Phoenix roebelenii love em or dislike em

[happypalms]

Well it had to come to this sooner or later the Pygmy date palm most likely one of the earliest palms in any garden back in the day they were so popular in Australia for there small growth habit a landscapers dream palm so predictable yet so deadly if you get spiked by one even a dead frond is deadly the trick is to prune the old leaf as close as possible leaving no spikes on the petiole it makes them so much easier to garden with these ones are at 30 years old picked up at nursery in the bargain bin out front I once worked in the nursery when I was young as I was buying them the owner remembered me and said you getting a real bargain there either way you love roebelenii or can’t stand them but an essential part of a collection or any garden with long driveways in rows along them a lot of people are removing them now from gardens for due reasons they are not gardening people and loathe the spikes a real tough palm in any situation 

[Jim in Los Altos]

I had a couple dozen in my garden for years but recently began removing most even though they were tall and nature. I’ve left a beautiful shade grown trio in my backyard. The sun grown ones always looked a bit tatty and yellowed but we’re fast growers despite. The ones removed were replaced with more exotic species. 

[happypalms]

2 minutes ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I had a couple dozen in my garden for years but recently began removing most even though they were tall and nature. I’ve left a beautiful shade grown trio in my backyard. The sun grown ones always looked a bit tatty and yellowed but we’re fast growers despite. The ones removed were replaced with more exotic species. 

Smart move removing them and replacing them with more exotic but there still a favourite for certain situations a couple of dozen yes they were popular in the days gone bye 

[DoomsDave]

They're popular for good reason: they're easy to grow, relatively unfussy about soil. They'll look best if you water them a lot, but I've tortured some in near-deserty conditions, and people still fall in love with them. Best of all, they're small. They won't drop monster leaves on a car or someone's head (or a doggie, like a royal did to someone I know), or tangle themselves up in telephone wires. It's true they're thorny, but, compared to a CIDP or edible date, they're this side of benign. (If I were nude skydiving and realized I had the choice of landing in CIDPs or pygmies, it's pygmies hands down - literally and figuratively.)

I had some at my place, and they got replaced with exotics, too. I gave them to friends who gave them to their mum, who still has them after almost 20 years. They're about 4 M (12 feet) tall now, a nice bit of shade to park a walker under.

[Phoenikakias]

6 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

They're popular for good reason: they're easy to grow, relatively unfussy about soil. They'll look best if you water them a lot, but I've tortured some in near-deserty conditions, and people still fall in love with them. Best of all, they're small. They won't drop monster leaves on a car or someone's head (or a doggie, like a royal did to someone I know), or tangle themselves up in telephone wires. It's true they're thorny, but, compared to a CIDP or edible date, they're this side of benign. (If I were nude skydiving and realized I had the choice of landing in CIDPs or pygmies, it's pygmies hands down - literally and figuratively.)

I had some at my place, and they got replaced with exotics, too. I gave them to friends who gave them to their mum, who still has them after almost 20 years. They're about 4 M (12 feet) tall now, a nice bit of shade to park a walker under.

Dressed ir nude will not make a difference if your gonna land on the crown of some Phoenix specimens lol

 

[happypalms]

10 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

They're popular for good reason: they're easy to grow, relatively unfussy about soil. They'll look best if you water them a lot, but I've tortured some in near-deserty conditions, and people still fall in love with them. Best of all, they're small. They won't drop monster leaves on a car or someone's head (or a doggie, like a royal did to someone I know), or tangle themselves up in telephone wires. It's true they're thorny, but, compared to a CIDP or edible date, they're this side of benign. (If I were nude skydiving and realized I had the choice of landing in CIDPs or pygmies, it's pygmies hands down - literally and figuratively.)

I had some at my place, and they got replaced with exotics, too. I gave them to friends who gave them to their mum, who still has them after almost 20 years. They're about 4 M (12 feet) tall now, a nice bit of shade to park a walker under.

That’s why I said love ‘em or dislike them they are a winner 

[happypalms]

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Dressed ir nude will not make a difference if your gonna land on the crown of some Phoenix specimens lol

 

Doomsdave is braver than me iam not going skydiving 🪂 nude out of fear of embarrassing other people let alone myself 

[Phoenikakias]

It is no difference at all falling on the spines of some Phoenix specimens lol. Especially pseudopetiole of the second specimen in the posted pictures above  is so heavy, that it can serve as a deadly weapon. Actually I can not lift more than three cut  leaves at a time. 

[peachy]

I was a teenager when I first saw one. It was for sale in a plant shop for a mere $300 back then. Luckily for everyone who likes them, the prices have been vastly reduced since those old B & W days.  There were some lovely old ones in gardens around here all pushing the 3 metre mark but sad to say most of them have been cut down. A few years ago a palm person from Melbourne came to visit me. He always hated Robies,  said they look like carrots. He saw mine and ate his words !  I have one here in the garden but it is yet to show any trunk. They are a pretty and hardy palm, the only thing to rival them is Phoenix rupicola, just a little bigger and impossible to kill.

Peachy

[Looking Glass]

I know they are super common, and stabby, but I do think they can be great when well watered and fertilized, and placed right.   They are a manageable size, pretty easy, and one of the most hurricane tolerant palms due to simple physics.  Not a bad choice for near the house and walkways.   

The first thing I did when I got the house was (get carried away) and bought 5x small doubles and put them in around the house.   They cost around $40 each….

 

Now, 3 years later, the same ones have up to 6 feet of trunk…

I had to give that pair a severe haircut to let some light in.  

The others play nursemaid to various understory foundation plants, so they contribute a valuable service.  They do need a lot of extra potassium and magnesium here though, to look their best.  

It doesn’t hurt to have 36 inches loppers to trim them with either.  I’ve taken some stabs, and got a small abscess in my forearm from one poke this year.   They got a lot bigger, a lot faster than I thought they would.   Overall, still a hard palm for me to find fault with.   

[iDesign]

5 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

The others play nursemaid to various understory foundation plants, so they contribute a valuable service. 

Mine are performing a similar "job" and I feel guilty because there's a very good chance that the "nursemaids" will eventually be replaced by some of the more exotic palms below...

My favorite reobelinii are in an under construction area, and are bending heavily. I actually like the effect, and am curious if there's any chance they can recover from such severe bending. At the moment the one on the left is leaning on construction materials, but it can *technically* freestand without them, though just barely (i.e., a possum could climb the trunk without it falling, but not a child).

My gut feel is that these two trunks are leaning out too far to survive long-term (even if I put a support boulder at the base)... but am curious what the Palmtalkers think?

[Billeb]

2 hours ago, iDesign said:

Mine are performing a similar "job" and I feel guilty because there's a very good chance that the "nursemaids" will eventually be replaced by some of the more exotic palms below...

My favorite reobelinii are in an under construction area, and are bending heavily. I actually like the effect, and am curious if there's any chance they can recover from such severe bending. At the moment the one on the left is leaning on construction materials, but it can *technically* freestand without them, though just barely (i.e., a possum could climb the trunk without it falling, but not a child).

My gut feel is that these two trunks are leaning out too far to survive long-term (even if I put a support boulder at the base)... but am curious what the Palmtalkers think?

At my old neighbors house, I anchored a cable to the wall and looped the other end around the tree to support it.  Works fine. I drove by the other day and it’s still good, 8yrs later. 
 

-dale 

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

I know they are super common, and stabby, but I do think they can be great when well watered and fertilized, and placed right.   They are a manageable size, pretty easy, and one of the most hurricane tolerant palms due to simple physics.  Not a bad choice for near the house and walkways.   

The first thing I did when I got the house was (get carried away) and bought 5x small doubles and put them in around the house.   They cost around $40 each….

 

Now, 3 years later, the same ones have up to 6 feet of trunk…

I had to give that pair a severe haircut to let some light in.  

The others play nursemaid to various understory foundation plants, so they contribute a valuable service.  They do need a lot of extra potassium and magnesium here though, to look their best.  

It doesn’t hurt to have 36 inches loppers to trim them with either.  I’ve taken some stabs, and got a small abscess in my forearm from one poke this year.   They got a lot bigger, a lot faster than I thought they would.   Overall, still a hard palm for me to find fault with.   

3 years later did you feed them steroids omg they have grown fast 🤣

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, iDesign said:

Mine are performing a similar "job" and I feel guilty because there's a very good chance that the "nursemaids" will eventually be replaced by some of the more exotic palms below...

My favorite reobelinii are in an under construction area, and are bending heavily. I actually like the effect, and am curious if there's any chance they can recover from such severe bending. At the moment the one on the left is leaning on construction materials, but it can *technically* freestand without them, though just barely (i.e., a possum could climb the trunk without it falling, but not a child).

My gut feel is that these two trunks are leaning out too far to survive long-term (even if I put a support boulder at the base)... but am curious what the Palmtalkers think?

Yes Stacy they are a lovely palm only to get put in second place after winning 🏆 now we’re is that chainsaw one can’t argue if it’s a Joey palm or a kerriodoxa  😁 going in but never trust a gardener with a chainsaw 

[iDesign]

17 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Yes Stacy they are a lovely palm only to get put in second place after winning 🏆 now we’re is that chainsaw one can’t argue if it’s a Joey palm or a kerriodoxa  😁 going in but never trust a gardener with a chainsaw 

The big picture is that I WAY overbought (mostly from Floribunda). I know I can't keep everything - in fact hoping to subsidize some of my purchases with future sales - but there will come a moment where I'll have to decide between keeping the roebelenii in this area or planting something more exotic... so these guys are likely not long for this world.

The other (heavily leaning) ones are ironically lower on the chopping block, because there aren't many palms that would work in that particular spot, and the leaning provides some shade in a much-needed area. I might just take @Billeb's suggestion to tie them to something. Was originally thinking of a boulder support at the bottom, but a tie at the top would work a lot better. And maybe plant a large ornamental to hide the ties (angel trumpet, hibiscus or similar). Could work!

But yeah, I feel guilty about the ones in the "nursery" area that will likely get axed. There are still lots of other areas of the yard to fill first... so they have a bit more time (esp since they're providing useful shade for the smaller palms). But their day will likely come at some point. 🪓

[Looking Glass]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

3 years later did you feed them steroids omg they have grown fast 🤣

I put a couple of feet of organics in those beds, so the soil is now pretty rich.   They got good sun, tons of water often, and I probably over fertilize, and lots of natural heat and humidity.   They spike 5 at a time, like all the time.   I do a hack job 2-3x per year, and they roar back.  All that trunk and they haven’t dropped or even completely dried out a single boot yet.   I have a double on the edge of the irrigation zone though, in sandy soil and it is half the size, thinner, and less robust.  I thought pygmy dates would be these tiny sprigs, but they actually take up a lot of space now.  

[Stelios]

Good watering like everyone said. Also I try not to trimm many fronds. This one is seeding a lot. They can be beautiful palms.

 

[happypalms]

11 hours ago, iDesign said:

The big picture is that I WAY overbought (mostly from Floribunda). I know I can't keep everything - in fact hoping to subsidize some of my purchases with future sales - but there will come a moment where I'll have to decide between keeping the roebelenii in this area or planting something more exotic... so these guys are likely not long for this world.

The other (heavily leaning) ones are ironically lower on the chopping block, because there aren't many palms that would work in that particular spot, and the leaning provides some shade in a much-needed area. I might just take @Billeb's suggestion to tie them to something. Was originally thinking of a boulder support at the bottom, but a tie at the top would work a lot better. And maybe plant a large ornamental to hide the ties (angel trumpet, hibiscus or similar). Could work!

But yeah, I feel guilty about the ones in the "nursery" area that will likely get axed. There are still lots of other areas of the yard to fill first... so they have a bit more time (esp since they're providing useful shade for the smaller palms). But their day will likely come at some point. 🪓

In the years to come they will become rare if the chainsaw gardeners have there way🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[peachy]

I have seen a few quite old ones around here leaning at impossible looking angles and they are still doing fine.  I amazed at how fast the pair of Looking Glass's grew ! I thought mine was looking good for 2 years in the ground but I must bow down to the master.

Peachy

 

[happypalms]

7 minutes ago, peachy said:

I have seen a few quite old ones around here leaning at impossible looking angles and they are still doing fine.  I amazed at how fast the pair of Looking Glass's grew ! I thought mine was looking good for 2 years in the ground but I must bow down to the master.

Peachy

 

He feeds em organic steroids I hear 😂🤣 I want his fertiliser program and soil 🌱 the phoenix’s will always be around in gardens somewhere just not in a lot of gardens in the future with the new varieties available that are more exotic but a true gardener is always changing his garden around 🪴

[SeanK]

On 9/18/2023 at 4:16 PM, Jim in Los Altos said:

I had a couple dozen in my garden for years but recently began removing most even though they were tall and nature. I’ve left a beautiful shade grown trio in my backyard. The sun grown ones always looked a bit tatty and yellowed but we’re fast growers despite. The ones removed were replaced with more exotic species. 

Did you dig them out and sell them?

[peachy]

12 hours ago, happypalms said:

He feeds em organic steroids I hear 😂🤣 I want his fertiliser program and soil 🌱 the phoenix’s will always be around in gardens somewhere just not in a lot of gardens in the future with the new varieties available that are more exotic but a true gardener is always changing his garden around 🪴

I have to live with my mistakes.  A plant has to become a menace or so sick that I can call it a mercy killing, before I can get rid of it.  I planted a Phoenix reclinata once, soon realised my mistake but it grew so quickly it was too big to remove by myself. It was the healthiest palm I ever had, totally neglected too in the hope it would die from natural causes. Of course it just grew bigger. A couple of tree removalists looked at it in terror then quoted me a price equal to the value of a harbour side mansion. In this new garden I am choosing things so carefully to prevent the heavy guilt that comes on with killing a healthy plant. Guess I will never be a true gardener. 😖

[peachy]

On 9/21/2023 at 4:33 AM, iDesign said:

Mine are performing a similar "job" and I feel guilty because there's a very good chance that the "nursemaids" will eventually be replaced by some of the more exotic palms below...

My favorite reobelinii are in an under construction area, and are bending heavily. I actually like the effect, and am curious if there's any chance they can recover from such severe bending. At the moment the one on the left is leaning on construction materials, but it can *technically* freestand without them, though just barely (i.e., a possum could climb the trunk without it falling, but not a child).

My gut feel is that these two trunks are leaning out too far to survive long-term (even if I put a support boulder at the base)... but am curious what the Palmtalkers think?

What is the plant with the large green leaves and yellow spots (maculation ?) My life has just become shallow, meaningless and incomplete without one.

Peachy

[Jim in Los Altos]

14 hours ago, SeanK said:

Did you dig them out and sell them?

Chopped down. Digging them out would have damaged the roots of nearby palms that are much more desirable that the Pygmy Dates. The Pygmy Date Palm is ridiculously common in my neighborhood. They’re everywhere. 

[iDesign]

2 hours ago, peachy said:

What is the plant with the large green leaves and yellow spots (maculation ?) My life has just become shallow, meaningless and incomplete without one.

Oh yes, one of my favorite plants! It's a variation of "leopard plant" (farfugium japoneum), which I'm also a fan of.

I fell in love with the spotted version at a fellow tropical plant lover's house, and was planning to buy one online... but then stumbled on it locally at Jungle Music (Palm seller) of all places-  https://junglemusic.com/2023/08/farfugium-japonicum-aureomaculatum-the-spotted-leopard-plant-formerly-known-as-spotted-ligularia/

I bought mine in early winter but planted it out anyway, and it did great for me over both the relatively cold winter... then through the summer. Mine is in a part-sun area and always looks perfect (despite the chaos happening in this area of the yard).

Highly recommended plant, and fine for outdoors in mild climates.

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, peachy said:

I have to live with my mistakes.  A plant has to become a menace or so sick that I can call it a mercy killing, before I can get rid of it.  I planted a Phoenix reclinata once, soon realised my mistake but it grew so quickly it was too big to remove by myself. It was the healthiest palm I ever had, totally neglected too in the hope it would die from natural causes. Of course it just grew bigger. A couple of tree removalists looked at it in terror then quoted me a price equal to the value of a harbour side mansion. In this new garden I am choosing things so carefully to prevent the heavy guilt that comes on with killing a healthy plant. Guess I will never be a true gardener. 😖

You are a true gardener only true gardeners change there garden around 🌱

[peachy]

7 hours ago, iDesign said:

Oh yes, one of my favorite plants! It's a variation of "leopard plant" (farfugium japoneum), which I'm also a fan of.

I fell in love with the spotted version at a fellow tropical plant lover's house, and was planning to buy one online... but then stumbled on it locally at Jungle Music (Palm seller) of all places-  https://junglemusic.com/2023/08/farfugium-japonicum-aureomaculatum-the-spotted-leopard-plant-formerly-known-as-spotted-ligularia/

I bought mine in early winter but planted it out anyway, and it did great for me over both the relatively cold winter... then through the summer. Mine is in a part-sun area and always looks perfect (despite the chaos happening in this area of the yard).

Highly recommended plant, and fine for outdoors in mild climates.

I am definitely going to start the hunt and will be goggle eyed from google until I find one. Thanks for the info, very grateful for that.

Peachy

[happypalms]

38 minutes ago, peachy said:

I am definitely going to start the hunt and will be goggle eyed from google until I find one. Thanks for the info, very grateful for that.

Peachy

Hi peachy your google problems are over look on eBay they have them the farfugium 

[ZPalms]

Oh how I wish these were hardier to my zone, they are such a great understory or help fill some middle ground 😭

[peachy]

15 hours ago, peachy said:

I am definitely going to start the hunt and will be goggle eyed from google until I find one. Thanks for the info, very grateful for that.

Peachy

Happypalms found one for me on ebay !!  Things all fell into place for a change. It should be here early next week. That's a great thing about this forum, so much shared knowledge and information. Thank you for the name and thank you to Happypalms for doing the search.

Peachy

[peachy]

15 hours ago, happypalms said:

Hi peachy your google problems are over look on eBay they have them the farfugium 

Yes, thank you for that so much. Looked at and ordered !

Peachy