Ptychosperma Schefferi...Scheffer's Palm

[Cape Garrett]

Just one of my favorites.  Smaller than MacArthur Palm and very clean.  Another rarity that should be more widely used here.  Makes a fantastic accent with trunk thinning or can be left alone to sucker and would make a beautiful privacy hedge if one prefers.  Much cleaner than the Areca palm that is so widely used here for screening.  Smaller too.

[PalmatierMeg]

Looks great! I agree it should be used more - the leaves are gorgeous. I have one planted between two Archos and remove suckering stems to prevent crowding.

[ruskinPalms]

Nice!! Looks like a ton of fruit. Do the seeds volunteer like crazy like Dypsis lutescens?

[Cape Garrett]

2 hours ago, ruskinPalms said:

Nice!! Looks like a ton of fruit. Do the seeds volunteer like crazy like Dypsis lutescens?

They do a bit but nothing like lutescens does!!  Thankfully!

[mike in kurtistown]

Couldn't resist showing my pair planted out in July 2015 from 2-gal pots. Many of the stems have just begun to produce inflors. One is developing fruits. I have planted these as separate specimens, not as part of a hedge, hence no need to trim suckers. I prefer them multi-stemmed.

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by mike in kurtistown
The system is putting in a pic from August 2018 and I can't cut it.

[Merlyn]

Great looking palms!  I just bought a pair of "big seedling" sized palms from an Etsy seller in the Merritt Island area.  I have a couple of Macarthurii in the ground that did fairly well at 28-30F with frost last winter, so I am hoping Schefferi will do well also.

[palmsOrl]

I think Ptychosperma schefferi might have a slight edge over Ptychosperma macarthurii in the looks department.

Macarthurii has proven to be a good choice for metro Orlando.  I wonder how schefferi compares in terms of cold hardiness.  Both are lovely palms.

[Cape Garrett]

1 hour ago, palmsOrl said:

I think Ptychosperma schefferi might have a slight edge over Ptychosperma macarthurii in the looks department.

Macarthurii has proven to be a good choice for metro Orlando.  I wonder how schefferi compares in terms of cold hardiness.  Both are lovely palms.

Definitely a better looking palm.  Shorter, more upright leaves.  Handles wind better too.  Should probably do just as well in your area as MacArthur palm.  Same zone hardiness.  

[Cape Garrett]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

Great looking palms!  I just bought a pair of "big seedling" sized palms from an Etsy seller in the Merritt Island area.  I have a couple of Macarthurii in the ground that did fairly well at 28-30F with frost last winter, so I am hoping Schefferi will do well also.

Very nice.  Solid leaves as a young palm for some time before making leaflets.  Very handsome palm.

[Cape Garrett]

2 hours ago, mike in kurtistown said:

Couldn't resist showing my pair planted out in July 2015 from 2-gal pots. Many of the stems have just begun to produce inflors. One is developing fruits. I have planted these as separate specimens, not as part of a hedge, hence no need to trim suckers. I prefer them multi-stemmed.

 

Very nice.  I had my landscaper trim out the center growth as I wanted to see the beautiful thin curving trunks.  A very fast grower here.

[miamicuse]

How come the smaller size Ptychosperma Schefferi all seem to have complete whole leaves but pictures of matured ones seem to show them with split leaves?  Do they lose the whole leaf characteristics as they grow bigger and taller?

[Cape Garrett]

21 minutes ago, miamicuse said:

How come the smaller size Ptychosperma Schefferi all seem to have complete whole leaves but pictures of matured ones seem to show them with split leaves?  Do they lose the whole leaf characteristics as they grow bigger and taller?

They do lose the entire leaf characteristic as they mature.  Still a very underused, beautiful, landscape specimen.

[miamicuse]

5 hours ago, Cape Garrett said:

They do lose the entire leaf characteristic as they mature.  Still a very underused, beautiful, landscape specimen.

I didn't know that.  I just bought one and love the entire leaf...hate for it to lose that when it grows bigger and taller.