Show the Biggest Chamaedorea radicalis (Trunking Form) You Have

[Alicehunter2000]

Really gaining a great respect for these palms. No, you can't hang a hammock from them and they are not fast growing or have the star power of your favorite dypsis species; but they are very cold hardy and tough. How big do they get? Show us your largest one.

[gilles06]

Hi David,

This is my biggest one, but surely not the biggest amongst yours...

[Ben in Norcal]

That one looks awesome! How much bigger would they even get?

[Alicehunter2000]

Wow! I don't know David, yours has got some size to it....that one looks fully sun hardy too!

I cheated and bought this one and it was already about 6ft. (approx. 2 meters) but it has grown steadily these last 2 years and now it is about 8ft. oa.

[gilles06]

Wow! I don't know David, yours has got some size to it....that one looks fully sun hardy too!

I cheated and bought this one and it was already about 6ft. (approx. 2 meters) but it has grown steadily these last 2 years and now it is about 8ft. oa.20150118_120908.jpg20150118_120838.jpg

Why are theese palms inside?

Edited January 18, 2015 by gilles06

[Jim in Los Altos]

I took a few pictures of some of mine and I'll post them sometime today. The taller ones are twelve feet tall.

[Jim in Los Altos]

12 feet and growing

Year round fruit..................................... These volunteers will form an attractive grove eventually.

Stem to right of Caryota trunk is C.radicalis............ Some trunking and non-trunking forms

[Palm crazy]

Jim outstanding examples of this beautiful palm…I could look at your garden all day.

Gilles06 your palm looks like it has grown a lot since the last time you posted a picture.

Awesome pics guys. I will have my first seeds on my palm this spring.

[Alicehunter2000]

Alright Jim....that's what I'm talking about!

Your the king so far!

Mine are not inside.....but in a screened pool area. These palms are great for courtyards and around pools.

[Alicehunter2000]

If you ever want to get rid of any of those pesky seeds......just sayin

[SailorBold]

That's awesome. Uhhh...no that's pretty cool.. Like a miniature palm..

Edited January 19, 2015 by SailorBold

[Alicehunter2000]

What's crazy Jimmy is that these delicate looking palms can handle temps down to 20 degrees (at least) with no damage.

[SailorBold]

Yeah let me rephrase.. just cool. I really like the color of the trunk.. and that it looks like a bamboo culm.. I saw a palm trunk on here like that somewhere but I cant remember where or what species it was. They are neat I do believe I will add some to my collection. And the 20F without damage..that would work for me (better than washingtonia on some reports)...

I try not to plant anything in front of the windows of my home- due to my limited southern microclimate space.. but that's where they will go. I just read like you said that they are adaptable to full sun, although when my palms get bigger they will be shielded. Seems like a winner. Palm crazy mentioned it but I never gave it much thought until now..

They are beautiful!

[SailorBold]

Miniature crownshaft !

[smithgn]

Holy crap these things are gorgeous when they start getting some height to them. For anyone in zone 8, this is the most sure bet to grow a crownshaft palm and have that ultra tropical look. But you just have to wait a decade or two to get there if you have started growing one from strap leaves, like me lol Mine aren't nearly as big (~2 feet) and have a few spots of cold damage from our 12 degree low, but they're coming along nicely. Great pics. This is motivating me to get some more come spring-time.

[Tropicdoc]

I have a bunch to put in this spring as understory to my jungle. They are in the greenhouse for now. C. microspadix is also a cool jungly small palm that is cold hardy.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Very nice pics and this is probably my next palm purchase.

[sashaeffer]

Anyone with these indoors? How have they done?

[_Keith]

Just don't expect to reach the perfect specimen growth of Jim. I saw his garden in person. He has the touch.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Just don't expect to reach the perfect specimen growth of Jim. I saw his garden in person. He has the touch.

Keith, you make me blush. Anyhow, these Chamaedorea are tough little buggers. Give them fertile soil, average water, and a partial shade and they reward you. I'm not sure how fast they are in colder climates, but in my climate, once trunk forms, they can easily put on two feet of growth in a year.

[sashaeffer]

Just don't expect to reach the perfect specimen growth of Jim. I saw his garden in person. He has the touch.

Ahh, so his is the exception and not the rule. It IS the most beautiful of that species I've seen in a pic.

[Alicehunter2000]

12 degrees! .....and survived!......that's fantastic!

See no reason they could not be grown indoors....most people are just so happy that these are cold hardy that they choose to grow them outside. There are a lot of Chamaedoria species that can be grown inside so you could put these outside and grow less hardy species inside

[redbeard917]

I had one indoors for two years and it looked great. Then I found a perfect planting spot for it. Deer have eaten every single leaf and it hasn't sent up another spear. If you're looking for an indoor plant, it's certainly a fine one, but if your area is like mine, Chamaedorea elegans will be much easier to find for sale.

[Mandrew968]

Is Jim the only one I have to beat? Anyone else?

[Mandrew968]

A good friend gave this to me.

[Tropicdoc]

That's killer. Can you tell trunking from non as a young palm. I have some that are supposedly trunking type but I'm not certain.

[Mandrew968]

Only time will tell--the non-trunking is the one that takes cold, best.

[Mandrew968]

Looks like Jim is the winner, so far; mine is a total of ten feet tall(eight foot trunk).

[tank]

Holy crap these things are gorgeous when they start getting some height to them. For anyone in zone 8, this is the most sure bet to grow a crownshaft palm and have that ultra tropical look. But you just have to wait a decade or two to get there if you have started growing one from strap leaves, like me lol Mine aren't nearly as big (~2 feet) and have a few spots of cold damage from our 12 degree low, but they're coming along nicely. Great pics. This is motivating me to get some more come spring-time.

Mine lost one of its spears at 19F under a high pine canopy and had moderate leaf damage. It was about 6' tall at the time. It recovered like a champ.

[Stevetoad]

That's killer. Can you tell trunking from non as a young palm. I have some that are supposedly trunking type but I'm not certain.

from what ive seen the non trunking var. has thicker leaves and grows at a slight slant (tillering) while the trunking var. has a thinner leaf and grows more straight. also the trunking ones i was growing seemed lighter green. at one time i had about 20 of each.

[Jim in Los Altos]

That's killer. Can you tell trunking from non as a young palm. I have some that are supposedly trunking type but I'm not certain.

from what ive seen the non trunking var. has thicker leaves and grows at a slight slant (tillering) while the trunking var. has a thinner leaf and grows more straight. also the trunking ones i was growing seemed lighter green. at one time i had about 20 of each.

Yes, Steve's right. The trunking variety has leaflets that are slimmer and lighter in texture than the non-trunking variety. My non-trunkers are slightly deeper green too. This applies to young plants and old ones alike.

[_Keith]

And there suspected hybrids between the 2 as well as I recall

[sashaeffer]

I had one indoors for two years and it looked great. Then I found a perfect planting spot for it. Deer have eaten every single leaf and it hasn't sent up another spear. If you're looking for an indoor plant, it's certainly a fine one, but if your area is like mine, Chamaedorea elegans will be much easier to find for sale.

I have a C. Alternans from Jungle Music inside the house now for 2yrs and doing great and Phil is holding onto a C. Tepejilote along with a C. Warscewiczii waiting for break in the weather to ship. But you know how it is, can't have enough palms.

[redbeard917]

I had one indoors for two years and it looked great. Then I found a perfect planting spot for it. Deer have eaten every single leaf and it hasn't sent up another spear. If you're looking for an indoor plant, it's certainly a fine one, but if your area is like mine, Chamaedorea elegans will be much easier to find for sale.

I have a C. Alternans from Jungle Music inside the house now for 2yrs and doing great and Phil is holding onto a C. Tepejilote along with a C. Warscewiczii waiting for break in the weather to ship. But you know how it is, can't have enough palms.

Yep. Ch. oblongata has done really well for me indoors too. Ch. elegans is always available in the indoor plant area of big box stores, but it's grown like Dypsis lutescens, there are way too many in one pot.

Back on topic, what is the natural geographic distribution of Ch. radicalis? Is there a different area for different forms, or do their native ranges overlap?

[DoomsDave]

And there suspected hybrids between the 2 as well as I recall

Indeed there are.

My own Death Camp had a nice colony of all-girl tree-types and the only boy around was a bush type. Plenty of seed was set over a number of years, and it was fertile. Some seeds ended up getting mailed all over the world. It appears that F1 tree and bush type crosses will have the tree-type phenotype.

[Mandrew968]

Let's all give it up for Jim--I got home and remeasured my palm and man, 12 feet is TALL!!! You Grow, Boy!

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

I have a couple tall ones but since they are hybreds, the trunk is thicker but aren't as tall.

I wish I could get some pure trunking var seed.

[sashaeffer]

This thread is costing me money after seeing some great pics posted! Had to order this from Phil today....

[Alicehunter2000]

Very cool....congratulations. ...you should be rewarded for years to come.

[Tropicdoc]

Jeff, what hybrid do you have?