The skinny on Carpentaria acuminata in the desert

[pfancy]

This tree was being shaded by a palo verde tree that decided to blow over in a monsoon a month ago. So now, no shade, at all, at least 7 hrs of full desert sun(~9-4). Looking good so far

[aztropic]

If nothing else,it has to be my fastest growing palm;easily adding 3 feet of trunk per year in the desert.This one is kinda hard to see in the 'jungle' but it has grown into a full sun position above the roof with little to no burn.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[pfancy]

thanks to you scot for hooking me up w this beauty and some seed. this tree is in the same hole w a sprouted carpy seedling, mule palm. and foxtail so maybe ill get some "penguin effect" when they get bigger

[Walter John]

I've seen Carpys grow in Litchfield by the hundreds....

[pfancy]

another full sun surprise is the sabal minor that was directly under the palo verde-now 8+hrs/day of pure AZ sunshine

[Cedric]

I love Carpies, in the tropics they look so elegant with those neatly recurved fronds and chandeliers of ruby red fruit, makes a very nice formal but not strictly imposing planting. Jouyeux Rococo.

[DoomsDave]

too cold for carpies in coastal Cali

[aztropic]

I'm very surprised that they do as well as they do here in the hot,dry,desert.I don't think mine experience drought at the roots but the humidity in the air is often only 5% and the leaves are nearly perfect.As far as cold goes,they have experienced high 20'sF with little to no burn and seem equal to a bottle palm on that front.I've always heard that they hate cold and dry but for whatever reason,the desert seems to suit them,at least on a temporary basis.Mine have been in the ground for 4 years now from 1 gallons and 1 is past the roofline now.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Tropicgardener]

I've seen Carpys grow in Litchfield by the hundreds....

Different 'Litchfield' I think Wal

[BS Man about Palms]

Funny though, there IS a Litchfield Arizona though...

[quaman58]

I've tried these here in coastal SoCal, & they just seem to hate it. I'm really surprised they grow in Arizona, so you just never know.

[Stevetoad]

i always get tempted to try one of these (if i could find one). being inland i get much hotter than coastal san diego. how are they with frost?

[aztropic]

Frostwise,its hard to say because here in the desert,actual frost never seems to form on the plants.I've seen occasional white rooftops and cars with frost though.Some plants do freeze but it shows as dark green blotches without frost.

This past winter,I did not have to try to protect anything as the coldest we saw was 29F.The only palm with any damage in my yard was a large bottle palm that got the edges of the fronds burned in about 2 inches all around.Carpentarias were fine,both above and below the roof line.The leaves are very thin on these and I would expect them to burn up in our heat or freeze over the winter, but they don't.Here's a pic of the smaller one that endured a few days at 116 F just 2 weeks ago.The heat only made them grow even faster!

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[fastfeat]

Impressive.

[pfancy]

steve-grow from seed. supper easy and fast. JDA has some also

Edited August 25, 2012 by pfancy

[Dave-Vero]

My carpies suffered a lot of leaf damage from a 26 degree freeze. Still, they make cute youngsters and grow quickly into nice, if possibly short-lived, specimens.

[elHoagie]

For what it's worth, when I saw these guys in habitat mid-winter (late May) it was 35+ degrees during the day (upper 90s F), with VERY low humidity. I would doubt blazing sun and dry heat would be a problem - and it seems like you guys in Phoenix have confirmed this.

Also, they seem to grow well for me here in Los Angeles, although not quite as fast. My tallest has clear trunk just above my head, and adds maybe a couple feet per year at this point.

Here's a few photos from Litchfield Park (the one in Australia)...

[Tropicgardener]

Great habitat pictures there..........sun certainly isn't an issue with these palms even from a young age. They are reasonably drought tolerant to a degree........where I work there are dozens of them planted that have to survive only on natural rainfall.......last year during the dry season a number that had been interplanted with Ptychosperma elegans collapsed but the Ptychospermas soldiered on.......thought it would be the other way around.

[JasonD]

Separate topic: Los Angeles's eastern microclimate(s) deserve greater exploration, like in Silver Lake, Echo Park, the front line of foothills. It seems the heat-island effect allows for success with plants that might be less successful in generally milder climates.

[ando.wsu]

This tree was being shaded by a palo verde tree that decided to blow over in a monsoon a month ago. So now, no shade, at all, at least 7 hrs of full desert sun(~9-4). Looking good so far

That is a really cool looking Palm. Where did you get this Palm? I like the fact that this Palm has a skinnier looking trunk because of space requirements in my backyard, not to mention it appears to yield a tropical vibe in the desert. I'm putting this on my list of must haves

I currently have my backyard loaded, but lots of room for more of course, with a few queens, washies, butia, bizzies, Sabal palm (i have no idea which kind), L. Chinensis (which is planted in full sun and has zero leaf burn from the past heat waves), Miniture Phoenix Palms (forgot name) and some Mediterranean Fans. All of these palms with the exception of the small phoenix palms and maybe Mediterranean fans have biggish trunks when they mature. it would be nice if I could fit this carpey palm into my collection, not to mention that it has a crown shaft. This will definitely produce some diversity in the looks of my landscape.

Anyhow, keep us AZ folks updated on this palm. It looks to be like a real winner if there are a few AZ folks succesfully growing it!