Here is the other biggest BA at Leu Gardens, growing in the Palm Garden section. BA has become one of my favorite palms.

 

 

Except for speed of growth, err, lack thereof, it's a win win for the BA in all respects.

They are slow when they are juveniles. Once they get some bulk to them they grow faster.

Here are the 2 BA in my yard. The first was planted almost 2 years ago. It is in the front and in the open, one night of 27F didn't damage it this past January. The other is in the back and planted 4 years ago. It gets bright shade. 

On 5/22/2018, 8:06:43, mike-coral gables said:

Planted in 2010 from maybe 2 year old , 3 gal liners . They are nestled under sabals in  a fairly damp environment, notice the fried fronds also in the pic ... from Kings which didn’t fair nearly as well , but thankfully survived 

Wow, am I to assume from this that Beccariophoenix Alfredii is much more cold-hardy than a king palm?  If so, I was not aware of that until now.

25 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Wow, am I to assume from this that Beccariophoenix Alfredii is much more cold-hardy than a king palm?  If so, I was not aware of that until now.

I don't know how low a temperature a King palm can handle. But an alfredii can go down to 26f with minimal issues or even no problems. 

It can handle a Florida/LA (humid) 9b and it can handle a Dry California 9a.

Edited May 26, 20188 yr by GottmitAlex

18 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

Wow, am I to assume from this that Beccariophoenix Alfredii is much more cold-hardy than a king palm?  If so, I was not aware of that until now.

My BA had some slight damage this winter and my A. cunninghamiana had no damage at all so its foliage is slightly hardier. Had it been a really bad winter and both were defoliated I've got a feeling the BA would probably stand a better chance of recovering since it is such a vigorous grower.

I didn't know that Beccariophoenix Alfredii was such a vigorous grower in a humid climate like Florida.  That is news to me.  My king palms have been quite vigorous growers.

17 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

I didn't know that Beccariophoenix Alfredii was such a vigorous grower in a humid climate like Florida.  That is news to me.  My king palms have been quite vigorous growers.

BAs grow fast as far as putting out new fronds is concerned. They're slow to actually put on a trunk though.

2 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

I don't know how low a temperature a King palm can handle. But an alfredii can go down to 26f with minimal issues or even no problems. 

It can handle a Florida/LA (humid) 9b and it can handle a Dry California 9a.

We hit 28F and a large king close to me was close to 100% defoliation. It survived though. 

Eric, I have a 4 year old BA in my yard. Is that considered too young to feed (slow release) a little extra ? 

Also, the space I originally planted it was along south facing wall of house.....as it has grown, I see that I should have given it a more open space. How well would it transplant at this time (or am I better off leaving it alone.....it is very robust and healthy )

On 5/26/2018, 10:27:53, donalt said:

Eric, I have a 4 year old BA in my yard. Is that considered too young to feed (slow release) a little extra ? 

Also, the space I originally planted it was along south facing wall of house.....as it has grown, I see that I should have given it a more open space. How well would it transplant at this time (or am I better off leaving it alone.....it is very robust and healthy )

Depends on how close. BA's canopy can get huge. I anticipated up to 15' radius for growth. What is the distance between the trunk and fence?

I always give my palms recommended dosage of fertilizer but add potassium and manganese (in Orlando). I've heard BA's aren't as nutrient hungry as other palms. But mine is just a few years old, planted in March, and I fed it as soon as I noticed growth. The lower fronds show a little color change but not sure it's from burn. It's really negligible.

They should do mass plantings of these in South Texas. It would look amazing!

While it's awesome to see these in use in Orlando the places used seem not great for them. They do not trunk rapidly and can really take up some space before ever getting tall.

 

thank you , Eric, for that advice....I have maybe 5 feet off the south wall (trunk location). I know that is not good enough. I think I need to transplant the palm. Yikes.

19 minutes ago, donalt said:

thank you , Eric, for that advice....I have maybe 5 feet off the south wall (trunk location). I know that is not good enough. I think I need to transplant the palm. Yikes.

Good luck with the transplant. From what I have read about the alfies, transplanting them is their Achilles heel.

 

On 5/26/2018, 10:27:53, donalt said:

Eric, I have a 4 year old BA in my yard. Is that considered too young to feed (slow release) a little extra ? 

Also, the space I originally planted it was along south facing wall of house.....as it has grown, I see that I should have given it a more open space. How well would it transplant at this time (or am I better off leaving it alone.....it is very robust and healthy )

How far from the wall is it?

I have transplanted a couple small ones before with no problems. This time of year is good especially with all the rain.

 

I was very surprised yesterday to see Tampa International Airport has a row of Beccariophoenix planted. I was driving so I couldn't get a picture, but there are probably 5 or 6 planted next to the highway.  

2 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I was very surprised yesterday to see Tampa International Airport has a row of Beccariophoenix planted. I was driving so I couldn't get a picture, but there are probably 5 or 6 planted next to the highway.  

Cool! I haven't been to TPA in a while so I'll keep my eyes out next time. Which area are they planted?

yep get them from a reputable palm nursery and they will most likely be BA.  These appear to be pme of the most trouble free palm in my area(south of tampa).  My (3), 12-20' overall, planted in 2011 as 3 gallon seedlings.  They sailed through 75 mph winds for 3-4 hrs in IRMA, followed by the 29-30 degree (long freeze) advective event in january, and then irrigation failure that coincided with an very dry period for a few months this spring.  I was away and came back to see they were stellar performers in those stress events.  They are more versatile and robust to cold and drought than the foxtails and royals that are commonly planted in the area, have less water needs, and get a nice big crown when they mature.  these should be planted far more than the royals and foxtails that are so prevalent and they look a lot nicer after the winter cold and spring drought period.

On 7/29/2018, 7:29:41, Zeeth said:

Cool! I haven't been to TPA in a while so I'll keep my eyes out next time. Which area are they planted?

They're planted on the ledge here:   https://www.google.com/maps/@27.9759228,-82.5359593,3a,75y,107.9h,93.68t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDdkA7WOC0OXcViYRIeRhfQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

They aren't in that streetview image so they must have been planted sometime over the past year. 

I wish we had public planting’s like this in my area. The public plantings in my area are usually Mexican fan palms, date palms and butias. I guess some palms is better than no palms. I have been really impressed with the hardiness on the Beccariophoenix alfredii. They can take some pretty extreme temperatures (both hot and cold). My smaller one has really started taking off. I agree that they are pretty slow when small but once they get tapped in they start growing a lot faster. 

Here are some of mine. I sprouted these from seed in 2010.

Here's one I planted at the neighbor's house. This was a 1 gallon when I planted it 2.5 years ago. It gets no water or fertilizer whatsoever and the soil is pretty much pure sand.

8 hours ago, Zeeth said:

Here are some of mine. I sprouted these from seed in 2010.

Looking great Keith!  So much like coconuts.

Amazing.  This thread gives Central Florida hope that Beccariophoenix Alfredii WILL grow well in that climate. 

10 hours ago, Zeeth said:

That is amazing. Awesome!

Get ready for post cards from Central Florida to start having "Coconut palms" on them. Well, at least for the ones that try to be realistic. 

Edited October 21, 20187 yr by PalmTreeDude

On 7/29/2018, 5:04:42, RedRabbit said:

I was very surprised yesterday to see Tampa International Airport has a row of Beccariophoenix planted. I was driving so I couldn't get a picture, but there are probably 5 or 6 planted next to the highway.  

Got some shots of these today:

Nice job getting those pics @Zeeth! 

Edited November 10, 20187 yr by RedRabbit

here is my largest BA at dawn a few days ago.  It has been grown in full sun it is about half again bigger than those grown in shade.  All were planted as 3 gallon seedlings in 2011.  The biggest shown here(3rd photo) sIts somewhere between 22' and 24' overall.  Trunk base with leaf bases on is 27" diameter and growing.  The borassus next to it is a tad over 14' overall by tape measure and the royal in the background is ~ 35' +/- ? overall.  My second biggest(photo 1) looks to be ~15' and used to have a live oak over it to the west.  I chopped the oak out when it was apparent that the palm wanted full sun and it has responded nicely with height and trunk thickening the last two years.  the third one(photo #2) pictured with the tribear, was in almost full shade till this past january when I removed a substantial live oak canopy to the west and east.  Its open now and I expect it ill kick in soon.  Fertilizer didn't matter, sun exposure did.  the biggest one is in the driest location(dry spot in irrigation) with the most sun.  All 3 were purchased from mike evans in st pete as 3 gallon seedling that still had some windows.