Arenga Micrantha

[steve 9atx]

All

I was clearing out the palm grass (Curculigo capitulata) from around a small (6' tall) Arenga micrantha over the weekend and noticed three little suckers coming off of the base.  Is this supposed to be a suckering palm?  I hope they sold me the right Arenga.  I suppose suckers are good if you fall in love with a monocarpic palm; but, I'm not in love with this one yet.  Especially if it turns out to be the large and spiny Arenga pinnata which won't fit where I've planted it.

Anyone know this palm?  Am I a sucker?

Steve

[richnorm]

I understand that it does sucker but perhaps a little less than some other Arengas.  They do get big!

[Palmy]

This palm is a clumper. It looks great once it gets older. Similair to the englire. There are no spines. I love mine. Its about 4 feet tall, and I see 1 sucker in a 5 gallon pot. (gotta stick it in the ground when it gets warmer) From what I know, this palm doesnt have as many as others. I say 15-20 feet max.

[PalmGuyWC]

Steve,

Consider yourslef lucky if you have an Arenga micrantha 6' tall. I have two growing here in N. Calif. and they are the slowest growing palms in my garden. They are 5 gal size and only grow about 1 frond a year so far. Mine are growing in part shade (50%) and one was damaged in our recent freezes at 23F and the other untouched.  I also have a small Arenga elengri and it was undamaged by the freezes, but it's slow too, one or two fronds a year. The Arengas bleach in my hot, dry, summer sun, the reason for part shade.

The only photograph I've seen of A. micrantha was in habitat and it was taken in the rain and not a very good shot.  Does anyone have a nice picture of one in clutivation? (with suckers)?

Dick

[SubTropicRay]

Definitely a clumper.  Once it gets going, it can become quite profuse for an Arenga.

[steve 9atx]

Dick

Here's my A. micrantha.  It's probably been in the ground for three years from a strap-leafed 16" tall.  I measure 6'-9" to the top.  Oddly enough the tallest frond is not the latest.  The latest opened a few weeks ago and is the yellowish frond to the right.  This palm seems to continue to add length to its petioles long after a frond opens.  I bet the tallest frond added 18"-24" to its length after opening.  The house in the background is my neighbor; so, the palm is shaded by his house in the a.m. and mine in the p.m. - it probably gets six hours of midday sun in the summer, four or five in the winter.  I guess it gives me 1 1/2-2 fronds per year.  With the lengthening petioles, however, it always seems to be getting taller.

Steve

[steve 9atx]

Here's sucker "A" on the west side.

[steve 9atx]

Here're suckers "B" and "C" on the east side.

[Rafael]

Any updating pics?

[gyuseppe]

I have a small Arenga micrantha, is very slow, a leaf a year!

[richnorm]

Mine is now about 10 feet tall with seven suckers. It's going to be a monster. Would have been maybe thigh high when this thread was started.

[Eric in Orlando]

We have a couple 7-8ft tall now. They do sucker but sparsely, not a thick clumper like A. engleri or A. tremula.

They grow slow at first then speed up a bit when they get a few feet tall. Here is one in 2006

and now

nice silvery undersides on the leaf

our other big one;