Polyalthia longifolia var. pendula cold hardiness

[iwan]

I saw these all over Indonesia on my last trip (never noticed them on previous trips). Online sources show this as a Zone 10 tree, but most of the comments are from the tropics. Is this a Zone 10 wimp, or worth testing in Z9? Are any thriving in SoCal?

[OldNed]

I have a ~10 foot one that's growing well here in Merritt Island, FL. Bought it at Searle Brothers Nursery near Ft. Lauderdale several years ago. It took a while to start growing (adding height) but is thriving now.

[Laisla87]

I've grown this successfully in Sydney which is comparable to South California. It was bought two years ago and has grown barely an inch since, but it has survived the weather fine. I did read that is an ultra sensitive tropical but it has gone through two winters fine here. I'd suggest buying one a larger size because they grow extremely slow for me here

[fastfeat]

I've never seen this in SoCal, but I've thought it would be worth trying. As was mentioned above, I suspect the limitation would be lack of heat, warm soil for vigorous growth, rather than winter cold.

I'd suspect it would perform similarly to Dracaena fragrans, Leea coccinea in SoCal. Probably better as a container plant than in the ground; looks like it might make a good houseplant too.

[Pedro 65]

I've never seen this in SoCal, but I've thought it would be worth trying. As was mentioned above, I suspect the limitation would be lack of heat, warm soil for vigorous growth, rather than winter cold.

I'd suspect it would perform similarly to Dracaena fragrans, Leea coccinea in SoCal. Probably better as a container plant than in the ground; looks like it might make a good houseplant too.

Agree..they 'survive here' but dont grow, ( cool subtropics with year round humidity) they love "lots of heat"....they would survive in Cali but wouldnt put on any growth...If you bought a nice 5 ft specimen, 10 yrs later it would still be 5 ft and 'lacking luster' to its generation in the "Tropics" .

[Peter]

I've got one here in Socal, although it's still in a pot. It's about 2' tall and I keep it inside in the winter-haven't the courage to plant it out yet. It grows well, although on the slow side, in the summer-I have it in morning sun. It looks perfect, and seems to be a good houseplant as well.

[iwan]

Thanks for the replies. I certainly have the summer heat, but suspect that even with frost protection that it might sulk with with four months of cold, wet soil. Might be a fun experiment though if I could find one cheap enough.

I think I read that the roots go deep, so might not be a problem next to a house. Will have to investigate that some more.

[Peter]

Mine is available for trading :-).

[ariscott]

Love the trees... planted 2 6 years ago (about 2foot high) and they are now 5m!!! What not to love

[Daryl]

Here's some nice ones I saw at Nong Nooch. I saw a lot of these planted in Thailand during the biennial.

Daryl

[fastfeat]

Here's some nice ones I saw at Nong Nooch. I saw a lot of these planted in Thailand during the biennial.

Daryl

Nice Washingtonia as well...

Hopefully it's too wet and humid for it to be an escape risk there.

[Pedro 65]

Love the trees... planted 2 6 years ago (about 2foot high) and they are now 5m!!! What not to love

Pics pls Ari ..the polyathias at the entrance of Flecker BG are always beautiful, are they planting heaps in and around Darwin Ari?? btw Great to see you back here on PT.. Pete

[Tropicgardener]

They do quite well here in the warmer subtropics, they grow reasonably quickly and once established are extremely drought hardy...........when I was living in Cloncurry there were a few out there and in Mount Isa that were huge and were never watered.

[KrisKupsch]

I have it growing at 28 deg south, an hour south of Brisbane Australia with mins near 2 deg C and though slow at first they do get moving. Ive seen two excellent trees at Evans Head which is another hour and a half or more south growing in sand near the beach. They need heat, so do best on a northern slope in the subtropics.

[Than]

On 2/10/2013 at 8:57 PM, iwan said:

Thanks for the replies. I certainly have the summer heat, but suspect that even with frost protection that it might sulk with with four months of cold, wet soil. Might be a fun experiment though if I could find one cheap enough.

 

I think I read that the roots go deep, so might not be a problem next to a house. Will have to investigate that some more.

any updates?