This Dypsis decipiens was planted back in May 2001. It has grown well but slow here. It gets mostly full sun. It has split into 3 trunks. These palms are tricky, you have to find just the right spot for them here. They don't like too much shade, wet soil or very dry soil. They also like an area with good air circulation.

Slow here in Southern California as well.

But very rewarding once they have some size on them.

Wow, looks too slooow for a 17 years old decipiens.

Eric what were the results of the Ceroxylon you planted a few years back under canopy? I think one of them was a C. parvum

5 hours ago, Monòver said:

Wow, looks too slooow for a 17 years old decipiens.

Eric, I gotta agree here, much too slow.

17 hours ago, Xhoniwaters1 said:

Eric what were the results of the Ceroxylon you planted a few years back under canopy? I think one of them was a C. parvum

The Ceroxylon parvum died this spring. It had been growing under canopy with bright shade. But Hurricanes Matthew and Irma opened the canopy and it didn't like full sun.

I do have C. amazonica and C. echinulatum planted out and doing well so far, just slow.

14 hours ago, Gonzer said:

Eric, I gotta agree here, much too slow.

I have planted a couple more Dypsis decipiens out 3 years ago, they are doing well but also very slow.

6 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

The Ceroxylon parvum died this spring. It had been growing under canopy with bright shade. But Hurricanes Matthew and Irma opened the canopy and it didn't like full sun.

I do have C. amazonica and C. echinulatum planted out and doing well so far, just slow.

Ahh wow that's good to hear. I had one C echinulatum die on me this summer and the other one I pulled inside to the A/C because it was declining fast. They were under a double layer or shade cloth. They also attracted scale really bad. Your report is encouraging though. Maybe I will eventually find a winner. 

Awesome to have a FL Dypsis decipiens doing so well, despite being slow. When I have the space and money one day, I'd like to try one.

Wow, I don't think I'd have that kind of patience! The palm looks healthy however we in California consider them very slow but by 17 years old would have a really fat trunk(s) and at least ten feet of height. They grow very well in full shade as well as full sun and in between. Full shade means deeper green and considerably longer petioles. Keep us apprised of your decipiens' progress.

I have seen at least two Dypsis decipiens on palmtalk that grew to maturity in California without waiting a lifetime.  Who is that PalmTalker up in Modesto (inland northern California) who has a mature DD in front of his house?  Full sun exposure has apparently helped his.

I tried growing one of these in northeastern Florida (Gainesville) for seven years and it was pointless.  It did tolerate the heavy shade, but it literally did not grow an inch in seven years.  If you want to grow a DD anywhere in Florida, it is probably a fifty year commitment and one should expect it to die somewhere along the way.  I don't know why they grow so much faster in dry and windy California, at least on fast-draining soil.  Maybe they just hate heat and humidity in the Florida climate.  Maybe it's just a palm for cooler, dryer climates.

I can't believe that mine laster for seven years.  It declined suddenly after I added a bunch of my native soil (non-draining clay soil) around the base of the palm because its roots were all exposed just beneath the crown.  I wanted it to have stability, so I covered much of the mound with my soil.  That was a mistake.  The palm likely wanted to have its roots half exposed, and it was already planted on an elevated bed of rocks with high-draining coarse soil and perlite around them.  By adding heavy soil on top, Istopped its roots from breathing as they wanted to.

One thing I can say, though, is that my DD never minded the cold extremities of Gainesville nights in winter.  I should have planted it out front where it would have received full sun, but maybe Florida sun would be too much for it in the hot and humid season?  The trade-off if you grow it in shade is that it won't grow AT ALL --- at least not in this climate.

 

 

D. decipiens is such a fantastic looking palm, it’s encouraging to see one last so long in Florida where I have long heard that they don’t do well. However that growth is painfully slow, oh my goodness. I’m afraid if I lived in Florida or similar climate I couldn’t prioritize trying to grow one if I have near zero hope that I would ever see it with that sweet big fat trunk.