Cyrtostachys renda delight

[Dimimelbourne]

So I’ve had this beautiful palm for a few weeks now I think it’s doing really well.

 I bought it as a lipstick palm but multiple people have told me it’s more like to be a “Delight” form. Characterised by the orange crown shaft and bronze color of new emerging leaves. I have been keeping it in a shallow tray of water almost constantly and either have it outside in a sunny spot or inside by a big bright window if the temps drop below about 60f.

It’s summer here in Melbourne so it will be interesting to see if it will survive the winter, even indoors but so far I’m really impressed. All the fronds seem super healthy and every stem seems to have a new emerging leaf. 
I have heard this form of C Renda is more hardy in relation to temperatures but I am not sure I want to let my guard down and just leave it outside. Especially as we have a really volatile climate here in Melbourne.

Just sharing some weekend appreciation

Dimitri

 

[PsyPalm]

Looking great Dimitri! That's a super healthy looking lipstick   I have a much smaller specimen I've been growing up here in Seattle, hopefully she makes it to this size! 

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for yours?  My little guy was $60 shipped from Hawaii and was about 6" tall when I got it, I'm always curious how much these mid size specimens cost..

Something that I did with mine is cut away a lot of it's smaller leaves/trunks to thin it out and allow the beauty and color of the larger trunks to shine through a bit more, I feel like this would look especially good on yours   

Good luck with her and keep up the good work!

Cheers,

Loch 

[Dimimelbourne]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:55 PM, PsyPalm said:

Looking great Dimitri! That's a super healthy looking lipstick   I have a much smaller specimen I've been growing up here in Seattle, hopefully she makes it to this size! 

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for yours?  My little guy was $60 shipped from Hawaii and was about 6" tall when I got it, I'm always curious how much these mid size specimens cost..

Something that I did with mine is cut away a lot of it's smaller leaves/trunks to thin it out and allow the beauty and color of the larger trunks to shine through a bit more, I feel like this would look especially good on yours   

Good luck with her and keep up the good work!

Cheers,

Loch 

Hey! I haven’t been on here in a while. Yours is doing well by the looks of it. Can’t imagine how slow growing they are, it’s been months and one of the spears have only just begun to open now! So I paid $99 Australian for it, a steal really as it’s almost 5.7 ft tall. I love your advice to thin it out but a little scared tbh haha I don’t want to damage it at all or make it hate me either.

[PsyPalm]

10 hours ago, Dimimelbourne said:

Hey! I haven’t been on here in a while. Yours is doing well by the looks of it. Can’t imagine how slow growing they are, it’s been months and one of the spears have only just begun to open now! So I paid $99 Australian for it, a steal really as it’s almost 5.7 ft tall. I love your advice to thin it out but a little scared tbh haha I don’t want to damage it at all or make it hate me either.

Wow, I can't believe that was only 99 AUD!  Here is the US one that size would easily be four to five hundred.  Nice snag, I'm super jealous haha. 

As far as trimming/thinning it out I honestly wouldn't be too scared.  Just cut away any smaller shoots at soil level with a sharp and sterile set of pruning shears and she'll be fine, especially since yours is nice and established.  Aside from being picky about water & temperature lipsticks are actually pretty hardy plants.

I attached two examples of lipsticks (not mine) that have been aggressively pruned to a single trunk.  They seem to be thriving in this format, and it's an amazing way to showcase the color and overall beauty of the species.  If you do end up giving yours a haircut you should totally keep this thread updated! Good luck with yours :)

[Dimimelbourne]

4 hours ago, PsyPalm said:

Wow, I can't believe that was only 99 AUD!  Here is the US one that size would easily be four to five hundred.  Nice snag, I'm super jealous haha. 

As far as trimming/thinning it out I honestly wouldn't be too scared.  Just cut away any smaller shoots at soil level with a sharp and sterile set of pruning shears and she'll be fine, especially since yours is nice and established.  Aside from being picky about water & temperature lipsticks are actually pretty hardy plants.

I attached two examples of lipsticks (not mine) that have been aggressively pruned to a single trunk.  They seem to be thriving in this format, and it's an amazing way to showcase the color and overall beauty of the species.  If you do end up giving yours a haircut you should totally keep this thread updated! Good luck with yours

Ok so... I took your advice and gave mine a very minor trim. Cut away the small shoots that would take decades to grow into anything and also some of the lower fronds. 
What do you think? Too minor? Should I cut away more?

Thats insane about the price though... wow. I don’t even know how much they are up north here where I’m sure they’re more common. The bargain could also pertain to the fact that mine is an orange form and not red perhaps. I got to say, beautiful as they look in those photos I do prefer them with a few stems instead of the one.

[Palmarum]

1 hour ago, Dimimelbourne said:

Ok so... I took your advice and gave mine a very minor trim. ...

Thats insane about the price though... wow. I don’t even know how much they are up north here where I’m sure they’re more common. The bargain could also pertain to the fact that mine is an orange form and not red perhaps. I got to say, beautiful as they look in those photos I do prefer them with a few stems instead of the one.

He is certainly happy there. I bet he enjoys the mirror.

The discount could have been due to the off-color, but he is still healthy and may get more color over time.

Ryan

[PsyPalm]

On 2/19/2021 at 5:09 PM, Dimimelbourne said:

Ok so... I took your advice and gave mine a very minor trim. Cut away the small shoots that would take decades to grow into anything and also some of the lower fronds. 
What do you think? Too minor? Should I cut away more?

Thats insane about the price though... wow. I don’t even know how much they are up north here where I’m sure they’re more common. The bargain could also pertain to the fact that mine is an orange form and not red perhaps. I got to say, beautiful as they look in those photos I do prefer them with a few stems instead of the one.

Looking great post trim! 

[Monocot49]

On 2/23/2021 at 6:48 PM, PsyPalm said:

Looking great post trim! 

 

On 2/19/2021 at 8:09 PM, Dimimelbourne said:

Ok so... I took your advice and gave mine a very minor trim. Cut away the small shoots that would take decades to grow into anything and also some of the lower fronds. 
What do you think? Too minor? Should I cut away more?

Thats insane about the price though... wow. I don’t even know how much they are up north here where I’m sure they’re more common. The bargain could also pertain to the fact that mine is an orange form and not red perhaps. I got to say, beautiful as they look in those photos I do prefer them with a few stems instead of the one.

That looks awesome! Your leaves all look so healthy too. What is the humidity inside your house?? 

[Dimimelbourne]

On 8/11/2021 at 8:17 AM, Monocot49 said:

 

That looks awesome! Your leaves all look so healthy too. What is the humidity inside your house?? 

Hey there! 
it’s pretty average in all honesty (40-55%) I do keep it in a tray of water which must help boost the humidity a bit, I also keep the room slightly heated so the temperature doesn’t drop too low. I am proud to say that it’s still going strong through another winter here! 

[wimmie]

I once bought a Lipstick in the trade for less money than I had to pay for a Howea of the same size. I kept it in my kitchen for about a year, misting it every day. They are beauties.

[Than]

Reading this makes my hands itchy to buy one! When I lived in Java, someone offered me one for a dollar and I didn't buy it. Not my wisest decision.

[Dimimelbourne]

15 hours ago, wimmie said:

I once bought a Lipstick in the trade for less money than I had to pay for a Howea of the same size. I kept it in my kitchen for about a year, misting it every day. They are beauties.

Dam look at that colour!
 Looks like it’s thriving. Where is it now? 
I can’t wait to get true red one. Don’t get me wrong, I love my orange one and the way it’s new leaves open with a bronze tinge but that red is so beautiful. 

[Dimimelbourne]

7 hours ago, ego said:

Reading this makes my hands itchy to buy one! When I lived in Java, someone offered me one for a dollar and I didn't buy it. Not my wisest decision.

Definitely not haha $1? Wow

are they hard to come by in Greece?

[Jimbean]

How cold hardy are they? 

[Than]

5 hours ago, Dimimelbourne said:

Definitely not haha $1? Wow

are they hard to come by in Greece?

Yes, they are. I don't think there is any seller who does them. You may just buy seeds from abroad. I'm tempted. I always considered them impossible to maintain but seeing how many of you make it.. 

[Dimimelbourne]

12 hours ago, Jimbean said:

How cold hardy are they? 

I’ve heard different things, this one has seen temps as low as 10 degrees Celsius. In situations when I went away and forgot to turn the heater on. I’ve also taken it outside and forgot to take it back in at night where it saw low temps. 
For sure this variety is more cold hardy than the usual red one but how low it can go I haven’t tested. 

[Dimimelbourne]

7 hours ago, ego said:

Yes, they are. I don't think there is any seller who does them. You may just buy seeds from abroad. I'm tempted. I always considered them impossible to maintain but seeing how many of you make it.. 

Definitely doable. Just got to keep it warm, wet and well lit. You can take it outside on warm days in summer, put it in the shower for a moisture boost. I think the struggle comes if and when it starts getting too large to move around. I saw someone on here who grew one huge in their apartment. Looked just as good as if it were growing outside in the jungle. 

[wimmie]

17 hours ago, Dimimelbourne said:

Dam look at that colour!
 Looks like it’s thriving. Where is it now? 
I can’t wait to get true red one. Don’t get me wrong, I love my orange one and the way it’s new leaves open with a bronze tinge but that red is so beautiful. 

I sold it at some point!

[Than]

On 12/10/2021 at 4:58 PM, Dimimelbourne said:

Definitely doable. Just got to keep it warm, wet and well lit. You can take it outside on warm days in summer, put it in the shower for a moisture boost. I think the struggle comes if and when it starts getting too large to move around. I saw someone on here who grew one huge in their apartment. Looked just as good as if it were growing outside in the jungle. 

How bright is your bathroom? I thought cyrtostachys wants full sun.

[Dimimelbourne]

4 hours ago, ego said:

How bright is your bathroom? I thought cyrtostachys wants full sun.

I don’t keep it in bathroom. I just take it there for a shower every now and again, (hard as it’s big and heavy.) It’s in a room up against a frosted west facing window. It gets bright light there but definitely no direct sun. I have a led light I put on sometimes but I forget most days. 

[Than]

On 12/13/2021 at 4:20 PM, Dimimelbourne said:

I don’t keep it in bathroom. I just take it there for a shower every now and again, (hard as it’s big and heavy.) It’s in a room up against a frosted west facing window. It gets bright light there but definitely no direct sun. I have a led light I put on sometimes but I forget most days. 

Wow,  you're lucky!