Wodyetia bifurcata refuses to flower!

[Walt]

About 11 years ago I bought a 7 gallon foxtail palm from a local nursery. I pot grew it for another year and planted it in 2003. The palm probably only gets about 50% sun (broken sun). I assume it may be for this reason as to why my foxtail has yet to produce its first inflorescence. I've seen local foxtail palms in full sun and only half the size producing flowers and fruits.

I measured the trunk yesterday and from the bottom of the crownshaft down to the base it measured 14'-5" (4.40 meters).

I have an Archontophoenix alexandrae palm about the same age near the foxtail, and the alex palm only flowered for the first time recently. The alex palm has 12'-3" (3.7 meters) of clear trunk. I've waited for years to see this palm flower and fruit. I knew it was going to happen this summer when I could see the tell tale bulge in the crownshaft.

Above photo: My Foxtail palm after it had been in the ground for two years. Note the Archontophoenix to the far right.

Above photo: My foxtail palm as it looks now. Note the Archontophoenix alexandrae palm (with dying frond) to the right.

[redant]

It's not really a blessing when they start seeding, If you would like several tons of foxtail seeds I could arrange that, you pay shipping.

Edited September 26, 2013 by redant

[JimStPete]

Walt, your Foxtail is planted in the same type of shade that mine was. Yours also has the same slender trunk that mine has...probably from growing in the shade. Mine did not flower until it grew tall enough to grow out of the shade of an oak tree that is just to the west of it (it was in 75% light shade most of the day). As soon as it grew taller than the Live Oak, it started to flower and fruit, and do so profusely!

Once it starts to flower and fruit, it makes a gigantic mess year round and attracts fruit rats and racoons (here in the city of St. Pete...probably even more wild critters where you live). The seeds also seem to all be fertile and sprout new Foxtails everywhere.

I have 3 more Foxtails that are in full sun, and the trunks are fat and they started to flower and produce fruit/seed when the bottom of the crownshaft was about 6' off the ground.

They are pretty trees, but very messy once they start producing! I have to put gloves on to pick up the fruit....it seems to irritate my skin/hands for some reason.

[Walt]

It's not really a blessing when they start seeding, If you would like several tons of foxtail seeds I could arrange that, you pay shipping.

I'm not looking for more foxtail seeds. I have two foxtail palms in the ground and four in pots. The ones in pots I grew from seed I picked up from a vegetative trash pile that a distant neighbor (with several seedling foxtails) threw out. I was just curious as to how tall my palm would have to be before it made its first inflorescence. I figured lack of full sun was a factor.

[Walt]

Walt, your Foxtail is planted in the same type of shade that mine was. Yours also has the same slender trunk that mine has...probably from growing in the shade. Mine did not flower until it grew tall enough to grow out of the shade of an oak tree that is just to the west of it (it was in 75% light shade most of the day). As soon as it grew taller than the Live Oak, it started to flower and fruit, and do so profusely!

Once it starts to flower and fruit, it makes a gigantic mess year round and attracts fruit rats and racoons (here in the city of St. Pete...probably even more wild critters where you live). The seeds also seem to all be fertile and sprout new Foxtails everywhere.

I have 3 more Foxtails that are in full sun, and the trunks are fat and they started to flower and produce fruit/seed when the bottom of the crownshaft was about 6' off the ground.

They are pretty trees, but very messy once they start producing! I have to put gloves on to pick up the fruit....it seems to irritate my skin/hands for some reason.

Jim. Actually, the trunk is fatter in diameter than it appears in the photo. I will have to measure the caliper, although you are correct, it's still smaller in caliper than had it been growing in full sun.

Over by the lakes in the upscale communities (where it's warmer at night) there's roads lined with foxtail palms. These palms are shorter than mine but have fatter trunks and, like you said, are loaded with seed stalks.

Yes, at my place raccoons abound. As for rats, my feral cat takes care of them. I don't really want any more foxtail palms, but if I do get viable seed from my largest foxtail I plan to grow at least one and plant it so I can say I grew one from seed from my own palm.

[Walt]

I don't want to start another post, but will just add to this one I already started. Like I said earlier, my tallest Archontophoenix alexandrae only produced an inflorescence for the first time even though it has 12'-3" of trunk. Whether I get viable seed is another question.

My smaller A. alex. has only 8'-9" of trunk but has put out three inflorescences this summer. Oddly, the second inflorescence fell to the ground the other day when the lowest fron/crownshaft detattached. But many years ago this same palm put out an inflorescence but no seed ever developed. Then it went for many years until this past summer.

If I get viable seed from these palms I only plan to germinate and grow one from each palm. I have no further need for these species as I have so many smaller ones in the ground and probably 100 or so in 3 and 7 gallon pots.

Above photo: Developing seed from my tallest A. alex. palm. The oldest frond will probably fall off in a few days and I will be curious to see if another spathe will appear.

Above photo: This is my smaller A. alex. palm. I believe this palm does get more full sun than my taller one, but only afternoon full sun. In any event, it flowered many years before the taller one.

[empireo22]

Wow. it made it through 20 degrees? that makes me feel better about my foxtail and kings.

from the looks of it that spot is part shade?

[Walt]

Wow. it made it through 20 degrees? that makes me feel better about my foxtail and kings.

from the looks of it that spot is part shade?

Whoa! Not so fast! My alex palm by my house was protected. I had a thermostatically controlled heating cable wrapped around the trunk and up past the crownshaft (crownshaft had terry cloth towel wrapped around it first, then cable wrapped over it), then I wrapped a flannel sheet making several layers around the trunk. Also, I had a fan on top of an 8 feet ladder to blow air on the fronds (but they got zapped pretty good anyway).

But my biggest foxtail and alex palm are planted in a different area of my property that runs a few degrees warmer (due to overhead tree canopy). Still, they were defoliated for the most part, but at least they weren't killed.

The 20.8 degree low was taken in the open yard, four feet above the ground during a radiational freeze. It was taken with an Oregon Scientific base station (my remote sensors were broken). I had the base station wrapped in a pillow case and hanging off a step ladder. The 20.8 degrees is no fluke. A NOAA station in my county located at Archbold Biological Station recorded 16 degrees the same morning.

I believe my palms survived because of the short duration of the freeze and the fact that they were mature palms. I lost many smaller A. cunninghamiana, alex., and foxtails to the same freeze. Other small ones that survived still aren't back to normal -- and they probably never will be.

[Kris]

dear Walt,

thanks for this thread.since even I have a foxtail palm with thick trunk and is about 25 feet high.the age of the palm could be roughly 8 years old.gets only few hours of direct sunlight.

but reading what redent has said.if it starts fruiting it could irritate my neighbour.since tbe palm is growing in the boundary wall.

I hope its better this way.with no fruits.

love,

kris.

[Walt]

dear Walt,

thanks for this thread.since even I have a foxtail palm with thick trunk and is about 25 feet high.the age of the palm could be roughly 8 years old.gets only few hours of direct sunlight.

but reading what redent has said.if it starts fruiting it could irritate my neighbour.since tbe palm is growing in the boundary wall.

I hope its better this way.with no fruits.

love,

kris.

Kris, if fruiting palms are a nuisance, etc., I agree (the longer it takes for your foxtail to fruit, the better).

All my queen palms are a nuisance, with all the ugly, dried out spathes and seed stalks, and seeds all over the place. I have queen palms sprouting up all over my property. Some are in places that are fine with me and I let them grow. Others I mow over or yank them up.

Walt

[Kris]

thanks.

[LilikoiLee]

Walt, we planted our three foxtails in 2009 from 5 gal pots. They are now about a foot shorter than yours. One of them gets a little shade, the other two are in 90% sun but all three are the same height and have the same size trunks. None of them has seeded yet but since we don't plan to propagate them we're OK about it.

Our 45' Alexander, which was planted about 20 years ago, has seeded for years and seems to never stop. The seeds come down by the hundreds and totally cover a circular area with a 10' diameter. If I don't pick up the seeds shortly after they fall we end up with dozens of seedlings. As the saying goes be careful what you wish for...you might get it,

I don't think our tree is unique because there is very little market for them here because people are give them away.

Lee

[Walt]

Since it's almost years end, I thought I would update my original post to say two more years have past -- and still no flowering of my foxtail. I'm not complaining, just curious that it hasn't formed its first inflorescence -- notwithstanding it's not in full sun.

I don't know how much full trunk my palm has now, but you can see from the last photo I posted in September of 2013 that my palms has grown more. When I see other local foxtail palms seeding -- and the mess they make -- I'm glad mine isn't seeding.