I have a Roystonea Oleracea that is 9 years old and is between

15-20’ tall. The palm did not have a lot of growth this summer?

We last fertilized about a month ago with Lutz maintenance spikes.

It gets a fair amount of water and once a week I water with some

Surperthrive. I noticed after the last frawn that fell off, it reveled a lot

of red on the trunk that I never saw before and the new meristem is

looking a little crispy? I lost another Roystonea Oleracea about

2 years ago due to Pink Rot. As a rule, I do not trim any of my palms

except for my Caryota Gigas.

I have attached 2 photos, one that my be sick (with red on the trunk)

and one that is healthy.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks, Fred

Edited September 24, 201411 yr by Havanahead

Welcome to Palmtalk! Fred, where are you located? You mention the meristem--that is hidden inside the heart of the palm, so I doubt you saw that or if that is even what you meant... Reddish crownshaft is nothing to be worried over, but honestly, your pictures are lacking--how about a whole shot of the palm, specifically the crown? If you are In California then I would bet that's no oleracea; this is the most sensitive in the genus and they can be marginal in South Florida(once they get some size on them, they have no more cold issues).

They are indeed Oleracea's and I had purchased them from a very reputable seller of palm trees and
other tropical plants in Orange County CA.9 years ago. I live in Orange County CA.
Best, Fred

Edited September 24, 201411 yr by Havanahead

the color of the crownshaft looks consistent with the natural process of the leafbase getting older & ready to shed, imo.

nice looking palm.

Hi Fred. Welcome! R. oleracea grow here just fine so I don't have any doubt that's what you're growing. That purply/red color is actually highly coveted by royal palm growers and not an indication of any problem, so just enjoy the color. Now if you're not seeing any new leaves then that's a problem potentially. As you know, these things should be growing at super fast speed at this time of year. I guess the only way to really know is to go up and mark the spear and see if it's moving. If it's moving then you're OK.

Thank you for the responces so far.

The spear coming out is tough to reach because of the height. I had a ant problem so I did put some of this very sticky

Tree Tangleroot insect barrier on the trunk to prevent ants from climbing up. I still have some ants that I can see. Any

suggestions on something to spray at the crown shaft to kill the ants?

Anyone line close to Fountain Valley?

Thanks, Fred

Your Tiki avatar is awesome.

i covered an area in my garden with coffee grounds the other day where the ants were active & the next day there were no ants to be seen.

it might be worth a try for you.

Roystonea oleracea are tough as nails like Matt stated. But they look pretty healthy to me. Just maybe do an upclose inspection for any holes in the trunk or crown area that weevils may have caused.

Havanahead:

Nice to meet you and welcome!

The crownshafts turn brown before the leaves fall, giving those below time to either yank it off, or brace themselves. Or, even better, turn a nifty color, like yours apparently has.

We all salivate for a full-monty shot of your big ollie! Shoot one over for us to coo over! I had a big one that died in 2007 that was about 25 feet tall after about 5 years in the ground.

Ollies love LOTS of water. You won't overwater one, unless you get a saltwater tsunami.

As for the ants, I wouldn't worry about your palm. I've got big Royals 25+ feet tall that ants use like the 5, the 405, the 91 and 57, and the palm won't care.

We'd also love to ogle the rest of your garden, maybe send some pictures?

Is there any way I can post pictures in a reply?

Yes you click on more reply options

Here are some photos. Not sure why they are rotated?

Edited September 26, 201411 yr by Havanahead

GORGEOUS!

The crick in my neck is worth it!

Yep, from the sideways pictures of the leaf, those are definitely not oleracea.

it might not be a oleracea, but that is def a nice ravenala for southern California, and a nice purpurea too. im digging your hardscape as well. thanks for joining the forum and sharing some pictures of your yard

it might not be a oleracea, but that is def a nice ravenala for southern California, and a nice purpurea too. im digging your hardscape as well. thanks for joining the forum and sharing some pictures of your yard

Did you see what I emboldened above? Not an oleracea--no way.

(UPMPHHH!) uncricking my neck . . .

I must agree with Mandrew. Those leaves are too plumose to be an ollie.

That said, still gorgeous. Need to paw through my book and see what species it is. Regias don't get that brown crownshaft that I recall.

Perhaps a borenquenia or princeps?

Dave, not a princeps either and yes, regia can get that color on the crownshaft. If you have lived in South Florida, you have seen a million of them...

Hi Fred. Welcome! R. oleracea grow here just fine so I don't have any doubt that's what you're growing. That purply/red color is actually highly coveted by royal palm growers and not an indication of any problem, so just enjoy the color. Now if you're not seeing any new leaves then that's a problem potentially. As you know, these things should be growing at super fast speed at this time of year. I guess the only way to really know is to go up and mark the spear and see if it's moving. If it's moving then you're OK.

Matty, being as I have seen juveniles croak from the cold we get in South Florida(have no idea what Jeff is talking about with the 'tough as nails' comment), I would sure love to see ANY photographic evidence of a Roystonea oleracea growing in the state of California--I was under the strong impression that this palm is too cold sensitive and water needy to grow for you guys.

I believe a seasoned grower has a decent sized one in Escondido (N/E San Diego county). I'm sure he's not alone... I imagine Matty knows who I'm talking about.

Edited September 26, 201411 yr by Sabal Steve

There seems to be some debate whether or not this is a Oleracea? If it is not
then what variety would my palm be? FYI the Regias do very well in this area.

There seems to be some debate whether or not this is a Oleracea? If it is not

then what variety would my palm be? FYI the Regias do very well in this area.

There is no confusion. It's not an oleracea.

Louis Hooper's Royal, that was transplanted to Anaheim, was a R. oleracea, wasn't it?

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/6610-pssc-meeting-in-anaheim/?hl=%2Blouis+%2Bhooper+%2Broyal#entry109030

The Ouer's Royal is R. oleracea, isn't it?

Louis Hooper's Royal, that was transplanted to Anaheim, was a R. oleracea, wasn't it?

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/6610-pssc-meeting-in-anaheim/?hl=%2Blouis+%2Bhooper+%2Broyal#entry109030

I said that, and (gulp) I think I'll have to eat my words (urk). (Curried, maybe?)

The leaves on El Roystonea de Hooper are way too plumose.

I have one that I'm pretty sure is the real deal from (major religious chord, choir) Mardy Darian's place. Two actually, and they're not plumose.

When I escape from the Dark Tower I'll try to get a pic.

Here's a picture of my dearly departed Ollie on the eve of the Big Freeze in 2007. (Picture taken 12/31/06 or thereabouts.)

It's in the first frame:

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/2710-my-place-on-the-eve-of-the-new-year/

To be honest, it looks plumose, too. But, unlike the much smaller regies, this one carked good and proper, didn't even poop goodbye.

The Ouer's Royal is R. oleracea, isn't it?

I think it's a reggie. Nice, though.

R. oleracea aren't plumose? I assume that it'll look different in Florida than in CA.

Here's a picture of what I think is an R. ollie:

Leaf

Here's another:

And a leaf

Here's a regia leaf for comparison:

To both Matty and Dave: Neither of those palms are oleracea. Just not happening...

Can you help us learn how to tell them apart?

Sure. The main way is plumosity. All other Roystonea have a plumose leaf. Oleracea is flat as aboard until it gets trunk. Once it gets trunk, the leaf gets a second plane, but is not plumose. That and the leaflets are quite wide, like a Neoveitchia. The trunks look different too but that is less reliable due to water effecting that.

When I get a chance, I will add some photos to better help illustrate the differences.

Sure. The main way is plumosity. All other Roystonea have a plumose leaf. Oleracea is flat as aboard until it gets trunk. Once it gets trunk, the leaf gets a second plane, but is not plumose. That and the leaflets are quite wide, like a Neoveitchia. The trunks look different too but that is less reliable due to water effecting that.

When I get a chance, I will add some photos to better help illustrate the differences.

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!

Your California grown R. oleracea looks great. Love the crownshaft!

I have to agree, none of the royals in this thread look like R.oleracea to me. They have a pretty distinctive look. Then again, maybe they look different in California due to the climate.

I was surprised to not see too many R.oleracea growing in public gardens or streetscapes at the recent Biennial...I thought they would have been everywhere, but all I saw were R.regia.

Mandrew is correct with the leaf arrangement and it is very distinctive. On older trees the leaves do not fall below the horizontal, the leafs scars are different and obviously the trunks do not bulge.

These are quite popular throughout Queensland and have been grown here since very early times. I have even seen them for sale at the local Bunnings (like Home Depot).A lot (but not all) of the younger seedlings have red petioles as well.

Daryl

Hi Fred, your royal could be violacea as well, although regia can colour up and do the dance, they look good, this has been an informative thread, Palmtalk take a bow.

I forgot to mention earlier, Fred, your royals look very healthy, and I am surprised that they are having issues.

Here are some photos of some of my R.oleraceas for comparison. They are a bit sickly due to no supplemental watering in the last couple of years and our drought conditions over the last year or so.

Leaf scars on oleracea trunks tend to look different than those on regia trunks, especially once they get taller. The scars are not parallel, and the edges of the scar are not straight.

Leaflets are broader and come off the rachis in a much flatter fashion than other Roystonea species

Here is the parent tree

Hope this helps with the ID. Sorry, I can't help with the crispy spear issue, however the red colouration is normal.