Bentickia nicobarica

[TikiRick]

Can anyone help me with any inside information about this palm? I had one in the ground, but Hurricane Wilma bent it over and creased it. I have since planted another one, but I am not certain about it's requirements.

Does anyone have a mature, fruiting Bentickia?

[cfkingfish]

Rick, Faith Bishock has mentioned you many times when we talk palms (which is always). She has a 20 gallon Bentinckia with a few feet of trunk sitting outside under the oak near the barn. It is very healthy and gets watered everyday but is in heavy shade. I would honestly treat it like a Veitchia, but they probably can't tolerate any periods of drought.

[SubTropicRay]

Rick,

My one gallon specimens (1' overall height) cannot be overwatered.  They seem to be as fond of water as an Archontophoenix.  If the planting medium drains well, a daily watering will not hurt in this heat.

Ray

[bgl]

Rick,

Bentinckias are fast growing, full-sun and water-loving palms. They can probably be grown in shade, but I'm sure that'll really slow'em down. I have some with 20 ft of trunk and no fruit yet!

I'll see if I can get some photos later today.

Bo-Göran

[glbower]

I picked up three 1-gallon B. nicobaricas from Floribunda last summer. I acclimated them to the sun over the winter and early spring, but they are still having some sun issues since I planted them in March. If they're young, they need a little protection from the direct Florida sun.

[glbower]

Rick -- forgot to mention; that is my Malayan gold in your avatar.  It survived Hurricane Charley with only some lost fronds and a little lean and has been putting out coconuts like crazy ever since. Just today, I counted at least 150 coconuts on it, not bad for a tree with only 10 feet of trunk.

[Jeff Searle]

Rick,

    This palm will grow well here in South Florida. I would give it some shade, and at a later point in time when it is getting larger, it can grow out into the full sun and do fine. I planted a good size one at the nursery in the full sun, it did stess a little, and then finally adjusted after a couple of years or so. Now it is about 12-14' maybe and has started to flower, which I was quite surprise to see. It will be later this summer when and if it holds mature fruit or not.

Jeff

[bgl]

Rick,

Turns out I was underestimating the height of my Bentinckias. These have close to 25 ft of trunk. But no fruit yet.

Bo-Göran

[bgl]

And the tallest one in this group has close to 30 ft of trunk. And (not visible in this photo), an inflorescence that's getting ready to open up. Finally!!

[Palm Guy]

Rick, take a look at this site. http://www.palms.org/palmsjournal/2001/growthrate.htm. Apparently, whoever said they grow very fast, was very correct. Apparently, they're able to grow 18 or 19 inches per year.

As far as requirements, filtered shade is best when young. It does take full sun when older. The leaves get a bit tattered by high winds, so planting them in a protected area is probably best. Also, they don't like long periods of drought so make sure to keep them watered.  

Mike