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Chamaerops humilis--flowering and determining sex of


WestCoastGal

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We are currently considering two Chamaerops humilis palms for our yard. One of them is flowering right now and is a beautiful buttercup yellow color. I have allergies and know that the male palm's pollen can be highly allergenic to some; the female bearing no pollen would be a better choice for allergy sufferers. I can't seem to find anything in the web searches I've done to find out how to differentiate between the two sexes. Is there a color difference in the flowers, like the trachycarpus?

Can anyone be of help? Photos of male and female flowers or other signs to look for would be really great. Given that this is an armed palm and it's pretty tight quarters at the trunk there, I'm relunctant to remove the flowers as a way to avoid the allergy issue. Hoping that picking a female palm is easier!

Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

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One more question from this newbie, from what I've read it sounds like the pollenator for C humilis is a weevil. Does this mean I'll be inviting weevils to our yard? After reading about the red palm weevil and the black one near that Costco near the California border, I'm full of questions.

Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

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Thanks Sergiskan. That was very helpful. Now to go to the nursery and hopefully be able to find some female flowers.

Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

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I don't think it is true about the weevil. I have a large mature female and it sets seed yearly and occasionally I find seedlings sprouting up in my yard.

Len

Vista, CA (Zone 10a)

Shadowridge Area

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are."

-- Alfred Austin

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Thanks Sergiskan. That was very helpful. Now to go to the nursery and hopefully be able to find some female flowers.

...You can find both sexes in the same palm... :mrlooney:

Hermaphrodite flowers

post-1753-0-43236700-1362292811_thumb.jp

regards.

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I don't think it is true about the weevil. I have a large mature female and it sets seed yearly and occasionally I find seedlings sprouting up in my yard.

Here the bees do almost all the work...

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Thanks Sergiskan. That was very helpful. Now to go to the nursery and hopefully be able to find some female flowers.

...You can find both sexes in the same palm... :mrlooney:

Hermaphrodite flowers

attachicon.gifbfi1274072446j.jpg

regards.

I did notice the 3 different flowers when I looked at the diagram (despite not speaking Spanish!) but thanks for pointing that out; some may not have picked up on that. My nursery guy said the one we are considering is female. We didn't get close enough to inspect it though today. He also said the inflorescence could be removed pretty easily if any of the other ones we end up getting not in flower now turn out to be otherwise. Time will tell. The way he has the palm pruned right now makes it pretty easy to get to it.

Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

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I don't think it is true about the weevil. I have a large mature female and it sets seed yearly and occasionally I find seedlings sprouting up in my yard.

Here the bees do almost all the work...

That would make me feel better than weevils. Bees here in California are not doing well though, colony collapse or what they aren't sure I don't think.

I know these palms hold up to the wind well, part of why we are going to use them, and wonder if palms with flowers with both sexes on them are self-pollinating with wind alone. We saw a stunning mature one today at the nursery. Very tall arching trunk and lots of seeds. Very, very beautiful. Wish I took a photo of it to post. I'd love to see a photo of your mature palm if you have one.

Zone 9b (formerly listed as Zone 9a); Sunset 14

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...i have some mature chamaerops but they are not big...

here we have chamaerops growing in habitat, there are some awesome.

this variety "decipiens" is very handsome..., there are a lot of forms and varieties...

post-1753-0-47327200-1362378654_thumb.jp

regards

Edited by sergiskan
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