Fan palms in the garden..

[quaman58]

Hey all, 

When I first started  becoming interested in palms, I had absolutely zero interest in fan palms. But  they have grown on me over the years to the point where about a third of the palms in the garden are of the fan variety.  I love the different texture they give to the overall “canvas”.  Here are a few that caught my eye this afternoon. 

First up; a Brahea decumbens growing at the base of a B. brandigeei:

[quaman58]

Pritchardia perlmanii.   A really unique looking dwarf Pritchardia, that has really deeply split leaves & doesn’t take up much space!

[quaman58]

Trachycarpus latisectus. Slow but steady..

[quaman58]

Slower still, Sabal maritiformis. What could  possibly go wrong planted between a B. alfredii and a triple Wodyetia?

[quaman58]

A couple Coccothrinax; argentea, a gorgeous plant with long petioles and pure silver underneath the leaves.

[quaman58]

Another one, purchased as Coccothrinax “sp”. Small, but beautiful. 

Edited November 30, 2019 by quaman58

[quaman58]

Last up, a very special Chuniophoenix nana gifted to me by the late Jim Wright. Gone , but never forgotten. Feel free to add yours!!

[The Gerg]

I was just like you about not being interested in fan palms in the early stages of my palm collection/addiction. I think a lot had to do with wanting easy maintenance. I’m still really not a fan of the hula skirt of dead leaves fan palms get. But I’ve just decided I would have to stay on top of that when the time comes. I still only have two in the ground but starting to get more laying around in pots.

The two in ground are a Bismarkia Nobilis which not only gives contrast with leaf shape but also a drastic color contrast.

The other is a Brahea armata which for some reason I can’t get my pic to upload.

I’m sure there will be more to come in my garden soon.

[Josue Diaz]

i agree, Bismarckia is by far my favorite. Granted, the number and variety of feather palms i can grow is limited,  but like you,  I've come to appreciate fan palms more and more. 

[John hovancsek]

[Jim in Los Altos]

 

Livistona chinensis 

 

Bismarckia nobilis 

 

 

Raphis excelsa

 

 

Pritchardia schattaueri

 

 

Kerriodoxa elegans

 

 

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

 

Trithrinax campestris

 

 

Trachycarpus fortunei

 

 

Kerriodoxa elegans

 

 

Trachycarpus martianus

 

Edited December 1, 2019 by Jim in Los Altos

[quaman58]

Geez Jim, nice Pritchardia! I had no idea you were growing that. Nor the Kerriodoxa. Wow, nice..

[Jim in Los Altos]

 

Licuala peltata sumawongii

 

 

Brahea nitida

 

 

Brahea edulis

 

 

Thrinax radiata

 

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

  On 12/1/2019 at 8:18 AM, quaman58 said:

Geez Jim, nice Pritchardia! I had no idea you were growing that. Nor the Kerriodoxa. Wow, nice..

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Several Pritchardia in the garden. I’m surprised at how carefree they are. The Kerriodoxa elegans is more surprising but I have to pay attention to them when humidity is occasionally really low and wet them down during the day otherwise the leaves brown tip. 

Edited December 1, 2019 by Jim in Los Altos

[sonoranfans]

I started out with fan palms because I was in 9a at the time and the fan palms do render the best blue/grey leaf colors.   Here is a little corner of my yard in florida with silver serenoa, sabal uresana, copernicia alba blue and bismarckia that is protective against the cold N wind, all are at least 9a.  I also have some small copernicia hospitas that may make their way into the sunny landscape.  

[quaman58]

Nice Tom! That big Copernicia looks awesome..

[sonoranfans]

Another fan that has put down some roots in my yard.  Borassus Aethiopum is apparently ready to go vertical after taking beating in IRMA a few years back.  This one has unique(in my yard) color tones in different lighting conditions.  Its just 15' center to center with my biggest(25') beccariophoenix alfredii and just under 10' to the house it looks like a tight fit as it matures.  The house is no problem once it gets over the roof but that alfredii is a much bigger palm than I envisioned 8 years ago.  I love my crownshafted pinnate palms but fans are quite dramatic and they do have a way of changing color under different lighting conditions.   

[Sabal Steve]

  On 12/3/2019 at 9:42 PM, sonoranfans said:

Another fan that has put down some roots in my yard.  Borassus Aethiopum is apparently ready to go vertical after taking beating in IRMA a few years back.  This one has unique(in my yard) color tones in different lighting conditions.  Its just 15' center to center with my biggest(25') beccariophoenix alfredii and just under 10' to the house it looks like a tight fit as it matures.  The house is no problem once it gets over the roof but that alfredii is a much bigger palm than I envisioned 8 years ago.  I love my crownshafted pinnate palms but fans are quite dramatic and they do have a way of changing color under different lighting conditions.   

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You’re growing some great stuff there, Tom.  I agree with your sentiment, regarding fan palms.  That thing is going to be a monster, can’t wait to see when it trunks.  B. Aethiopum may be my favorite.  There’s a large one in San Diego at the Zoo.  I bet it’s 20’ tall now, and has been growing on a DG hill, for years now.   Really hard to keep them from rotting out as seedlings, out here, but the big one at the Zoo seems to have no issues.

Edited December 4, 2019 by The Steve

[Stevetoad]

  On 12/4/2019 at 2:39 AM, The Steve said:

You’re growing some great stuff there, Tom.  I agree with your sentiment, regarding fan palms.  That thing is going to be a monster, can’t wait to see when it trunks.  B. Aethiopum may be my favorite.  There’s a large one in San Diego at the Zoo.  I bet it’s 20’ tall now, and has been growing on a DG hill, for years now.   Really hard to keep them from rotting out as seedlings, out here, but the big one at the Zoo seems to have no issues.

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Here you go steve.  Took this pic over a year ago. 
 

[Josue Diaz]

  On 12/1/2019 at 8:16 AM, Jim in Los Altos said:

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It looks like your T. campestris is in quite a bit of shade. Good to see it doesn't revert to green in shade. Mine is in full sun now, but will likely be shaded within the next 5 years. 

[sonoranfans]

thanks steve, I have had lots of help from experienced palm growers on  this board in deciding what to plant in my yard.  This Borassus, from christian faulkner, was originally planted in 2011 in a low spot as a strap leaf seedling but the lawn guys mowed it while I was away.  I dug it up and put it in a high spot(good drainage) which may have saved it as these dont like being continually wet.   

[John hovancsek]

Licuala obicularis and colpothrinax 

[Jim in Los Altos]

  On 12/4/2019 at 8:45 AM, Josue Diaz said:

It looks like your T. campestris is in quite a bit of shade. Good to see it doesn't revert to green in shade. Mine is in full sun now, but will likely be shaded within the next 5 years. 

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Yes, Josue. I have two in two locations and neither get much direct sun at all. That spot of sun in the photo lasted about 1/2 hour around noon and then that palm gets maybe another 1/2 hour of sun later in the afternoon. I was afraid they would green out as well since the other one is in full all day shade but they’ve kept remarkably silver blue and grow at normal speed. 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Jim in Los Altos

[sonoranfans]

Here are some future fan palms in the garden:  copernica hospita and macroglossa.  these will start going in the ground next year.

[Big Eye]

  On 11/30/2019 at 12:29 AM, quaman58 said:

Pritchardia perlmanii.   A really unique looking dwarf Pritchardia, that has really deeply split leaves & doesn’t take up much space!

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@quaman58This pic gives me hope that mine are perlmanii as well.  They look exactly like yours.  Would you happen to have shots of the leaf undersides?  Also, I don't know if you guys seen this, or know what I'm talking about, but have you guys noticed that certain species have more delicate feeling leaves?   For instance, my perlmanii leaves feel very strong and sturdy compared to the napaliensis which has a more delicate feel to it?  Does that even make sense?  Lol. Anyway, mahalo in advance!

[quaman58]

As of now, the leaf undersides have developed a very sparse scaling. It's a bit tough to photograph,  but hopefully you get the idea. And you're right, some Prichardia  are considerably more stiff leafed then others. 

[Tracy]

  On 3/19/2020 at 1:01 AM, quaman58 said:

As of now, the leaf undersides have developed a very sparse scaling.

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Better some than none.  My Pritchardia that I acquired as martii and has been in the ground for about 5 years still hasn't shown any lepidota except on the very fringes.  I have long suspected it is mis-identified for this reason.  So like I said, better some on yours than none, as there is still hope it will increase.

[quaman58]

Tracy,  you've got a lot of company with mis-ID'd Pritchardia. Martii shows the silver coloration very early. If it makes you feel any better, I've got probably 5 or 6 of them that I'm pretty dubious about. I've had better luck with seedlings straight from FLoribunda, at least as far as accurate ids go.

[Marius]

Brahea sp, Brahea nitida & Trachycarpus wagnerianus 

[Marius]

Washingtonia robusta, Raphidophyllum hystrix, Livistona australis, Coccothrinax gracilis & Trachycarpus latisectus. 

[jmniner]

At first I wasnt to into fan palms but the blue and silver colors are so nice.

[Big Eye]

  On 3/19/2020 at 1:01 AM, quaman58 said:

As of now, the leaf undersides have developed a very sparse scaling. It's a bit tough to photograph,  but hopefully you get the idea. And you're right, some Prichardia  are considerably more stiff leafed then others. 

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Mahalo for the pic! Mine looks exactly like yours. Did you get yours from Floribunda? I hope you don't mind me posting it here as well.