What's a reasonable growth rate for Adonidia Palms?

[PalmX]

What kind of growth can you expect to see out of these in a year? Obviously conditions vary,  but lets say 'good' conditions yet slightly less than ideal.

Typically I only see them for sale at a very young age (around 3 feet tall with tiny 1 inch trunks), or older when they're already 8+ feet with 3 inch diameter trunks.

What's the time difference in-between these stages? Say to get to around 5-6 feet tall and have 2-3 inch diameter trunks?

Thanks!
Tim

Edited May 16, 2020 by PalmX

[kinzyjr]

In my neck of the woods, roughly 8-10 years to get to 8 feet from that size - so about 6 years for the 5-6 feet.  In the cases I've seen, that includes a few nasty freezes in the 26-28F range.  If you keep them healthy over the winter, you may see them get to the desired size a little faster since they won't have to regrow most of their crown.

[jreich85]

43 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

In my neck of the woods, roughly 8-10 years to get to 8 feet from that size - so about 6 years for the 5-6 feet.  In the cases I've seen, that includes a few nasty freezes in the 26-28F range.  If you keep them healthy over the winter, you may see them get to the desired size a little faster since they won't have to regrow most of their crown.

I agree. They grow relatively quick if they’re happy. Mine flirted with freezing temps this winter and slowed down but never quit growing. They seem to love lots of water and fertilizer, which helps with speed.

[Jeff985]

First picture is from April 2019. Second picture is from today. 13 months growth. 

[PalmX]

3 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

First picture is from April 2019. Second picture is from today. 13 months growth. 

Wow! What is your secret?? 

[Jeff985]

13 minutes ago, PalmX said:

Wow! What is your secret?? 

Water every other day. Everyday when temps are mid 90’s and above. Small dose of palm gain once a month and bring it inside any night that’s forecast to get below 50f. 

[PalmX]

36 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

Water every other day. Everyday when temps are mid 90’s and above. Small dose of palm gain once a month and bring it inside any night that’s forecast to get below 50f. 

Cool. That's a lot of water! What's kind of soil mix are you using?

[Jeff985]

$7/bag at Lowe’s

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

20 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

$7/bag at Lowe’s

Been buying MG palm and cactus and mixing 50/50 with turface. So far so good =) 

[Jeff985]

8 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Been buying MG palm and cactus and mixing 50/50 with turface. So far so good =) 

I’ve used that too, but I like this stuff better. 

[PalmX]

4 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

$7/bag at Lowe’s

Sweet.

I'm tempted to repot one of my 2 Christmas palms and try your soil and fert right before the growing season really takes off, to see if there's any growth difference. but I'm afraid it might be too late.

When did you repot that one?

[Jeff985]

8 hours ago, PalmX said:

Sweet.

I'm tempted to repot one of my 2 Christmas palms and try your soil and fert right before the growing season really takes off, to see if there's any growth difference. but I'm afraid it might be too late.

When did you repot that one?

It got moved to its new pot a couple months ago. It out grew the old pot in less than a year. 

[Meangreen94z]

Yeah, I prefer the Sta-green brand over miracle-gro. The medium is more dense and stable, plants toppled easily in straight miracle-gro. It also drains and dries out faster than anything else I’ve found. Slightly more expensive for a slightly smaller bag but well worth it.

[PalmX]

11 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

It got moved to its new pot a couple months ago. It out grew the old pot in less than a year. 

Looks like your secret is out Jeff. That STA palm and citrus soil is sold out at all the Lowes in my area and they have no idea when it will be back in stock. 

Any other suggestions? 

[Jeff985]

4 minutes ago, PalmX said:

Looks like your secret is out Jeff. That STA palm and citrus soil is sold out at all the Lowes in my area and they have no idea when it will be back in stock. 

Any other suggestions? 

That’s shocking. There’s always palettes of it at the Lowe’s stores here. The miracle grow works too. I just prefer the sta green for the reasons @Meangreen94z mentioned. 

[Meangreen94z]

10 minutes ago, PalmX said:

Looks like your secret is out Jeff. That STA palm and citrus soil is sold out at all the Lowes in my area and they have no idea when it will be back in stock. 

Any other suggestions? 

It might be low demand in your area, like Jeff mentioned they always keep a steady supply here. They have a store locator function, maybe see if it’s available within driving distance?

[PalmX]

44 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

It might be low demand in your area, like Jeff mentioned they always keep a steady supply here. They have a store locator function, maybe see if it’s available within driving distance?

Yep. I tried 10+ lowes around me online and none had it in stock. 

Maybe it's just something I'm doing wrong, but I don't see it in your area either?

An agent in their online chat told me my area was aware it was out but not sure when it was going to be in stock.

They usually have the miracle gro palm/cactus soil but even that was out of stock in the 1 store I went to! Crazy

Edited May 18, 2020 by PalmX

[PalmX]

On 5/16/2020 at 8:35 PM, Jeff985 said:

$7/bag at Lowe’s

If anyone can find a bag of this in their area I'd be happy to pay you to ship it to me : )

[Jeff985]

1 hour ago, PalmX said:

If anyone can find a bag of this in their area I'd be happy to pay you to ship it to me : )

I won’t be able to make it to a Lowe’s until this weekend. I would think shipping it would be expensive. I just looked on eBay and saw they have the miracle grow palm soil. 

[Meangreen94z]

I would say the store locator function isn’t working for that product, I’ve ran into that with the gardening department. If you’re that desperate for a bag I would call around to a few local Lowe’s and have them look for you. No guarantee they actually will though. 
 

It is good stuff but you could mix something in with the Miracle-gro to make it more stable for the time being.

[PalmX]

17 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

I would say the store locator function isn’t working for that product, I’ve ran into that with the gardening department. If you’re that desperate for a bag I would call around to a few local Lowe’s and have them look for you. No guarantee they actually will though. 
 

It is good stuff but you could mix something in with the Miracle-gro to make it more stable for the time being.

What would you recommend to stabilize it?

I'm getting a little growth but I just don't like how long it stays moist towards the bottom. I couldn't come close to what Jeff is recommending.. I can water maybe once a week if it's outside.

[Jeff985]

I think the main factors to the faster growth are the full sun, ample water and regular fertilization. It’s never seen any temperatures below 50 so it grows all year. It stays outside almost all year so it gets plenty of sun. It just comes inside on those winter nights that are forecast to get below 50, then it goes back out to the patio the next day. 
 

Even in winter it was opening a new leaf every 3 or 4 weeks. 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Jeff985

[Meangreen94z]

Pumice substrate or similar might help stabilize the plant from tipping in the wind, while still draining well. . Maybe someone else has recommendations.  Temperature and sun intensity, a long with the design of the pot/container will affect how quickly it dries out.
 

I now plant just about everything I grow in containers(palms, cycads, agave, cactus, aloe, etc.) in Sta-green. I’ve gone back and moved multiple plants to larger containers at the same time, a few being in prior Miracle-gro, and the amount of water Miracle-gro retains in the bottom of the container was substantially more than the Stagreen. Of course soil/sand mix was usually even worse. The other benefit to Stagreen over soil/sand/rock is its substantially lighter. Much easier to move the pot/container if needed.

[PalmX]

On 5/17/2020 at 8:42 PM, Jeff985 said:

That’s shocking. There’s always palettes of it at the Lowe’s stores here. The miracle grow works too. I just prefer the sta green for the reasons @Meangreen94z mentioned. 

 

On 5/17/2020 at 8:46 PM, Meangreen94z said:

It might be low demand in your area, like Jeff mentioned they always keep a steady supply here. They have a store locator function, maybe see if it’s available within driving distance?

So I was able to talk with a knowledgable garden rep at Lowes today, and they told me they're out of STA and many soils with no re-stock date because all Scotts products are backordered.

Edited May 19, 2020 by PalmX

[PalmX]

On 5/16/2020 at 7:38 PM, Jeff985 said:

Water every other day. Everyday when temps are mid 90’s and above. Small dose of palm gain once a month and bring it inside any night that’s forecast to get below 50f. 

Jeff, I just got some Palmgain! How much do you consider a small dose? The bag recommends 3 tablespoons for a 10 inch pot or 1/2 cup for a 14" pot. Do you go lighter than that since you're feeding once a month?

[Jeff985]

1 hour ago, PalmX said:

Jeff, I just got some Palmgain! How much do you consider a small dose? The bag recommends 3 tablespoons for a 10 inch pot or 1/2 cup for a 14" pot. Do you go lighter than that since you're feeding once a month?

In a 10 inch pot I was using 1/4 cup once a month. 

[ChsrCat]

Hi Friends - I had some Adonidia palms catch some harsh weather before I could bring them inside this year. A couple of them, I'll have to cut back all of their fronds (even the budding fronds that haven't popped yet have brown crispy tips). Any tips on jump starting growth, and also getting them to revive quickly? Even though the temperature exposure was the same for all, tt seems the palms who had more direct sunlight faired better than those that were also taking more afternoon shade. None have black or 'soft' crows so I feel certain everyone is still alive. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by ChsrCat

[Palmlover_78]

WOW That is a beautiful Palm