Thrinax radiata

[aztropic]

Medium speed grower that is also drought and cool  tolerant, making for a versatile palm that does well on both coasts. Younguns are also cute as the dickens!

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[JohnAndSancho]

Here's mine, begging for a bigger pot and waiting on spring already.

[SeanK]

When someone says they want "tropical looking", don't show them Wodyetia, show them Thrinax.

[JohnAndSancho]

How deep to these root as seedlings? I know it's rootbound in its current pot, but does it root like a washie or a Brahea? Need to figure out how much to upside it. 

[aztropic]

1 hour ago, JohnAndSancho said:

How deep to these root as seedlings? I know it's rootbound in its current pot, but does it root like a washie or a Brahea? Need to figure out how much to upside it. 

No rush to repot. Current pot is plenty big. Wait till spring,than divide and up pot to a 2,3,or 5 gallon pot - whatever you have laying around or are comfortable moving.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[JohnAndSancho]

17 minutes ago, aztropic said:

No rush to repot. Current pot is plenty big. Wait till spring,than divide and up pot to a 2,3,or 5 gallon pot - whatever you have laying around or are comfortable moving.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

That's the game plan. I also want to experiment with a mix of coco coir and crushed lava rock for all the repotting. About how old are your babies? 

[aztropic]

9 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

About how old are your babies? 

That batch is about 3 years old and will be divided next spring,put into individual 3 gallon pots,and sold off in another 2 - 3 years. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Looking Glass]

I snagged a few of these as little guys, from Home Depot, 2 years ago.

 I must admit, they do well despite my neglect lately.  They went from little 3 gallons to 6 feet tall.  

Great palms for containers, sandy soil, salt spray near the coast, etc.   Drought and storm tolerant.   The city is planting them like crazy everywhere., and they look great near the beaches.   I’ve got to get these in the ground one of these days.   I’ve been totally ignoring them for the past year or so.  

[JubaeaMan138]

Here’s one of This guy will be going in the ground next spring 

[Palmfarmer]

This makes me want to plant anotber one. Can they thrive in allmost full shade as well? 

[aabell]

On 10/30/2023 at 8:46 PM, aztropic said:

No rush to repot. Current pot is plenty big. Wait till spring,than divide and up pot to a 2,3,or 5 gallon pot - whatever you have laying around or are comfortable moving.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

Can you divide them easily at that size (1-3gal seedlings)? I have a few in a pot together but am afraid they wouldn't tolerate root disturbance and be majorly set back, was going to just plant them as a triple. 

[aztropic]

Super easy to dig or divide. Root disturbance doesn't seem to bother most Thrinax or Coccothrinax species. Copernicia species, on the other hand,are a whole nother story. Just wait till plants are actively growing to divide for best success.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[aztropic]

2 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

Can they thrive in allmost full shade as well? 

I'd say yes. Petioles will be stretched, but the plant will grow just fine.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Jim in Los Altos]

I wish these were cool tolerant. They struggle in my 10a Bay Area climate even when planted in my warmest microclimate.

[tim_brissy_13]

5 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I wish these were cool tolerant. They struggle in my 10a Bay Area climate even when planted in my warmest microclimate.

Are you growing any Coccothrinax or Schippia Jim? Just trying to get a point of reference for cool hardiness of T radiata. I’ve never tried to grow one, but Coccothrinax are very marginal for me. They don’t die but seedlings just barely put out any new growth. I have a Schippia which is surprisingly doing well though. I think I’m a tad cooler overall than you here. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

10 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Are you growing any Coccothrinax or Schippia Jim? Just trying to get a point of reference for cool hardiness of T radiata. I’ve never tried to grow one, but Coccothrinax are very marginal for me. They don’t die but seedlings just barely put out any new growth. I have a Schippia which is surprisingly doing well though. I think I’m a tad cooler overall than you here. 

Tim, Schippia languished here but I have a Coccothrinax miraguama doing very well and a C.  borhidiana which is slow but otherwise healthy.  

[ruskinPalms]

I love these guys. They have been an easy grow for me here which is no surprise since it isn’t too far from their native range. They are not the toughest palms and will show damage with frosts and freezes. But they grow faster than traditionally thought in my experience anyway. I think a lot of the native palms here are labeled slow because they grow in pretty poor soils without irrigation and fertilizer etc in the wild. But when they are grown in a palm lover’s garden, they definitely grow a little quicker. Took a quick pic in the last light of this evening of one of mine. 

[Looking Glass]

2 hours ago, ruskinPalms said:

I love these guys. They have been an easy grow for me here which is no surprise since it isn’t too far from their native range. They are not the toughest palms and will show damage with frosts and freezes. But they grow faster than traditionally thought in my experience anyway. I think a lot of the native palms here are labeled slow because they grow in pretty poor soils without irrigation and fertilizer etc in the wild. But when they are grown in a palm lover’s garden, they definitely grow a little quicker. Took a quick pic in the last light of this evening of one of mine. 

I think a lot of stuff gets labeled as “slow” when grown in conditions that aren’t perfect for the species, but still kind of acceptable.  Cuban, Carribean and native Florida palms want hot, wet summers, and warm dry winters.   TLC and fertilizer/irrigation often makes for more robust specimens than you see in the wild too.   

Some palms that like cooler, wet weather overall, just creep along slowly here, or sometimes not at all.  Some stuff that’s glacially slow for us down here, can be fast in Hawaii or California.  And low temps of 85F at night with lots of rain and humidity makes certain palms turn to rotting mush.  

Edited November 3, 2023 by Looking Glass