Lipstick palm

[Curtis]

Hello

just got an 8 foot lipstick palm, it will be grown in a pot outside. I live in Central Florida 

I plan to take it inside once temps reach 59 and below for the winter 

I know it does not like wind - is there a certain speed ? For example 25 mile hr wind gusts  and above? 

Also, if u have any other advice, please feel free to comment 

thanks

curtis

 

 

 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

I had green and red lipsticks for years. I kept them potted on my lanai, which is shielded by 90% shadecloth. The birdcage faced south and provided wind protection. They grew very well and the high shade let their fronds stay dark green. I took them indoors when temps fell below 50F, put them back outside when night temps rose above 50F (I don't keep houseplants). To do so I kept them on rolling carts that we could roll around easily while they were small. Eventually, both grew to the top of the lanai screen, 8-10', and were getting too tall for the house outside of a couple vaulted ceilings so I sold them. I can give you the following advice:

1. Never let them dry out, never ever. I kept their pots sitting in trays of water that I checked and replenished often. If you travel have someone reliable do the same. If they start to dry out they will die - fast.

2. Every fall come November I pressure sprayed them with a mixture of Dithane 45 and water, repeated in Jan. A palm grower/seller warned me that lipsticks are highly susceptible to a lethal cold weather fungus. Some people here dispute that advice but I never had a problem with that fungus in all the years I grew them.

3. I also suggest you pressure spray yours for red spider mites with a targeted miticide like Avid at least once per winter. Spider mites thrive in dry season and can kill a palm before you have a clue they are there. Do it outside in calm weather, wear gloves and a mask. Big Box insecticides often don't work against mites. If you can't bring yourself to do that, be prepared to attack the varmints with soapy water or blast them with a garden hose. Be wary of temps when you do - warm days & warm water only.

4. I don't advise keeping lipsticks indoors for long periods esp in FL. Your house will be dry and lipsticks need very high humidity. They may develop spider mites. Finally, they belong outside when the weather is clement.

This palm is extremely cold sensitive. It can't survive winters here and surely won't survive a winter where you live. They take some work and supervision but are well worth the trouble. Ours just grew too large for us to manage esp in winter. Good luck.

I recently bought Cyrtostachys loriae. It is a solitary palm reputedly much hardier than C. renda or C. elegans so I planted it in my back yard jungle. Will find out how hardy it is come winter.

Cyrtostachys renda/red lipstick not long before I sold it

Cyrtostachys elegans/green lipstick not long before I sold it

[HiwaKika]

I was tempted to buy one last month. After researching what it would take to keep it alive (and keep its color), it wasn't worth the hassle.
 

Edited May 31, 2021 by HiwaKika

[Curtis]

You did the fungus in Nov and Jan and the mites in the winter - would December be a good month for mite spraying?

Where did u grow your lipsticks?, USA - are u in Florida too?

First thing I did was put the pot in a large saucer with water. 

One of my shaft was bent about halfway up in delivery, should I prune it or wait to c if it turns brown and then prune? 

Should I do anything to ensure the shafts remain red?

was thinking on getting a humidifier when I bring and aim at the lipstick 

 

thanks all
 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Curtis

[PalmatierMeg]

I grew them in Cape Coral, FL, west of Fort Myers. I suggest you begin the fungus and mite mitigation as soon as rainy season ends, i.e., end of Oct. You need to watch for cold weather until the danger of nights below 50F pass. For me that's generally the first half of March.

[Curtis]

Typically, it gets cold here in late December early January.

So should I spray for mites in December or do I spray in January ? Which would be the same time as the second  fungus spray (in January).

Sorry for the questions, I am just a little nervous. 
 

thanks so very much 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Curtis

[JANAIY]

I can only talk about my own experiences. I live in Miami Beach FL and so far I have never treated mine for fungus and other diseases, she never had any. Mine is now I think 3 yrs old and she is now a stunning gorgeous palm of 6.3 ft sitting outside totally under shade and is kept in a big tall water basin and gets watered in the summer 3 times a day and misted as often as I can. She does not like big pots and I repotted her last year in a 15 gallon before I knew about it and she really took time to accept it. Her growth stalled and I had to be really patient. Some yellowing of new growth, but now she is doing great and continues to grow fabulously.

And yes you need to get her inside when it drops under F48. Its a little hassle in exchange for her stunning beauty!!  She sits in a corner of my patio were she gets little wind. Talking about wind you will know what is too much since you don't want the leaves to get damaged.

She is a pretty easy palm to grow if you respect what I said earlier. Know that this palm likes to grow sitting in water so you really can't overwater her. More water more happy she is. Mine was an experiment to see if I was capable to respect her needs and to grow her in an environment we don't have here like in her native country. She needs lots of humidity and here we have a good part of that for lets say 5-7 month/yr. That's why I mist very often to create as much as possible. The water basin will be refilled everyday to 3x a day depending how much she consumes.

I hope this helps and good luck with yours!

attached a pic from her with a corona bottle on the side

Edited June 6, 2021 by JANAIY

[JANAIY]

On 5/31/2021 at 1:59 PM, Curtis said:

You did the fungus in Nov and Jan and the mites in the winter - would December be a good month for mite spraying?

Where did u grow your lipsticks?, USA - are u in Florida too?

First thing I did was put the pot in a large saucer with water. 

One of my shaft was bent about halfway up in delivery, should I prune it or wait to c if it turns brown and then prune? 

Should I do anything to ensure the shafts remain red?

was thinking on getting a humidifier when I bring and aim at the lipstick 

 

thanks all
 

 

 

the color comes later, it takes time, mine now started to get more red than last year and others will follow. I would wait and see what happens before cutting the shaft. You will know when to cut it. Just use common sense

[JohnAndSancho]

I love these, and I wish I had the nuts(and the space) to take a gamble and try and grow one. 

[JANAIY]

15 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I love these, and I wish I had the nuts(and the space) to take a gamble and try and grow one. 

JUST DO IT

[Curtis]

16 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I love these, and I wish I had the nuts(and the space) to take a gamble and try and grow one. 

I am taking and chance on the I have !  This palm is so beautiful !   It will Be worth it. 

[HiwaKika]

Just curious, the lipstick I posted above was $1250 in Calif. How much would that palm sell for in Florida?

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, HiwaKika said:

Just curious, the lipstick I posted above was $1250 in Calif. How much would that palm sell for in Florida?

Guessing: 1/3 to 1/2 of Cali price. Aside from the one stem it is pretty skimpy. Now, @JANAIY's lipstick? That's a PALM. Love it.

Lipsticks haven't a prayer in CA outside of a botanical garden or conservatory.

[Curtis]

Why Don’t they have a prayer in Cali? 

[kinzyjr]

@Curtis Welcome to PalmTalk!  Hopefully, @palmsOrl will stumble on this thread and chime in about growing them indoors/outdoors here in Central FL.

[palmsOrl]

In my experience here in the Orlando area they are possible if grown in a greenhouse from around Thanksgiving to mid March.  I grew one from a 2 foot palm to a 10 foot specimen over a 13 year period and it obviously loved the summers.  Of course, I watered it everyday unless we had heavy rain.  They can actually tolerate low humidity fine as long as kept mild to hot in a greenhouse over the winter.  My small greenhouse stayed 50F -65F at night and 75-105F during the day.

I just got a new one about a month ago and plan on keeping it inside in a sunny window over winter.  I figure if kept 70-80F it should do just fine.

Kinzyjr said a good sized specimen was auctioned off at the recent CFPACS event for $50 or $60, a steal for a 3 foot Cyrtostachys renda.

 

[Gregg L. Friedman MD]

My Lipstick Palm has survived wind gusts up to 48 mph and temperatures as low as 41 F.  We are expecting a low temperature of 38 F in 2 days so I will let you know if my tree survived. My tree was germinated from a seed about 8-9 years ago. It is now 14 feet tall and too big to move into the house. I live in Golden Beach, FL  which is zone 10B-11. We are only 700 feet from the Atlantic Ocean and this tree was planted long after our last big Hurricane (Wilma in October 2005). I am more concerned with Salt Water storm surge so I planted this tree above the ground so that it would survive the Hurricane Storm surge. Lipstick Palms are beautiful trees and they are well worth the effort. I agree with the other folks on this thread, Lipstick palms love lots of water. Good luck with your palm. By Gregg L. Friedman MD

Edited January 27, 2022 by Gregg L. Friedman MD
spelling error

[Curtis]

Thanks

 

i am outside of Orlando - got two lipstick palms.  Will get cold here this weekend. I got cloth covers to protect from cold .  The two are in pots, about 9 feet tall. Hoping for the best this weekend.