Bismarckia growing season is over here. Mine are surely going into suspended animation for the rest of the year now that the nights are long and the mercury spends more time south of 15C. And what do my bismarckia have to show for this entire growing season? Aach of my 4 big ones has opened a whopping 1 frond each. That's one frond in 4 months, make that 6 months for the two 15g plants that went in last April. Even though they only made one frond each, the plants do look considerably larger, so it seems the entire plants have gotten bigger.

I am curious if mine will go the way of Troy's bismarckia (http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/20847-the-bismarck-has-sunk/) this Winter.

At this stage, I am considering tenting a couple of them over the Winter just to get them to continue to grow.

Meanwhile my ceroxylons, hedycepes, rhopies and parajubaea are going to town, they all speed up with the cooler temperatures.

Great topic title.

You got one leaf cause your bizzy is bizzy growing roots. Next year you will get more than 1...maybe 2

Its normal to not get much growth the first year after ground planting,I am sure you know that. The first three years are creep,walk,run as they say Especially a big Bismarckia will want to establish a good root system before putting on faster growth. They also like plenty of water during the growing season and don't grow anywhere near as fast if watered infrequently or not enough. I don't know how they will do long term but I don't think this year is representative of their growing capabilities. Just wait them out and tent a few if you fear they may not make it through the cool season till they replace their current crown with new,acclimated leafs and establish well. But I would just wait,observe and see...

Happy growing

I had one lying around that I installed in my neighbor's across the street.

As much as I knew they were very touchy about their roots, we still managed to move the roots all over the place as his wife insisted we get it exactly straight up,

It put out one leaf a year and got about a foot taller during the first four years.

This is the third year it's really been growing and it's an absolute rocket - double the size of last year!

Patience on those things!

Here it is:

First year, they survive, maybe.

Second year, they establish, maybe

Third year, they begin to thrive

Fourth year, you see what you got

Ditto, Axel, to all these comments. Mine put out four new leaves between May and October and the fifth will probably open next month. This is in only partial sun too. The first couple of years saw very limited top growth. Be patient, in time your new title will be "Five Fronds Is All She Wrote".

Wouldn't bother with the tenting, the UV and weather is your friend.

Thanks y'all, that makes me feel better. They all look really good after this Summer, but I think I should tent the bigger two because I just don't want them looking ratty next Spring if I still have a couple of slow seasons ahead.

You can see the lower left frond died as the newest frond emerged. Rosalinda looks very happy. My wife names our palms, our big caryota Thai Giant is "Ferdinand".

Hi Axel

I remember mine only made one frond the Summer it was in my garden . What really did it in for me was the winter rain combined with cool temperatures so i never had the chance to see if it would grow faster in subsequent Summers . I would be inclined to cover at least one of them in Winter to hedge your bets . You have a lower latitude than i do 37 deg to 42 Deg down here and the warmer Summers so i think you have a better chance than i do - in the words of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush - Don't give up ! . A palm friend once told me that the Bizzys make alot more growth once night time temperatures are constantly above 16 C in summer and alas mine usually aver age around 13 C sometimes lower .

"Meanwhile my ceroxylons, hedycepes, rhopies and parajubaea are going to town, they all speed up with the cooler temperatures" Axel all these palms are the best growers for me and i have made all these including the Lord Howe palms the focal point of my palm collection . It's been raining here nearly all month and all these palms are thriving .

cheers Troy

Hi Axel

I remember mine only made one frond the Summer it was in my garden . What really did it in for me was the winter rain combined with cool temperatures so i never had the chance to see if it would grow faster in subsequent Summers . I would be inclined to cover at least one of them in Winter to hedge your bets . You have a lower latitude than i do 37 deg to 42 Deg down here and the warmer Summers so i think you have a better chance than i do - in the words of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush - Don't give up ! . A palm friend once told me that the Bizzys make alot more growth once night time temperatures are constantly above 16 C in summer and alas mine usually aver age around 13 C sometimes lower .

"Meanwhile my ceroxylons, hedycepes, rhopies and parajubaea are going to town, they all speed up with the cooler temperatures" Axel all these palms are the best growers for me and i have made all these including the Lord Howe palms the focal point of my palm collection . It's been raining here nearly all month and all these palms are thriving .

cheers Troy

Troy, you hit the nail on the head: "A palm friend once told me that the Bizzys make alot more growth once night time temperatures are constantly above 16 C in summer and alas mine usually aver age around 13 C sometimes lower."

This is exactly what I am worried about, my night time temperatures are consistently 13C and lower. In fact, it's usually 13C by sunset. You and I have similar overnight lows, the only difference is my Summer and Winter highs are a bit higher than yours and our UV intensity is higher as well with less Cloud cover being at 36N. We'll just have to see if all that will make enough of a difference.

The first three years are creep,walk,run as they say

Happy growing

I thought it was "Sleep, Creep, Leap"? Haha

Keith- I hope your right, im at 12 leaves this year and its year 3, next year will be interesting

The first three years are creep,walk,run as they say

Happy growing

I thought it was "Sleep, Creep, Leap"? Haha

Keith- I hope your right, im at 12 leaves this year and its year 3, next year will be interesting

12 leaves ain't never gonna happen here, I'll be happy with 3-4 a year. If it's gonna be 1 every year those palms will end up on the compost even if they don't experience Winter setback. They'll just look like crap after a few years.

The first three years are creep,walk,run as they say

Happy growing

I thought it was "Sleep, Creep, Leap"? Haha

Keith- I hope your right, im at 12 leaves this year and its year 3, next year will be interesting

12 leaves ain't never gonna happen here, I'll be happy with 3-4 a year. If it's gonna be 1 every year those palms will end up on the compost even if they don't experience Winter setback. They'll just look like crap after a few years.

Youll get more than 1 dude, mine got 4-6 in the first year but i think they are way way slower when bought at a large size. i got mine as a very small 15, like a 5 gal size. Plus mine is a freak. I was told by a long time grower that they are slower if bought big

and Jastin remember you cooked your in the plastic tent !

I just checked available info and it looks like:

- planted 2007, 1 leaf ( nearly killed by first winter rain, but pulled though )

- 2008, 1 leaf ( no winter issues )

- 2009, 3 leaves

- 2010 ( first photo ), 3 leaves

- 2011, 3 leaves

- 2012, ( second photo ) 3 leaves

- 2013, ( third photo ) 4 leaves

Seems your observation holds true Axel. You can see existing trunk and leaves on my neighbor's palm got significantly larger over time. In fact the increase in size fooled me to believe it was pushing out a lot more new leaves than it actually was.

Edited October 12, 201312 yr by mlovecan

I just checked available info and it looks like:

- planted 2007, 1 leaf ( nearly killed by first winter rain, but pulled though )

- 2008, 1 leaf ( no winter issues )

- 2009, 3 leaves

- 2010 ( first photo ), 3 leaves

- 2011, 3 leaves

- 2012, ( second photo ) 3 leaves

- 2013, ( third photo ) 4 leaves

Seems your observation holds true Axel. You can see existing trunk and leaves on my neighbor's palm got significantly larger over time. In fact the increase in size fooled me to believe it was pushing out a lot more new leaves than it actually was.

Not maximum growth for a place like Rhodos Either you do not feed it or not water it sufficiently. Mine in the year prior to fungal infection had expanded 6 leaves and was on the the way to 7th, when winter broke in. I have observed same in Kos (Grecotel).

Edited October 12, 201312 yr by Phoenikakias

Not maximum growth for a place like Rhodos Either you do not feed it or not water it sufficiently.

The house was rented out the year after the tree was planted.

There is no irrigation and it's never been watered or fertilized by the tenants.

Not maximum growth for a place like Rhodos Either you do not feed it or not water it sufficiently.

The house was rented out the year after the tree was planted.

There is no irrigation and it's never been watered or fertilized by the tenants.

Then it's pretty lucky to be still alive. I guess it owes it to the lack of competition by native plants.

I just checked available info and it looks like:

- planted 2007, 1 leaf ( nearly killed by first winter rain, but pulled though )

- 2008, 1 leaf ( no winter issues )

- 2009, 3 leaves

- 2010 ( first photo ), 3 leaves

- 2011, 3 leaves

- 2012, ( second photo ) 3 leaves

- 2013, ( third photo ) 4 leaves

Seems your observation holds true Axel. You can see existing trunk and leaves on my neighbor's palm got significantly larger over time. In fact the increase in size fooled me to believe it was pushing out a lot more new leaves than it actually was.

Interesting data. Thanks. About the size increase we would get here. A very good year 6 leaves, sometimes maybe only 3 or 4 and less before establishment. That plant looks to be planted too high which wouldn't help. Perfect microclimate though.

I just checked available info and it looks like:

- planted 2007, 1 leaf ( nearly killed by first winter rain, but pulled though )

- 2008, 1 leaf ( no winter issues )

- 2009, 3 leaves

- 2010 ( first photo ), 3 leaves

- 2011, 3 leaves

- 2012, ( second photo ) 3 leaves

- 2013, ( third photo ) 4 leaves

Seems your observation holds true Axel. You can see existing trunk and leaves on my neighbor's palm got significantly larger over time. In fact the increase in size fooled me to believe it was pushing out a lot more new leaves than it actually was.

Interesting data. Thanks. About the size increase we would get here. A very good year 6 leaves, sometimes maybe only 3 or 4 and less before establishment. That plant looks to be planted too high which wouldn't help. Perfect microclimate though.

Rich, Those are the metrics I am shooting for, 3-4 leaves a year with maybe 6 on tbe real hot years. But even in my wildest dreams getting 15 leaves a year like Jastin is unreasonable.

The first three years are creep,walk,run as they say

Happy growing

I thought it was "Sleep, Creep, Leap"? Haha

Keith- I hope your right, im at 12 leaves this year and its year 3, next year will be interesting

12 leaves ain't never gonna happen here, I'll be happy with 3-4 a year. If it's gonna be 1 every year those palms will end up on the compost even if they don't experience Winter setback. They'll just look like crap after a few years.

Youll get more than 1 dude, mine got 4-6 in the first year but i think they are way way slower when bought at a large size. i got mine as a very small 15, like a 5 gal size. Plus mine is a freak. I was told by a long time grower that they are slower if bought big

This is my experience, big bismarckias start off slower. Its a big palm axel, and it needs lots of roots below to move forward. Good thing your soil is sandy as the roots will expand rapidly if watered well in the heat. Once that happens the palm will focus on new leaves. Palms tend to dehydrate when evaporation from leaflets outpaces water uptake by roots. I expect that some survival control mechanism is making sure the palm doesn't overproduce leaves given the rate of root uptake of water. When it gets hot next year, water and feed well.

Axel, I think my record was 18 days for a complete spear in a very warm spell. Seems to be a threshold for growth below which they are very slow. Fortunately the leaves are tough and don't mark easily so they still look good after the 8 months when they are barely moving. Best to plant these as strap leafers.

I think mine may end up being a freak as well. Planted mine last August. About a 10 gallon size. ALL the dirt had been knocked off the roots by the time I got it home and in the ground.

It had 4 spears that sat idle until this Spring. All 4 cracked this year. In addition, I think it put out another 3 leaves if my count is accurate. Plus another 2 spears that are growing but probably will wait till next year before they crack.

I went against conventional wisdom. At planting, I added a fair amount of compost, blood meal and other such organics to the soil. Along with a LOT of gypsum. Not sure if that made a difference or not. But it sure is growing.

Be patient Axel. I thought I was going to lose mine. It was just resting before the big show.

Your overall speed may be slower than SoCal but your relative speed next year will be much improved.

bleah

You sir, are a breath of fresh air on an otherwise rather stifling weekend.

When I lived in Arizona I watched my bizzies hold lots of spears(4-5) closed every year in the hottest/driest part of the year(110F and 8-15% RH) till the monsoon hit in july. Once the monsoon hit and the humidity went to 50%, they would all open within 6-7 weeks. I saw this happen year after year, spears would rise but not open till the humidity went up. the palm is protecting itself in these cases I expect. Opening spears means an increase in water loss through increased in exposed leaf area, and if the roots are not developed it would tend to conserve water by holding spears. It may take 3 years for that palm to fully establish its roots up in santa cruz.

Edited October 13, 201312 yr by sonoranfans

Axel, this one was planted in Feb/2012 and remained without exterior activity until next year. The last 8 months it worked very well, opening 4 fronds, usually holding 2/3 unopened spears

Hope yours will be ok.

When I lived in Arizona I watched my bizzies hold lots of spears(4-5) closed every year in the hottest/driest part of the year(110F and 8-15% RH) till the monsoon hit in july. Once the monsoon hit and the humidity went to 50%, they would all open within 6-7 weeks. I saw this happen year after year, spears would rise but not open till the humidity went up. the palm is protecting itself in these cases I expect. Opening spears means an increase in water loss through increased in exposed leaf area, and if the roots are not developed it would tend to conserve water by holding spears. It may take 3 years for that palm to fully establish its roots up in santa cruz

Yeah,quite good observation. Same happens in my garden,only that time for leaf expanding is fall and December.

Edited October 13, 201312 yr by Phoenikakias

Mine opens the spears as it grows them once they extend some petiole... Most spears it holds closed are 2 just before the biggest starts opening. But my humidity is high yearound...

Axel, this one was planted in Feb/2012 and remained without exterior activity until next year. The last 8 months it worked very well, opening 4 fronds, usually holding 2/3 unopened spears

Hope yours will be ok.

image.jpg

Rafael, you have maybe as next -of -kin a carpenter?

Axel, this one was planted in Feb/2012 and remained without exterior activity until next year. The last 8 months it worked very well, opening 4 fronds, usually holding 2/3 unopened spears

Hope yours will be ok.image.jpg

Rafael, you have maybe as next -of -kin a carpenter?

Sorry, but i dont understand what you mean. could you be more clear please?

It's pretty clear what I mean by looking the surrounding place of your Bismarckia (all those wood chips)

Most Bizzies sulk when first planted out. It does take them a while to get their roots established. This is even more pronounced if they had their roots growing out of the pot into the ground and are then 'ripped up' for sale.

Daryl

It's pretty clear what I mean by looking the surrounding place of your Bismarckia (all those wood chips)

A little bit off topic, no?

There is a thread about wood chips...

This thread is a big relief for me, too. Our Bizmarkiemark really sulked....I think it was this last May (June?) that we put him in our backyard. The day after we planted there was a huge wind storm that came thru from the west. And then our irrigation went schitzo, and I was carrying a lot of big bucket-o-waterings (you should see my biceps, ha!). I repeatedly chanted these words, "please don't die....please don't die" pretty much all this summer. Michael hit him with root stimulator, not sure how many times during this first season. We both think he's gonna be all right! Two fronds opened and three more pushing as I write this.

Axel. I planted mine with 6 fronds. It's down to 1 frond with a new spear the has started to open then just stopped. Not sure what the issue is as usual!!! I seem to be doing really well at killing the palms on my hillside. Mike

It's pretty clear what I mean by looking the surrounding place of your Bismarckia (all those wood chips)

A little bit off topic, no?

There is a thread about wood chips...

Nonetheless after I had seen this picture, it was beyond my power not to mention it .That's all!

It's pretty clear what I mean by looking the surrounding place of your Bismarckia (all those wood chips)

A little bit off topic, no?

There is a thread about wood chips...

Nonetheless after I had seen this picture, it was beyond my power not to mention it .That's all!

Thank you very much. My palms are loving it. Thats all!