Queen palms

[Patrick Palms]

Been offered this Queen palm in the centre of pic.  Does it look good ? 

[Brucer]

Not a good palm really. Grows tall, does not drop its dead fronds, does drop heaps of yellow seeds. I had to have all mine removed at great cost. Forget it.

[Jim in Los Altos]

You’re on the Canary Islands. There are so many great exotic palm species to choose from so why the common Queen palm? If not trimmed regularly some will drop their fronds when they yellow. A couple of my big ones do and the fronds weight up to 40 pounds. Tons of messy fruit too as well as flower boots that are like hardwood. Twice a year professional pruning will alleviate that though. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Jim in Los Altos

[RedRabbit]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

You’re on the Canary Islands. There are so many great exotic palm species to choose from so why the common Queen palm? If not trimmed regularly some will drop their fronds when they yellow. A couple of my big ones do and the fronds weight up to 40 pounds. Tons of messy fruit too as well as flower boots that are like hardwood. Twice a year professional pruning will alleviate that though. 

+1

The Canary Islands are a great place for palms, I definitely wouldn't waste any soil on a queen there. 

[dalmatiansoap]

Latan palms looks beautiful on Islas Canarias. Among all others

[Patrick Palms]

I did want a coconut palm.  Its for the path entrance to our place. On side i have a 10g Royal and wanted a more tropical looking palm , on the other side.     This place apart from queens has spindles and Royals and triangle palms etc...

[Jeff985]

To answer your original question... Yes, that palm looks healthy. 

[JLM]

If you feel you want that queen, go for it.

[Patrick Palms]

Maybe another Royal would be better. Just that the Queen has a Tropical Look about it . Simular to a Coconut and very fast Growing. Yes i did worry about the Queen, not being self Cleaning.  I hear the Dypsis mananjarensis is simular to the Queen but self cleaning 

[Ben in Norcal]

58 minutes ago, Patrick Palms said:

Maybe another Royal would be better. Just that the Queen has a Tropical Look about it . Simular to a Coconut and very fast Growing. Yes i did worry about the Queen, not being self Cleaning.  I hear the Dypsis mananjarensis is simular to the Queen but self cleaning 

Royals look a lot more tropical to me - but that's because they are!  At any rate, you should plant whatever you want and not listen to us palm snobs. 

[ahosey01]

16 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

You’re on the Canary Islands. There are so many great exotic palm species to choose from so why the common Queen palm? If not trimmed regularly some will drop their fronds when they yellow. A couple of my big ones do and the fronds weight up to 40 pounds. Tons of messy fruit too as well as flower boots that are like hardwood. Twice a year professional pruning will alleviate that though. 

This. If you are going to get a common palm, though, I’m hugely partial to CIDP.  Plus, estas en las canarias....

[Ben in Norcal]

5 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

This. If you are going to get a common palm, though, I’m hugely partial to CIDP.  Plus, estas en las canarias....

The single biggest mistake in my yard was planting a CIDP.  Massive, and deadly.  I have 10+ queens and while I take them out as other things grow, at least I can take them out.  If you have anything but a 30+ year old CIDP, they are horrid beasts.  I am completely done with Phoenix outside of the one I am stuck with.

[DoomsDave]

@Patrick Palms to answer one question: That's a nice queen, looks fat happy and ready to go in the ground.

But, based on your list, it looks like you're seriously nutty. A queen is a palm for sane people. Back when I was sane, I had queens and loved them but then I got nutty and liked so many others instead.

And, you're in the Canaries, a to-die-for palm habitat.

I'd explore something else, yow you have so many other options.

So, up to you.

[WaianaeCrider]

On 8/7/2020 at 5:14 PM, Patrick Palms said:

Been offered this Queen palm in the centre of pic.  Does it look good ? 

Looks good.  Gotta dig a BIG hole to plant it and it's gonna be HEAVEY and hard to move.  I have three in a row.  Messy yea but nice palms if you don't mind the dead fronds hanging on for a long time.  I just reach high w/my 31" long loppers and chop off what I can.

 

[WaianaeCrider]

Here is a picture of mine.  Been in the ground for over 15 years now.  Ya kinda ugly, but I love them any way as they are palms.   LOL

They are tough palms.  I dug them up and moved them back then.  Were to heavy to pick up so I just dug out what I could and "dragged" them to the new location a distance of over 100 ft. 

[Patrick Palms]

Have This is my young Royal, took a belting from winds so got a stake in ground to try and keep roots steady so it established better

[Patrick Palms]

So your big Queens, you never get them trimmed? How do you cope with tons of fruit dropping?  By the way, you can eat Queen palm fruit

[redant]

1 hour ago, Patrick Palms said:

Have This is my young Royal, took a belting from winds so got a stake in ground to try and keep roots steady so it established better

Looks very dry there, if you can soak that palm regularly.  I'd pass on the queen myself, you mentioned spindles which are far nicer palms and so much easier to take care of.

[Patrick Palms]

Maybe with Queen , i just liked the Coconut looking fronds.  Spindles or try another Coconut palm.  I did think about a Beccariophoenix alfredii but not easy to get here.  Or a King Palm or Dypsis Madagascariensis . Here easy palms to buy are spindles bottles Royals coconut triangle palms Areca palms   Palm i really love is the Majesty palm but far too dry here, i guess

[Patrick Palms]

Are all Sygrus palms not self cleaning ?   I do have a tiny 2 yr old Dypsis Pembana palm. Hoping it makes it

[sonoranfans]

10 years from the queens will be declining in apparance.  they do not age well in appearance and require lots of fertilizer to look good.  That one is healthy, not doubt.  I have a dypsis majananjaresis, it far better looking than any queen I have seen.  Nice white and green marking on the trunk with a bluish waxy hue to the crownshafts and they do self shed.  I also have two large royals, these are beautiful palms that seem to improve with age in appearance.  You have so many choices in that climate, and most of them will be fast there.    

[Patrick Palms]

KENTIOPSIS OLIVIFORMIS i might buy.  Yes i can grow most palms but trouble is, getting young ones established with constant winds

[DoomsDave]

17 minutes ago, Patrick Palms said:

KENTIOPSIS OLIVIFORMIS i might buy.  Yes i can grow most palms but trouble is, getting young ones established with constant winds

Hmm. Maybe a queen or two will be a good windbreak for more tender things?

 

[DoomsDave]

2 hours ago, Patrick Palms said:

So your big Queens, you never get them trimmed? How do you cope with tons of fruit dropping?  By the way, you can eat Queen palm fruit

I ate some queen palm fruit, one bite, one time. Ptooey! Yuck. Sticky sweet, icky taste, stringy.

I hear they make great hog feed.

[Patrick Palms]

Lol   they do look yucky.. maybe juice is ok ?

[WaianaeCrider]

I know a guy that tried to ferment fruit from S. amara.  Not to successful and he said lotta work trying to get fruit off the nuts.

[Patrick Palms]

Jelly palm best bet for fruit juice 

 

[Patrick Palms]

Is it normal for a Queen to have so much Fibre around its trunk ? 

[Patrick Palms]

I think this is not a Queen? Too much fibre on trunk. Surely a Queen this big, would show more Trunk and less fiber?  Looks more like a Parajubea totellyi 

[Umbrae]

if you like it , get it , don't listen to the haterade drinkers 

[akamu]

Like Dave said they can serve a purpose the one I have provides great canopy for my Courtyard they do get fat if you give them plenty of water this one's about 30 in at the base they are very messy though and mine is getting to a point where the 24 ft ladder is a stretch

[Patrick Palms]

So is the Queen with plenty of Fiber on its trunk, a Hybrid??

[JLM]

Its too bad you cant start off with a small queen palm, they grow quick, but smaller would give you more time to enjoy before they become messy. I wouldnt mind the mess as it would give something more to do lol

[sipalms]

23 hours ago, Patrick Palms said:

So is the Queen with plenty of Fiber on its trunk, a Hybrid??

I would definitely say this is some kind of hybrid. I have never seen a queen with that much trunk yet that much fibre!

[sonoranfans]

I had queens with fiber like that when I was in arizona.  I remember cutting one down and hauling it away.  Different environments can cause queens to look different and keeping a palm in a container that long could change the way it looks(not in a good way).  Once a palms get that big, they are better if its field grown and dug out.  Being trapped in a container for a long time can be nasty on palms,s especially if accumulated salts and metals from fertilizer/water aren't thoroughly flushed regularly.  

[Patrick Palms]

My poor Queen is looking very bad.. I have tried to rescue it  little bit of green but i think its RIP

[Cikas]

On 8/15/2020 at 3:27 PM, Patrick Palms said:

I think this is not a Queen? Too much fibre on trunk. Surely a Queen this big, would show more Trunk and less fiber?  Looks more like a Parajubea totellyi 

That looks like normal Queen palm to me. 

[Palmfarmer]

8 hours ago, Patrick Palms said:

My poor Queen is looking very bad.. I have tried to rescue it  little bit of green but i think its RIP

How did that happen and how fast? there might be hope its strill green down in the crown just water it a lot. 

[Patrick Palms]

While i was away we had terrible mealy bugs issues..and February had massive gusts of wind. Maybe gusts browned leafs and it just struggled to recover..Queens should be easy ?? I have watered alot and gave fertilizer?   

[Patrick Palms]

If not winds then mealybugs 

I spray other palms one day with dish saop and water spray , next day, mealy bugs back again. Even my coconut.  Planted in ground looked great. After close examination in the crease of leafs not opened, i saw white specs of mealybugs.  Real night mare.  Might try a lotion containing alcohol or baby oil..and small quirt of dish soap to make baby oil mix with water