My new chamaerops,how old?

[palm789]

I Just recieved this bad boy today,how old you think it is,it has 90cm trunk

[Dartolution]

I dunno but man I wish I could get one that size!!! Beautiful!

[JLM]

Thats big! I would say old but i dont know the growth rate of these things. I would guess its slow but yeah that looks amazing!

[PalmatierMeg]

Is it solitary? I love solitary Chamaerops. Age? Maybe decades.

[UK_Palms]

That is a gorgeous specimen! One of the best I have seen in a while. Where did you get it from, might I ask?

Given the size of the trunk, I would say that is at least 20 years old. Chamaerops aren't particularly fast growers, especially at a young age. They usually take about 10 years just to start trunking properly. So with a 90cm trunk, I would expect it to be at least 20 years old, maybe 25 years. Depends on the climate it was grown in as well, prior to you getting it. 

I dread to think how much you paid for that! 

[Cikas]

In my climate that would be 8-10 years old. 

[palm789]

1 hour ago, UK_Palms said:

That is a gorgeous specimen! One of the best I have seen in a while. Where did you get it from, might I ask?

Given the size of the trunk, I would say that is at least 20 years old. Chamaerops aren't particularly fast growers, especially at a young age. They usually take about 10 years just to start trunking properly. So with a 90cm trunk, I would expect it to be at least 20 years old, maybe 25 years. Depends on the climate it was grown in as well, prior to you getting it. 

I dread to think how much you paid for that! 

Paid £234 inc shipment hardy-palms uk he got loads imported.i dont know if I should plant or upgrade pot from 70liter to 90liter the flowers are quite big

[palm789]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Is it solitary? I love solitary Chamaerops. Age? Maybe decades.

Yes completely single trunk no sign of extra shoots growing.

[Jubaea_James760]

At 35" of trunk base off of 3" of trunk a year that'll be about 12 years. My guess is 12-18 years old in a good environment. 

She's a beauty 

[UK_Palms]

24 minutes ago, palm789 said:

Paid £234 inc shipment hardy-palms uk he got loads imported.i dont know if I should plant or upgrade pot from 70liter to 90liter the flowers are quite big

That's not bad to be honest, given it was from Hardy-Palms, which tend to be on the expensive side, given their quality. I was expecting you to say it cost like £300-400. 

I would plant it in the ground now, unless you plan on moving house in the next 5 years? That's why I'm reluctant to plant a lot of my stuff in the ground right now...

[palm789]

40 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

That's not bad to be honest, given it was from Hardy-Palms, which tend to be on the expensive side, given their quality. I was expecting you to say it cost like £300-400. 

I would plant it in the ground now, unless you plan on moving house in the next 5 years? That's why I'm reluctant to plant a lot of my stuff in the ground right now...

I will have to check the soil as live in new build property I'm not sure if it's any good or just builders rubble,what's the best soil to plant it in.

[UK_Palms]

50 minutes ago, palm789 said:

I will have to check the soil as live in new build property I'm not sure if it's any good or just builders rubble,what's the best soil to plant it in.

Chamaerops Humilis will grow in just about anything. In their native range they grow in heavily rocky, almost semi-arid locations, with poor soil. In theory, you could just dig a hole in your garden that's big enough and put it straight in... and I reckon it would still do fine. Don't do that though. Obviously you should try to put it in a good growing medium, such as Westland multi-purpose compost with added John Innes. Then mix in some perlite for drainage and I tend to put a little bit of manure in too. So the soil mix is like 5% manure. Just to keep it well fed and growing strong, but others will probably disagree with that. Just make sure the drainage is good regardless. Given that you're in Wales, you'll probably want to plant slightly above the soil line.

I doubt it's a solitary Chamaerops either. Almost all of them clump and produce suckers, even at a young age. That one has almost certainly had the side suckers cut off, to keep an aesthetic look. You might find yourself having to trim them off in a couple of weeks, if they start showing, to keep the aesthetic look that it currently has. Then again, perhaps it is solitary, but I doubt it. 

[petiole10]

That is a lovely palm for sure. These are easy palms to grow and prove very hardy in my experience.

I have two of my own which have grown in about four years to a similar size to the one featured. Mine have clumping suckers which I haven't removed to give a bushy effect. They contrast nicely with the sculptured one in the top picture.

My own palms have always been potted in the time I have had them and moved up a couple of pot sizes. Some good summer seasons, and mostly mild winter weather has seen them at least double in size in that time. During an unusually cold spell two winters back I bought them inside (with assistance!) to be on the safe side. It was an effort to move palms of that size but worth it as they are potted and more exposed than any planted in the ground.

I think I paid about £30 to £40 for them originally, so am pleased about how well they have done