Probably so... Eric in Orlando is going to be sending me a small one in the spring I think. He commented that it is indeed more cold hardy. My engleri suffered no damage from the cold this winter....winner! Keiths, larger one did get damaged however. It was more exposed I think. no canopy.

I think A.r comes from a colder island in Japan as well.

Back in the Dec. 1989 freeze, it dropped to 19-20F for 2 nights in the Orlando area. At that time Arenga ryukyuensis wasn't recognized as a valid species, that A. engleri had 2 forms;

The bigger form was the palm native to Taiwan. It suffered severe foliage burn after this freeze and some stems were killed back.

The smaller form is the palm native to the Ryukyu Islands and is now known as Arenga ryukyuensis. It suffered no damage in this freeze.

I tried once, maybe it was not a pure Philodendrum selloum, but the leaves turned yellow then it died. I have no canopy at all. It dies at -3'C, doesn't it?

Philodendron selloum is a native plant here, and -3ºC is not an estremely cold winter night here.....

Bringing up an old thread. I’ve got several of these I’ve sprouted from seed. Is anyone successfully growing these in 8b or even a warm 8a? 

I've got 4 or 5 ryukyuensis seedlings, will probably wait a couple years to put them in the ground. Unless I'm feeling froggy this summer.... I'm zone pushing so many things,  these probably have a better chance than many of the things around my house at the moment.

I have 2 A engleri in-ground.  One had spear pull after a week subfreezing and low of 16f.  I think it would have been OK if the frost cloth hadn't come off.  The other is fine, but in a very sheltered area, enclosed and had a heat lamp in the box so that doesn't really count. 

Your seedlings seem like they're growing quite a bit quicker than mine.

I commented wront post, sorry.

Edited April 7, 20224 yr by jwitt
Wrong post

1 hour ago, Jesse PNW said:

I've got 4 or 5 ryukyuensis seedlings, will probably wait a couple years to put them in the ground. Unless I'm feeling froggy this summer.... I'm zone pushing so many things,  these probably have a better chance than many of the things around my house at the moment.

I have 2 A engleri in-ground.  One had spear pull after a week subfreezing and low of 16f.  I think it would have been OK if the frost cloth hadn't come off.  The other is fine, but in a very sheltered area, enclosed and had a heat lamp in the box so that doesn't really count. 

Your seedlings seem like they're growing quite a bit quicker than mine.

Can you tell the difference between a.r and a.e when young? 

Unfortunately none of my engleri seeds have germinated yet. The engleri in ground were purchased from jungle music.