Who knows anything about Pandanus?

[richtrav]

I'm trying to dig up some poop on the different Pandanus and it seems near-impossible. Is there some authority on the genus or at least a decent book on it? I know "they all look alike" but some are interesting. Thanks

[Zac in NC]

I'll bump this for ya Richard. Still not sure as far as I know.

Zac

[Gtlevine]

Definately not an expert, but I do have Pandanus Utilis here in So Cal and it's beautiful. The blades are wicked sharp and can cut you to the bone.

Gary

[SunnyFl]

I think that's what we have - a little utilis, just a little one, and I wish I knew how fast they grow.  Also, any dos & don'ts anyone can think of.

Yeah, those leaves are sharp, ow.

[Daryl]

There many many different species of Pandanus, and a lot of them ARE different when you actually look at them. Kind of like Cycads..there's really only one species right?

Anyway:

A lot of them are fast growing.

A lot of them have very large vigorous root systems

Some have no spines or teeth.

Variegated ones look great

The Fruit is a feature of many of them

Best advice for growing pandanus? Don't let them sucker. Keep them as a single stem and cut off any suckers. If you do this, they will grow a single stem that then branches really well. This will give you a balanced, architectural look that is easy to maintain. Believe me, you don't want to have to clean up around a Pandanus that has been left to sucker to it's heart's content...a real nightmare!

Daryl.

[Robert Lee Riffle]

Ricardo--

I went to the Kew Monocot Checklist and searched on the genus name.  Of the authors who have formally described species in Pandanaceae and are likely to still be alive seem to be "Huynh" (surname) and a "Reverend" H.K. Gilbert (or something like that).

Run over and take a look.  

It's a start  (?)

--He who is barely still alive ....

[SunnyFl]

(Daryl @ Jun. 25 2006,02:42)

QUOTE

Best advice for growing pandanus? Don't let them sucker. Keep them as a single stem and cut off any suckers. If you do this, they will grow a single stem that then branches really well. This will give you a balanced, architectural look that is easy to maintain. Believe me, you don't want to have to clean up around a Pandanus that has been left to sucker to it's heart's content...a real nightmare!

Daryl.

Daryl,

Thanks for the advice!  I know what you mean about the suckering - the variagated pandanus colony at Fairchild (sanderii?) is huge - awesome to look at, but I would definitely not want that in my backyard, nor the eventual citation from the county.

I like the architectural look you mention.  There are two nice specimens at Selby (photos are in TTL) that are maintained that way, and another with sparser branching at Fairchild that is located away from the big colonies.  This one is very well-trimmed.

There definitely are differences between species.  The dwarf form, usually trunkless, is used as a ground cover.  I believe that's the planting I saw around a building here in St. Pete.

Are there any pests to watch out for, or diseases?  I recently read something about a suspected case of lethal yellow (!) - I'm a bit dubious as I thought only palms were susceptible to it.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

The Freycinetia vine is in the Pandanaceae family.  It has a lot of similar elements as the Pandanus and is a little unusual.  I was thinking of getting me some.

Anybody with experience with these?

Jerry

[Daryl]

We have a couple of local pests here. The Sugar cane borer attacks them occasionally (as it does palms). The worst problem we had was about 15 years ago when there was a virus outbreak that only affected the indigenous species (P.tectorius) that grows all along the beach here. Thousands of plants were killed.  The rest all survived fortunately.

Daryl

[richtrav]

Was that dwarf form in St Pete variegated yellow? There is a hard-to-find dwarf one, P. pygmaeus variegatus, it's a wonderful little plant that looks like a liriope with a very clear butter yellow variegation. There are hundreds of pandans out there, I know in the Flora of India there are several dwarf ones listed. There's one from Isalo Nat'l Park in S Madagascar called Pandanus xerophyta that sounds interesting. Plus many many many others.

[SunnyFl]

(richtrav @ Jun. 25 2006,18:47)

QUOTE

Was that dwarf form in St Pete variegated yellow? There is a hard-to-find dwarf one, P. pygmaeus variegatus, it's a wonderful little plant that looks like a liriope with a very clear butter yellow variegation. There are hundreds of pandans out there, I know in the Flora of India there are several dwarf ones listed. There's one from Isalo Nat'l Park in S Madagascar called Pandanus xerophyta that sounds interesting. Plus many many many others.

Yes I think that's what it is.  Leaves are wider than liriope, with the yellow striping.  I haven't gotten close enough to be sure, but from the road, it looks as if it's a pandanus.

There are so many species but, of the tree forms, isn't the utilis the most commonly grown form, at least in FL?

[aussiearoids]

Better shot of Freycinetia marginata .

Its from the Daintree area .

[aussiearoids]

Looks like the creature Morticia used to feed on the Addams Family .

[Eric in Orlando]

Here is Pandanus pygmaeus 'Variegatus'. The picture is a few years old, the plant has made a thick, spreading clump. It does look like a striped Liriope from a distance until you go up and grab ahold of it...This is growing in the ground here and seems to be reasonably cold tolerant.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph.....src=ph

Here is Frecinetia multiflora. This is in a container as it does not like it below 40F.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph.....src=ph

[spockvr6]

(SunnyFl @ Jun. 24 2006,22:45)

QUOTE

I think that's what we have - a little utilis, just a little one, and I wish I knew how fast they grow.  Also, any dos & don'ts anyone can think of.

Yeah, those leaves are sharp, ow.

Sunny-

I have a utilus and a non-variegated sanderi (or perhaps it is a baptistii....Im not 100% sure).  From the descriptions given in The Tropical Look, I am now leaning towards baptistii.

Id say that they are both fast growers, but the sanderi/baptistii suckers ridiculously.  I dont want a suckering "look" so I have to trim it every few months to train it into a more tree-like form.  It is finally getting there and I now have some stilt roots with the base of the new growth roughly 6-8" off the ground.

But, the benefit of all this trimming is that all the cuttings are now making their way out behind my back fence and are making quite the nice "hedge" in the right of way  Every single cutting that I have merely placed into sand has taken.

My utilus on the other hand hasnt suckered at all.  I am not sure if these species suckers or not.  IMO, this is the better looking of the two, but it has those vicious cutting teeth that the sanderi/baptistii does not.

Both of these Pandanus seem to love heat, water and fertilizer.  They, like many other plants, grow much much faster during the hot part of the year than in winter where they still grow, but slowly.

Ive only had mine a year and a half or so, but no problems with cold as of yet.

[DoomsDave]

Great pix, Tully!

What other pandanii do you have in your 'hood?

dave

[Walter John]

Here's a photo I took up in Cairns about 2 or 3 years ago. Nice variegated pandanus next to Bismarkia nobilis palms.

[aussiearoids]

Pandanus dubius or 'Fatboy'

have seen ones 3-4 ms tall

[aussiearoids]

theres the prickly variegated one , here next to the smooth one .

[aussiearoids]

then theres the one that has lots of branches and proliferates all over the place ..just can't remember the name ,

[aussiearoids]

The previous Pandan is P. gemmifer .

Here is a male infloresence on the same plant .

[Walter John]

I picked up my first pandanus yesterday, a variegated one, that's all I know, it appears to be smooth though.

There's two plants in this bag. I aim to plant in my new zone pretty much where it is in the pic

[Zac in NC]

Wow. More cool Pandanus. That one is huge. Its leaves are so wide. WOW

Zac