Thrinax radiata

[aztropic]

Thrinax radiata is getting ready to flower again in AZ! Surprisingly,this palm does extremely well under our desert conditions. I've grown and distributed a couple dozen of these locally, (more on the way) so hopefully, they start to be recognized as another bullet proof option for desert gardens. 

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Chris Chance]

That looks great! Those pictures don't even look like Arizona. 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

There are some people in my city who plant T. Radiata thinking they are washingtonias, they still do very well and they get very little care. I remember seeing an extremely tall speciemen in a neighboring town.

[Looking Glass]

It’s amazing what you are able to do in the desert there.   Do you have Leukothrinax morisii also?   Where Pseudophoenix Sargentii is happy, thrinax radiata should work too.   

It’s no desert here, but I’m amazed how dry the ground can get in South Florida, even though the air is humid.   Last month we got about an inch of rain, for the month.   With temps in the 90s during the day and 80s at night mostly.  In June we got 10 inches in a couple days, then barely any rain the rest of the month.   The ground is sand here, that holds water for a day or two, but drains storm flooding quickly.   

Most of the native Florida species, and Carribean and Cuban ones, have to deal with long dry spells and blazing sun, then deluge conditions sporadically in the hot months.  Super dry conditions followed by super wet.   Rain randomly pops up in the summer, but there aren’t consistent storm fronts constantly moving through the area.   It’s “luck of the draw” quite often.  Hands have been poor lately.  

Today we got lucky…

Going forward, I’m going to try to lean toward these species more.   
 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Looking Glass

[aztropic]

54 minutes ago, Looking Glass said:

 

Going forward, I’m going to try to lean toward these species more.   

 

Always easier to grow the species that have already proven themselves in your area! 

I DO also grow the morrissii. Just as tough for our area,but a much slower grower. I grew both of these trees from seeds planted the same exact day,so the difference in their speed of growth is quite obvious. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[ruskinPalms]

T. radiata is my go to fill in fan palm here lately (Rhapis rock too!!). Like a lot of us on here I need more fan palms to balance out the pinnate palms in the landscape. I have some C. argentata planted but they aren’t doing that great so far, probably too wet in my irrigated back yard… so yes these things in habitat have to deal with “desert” conditions for extended periods of time sometimes and probably even crave it for long term health. 

[NOT A TA]

Here in Delray Beach I've noticed some of the T radiata here which are planted in street median areas that only get natural rainfall slowly die off, they don't appear to receive enough water during dry spells. Where they're planted in low areas or are well irrigated they do well.

Do you have to water them often in AZ?

[Looking Glass]

On a barely related note, I wonder how silver buttonwood would do out in Arizona. It’s everywhere here, as bushes, hedgerows, or medium sized gnarled trees.   Even through it’s a super common native, it’s my favorite smaller tree here… 

 

 

You’ve probably got a lot of silver trees out that way that would be better adapted though,  I’m guessing 

[Looking Glass]

6 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Here in Delray Beach I've noticed some of the T radiata here which are planted in street median areas that only get natural rainfall slowly die off, they don't appear to receive enough water during dry spells. Where they're planted in low areas or are well irrigated they do well.

Do you have to water them often in AZ?

I wonder if they would do better if they just got some TLC and water for the first year, to allow them to get established.  Someone on my street had a bunch of sables put in by a professional landscaping company last year, they looked great for a few months, now they look terrible and 75% dead.   They were just getting lawn irrigation.   All they needed was some hand watering for a year and some fertilizer to get established, but they didn’t get it.   

I think they will pull through, but will look terrible for a couple of years now.   

Thrinax grow right off the beach in sand and rock with no irrigation, and in parking lots and medians with no care, but I bet someone ripping up an adult specimen and just plopping it in bad soil with most of its roots ripped off is a recipe for a sad palm.   

[aztropic]

10 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Do you have to water them often in AZ?

I only deep water my established in ground palms once a week, March through November - every 2 or 3 weeks over the winter,depending on rainfall. I used to water a couple times a week with less water applied each time,but switched to a once a week deep watering schedule without any noticeable problems.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Silas_Sancona]

3 minutes ago, Looking Glass said:

On a barely related note, I wonder how silver buttonwood would do out in Arizona. It’s everywhere here, as bushes, hedgerows, or medium sized gnarled trees.   Even through it’s a super common native, it’s my favorite smaller tree here… 

 

 

You’ve probably got a lot of silver trees out that way that would be better adapted though,  I’m guessing 

It might work here, especially in parts of town where it rarely gets below 32F ( since the silver form is more sensitive to frost damage ) ..though i'm not sure how they will handle the extreme heat / dry air -before- monsoon season arrives.  Green Buttonwood itself is native to parts or Southern Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja Sur and should grow well here ( Everything already in cultivation, that originates from those areas has done fine here ).

If we had a source for them locally, there are numerous S. Fl. / Caribbean Basin native trees that likely would do fine locally, ..at least up here around Phoenix.. Been growing Jamaican Caper, Fiddlewood, Black Olive, Marlberry, Indigo Berry, Lillythorn, and Cinnacord myself w/out issue since moving here.