The life of my Phoenix Theophrasti

[Swolte]

Update. Did a lot of unpacking today including the Theophrasti. 

I was not able to throw more 'protection' on top of it as I was too preoccupied with saving other plants and keeping the house/family standing. When I removed all the protection this afternoon, I found the palm in good shape. Just as I left it or... even better? Leaves have a lush green color and the spear is firm. I could swear it even grew a bit but that can't be. Not a single indication of damage. Felt a bit unreal.

Seems like the protection worked wonders! Looks like the adventures of my Theophrasti will continue as I don't see it dying on me anytime soon!

I will spray some fungicide tonight.

Both companion plants were alive too (though I had to cut the groundsel to the ground). 

Note: on Feb 11, 2021, temperatures were hovering steady around freezing (day and night) until they took a deep dip Feb 14 to 16 with one night hitting a low of 10 (Monday) and the other a low of 3F (Tuesday). Temperatures generally remained below freezing. Feb 19-20 saw low of around 19F and 22F here.  Brutal.

[Swolte]

A week after the big storm. Some yellowing on the outer leaves but so far it firmly holds its green!

[Meangreen94z]

I have 3 in containers. I’ve read some claims they are the hardiest Phoenix, atleast in the dry desert. This is pretty good evidence they can handle wet cold as well. 

[Swolte]

On 2/13/2021 at 5:49 PM, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

I have 5 larger ones that will not be protected. Theyll either live or die. 

Any update?

[Swolte]

Update to the area!

The Theophrasti is still doing well 1.5 months after the historic freeze. Despite some additional browning on outer leaves and a general lack of growth, the spear and center leaves remain firm and in a healthy green. With temps reliably hitting the 80s now here in CS, I do expect some growth in weeks to come!

I decided to plant some companions in the same area. Impressed by some hardiness reports of the Trithrinax, I ordered a T. Campestris from Jungle Music last week. These palms are native to dry desert regions of South America and have been known to grow in dry riverbeds. Should be OK for planting in the dry creek in a spot that receives a lot of Texas sun! This is also a very low traffic area so a spikey palm such as this should be able to expand freely without stabbing anyone! 

I removed all the planting medium that was added by JM (great stuff but just readily fell off when lifting the palm) and found a nice root system. I planted the palm on a steep slope in a mix of native soil with some organic matter, gravel, and the original potting medium. I carefully placed some large rocks on top and - as support - around. Poured 3 gallons of rain water over it and took a few steps back to enjoy the view. 

In the picture below, you can see the Theophrasti on top. The silvery Campestris should make a nice contrast with the green of the Theo in years to come. If you look closely, you can also see a newly planted trailing Rosemary var. "Irene" which is known for its bright green leaves (I don't like the pale olive grey...) and bright blue flowers. I am also expecting it to start covering the ridge and help prevent erosion as it tends to have a nice droopy habit. 

All should be virtually deer proof and maintenance free once established! Quite excited about this planting round!

Edited April 6, 2021 by Swolte

[Collectorpalms]

Very nice. Envious of your lot. What size was the Campestris? How are your other plants doing post-freeze Feb 2021? FYI my Theo from JM that was about 15Ft tall and had flowered has not shown any growth and has been trunk cut, while both my CIDP palms have put out significant new growth. I hope that maybe the other dates require more heat to get growing, as you mentioned yours is green but not really growing yet. I checked out large Dactilifera in town and none that I saw were pushing new growth. Only one I have seen was the one posted on here next to the brick wall of a house.

Edited April 8, 2021 by Collectorpalms

[Swolte]

Agree, I have not yet seen any growth on any Dactilifera here (my young Canariensis is exploding right now). I am following your posts on the unprotected Theo (albeit under a live oak?). Hope it will pull through!

The T. Campestris came in a 5G pot and it is about 20" tall with two 'trunks' of about 2". I have become a fan of the genus. I planted a T Acanthacoma a few years ago. It was a bit of a gamble as I couldn't find a lot of information on Trithrinax in Texas and, frankly, many of the picture online didn't look great. The Acanthacoma is now one of my most beautiful palms! This past winter the Acanthacoma (2 years in ground with only a frost blanket a bit of hay) bounced back immediately after a spear pull and is looking quite healthy! Since the Campestris will stay relatively small for the next decade or two (or 5 hah...), I will be able to protect it in case of another historic weather event. For the rest, I expect it to be low maintenance, even through severe drought years (which I have not yet experienced here... ).   

Thus far, I am cautiously optimistic that the vast majority of my palms (protected and unprotected!) will pull through. I'll share some pics later this month with more specifics! In short, I was impressed by the apparent recovery of unprotected C. Humulis, a poorly protected L. Chinensis, and a well-protected but completely unscathed B. Decumbens. I am generally concerned with the Jubaea hybrids (some will likely not make it) and a well-protected W. Robusta. Note, ALL cold protection without heat source. 

[Swolte]

Mid/end-summer update

The Theophrasti kept losing lower frond after lower frond after winter storm Uri. However, with the Texas heat returning in summer, I am glad to report that growth has been explosive.  I am counting 5/6 new healthy fronds that are getting increasingly larger! What helped with growth was an exceptionally wet late spring/summer (I did not have to turn on my sprinklers for the grass until August!!). July alone saw a foot of rain.  I have also fertilized it lightly every month with Palmgain and protected the base of the palm from the ox beetle with a handful of Triazicide. As opposed to my P. Canariensis, this palm has had no attacks. I can't wait for it to get large and deadly so it will deter deer who try to get to the companion plants.

[Laaz]

But here's what you have to look forward to. They are all the same age, the smaller one didn't like being moved & sulked for a few years.

 

 

[Swolte]

Amazing and very well maintained!! I heard they produce a lot of shoots!!

[aegean]

Here is mine. Bought as P. Canariensis many years ago.  It turned out there is a lot of P. Theoprasti in it. Probably it is a hybrid.  The leaves are very stiff.

 

 

[UK_Palms]

4 hours ago, aegean said:

Here is mine. Bought as P. Canariensis many years ago.  It turned out there is a lot of P. Theoprasti in it. Probably it is a hybrid.  The leaves are very stiff.

 

 

I don’t see much Theophrasti in that one. It looks incredibly CIDP-like to me, although that’s not to say it doesn’t have Theophrasti blood in it. Does it produce any suckers? It’s still a very nice palm, which will look great when it starts trunking. 

[UK_Palms]

Here’s a Theophrasti that was grown form seed in the far western suburbs of London, out near Heathrow airport. I think it has been in the ground for about 15 years now and although it is much slower growing than CIDP, it is clearly just as hardy, if not more so. No damage at all following a much colder than average winter last year. I would say that Phoenix Theophrasti is probably one of the most underrated palms for London along with Washingtonia Filifera. It makes you wonder what else can actuallly grow over here… 

[Laaz]

10 hours ago, Swolte said:

Amazing and very well maintained!! I heard they produce a lot of shoots!!

Yes, they sucker like hell & always need to be pruned.

[aegean]

58 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

I don’t see much Theophrasti in that one. It looks incredibly CIDP-like to me, although that’s not to say it doesn’t have Theophrasti blood in it. Does it produce any suckers? It’s still a very nice palm, which will look great when it starts trunking. 

No it hasn't produced any suckers, but I was always wondering why it looks so different from my other P. Canariensis. The fronds are much stiffer and shorter, the color is different and it is developing a much thinner trunk.  But you could be right and these differences could have been caused by different growing conditions.

 

[Swolte]

End of fall update!

So this is how the little Theophrasti will go into this year's winter here in Texas (fingers crossed, so far so good...). As you can see, the palm has been growing slowly but steadily. I've ignored it somewhat this fall since much of my scarce free time has been occupied by the (still ongoing) creation of new planting beds, an outdoor gym, as well as a medium-sized crevice garden.

The companion plants may have the most interesting story. I removed the sun=protection from the Mexican groundsel that has finally established itself. If it gets through this winter, I'll be sure to get some nice flowers come spring. Deer have really left it alone! I wish I could say the same for the hibiscus on the right as I had to upgrade the deer protection for it instead. Next to netting, you may notice I planted a copper canyon daisy in front of it (they have a very lemony smell when brushing against it and the deer don't seem to like it). I can't wait for the hibiscus to grow taller and the Theophrasti to start sticking out its deadly spines to help protect it!

[Swolte]

Time for the January 2022 update!

Happy new year to everyone. Theo has been doing well. The winter has been an unseasonably warm one here in Texas (up to now) and, despite a brutal February 2021, the palm has finally taken off. Every year I do growth charts so I can give you the stats for all the Januarys measured (height/trunk diameter in inches)

2019: 21/1.75
2020: 20/1.75
2021: 18/2
2022: 30/3

There has been a large update to the area since I built a rock/crevice garden nearby. I think this will also improve the microclimate somewhat since the large rocks nearby will hold some heat and also shield the palm from the wind. First pic is the rock garden, second is the standard pic from the front (you can see the tree trunk is still there), and the last one shows our palm (a bit hidden behind a copper canyon daisy).

As for companion plants. I honestly didn't expect the mexican groundsel to still be there but it is and it has slowly been getting established. The copper canyon daisy adds some more color and also keeps the deer away (the foliage has a very strong scent). Hope the hibiscus will be safe(r) and able to take off next year. The creeping rosemary has really taken off and I am not worried about erosion anymore.

We are literally hitting a big cold front tomorrow with high wind and subzero temps so I am going to wrap it just to make sure! 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Swolte

[MarkbVet]

On 1/4/2021 at 9:35 AM, Chester B said:

If you ever have to remove another stump, I have few tips.  I have removed more trees than I want to think of.  I use a large digging bar, combined with a shovel and a small hand held tree pruning saw.  Basically you try and excavate around exposing the main roots and use the hand saw to cut them.  The big bar has a lot of leverage and you use that for digging, prying to break more roots and to rock the stump to get access to the big roots underneath.  It's still not easy but you can usually get a large stump out in 1-2 hours, depending on the species.  Conifers take about half the time.

Good luck and lets hope for a huge palm in a few years.

 

Also a true Ax (two hand) can cut through 3 inch thick roots (even in soil) fairly quickly, would make root detachment much easier.  Been there, done that lol.  

[Swolte]

Time for an update on Theo now that the bulk of the 22/23 winter is (hopefully) behind us. 

2022 was not a great year for growing. We had a spring/summer with historic levels of heat and drought for Texas (4+ months of no rain and triple digit temps) . Given that my garden isn't irrigated, growth on most palms was non-existent. Winter wasn't friendly to palms either with ANOTHER polar vortex event hitting Texas (hopefully the last). This time, it didn't get down to 3F like in '21, however, the absolute low was in the high teens. Much better, you'd say... well, this freeze happened earlier and came as a surprise for many plants that had barely adjusted for winter.  As a result, a lot of the damage was worse than in '21.

I had protected 'Theo' with a fleece blanket covered by a frost blanket. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of leaving protections on for too long, especially after the heavy rains we got in January. As a result, I have a lot of fungal damage. Many palms spear-pulled, however,  Theo did not! There's definitely some damage but its mostly on the outer edges of the leaves. 

The measurements for this year were 33 inches tall (growth of 3" from last year) and an inch increase in trunk diameter! The palm also started suckering this year. I remove all 3 suckers as I'd like Theo to put its energy in developing one thick trunk.

As for companion plants, its hard to say what survived yet but the Mexican groundsel was a goner for sure. I decided to add an 'Earth Kind' climbing rose (TAMU designation for the toughest of roses) called 'Climbing Pinkie'. I normally don't like roses, nor am I able to grow them (cause of the deer), but I'll make an exception for climbers. I hope Theo will get spikey enough soon to ward off the deer. I am spraying some anti-deer for now. 

[Swolte]

Correction: I discovered in March that Theo did spear pull. Fortunately, the recovery was swift as you can see from the picture (wish I could say the same for my Canariensis  ).  

[fr8train]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:23 PM, Swolte said:

Correction: I discovered in March that Theo did spear pull. Fortunately, the recovery was swift as you can see from the picture (wish I could say the same for my Canariensis  ).  

Any updates? 

[Dwarf Fan]

On 8/11/2021 at 6:49 AM, Laaz said:

Yes, they sucker like hell & always need to be pruned.

^^^Not a very pretty Palm if unkept, I had a hard time IDing these, because these are just left growing completely wild in Corpus Christi one the owner just bought the house and had no clue about Palms or what type of Palm it was, the other one grows forgotten about in a far corner of a dive bar parking lot, I posted them in Texas Palm Photos thread earlier today. I had never seen this thread before good thing it got bumped. 👍 

[Swolte]

Update!

The palm survived the summer. Whereas I thought the last summer was brutal, this one was even hotter and just as dry, breaking all records (Just in, we just had the hottest September ever recorded College Station!). All companion plants died, except for an hibiscus that is now flowering (heartleaf rosemallow rocks!). After 2 months of no rain (June/July), I watered Theo in August every 4 days, which was more than last year. I guess, after experiencing massive plant loss after record-breaking terrible summers and winters in a row, there's more time to care for the survivors.
 
All in all, Theo has shown some growth after temperatures returned to the 90s and some rain started to fall in September. Theo also started suckering. I have been diligent in trying to keep the trunk clear (thanks @Dwarf Fan for those horrific pics of what might happen if I didn't!). 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Swolte

[ahosey01]

On 10/1/2023 at 7:53 PM, Swolte said:

Update!

The palm survived the summer. Whereas I thought the last summer was brutal, this one was even hotter and just as dry, breaking all records (Just in, we just had the hottest September ever recorded College Station!). All companion plants died, except for an hibiscus that is now flowering (heartleaf rosemallow rocks!). After 2 months of no rain (June/July), I watered Theo in August every 4 days, which was more than last year. I guess, after experiencing massive plant loss after record-breaking terrible summers and winters in a row, there's more time to care for the survivors.
 
All in all, Theo has shown some growth after temperatures returned to the 90s and some rain started to fall in September. Theo also started suckering. I have been diligent in trying to keep the trunk clear (thanks @Dwarf Fan for those horrific pics of what might happen if I didn't!). 

Update photos going into winter?

[Swolte]

Time for an update!

The 23/24 winter was another terrible one. My yard saw a low of 12F with some pretty heavy rains and humidity afterwards. I did protect the palm with a frost cloth and hay. Theo defoliated but I can't recall whether there was a spear pull. Luckily, temperatures did not go below freezing much that winter and spring came early.  The summer also wasn't too bad as we had some good rains in the heat of July. Unfortunately, it was exceptionally dry in August Sept and October (no rain, but I much prefer that to a 3 month dry stretch starting in June like the last two years). Theo did not receive any supplemental water. November has been good for palms with relatively warm temperatures continuing and good rain. The weather forecast for December seems similar thus far...  

The palm seems alive and well though it does not appear to have grown much due to extreme weather conditions. I'll provide some growth charts in January. I've attached a picture!

As for 'companion plants', the heartleaf rosemallow continues to impress.  Although the tough earth-kind climbing rose hasn't started climbing, it does seem like the deer are leaving it alone. I also planted a Barkleyanthus salicifolius behind the palm (willow ragwort, TX native from the SW arid uplands). The latter is not a great backdrop while the palm is small but I am hoping for a mild winter and for fronds to remain on the palm (dangit, we're supposed to be 9a! 😛).
 

[ChrisA]

Glad your Theo is still going. If it isn’t the cold killing plants it’s the heat and drought! Hope we get a mild winter this season and at least stay above 20 with no days below freezing. 

[fr8train]

On 9/28/2023 at 11:29 PM, Dwarf Fan said:

^^^Not a very pretty Palm if unkept, I had a hard time IDing these, because these are just left growing completely wild in Corpus Christi one the owner just bought the house and had no clue about Palms or what type of Palm it was, the other one grows forgotten about in a far corner of a dive bar parking lot, I posted them in Texas Palm Photos thread earlier today. I had never seen this thread before good thing it got bumped. 👍 

I have a pretty big one in a pot and it keeps shooting off new growth points out of the actual trunk, rather than the base like other suckering palms. 

[Swolte]

As mentioned earlier, the palm is still alive and, as you can see in the pic, doing well. I am hoping the upcoming cold front won't be as bad so I can finally record some good growth and it can start to become a bit fuller. 

Since planting, here are the growth charts as measured every year around new year (height - trunkD in inches):

[fr8train]

Looks good! I've always wondered how these would do down here. Everyone says they're the hardiest Phoenix, but after seeing what CIDP can go through, idk. 

[fr8train]

Here's mine that I've grown from seed sourced from RPS years ago, before they made shipping insanely expensive to the US. 

 

[Las Palmas Norte]

Are there any distinguishing features separating these theo's & the dactylifera of which they appear to (in my eyes) look the same. I had germinating seeds many years ago, but all must've died.

[fr8train]

3 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Are there any distinguishing features separating these theo's & the dactylifera of which they appear to (in my eyes) look the same. I had germinating seeds many years ago, but all must've died.

I'm not sure, I haven't grown dactylifera until recently. The theophrasti suckers like crazy though, and puts out new trunks from the middle of its trunk. From what I've seen in photos it turns into a massive clump if left to its own devices, eventually with some trunks exceeding the height of the clump. It's also the sharpest palm I've ever encountered, much worse than campestris imo.

[Ben G.]

3 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Are there any distinguishing features separating these theo's & the dactylifera of which they appear to (in my eyes) look the same. I had germinating seeds many years ago, but all must've died.

I haven't seen any theophrasti in person as far as I know. I have done some reading and watching videos though. 

From what I can tell, the easiest way to tell them apart is the petiole spines. The theophrasti have yellow-green spines with black tips, while dactylifera spines are uniformly yellow-green.

Others can feel free to correct me if I am wrong. That has been the easiest distinguishing feature I have seen to tell them apart.

[Swolte]

'Polar vortex' Jan 2024. I am not expecting it to go much lower than 23F for here but I decided to throw a frost blanket over it anyway. Hope this may become the first winter where the palm won't lose any fronds!

[edbrown_III]

heres photos of 3 of mine ---seed collected by a friend in Crete 1988

[Phoenikakias]

@gyuseppe

[gyuseppe]

2 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

@gyuseppe

yes Konstantinos very beautiful

[gyuseppe]

5 hours ago, edbrown_III said:

heres photos of 3 of mine ---seed collected by a friend in Crete 1988

Hello Ed Brown. Do you remember me? , about 15 years ago you sent me seeds of Livistona saribus, thanks again for those seeds, unfortunately I don't have any left, in recent years I have had health problems

[Swolte]

10 hours ago, edbrown_III said:

heres photos of 3 of mine ---seed collected by a friend in Crete 1988

Stunning!

[Swolte]

Ultimate low of 25 last night but the rest of the week looks sunny with lows above freezing. Took the cloth off and palm looks fine, obviously. Make me some sugars, sunshine!!
🌞
Next week another cold front is coming with temps forecast in the 20s so I am keeping protection materials close by!