King palms scorched by the sun??

[Sandy Loam]

Two weeks ago. I planted several archontophoenix cunninghamiana/alexandrae out in full sun.  Now they all look like they have been scorched by the sun.  Is this sun intolerance or is it that I have not been watering them enough? My soil is sandy and it has has not rained at all. I have watered then a bit (not a lot) almost every other day, but I don't want them to die if they can't handle full sun anyways. 

 

Are these Archie palms for shade only? If I let them tough it out in the sun for the next couple or years, will they eventually become acclimatized...... Or die instead? 

 

PS. They are juvenile, each about five feet tall with roughly 6-8 inches of wooden trunk below the crownshaft. 

[tim_brissy_13]

Photos might help but what you’ve described is really common. Where I am, any Archontophoenix from a nursery has typically been shade grown or greenhouse grown. When they get planted out into full sun and low humidity conditions they invariably burn regardless of how much water you give them (although plenty of water helps the transition). Eventually, if you’re climate is suitable, they harden off to the sun, but they are definitely an easier grow in part shade in dry climates. 

[Sandy Loam]

3 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Photos might help but what you’ve described is really common. Where I am, any Archontophoenix from a nursery has typically been shade grown or greenhouse grown. When they get planted out into full sun and low humidity conditions they invariably burn regardless of how much water you give them (although plenty of water helps the transition). Eventually, if you’re climate is suitable, they harden off to the sun, but they are definitely an easier grow in part shade in dry climates. 

Thanks. It is pretty humid here in Central Florida. 

I can take some photos later. The appearance is like sunburn or the browning of leaves. 

[Bill H2DB]

   I agree with the post by Tim-brissy above .   Many plants are grown in conditions that differ from  the location where they end up .

While Florida is pretty humid as you said , this has been Spring time heat , relatively dry , compared to the Humidity level of true Summer , and also many of the days have had 

a drying breeze as well.  .   Quite common this time of the year .    Also the Sun is nearing it's High Point and the intensity now is  quite high .

After Labor Day , the Summer Sauna begins to build in .  The plant will adjust ,  so just hang in there .

 

You might take a look at some pics of Archonto's grown in sunny parts of Cali , and compare them to typical Florida , and also in  their native sites....

Big diff .

[Sandy Loam]

10 hours ago, Bill H2DB said:

   I agree with the post by Tim-brissy above .   Many plants are grown in conditions that differ from  the location where they end up .

While Florida is pretty humid as you said , this has been Spring time heat , relatively dry , compared to the Humidity level of true Summer , and also many of the days have had 

a drying breeze as well.  .   Quite common this time of the year .    Also the Sun is nearing it's High Point and the intensity now is  quite high .

After Labor Day , the Summer Sauna begins to build in .  The plant will adjust ,  so just hang in there .

 

You might take a look at some pics of Archonto's grown in sunny parts of Cali , and compare them to typical Florida , and also in  their native sites....

Big diff .

Thank you!  Yeah, this experience has made me wonder how Archontophoenix can even survive in bone-dry California at all.  Florida is quite wet by comparison.   

I had archonophoenix cunninghamiana years ago in a different Florida location where the soil was mucky-wet clay (especially during the rainy season).  I never had this sun-scorching problem there, so I was wondering if it had more to do with the sandy soil (no water retention) here than the sun itself.

 

 Oh well.... I will tough it out and hope that these trees adjust over time.  Thank you.

 

If you (or others here) have had this same experience, how many years did it take for your archontophoenix to adjust to full sun?   Surely there must be archontophoenix in their native Queensland or NSW where they have grown up from juvenile trees in full fun -------- or not?   

 

[ruskinPalms]

My cunninghamiana never hardened off to its full sun breezy location and eventually kicked the bucket from some sort of fungal infection. It just never was happy where it was planted, doesn’t help that it never got enough water in dry times. I’ve had other cunninghamiana at other locations areas in west central Florida and they never flourished either. I know a lot of people swear by them but… anyway alexandrae, when I was able to find them, grew so much more vigorously and did like the overall climate here, except loathed frost or frozen dew and burned easily in those situations. I don’t, in Florida at least, see one is much more cold hardy than the other. About the same as any other crownshafted palm here of similar trunk diameter, danger zone at 28F and below for outright death. Foxtails and royals can take lower overall temps because their trunks are just more robust and the growth bud takes longer to freeze and die. So long story short, alexandrae is the best bet here in central Florida in my opinion. Cunninghamiana does great under high oak canopy in moist locations but otherwise I have found them to be very finicky. Bummer because they are beautiful and do bring a different look the landscape; I do miss my cunninghamiana. 

[aabell]

I planted 5 A alexandrae seedlings out of 3 gal pots (only about 2 ft tall) this spring here in Ft Myers into full blazing sun with almost no rain since they've been in the ground. They are heavily mulched and I try to water them nearly every day for now, or at least a good soak every few days since it's not raining. A few are slightly yellowing from the sun but overall they haven't skipped a beat (they were acclimated to full sun as seedling in pots) with no majors burns after over a month. 

I think full sun is not a problem for alexandrae in FL with the usual caveats that they must be watered and gradually transitioned out of shade. Cunninghamiana may prefer more shade but I have seen adults growing in full sun as well. 

I think the biggest issue with archontophoenix, and the reason you don't see them more in FL, is that they don't transplant well. Maybe they recover better in other types of soil that hold water, like in CA, but here whenever I see larger palms installed they totally languish and often die. Definitely best to start as small as possible, especially since they grow quickly. 

[RedRabbit]

I lost 5 or 6 when I mistakenly planted them in full sun. They need shade when young in Florida.

[ruskinPalms]

27 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

I lost 5 or 6 when I mistakenly planted them in full sun. They need shade when young in Florida.

Were the ones you lost cunninghamiana?

[Merlyn]

I planted small Cunninghamiana, Maxima, and Tuckeri seedlings in a mostly-shaded spot on the West side.  They only get direct sun in the late afternoon for a couple of hours...all have done awesome and are growing fast.  They were in the 1-2' tall range and basically doubled in height in 1 year.  I planted a few Cunninghamiana 1-2' tall "big seedlings" in lots of sun and they all died.  One Alexandrae seedling in full sun has struggled along for 2 years in my tropical bed, never growing larger but somehow still alive at about 6" tall.  On the other hand, another Alexandrae from the same batch is in the front yard in full AM sun but shaded in the PM by some Dwarf Cavendish leaves.  That one is also going great and took very little damage at 27-28F with frost.

So I guess my experience (with under 4' tall ones) is they prefer PM shade.  My soil is pretty sandy too, but if I dig down 1 foot only the top 2-3" are dry.  It stays fairly moist even now with 1.4" of rain in the past 30 days and some pretty high temps in the 90s.  So I'd guess it depends on how dry your soil really is.  I'd guess they would acclimate once the daily afternoon thunderstorms start.  That should happen next week, apparently...

[sonoranfans]

cunninghamiana look stressed in full sun here, better in part sun.  I have an alexandre triple that is getting near 30'', planted as small 3 gallons size in summer 2011 just going pinnate in 6+ hrs direct sun.  I  bought them as oversized 1 gallons and repotted to 3 gallons then into the ground within 3 months. .  Alexandre took the sun no problem but it was in a moist organic mix and I was watering a lot, at least every other day for a couple months even in the rainy season(planted them in august 2011).  I dont recall any leaf burn at all, they were an easy grow.  I dont have cunninghamiana as I was advised it was a part shade palm here by more experienced florida palm talkers.  Out west the sun varies wildly from pretty low near the coast to intense in say riverside inland.  All the marine moisture effect reduces light intensity so saying "california sun" is not very descriptive of sun intensity.   They do grow great near the coast in Socal.  Remember now is a normal spring dry season a real dry time of the year, IMO its a bad time to plant wet loving palms.  I am waiting to plant my "next up" water loving palms until the beginning of the rainy season in june.

[RedRabbit]

59 minutes ago, ruskinPalms said:

Were the ones you lost cunninghamiana?

Mostly Alexandrae var Beatrice actually. I had one cunninghamiana live, every other archontophoenix died at that house.

[ruskinPalms]

7 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

Mostly Alexandrae var Beatrice actually. I had one cunninghamiana live, every other archontophoenix died at that house.

Well that stumps me. The only Achontopoenix making it in my neighborhood is alexandrae and I’ve had bad luck with cunninghamiana over the years overall. 

[BayAndroid]

21 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Two weeks ago. I planted several archontophoenix cunninghamiana/alexandrae out in full sun.  Now they all look like they have been scorched by the sun.  Is this sun intolerance or is it that I have not been watering them enough? My soil is sandy and it has has not rained at all. I have watered then a bit (not a lot) almost every other day, but I don't want them to die if they can't handle full sun anyways. 

 

Are these Archie palms for shade only? If I let them tough it out in the sun for the next couple or years, will they eventually become acclimatized...... Or die instead? 

 

PS. They are juvenile, each about five feet tall with roughly 6-8 inches of wooden trunk below the crownshaft. 

They need a ton of water, don't be afraid to drench them. Also you should put a shade cloth over them (I use burlap) and that will help to hopefully transition them into full sun. The humidity in Florida is a plus in my opinion, (at least in helping them not dry out and burn so much) compared to the dry heat and full sun of California. We don't have a lot of cloudy days in the Summer, it's dry... The only way I can keep mine looking decent is when I water them excessively. 

[sonoranfans]

here are my alexandre 2+ months after planting and a year later, third is a closeup @ 2+ months in ground.  The fence is south of the yard and runs east west, full summer sun.

[Sandy Loam]

10 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

They need a ton of water, don't be afraid to drench them. Also you should put a shade cloth over them (I use burlap) and that will help to hopefully transition them into full sun. The humidity in Florida is a plus in my opinion, (at least in helping them not dry out and burn so much) compared to the dry heat and full sun of California. We don't have a lot of cloudy days in the Summer, it's dry... The only way I can keep mine looking decent is when I water them excessively. 

Oh wow..... Should I add a shade cloth structure above them? The summer rainy season will hopefully begin in a week here in Florida...... Does that change your opinion /suggestion? Thanks. 

[Sandy Loam]

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

here are my alexandre 2+ months after planting and a year later, third is a closeup @ 2+ months in ground.  The fence is south of the yard and runs east west, full summer sun.

Wow.  Were these photos taken somewhere in Florida? 

By the way, mine are a hybrid Alexandra/Cunningham, but they seem to be performing more like Cunningham at the moment. 

[Fishinsteeg234]

Here are a few I Archontophoenix I am growing in  north Orlando area Z9B with varying amounts of sun and young age. I believe most Archontophoenix in central florida like a dappled shaded position and heavy mulching up to 8” deep to keep the roots always damp. The largest king here is an Alexandrae, in ground about 2 years planed from a 15 gal. The other two comparatively medium sized ones are cunninghamiana planted as 1 gallons about 3 years ago. The smallest two are a myolensis and a cunn. hybrid that were just planted this February from a 1g size. These two smaller ones get about 5 hours full sun siting just outside of the oak shade canopy, while the others get all day dappled shade. I have protected these the past two winters with frost cloth blankets in an attempt to get a few strong growing years to establish these guys before they’re on their own and exposed to sun and frost. Eventually these will outgrow the canopy, but hopefully by then they’ll be bigger and hardier to handle our occasional mid-twenty degree cold snaps. Dappled shade with heavy mulching and watering seem to be successful for me in central florida. 

[sonoranfans]

3 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Wow.  Were these photos taken somewhere in Florida? 

By the way, mine are a hybrid Alexandra/Cunningham, but they seem to be performing more like Cunningham at the moment. 

Yep I am 40 miles south of tampa near the I75/275 junction just north of bradenton.  The hybrid you mention is often called alabang and Ive seen one of those, it was a nice palm and bigger than either but still it was in shade.  Alexandre are fast and maxima is the same with good sun tolerance and same care.  Cunninghamianas look much better out west, more robust and bigger, nice green(vs yellow green here).  Sandy soil is a no for all archies here in florida, they will struggle in the dry season in sandy soil.  My alexanders blew right past the trunking chamberyronia Oliviformis I planted at the time #2 pic was taken.  They are still taller than those today.  So they still see full summer sun, being the tallest of any nearby palm(royals are bigger today but do not shade the alexandre. 

[BayAndroid]

On 5/19/2023 at 7:51 AM, Sandy Loam said:

Oh wow..... Should I add a shade cloth structure above them? The summer rainy season will hopefully begin in a week here in Florida...... Does that change your opinion /suggestion? Thanks. 

Based on the fact that they've burned, I would do that so the new fronds have a chance to help the trees recover. 

[mxcolin]

My Cunninghamiana struggles badly here in the Central Valley. We have extremely dry summers and sustained periods of 100° days a few times each summer and it leaves them looking scorched throughout the year. I hope they eventually acclimatize to it but not really so far. I get my hopes up each spring when they start to throw out new growth. 

[BayAndroid]

1 hour ago, mxcolin said:

My Cunninghamiana struggles badly here in the Central Valley. We have extremely dry summers and sustained periods of 100° days a few times each summer and it leaves them looking scorched throughout the year. I hope they eventually acclimatize to it but not really so far. I get my hopes up each spring when they start to throw out new growth. 

Try installing some fast growing shade trees to eventually create shade canopy for them. They're meant to grow in shady conditions. 

[Rubberboots]

@BayAndroidhave you mixed in organic mulch with our valley loam? Will help with moisture 🤔

[BayAndroid]

On 6/17/2025 at 11:37 PM, Rubberboots said:

@BayAndroidhave you mixed in organic mulch with our valley loam? Will help with moisture 🤔

That will certainly help, but from my experience, King Palms will struggle is very dry hot conditions when young. They can do better as they mature. My palms were growing in clay soil, so moisture wasn't a problem. (I've since moved and no longer have these palms, but here they were as of leaving.) 

 

 

[Rubberboots]

46 minutes ago, BayAndroid said:

That will certainly help, but from my experience, King Palms will struggle is very dry hot conditions when young. They can do better as they mature. My palms were growing in clay soil, so moisture wasn't a problem. (I've since moved and no longer have these palms, but here they were as of leaving.) 

 

 

@BayAndroid where did you live and where you at now bud?

[BayAndroid]

32 minutes ago, Rubberboots said:

@BayAndroid where did you live and where you at now bud?

I live in the Bay Area on the peninsula. I only moved a short distance, but I'm now in a zone 10.