

Wow gorgeous collection. Somehow I had the idea that someone living in Florida wouldn't have a need to have so many palms in containers! Obviously it's just another form of zone pushing. in Vt I have Trachys and R. hystrix palms that I wheel in & out seasonally and I now a number of Coccothrinax where it's actually an advantage that they are slow growing and won't need repotting as often! So it makes sense that you have all those pretty Pinanga, Licualas and Cyrtostachys! And what a great way to use all those hair clips I have left over from my long hair days.

Thanks!

[Kumar]

Meg, wonderful photos and great collection !!

[rozpalm]

Wow, you have the touch! So many great species and all look so incredibly healthy.

[bahia]

A definite labor of love, beautiful interesting collection of palms that many wouldn't like even our summers, when we stay at 53~55*F nights all summer long. So many you're growing I'm not sure I've ever seen before here in the SF bay area.

[DALION]

You have an incredible palm collection. I just wonder if there is a hair clip shortage in Cape Coral every time you pick up a few palms.

[BS Man about Palms]

Mystery #1 looks like a Beccario or a Parajubea

[Kennybenjamin]

Hi Meg, Pinnate mystery palm #1 look svery much like Beccariophoenix to me... either B. alfredii or B. madagascariensis (not windows). Not as sure about Mystery pinnate palm #2 but the second photo (of the base) looks very much like Hedyscepe canterburyana?

Great collection, especially your Pinangas... Beautifull!

[Lowey]

Very nice collection Meg, your dedication to your potted palms is amazing and it shows, makes me realize just how good we have it here in the wet tropics, thanks for all the pics

[PalmatierMeg]

Today I took these overview photos of my palmy lanai

[cobra2326]

Meg,

Thanks for sharing this. I'm in the same position, except I'm not as lucky as you to have the decent outdoor conditions. But, I have an enclosed porch that we keep heated and humid, and it never drops below 60F no matter what.

Looking forward to seeing some of my stuff in pots reaching the sizes you have there! This is really encouraging

[Niu]

Wow. That's motivational. Good job!

[SanDimas]

Excellent Meg.

As someone mentioned earlier...looks like an arboretum.

Bravisimo!

BTW...do you make your own soil?

What mixture and concentration do you use?

I too have limitted space and will have to grow some in pots.

Thanks.

Ritchy

[tjwalters]

Meg,

As a fellow rancher I can really appreciate what you are doing. Very nice collection! Could your unknown Licuala be L. spinosa?

[PalmatierMeg]

Excellent Meg.

As someone mentioned earlier...looks like an arboretum.

Bravisimo!

BTW...do you make your own soil?

What mixture and concentration do you use?

I too have limitted space and will have to grow some in pots.

Thanks.

Ritchy

Ritchy, I mix my own potting medium. I start with palm/cactus soil, add peat moss I buy in large bales and extra perlite by WR Grace I buy in large brown bags. I've been advised pumice works better but pumice is almost impossible to find here and way too expensive. I try to make my mix as porous as possible.

i need to update my container ranch. The Harbor Freight greenhouse turned shadehouse crumbled to pieces later last spring. Despite my best efforts in moving some palms into the shade garden to save them from the humid heat, I lost most of my small Dypsis. Only D. mcdonaldiana still survives. The Areca catechu dwarfs are doing great. I sold the two largest Cyrtos last fall. The Bentinckia is hitting the top of the birdcage so I will have to plant it. The Drymophloeous Irian Jaya is doing well but D. litigiosus croaked, also several Pinangas. Sometimes the ferocious heat can be deadly as the cold.

[palmislandRandy]

Wow, what a great collection. I commend you for meeting the individual needs of so many palms. Thanks for sharing.

[cobra2326]

Excellent Meg.

As someone mentioned earlier...looks like an arboretum.

Bravisimo!

BTW...do you make your own soil?

What mixture and concentration do you use?

I too have limitted space and will have to grow some in pots.

Thanks.

Ritchy

Ritchy, I mix my own potting medium. I start with palm/cactus soil, add peat moss I buy in large bales and extra perlite by WR Grace I buy in large brown bags. I've been advised pumice works better but pumice is almost impossible to find here and way too expensive. I try to make my mix as porous as possible.

i need to update my container ranch. The Harbor Freight greenhouse turned shadehouse crumbled to pieces later last spring. Despite my best efforts in moving some palms into the shade garden to save them from the humid heat, I lost most of my small Dypsis. Only D. mcdonaldiana still survives. The Areca catechu dwarfs are doing great. I sold the two largest Cyrtos last fall. The Bentinckia is hitting the top of the birdcage so I will have to plant it. The Drymophloeous Irian Jaya is doing well but D. litigiosus croaked, also several Pinangas. Sometimes the ferocious heat can be deadly as the cold.

Meg,

You have problems keeping Pinangas alive too? I've killed a ton of them, but I know it isn't due to cold as I NEVER let them see below 60F.

Just curious, what were the symptoms you had before/after death? Was it mostly rot or something else?

I'm really not sure if high temps are the problem, though. Check out the climate in Singapore or other places where many Pinangas thrive in full sun, and the average high is close to or above 90F every day.

Edited March 4, 2013 by cobra2326

[Tassie_Troy1971]

WOW what a collection !

[Cindy Adair]

Meg,

Your collection is wonderful! I fully recognize the dedication, optimism and tenacity needed to grow that many lovely plants where frost attacks. I have had many victims in Virginia, but the successes, like my non-palm Jaboticaba covered in buds in a pot inside (while snow is expected tomorrow) makes it all worth while. Thanks for the lovely photos. Many of yours in pots are larger than mine in Puerto Rico and you probably have had no concerns about cows eating yours!

[Trópico]

Very impressive collection! Keeping some of those species alive is REALLY hard; it looks like you have mastered the art!

[Jose Maria]

Really an achievment Meg, keeping this collection during winter.

Here we are lucky( as far as palms) we have always between 25° and 30° celsius like 90° F. The only stressfull time is during the dry season,my palms (those in containers ) have to be watered every day .

Pinangas do fine here, seeds that fall off older Pinanga palms start growing right away.Must be the Singapore kind of climate here.