Pritchardia minor in 9b

[NorCalWill]

More accurately 9b-/9a+ depending on the year, but is anyone growing this palm in this zone range?

I have a protected spot with southern exposure that I'd like to try something a little more unusual. I've always liked Pritchardia, but know little about this species other than it's the most cold hardy of them all and maybe not the most showy.

Is it even worth the trouble?...

[tim_brissy_13]

12 minutes ago, NorCalWill said:

More accurately 9b-/9a+ depending on the year, but is anyone growing this palm in this zone range?

I have a protected spot with southern exposure that I'd like to try something a little more unusual. I've always liked Pritchardia, but know little about this species other than it's the most cold hardy of them all and maybe not the most showy.

Is it even worth the trouble?...

I can’t comment on its hardiness to absolute cold, but it is definitely growing in areas with extended cool weather. 
 

As for its appearance, personally I think it is absolutely worth a go. Spineless petioles, small stature, tropical appearance; I can’t think of too many nicer looking fan palms for cooler climates. I’ve been on the hunt for one for a while. 

[Darold Petty]

Will, there is a lot of material out there labeled as P. minor, but they don't even look alike.

[Ben in Norcal]

13 minutes ago, NorCalWill said:

More accurately 9b-/9a+ depending on the year, but is anyone growing this palm in this zone range?

I have a protected spot with southern exposure that I'd like to try something a little more unusual. I've always liked Pritchardia, but know little about this species other than it's the most cold hardy of them all and maybe not the most showy.

Is it even worth the trouble?...

No, minor is not worth the trouble IMO.  Not sure about cold hardiness - I have not got below 30 for as long as I have lived here - but they are DEFINITELY not the most cool hardy.  They look like crap and tend to give up after our winters.  P. beccariana, remota, and hildebrandtii are much better choices, at least in my borderline 9b/10a location.

That said it's tough to imagine any of these surviving up in Santa Rosa without protection.

[tim_brissy_13]

27 minutes ago, Ben in Norcal said:

No, minor is not worth the trouble IMO.  Not sure about cold hardiness - I have not got below 30 for as long as I have lived here - but they are DEFINITELY not the most cool hardy.  They look like crap and tend to give up after our winters.  P. beccariana, remota, and hildebrandtii are much better choices, at least in my borderline 9b/10a location.

That said it's tough to imagine any of these surviving up in Santa Rosa without protection.

There must be a different palm labelled as P minor in the Southern Hemisphere. The palm I saw in a few different cool locations in New Zealand seemed to match the description for P minor and is apparently the easiest of all to grow over there. For comparison, other Pritchardias (lowreyana, hillebrandii) weren’t as flawless as any of the P ‘minors’. Here’s one of many I saw, how does this compare to those in California?

Edited February 11, 2021 by tim_brissy_13
Autocorrect

[Ben in Norcal]

2 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

There must be a different palm labelled as P minor in the Southern Hemisphere. The palm I saw in a few different cool locations in New Zealand seemed to match the description for P minor and is apparently the easiest of all to grow over there. For comparison, other Pritchardias (lowreyana, hillebrandii) weren’t as flawless as any of the P ‘minors’. Here’s one of many I saw, how does this compare to those in California?

I've never got a minor past 5g stage, whereas the others I listed do quite well.  They die or I dig them out because they look like rubbish.

I know minor do well in San Francisco - but they don't seem to be able to take my long cool winters, and extremely hot summers (which they don't have in SF).  The others take my extremes much better.   Beccariana is the clear winner amongst the lot.

[NorCalWill]

52 minutes ago, Ben in Norcal said:

No, minor is not worth the trouble IMO.  Not sure about cold hardiness - I have not got below 30 for as long as I have lived here - but they are DEFINITELY not the most cool hardy.  They look like crap and tend to give up after our winters.  P. beccariana, remota, and hildebrandtii are much better choices, at least in my borderline 9b/10a location.

That said it's tough to imagine any of these surviving up in Santa Rosa without protection.

Interesting that P. beccariana does better for you than P. minor. Sometimes there is just no explanation.

I've never experimented with growing any Pritchardia, and from what I've read, minor is listed as a little cold hardier than the rest.

I'm feeling experimental because I have a small Ficus religiosa (zone 10-12) planted under the canopy of some taller trees, and so far this year with the frost and cold we've had, there is zero damage to it. I don't think we've gone below 28F though.

[Ben in Norcal]

14 minutes ago, NorCalWill said:

Interesting that P. beccariana does better for you than P. minor. Sometimes there is just no explanation.

I've never experimented with growing any Pritchardia, and from what I've read, minor is listed as a little cold hardier than the rest.

I'm feeling experimental because I have a small Ficus religiosa (zone 10-12) planted under the canopy of some taller trees, and so far this year with the frost and cold we've had, there is zero damage to it. I don't think we've gone below 28F though.

Give minor and one or two of the others a try!  You never know what works and what doesn't until you try things in multiple spots in your own microclimate.  I never want to dissuade anyone from doing that - just passing along my relatively proximate experience!

[NorCalWill]

25 minutes ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Give minor and one or two of the others a try!  You never know what works and what doesn't until you try things in multiple spots in your own microclimate.  I never want to dissuade anyone from doing that - just passing along my relatively proximate experience!

Your relatively proximate experience is exactly what I want to hear. I appreciate your response, and yeah, sometimes you just have to try things out because you never know what may miraculously work.

[Jim in Los Altos]

I’ve grown three P. minor in my 10a Bay Area garden. One 2 foot tall seedling was savaged by a rat right down to the ground. One tiny seedling in the ground is now a foot tall after three years, and the third one in full shade is a few years older and chugging along reasonably well. It’s dark green and usually holds 5 leaves. That said, three other species of Pritchardia have been rockets in comparison in my garden. P. schattauri has done the best with P. hillabrandii a close second. Here are P. schattauri and P. hillebrandii. Sorry, no photo of P. minor yet.