I have noticed that when the spear splits as a new leaf is about to open that the spear never splits "cleanly" like most palms.  There is always some tearing with remnants on both the opening spear and the new emerging one that splits off.  Just curious if anyone else has noticed anything like this.  Photo examples below along with a couple of the base to show its size now.  Getting the crown of leaves is difficult to photograph due to other plants and objects in the way.

@quaman58 Here’s one I snapped a picture of a few weeks ago and it’s fantastic.  Posted it on IG but can’t even remember if I posted it here. This picture was taken from a garden in Fullerton.  Hmmmmm, who’s house could it be?? 🤔

 

-dale 

3 hours ago, Billeb said:

Here’s one I snapped a picture of a few weeks ago and it’s fantastic

Dale, thanks for sharing that one.  How long are the leaves on it, the perspective is a little deceptive to tell.  The base looks very similar in size to my larger one.

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

Dale, thanks for sharing that one.  How long are the leaves on it, the perspective is a little deceptive to tell.  The base looks very similar in size to my larger one.

Tracy, it’s a big boy and a very deceptive picture. The chain link fence behind is 6ft. I’d say the plant is 12-15ft tall easy.  Trunk is fat too. Similar to a big boy Dypsis I’d say. 
 

The plant behind is nice looking Dypsis Heteromorpha. Yours is a fuller plant with more offspring. The property was full of some of the nicest examples of palms, aloes and cycads I’ve ever seen. Including the largest Pyriformis in Southern California. 
 

@Palmiz…..how big do you think the Ravenea was? 

-dale 

 

4 hours ago, Billeb said:

Tracy, it’s a big boy and a very deceptive picture. The chain link fence behind is 6ft. I’d say the plant is 12-15ft tall easy.  Trunk is fat too. Similar to a big boy Dypsis I’d say. 
 

The plant behind is nice looking Dypsis Heteromorpha. Yours is a fuller plant with more offspring. The property was full of some of the nicest examples of palms, aloes and cycads I’ve ever seen. Including the largest Pyriformis in Southern California. 
 

@Palmiz…..how big do you think the Ravenea was? 

-dale 

 

Yes I think your right Dale, that thing was at least 12-15' and real fat. Wish I took more pics, the Xerophillias were nice as well. Everything was nice in the garden.

On 12/19/2021 at 5:52 PM, Cindy Adair said:

I am enjoying this topic and all the great photos! Thanks!

I have only one and it was attacked two years in a row by the rhinoceros beetle, but happily it seems determined to live.

I really like the cycad imitation look of this palm.

One day I hope to have more or at least that my attempt at a three layer beetle barrier lets this palm grow bigger...

 

3 1/2 years later here is an update of mine. Definitely slow, but still happy it’s a beetle survivor. 

 

 

Wish I had more of these…

The older beast and the younger, future beast.  This Ravenea, whether the "real" julietiae or an imposter, seems to like my growing conditions.  As with my older one, the younger one is pushing sequentially longer leafs with each new one and will continue to do so until they get to the mature plants leaf length.  Then they seem to just beef up at the base with no end in sight as to when it will form trunk.  It reminds me a bit of my Encephalartos laurentianus which actually has formed some trunk, but has similar length leaves.

I just had some guests come by for a short garden tour and my friend Josh noticed something that I missed.  My Ravenea julietiae is pushing out it's first flower spathe.

Since this genus has male and female plants, it will also be a revelation on which sex my plant is.  It will be several years before my other one catches up and i find out if I have both sexes or two of the same.

Wow, pretty interesting to have spathe and no trunk.

8 hours ago, BS Man about Palms said:

Wow, pretty interesting to have spathe and no trunk.

Yes, I wasn't expecting that either.  I don't know anyone else growing one locally that has flowered, nor does Josh.  Hopefully we will see more in the not too distant future. 

I assume this is normal for this species but will defer to those with older specimens for their experience. 

@Tracy, Your plant looks awesome! Mine has been painfully slow. It could be one of the slowest in the garden for me. It’s growing and not dead so guess I should be happy. 
 

-dale 

1 hour ago, Billeb said:

@Tracy, Your plant looks awesome! Mine has been painfully slow. It could be one of the slowest in the garden for me. It’s growing and not dead so guess I should be happy. 
 

-dale 

I hope you don't have eves extending too far out from your house there.  It will eventually be a monster for that space.

Yours looks similar in size to my younger specimen.  My younger one took some time to establish but seems to have picked up it's pace recently.   Hopefully yours will too.

Dale, what are the two other plants at the center and left side of this image ?    Thanks

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

I hope you don't have eves extending too far out from your house there.  It will eventually be a monster for that space.

Yours looks similar in size to my younger specimen.  My younger one took some time to establish but seems to have picked up it's pace recently.   Hopefully yours will too.

Funny you should say that. Currently there is a balcony above it but that is planned to be taken out in the coming years. Whenever we get around to it. I’ve succumbed to the realization a few placements are not ideal and will have to make decisions later. I can enjoy those plants for years tho. I complain this guy is slow but it’s probably for the better. 
 

 

1 hour ago, Darold Petty said:

Dale, what are the two other plants at the center and left side of this image ?    Thanks

Darold, the plant next to the Ravenea is simply a Crinum Lily and next to it is a Scott Pratt plumeria. 
 

-dale 

The spathes are continuing to push out slowly.  Given how long the spathes on my Ravenea glauca are, I suspect these will get much larger before I get the reveal as to whether this is male or female.   Any insights from my friends in more tropical environments that have bigger more mature specimens?

34 minutes ago, Tracy said:

The spathes are continuing to push out slowly.  Given how long the spathes on my Ravenea glauca are, I suspect these will get much larger before I get the reveal as to whether this is male or female.   Any insights from my friends in more tropical environments that have bigger more mature specimens?

 

Oh nice!👍

Tracy 

I think i remember that palm when i was there with you and Josh. Very impressed that it is flowering without trunk like Bill mentioned.  If i locate a flowering one here in FL I'll see if i can get pollen. Btw the small variegated brom you gave me is doing well. Thanks!

JD

Looks like my Ravenea julietiae is more of a Ravenea julio....male, not female.

Wow that yellow coloring on the flower is really nice!  Such a great palm Tracy!  Mine in years behind yours. Doesn’t seem to be a fast grower here but always looks good. 

I assumed that my Ravenea julietiae is male due to similarities between its flowers and those of my male Ravenea glauca.  Glauca flowers and inflorescence is much whiter.   Both are blooming now.

Extraordinary palm and nice photos Tracy. Maybe I’ll get to see it one of these days. 😎

Tim

On 3/13/2025 at 10:47 AM, realarch said:

Extraordinary palm and nice photos Tracy. Maybe I’ll get to see it one of these days. 😎

Tim

My little one is gaining size.  Tim, did you add one to add to your garden yet?

Tracy, all talk and no action. I need to chop something out first to give this palm the room it deserves. Your’s are looking mighty fine.

Tim

This is an early 2025 of my last remaining R. Julieae planted in the the west side of the Backyard Jungle years ago. Slow hardly begins describing the speed of this palm's growth (assuming I have the real deal). Very upright with leaves tall as I am (5'6"), still not trunking I believe. It grows in partial sun and leaves are darkest green. 

So many beautiful well grown palms!

Mine still looks more like a cycad after (you guessed it) fighting off beetles, but I still like the deep green shiny leaflets.

From a distance it looks pretty good this year. 

However something chewed part way through the spear so the leaflets are only slowly opening. 

I saw this also on a nearby Ravenea sambiranensis. Both seems to be OK with just cosmetic damage but not something I have seen before.  Maybe a grasshopper or caterpillar?

Also, do you think it is truly a R. julietiae or something else?

 

 

On 9/9/2025 at 11:41 AM, Cindy Adair said:

Also, do you think it is truly a R. julietiae or something else?

How about a firm "I don't know".   I have two which I continue to use the name of Ravenea julietiae when referencing.  I have a third which seems to grow far more slowly, holds fewer leaves and might be a little more upright, but the small number of leaves could play into that more upright appearance.

I don't know if any of the 3 actually match the official description.  Perhaps the Ravenea genus will come up for a review at some point, and there will be new guidance.  

The two below were similar in size at one point, and the smaller one was actually in the ground much longer before the other.  you can see how the one that is similar to my largest one that flowered last year for the first time grows far more rapidly.  This has always lead me to believe they are different species, but I know that growth rate isn't normally a factor in differentiating species within a genus.  Only time will tell if my assumption is correct.

Both of the two above are in a shared photo below for perspective.   Along with the leaning fence.  My neighbor's Giant Bird of Paradise will eventually push over the fence and we will have to deal with removing some of the bird of Paradise stalks.

The last photo is an update of the biggest and oldest that is a male plant.  I'm hopeful that one of my others will be a female.

Any updates? We're putting more palms in the ground this week (especially the "big boys"), and I kept going back and forth on the placement of my julietiae (from the Sparkman group). Despite trying it in several "prime" spots, it never looked quite right in any of the placements I was considering. Here was the original placement I was leaning towards (but am no longer doing)...

Today I tried moving it to an equally prominent place next to the palapa. And I like this placement a lot better! It looks like a feather on a fancy lady's hat to me, and all but one of the fronds are already clearing the palapa top (ignore the lean... I'll fix that during planting)...

Sadly, the updated placement does mean the poor palm will need to stay in its pot just a *little* longer... as we're making a rock "planter" on the left side of the palapa . At least I know what will go in that planter now! That spot has an ideal balance of sun/shade, and relatively good wind protection. So I'm ready to declare this the plant's new home (unless anyone sees an issue with it).

Curious how are everyone else's R. julietiae are doing.

I hope you get yours in the ground sooner than later, as it will appreciate it.

Here are updated photos of my big boy and the medium size specimen. I hope that maybe next year someone will have a female flower nearby when my male is ready to donate some pollen.

The base of the male with a size Large Rainbow sandle for comparison in the last photo.

21 minutes ago, Tracy said:

Here are updated photos of my big boy and the medium size specimen...

So nice! And beefier than I thought at the base... I'll need to make the planter wider than I thought! I was assuming mine would mostly go more vertical, but seems like it might get wider as well. Good to know!

I also recall your comment about making sure to protect it from wind. On mine the top fronds will have some wind exposure, but relatively mild.

Here's hoping you get a female to pair with "Julio" - If not (and mine ends up being female), perhaps we can setup a "date" - since we live relatively close. 🏹 🌴 ❤️

After seeing everyone’s palms, as well the ones in my yard, I think this is the best palm to come into cultivation in years. B. alfredii is a close 2nd, but can’t think of anything else that comes close..,