Trachycarpus collection (rarer species and hybrids)

[Jonathan Haycock]

Here are some of the rarer species and hybrids in my collection. Most are long overdue fresh soil/planting out, but I have limited space in our current rental. Shall give them some TLC when we relocate to our new home once it's finished (hopefully next month).

Trachycarpus wagnerianus x Trachycarpus princeps F1

 

Trachycarpus fortunei “Tesan”

Trachycarpus latisectus

Trachycarpus oreophilus

Trachycarpus ukhrulensis

Trachycarpus geminisectus

Trachycarpus nova x Trachycarpus princeps F1

Trachycarpus fortunei “Nainital” x Trachycarpus princeps F1

Trachycarpus wagnerianus x Trachycarpus nova F1

[KPoff]

Those are all beautiful in their own ways! How did you acquire such a collection?

[Jonathan Haycock]

13 minutes ago, KPoff said:

Those are all beautiful in their own ways! How did you acquire such a collection?

Most I imported as seed from a UK contact back in 2019, T. fortunei "Tesan" was seed sourced from Coldplant, China, T. latisectus came from a specialist palm nursery in South Australia, and I picked up T. oreophilus, T. geminisectus, and T. ukrhulensis from a grower in Melbourne. Full list of my collection below:

1. Trachycarpus fortunei “Nainital” x princeps F1
2. Trachycarpus fortunei “Tesan”
3. Trachycarpus geminisectus 
4. Trachycarpus latisectus 
5. Trachycarpus martianus “Khasia Hills”
6. Trachycarpus martianus “Nepal”
7. Trachycarpus nanus
8. Trachycarpus nanus x princeps F1
9. Trachycarpus nanus x wagnerianus F2
10. Trachycarpus nova x princeps F1
11. Trachycarpus oreophilus 
12. Trachycarpus princeps 
13. Trachycarpus takil 
14. Trachycarpus takil x fortunei F2
15. Trachycarpus ukhrulensis 
16. Trachycarpus wagnerianus 
17. Trachycarpus wagnerianus x princeps F1
18. Trachycarpus wagnerianus x nova F1

[Chester B]

Wow that's quite the collection.  Oreophilus is the one everyone wants, including me.

Since moving down to Texas from Oregon I had to leave some of mine behind, so I only have a few species and varieties left.

T. fortunei

T.  fortenie "Tesan"

T. fortunei "Nainital"

T. princeps

T. latisectus

[KPoff]

9 minutes ago, Chester B said:

Wow that's quite the collection.  Oreophilus is the one everyone wants, including me.

Since moving down to Texas from Oregon I had to leave some of mine behind, so I only have a few species and varieties left.

T. fortunei

T.  fortenie "Tesan"

T. fortunei "Nainital"

T. princeps

T. latisectus

What’s with Oreophilus? I don’t know much about it.

[Chester B]

12 minutes ago, KPoff said:

What’s with Oreophilus? I don’t know much about it.

It's a very different looking Trachycarpus, possibly the nicest looking of the genus.  Personally I think its the most interesting to look at.  It was imported a long time ago for a brief period of time and then the source dried up.   No further collections were made in habitat.  Just this year there are finally mature individuals in the UK that have successfully been pollinated.  I'm not sure if any one person has both a male and a female over there.  I think individuals palm enthusiasts worked together to make it happen.

The palm appears to be reasonably cold tolerant, not as much as fortunei though.

I forgot I have some T ukhrulensis seeds that have germinated to add to my list.

[Jonathan Haycock]

12 minutes ago, KPoff said:

What’s with Oreophilus? I don’t know much about it.

It's the hardest to get hold of because seed export is prohibited from habitat and apparently the palms are guarded by armed Thai authorities. As cultivated specimens mature however, seed should be more available. Recently New Zealand produced some seed and I'm sure UK won't be far behind. I have 2 established juveniles so hoping for a male and female. Failing that, I would look for a pollen share to ensure this species becomes more widespread in cultivation.

[KPoff]

16 minutes ago, Jonathan Haycock said:

It's the hardest to get hold of because seed export is prohibited from habitat and apparently the palms are guarded by armed Thai authorities. As cultivated specimens mature however, seed should be more available. Recently New Zealand produced some seed and I'm sure UK won't be far behind. I have 2 established juveniles so hoping for a male and female. Failing that, I would look for a pollen share to ensure this species becomes more widespread in cultivation.

I think the “Tesan” is the nicest looking one you have. I’m on my fourth attempt with trachycarpus. I consider myself a green thumb guy too. One I left out in a pot when we got a cold snap over winter, one was small and I put it in a spot where it got 10 hours of west Texas sun and torched it. 3rd and 4th attempt are going on now. 3rd is a shade grown plant that I put in 8 hours of west Texas sun and I’m giving it 50/50. 4th attempt is a sun grown one that is in a spot where it will get about 4 hours of sun. I think that one is going to be the winner. It looks happy so far.

[Las Palmas Norte]

I don't ever recall seeing a cultivated specimen of T. geminisectus other than from a journal. Some of my fortunei exhibit the traits for some time as juveniles, and out grow that phase. Very nice collection indeed. 

[Colin1110082]

I like these palms but my favorite Trachycarpus here is wagnerianus X nova because I like the stiff fronds on wagnerianus.

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

I don't ever recall seeing a cultivated specimen of T. geminisectus other than from a journal. Some of my fortunei exhibit the traits for some time as juveniles, and out grow that phase. Very nice collection indeed. 

Yorkshire Kris has videos of his on Youtube.

[Allen]

Europe seems to always have all the Trachy variants and here in the states we have fortunei and wagnerianus and beyond that is rare

[Ben G.]

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

Yorkshire Kris has videos of his on Youtube.

I have a watched a lot of his videos when looking specifically for examples of trachycarpus species other than fortunei.

[Jonathan Haycock]

5 hours ago, KPoff said:

I think the “Tesan” is the nicest looking one you have. I’m on my fourth attempt with trachycarpus. I consider myself a green thumb guy too. One I left out in a pot when we got a cold snap over winter, one was small and I put it in a spot where it got 10 hours of west Texas sun and torched it. 3rd and 4th attempt are going on now. 3rd is a shade grown plant that I put in 8 hours of west Texas sun and I’m giving it 50/50. 4th attempt is a sun grown one that is in a spot where it will get about 4 hours of sun. I think that one is going to be the winner. It looks happy so far.

I’m not a fan of T. fortunei per se, but I like the “Tesan” form a lot. It’s stocky and has wind resistant leaves. Supposed to develop a fatter trunk too. It laughed at our long, hot, humid summer this year, in full sun during the hottest part of the day. 

[Jonathan Haycock]

4 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

I like these palms but my favorite Trachycarpus here is wagnerianus X nova because I like the stiff fronds on wagnerianus.

I like T. nova, but won’t grow it because they get trashed by wind and often appear haggard. I’m hoping T. wagnerianus x T. nova produces some of the T. nova look with T. wagnerianus wind resistance.

[KPoff]

Question for the group. Based on these trunks and the hair appearance are these two different types of trachycarpus or just grown differently. The lighter colored one was obviously sun grown based on forms appearance and the other one is shade grown.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Same. Trachycarpus fortunei. There is some variation within the species. If seen trunks as small as a diameter of a tennis ball and others quite thick. Some with rather pronounced ligula and others that mainly appear to be fibrous.

[happypalms]

Hi Jonathan quite a few trachycarpus there like bird  breeding you have to keep records of everything cross with along with the pure varieties you have done your homework well.

[Jonathan Haycock]

9 hours ago, happypalms said:

Hi Jonathan quite a few trachycarpus there like bird  breeding you have to keep records of everything cross with along with the pure varieties you have done your homework well.

Hey Richard,

I got into palms in 2003 and up until 2019, lived in the West Midlands, UK where everything other than Trachycarpus are pretty much on borrowed time (until the next Narnia takes most palm species out). Under those circumstances, one is forced to maximise the number of species/hybrids within a proven cold hardy genus if they want long term variety. 

Despite all the wonderful species I can now grow here in the sub-tropics, I still have a soft spot for Trachycarpus (except T. fortunei 😂). They bring back fond memories of growing them with my old man.

[peachy]

16 hours ago, Jonathan Haycock said:

Hey Richard,

I got into palms in 2003 and up until 2019, lived in the West Midlands, UK where everything other than Trachycarpus are pretty much on borrowed time (until the next Narnia takes most palm species out). Under those circumstances, one is forced to maximise the number of species/hybrids within a proven cold hardy genus if they want long term variety. 

Despite all the wonderful species I can now grow here in the sub-tropics, I still have a soft spot for Trachycarpus (except T. fortunei 😂). They bring back fond memories of growing them with my old man.

Oy,  what's with hate on fortunei ?After I moved house and wanted to buy another one, they could not be had for love nor money apart from the rattiest looking specimen in existence at a palm show that had a 3 figure price tag. Fortune smiled on me at a sunday market, when a gentleman offered me a lovely 'native cotton palm' for a mere $20.  I would have bought it anyhow as a pity purchase, the poor thing was bursting out of it's tiny pot, even if I had not recognised it as a long sought after trachy.  It was only 40cm in overall height and badly pot bound that after 2.5 years in the ground, rocket up and turned in the beauty posted below. He is in full sun in the outer western suburbs of Brisbane.

Peachy

 

[Jonathan Haycock]

6 hours ago, peachy said:

Oy,  what's with hate on fortunei ?After I moved house and wanted to buy another one, they could not be had for love nor money apart from the rattiest looking specimen in existence at a palm show that had a 3 figure price tag. Fortune smiled on me at a sunday market, when a gentleman offered me a lovely 'native cotton palm' for a mere $20.  I would have bought it anyhow as a pity purchase, the poor thing was bursting out of it's tiny pot, even if I had not recognised it as a long sought after trachy.  It was only 40cm in overall height and badly pot bound that after 2.5 years in the ground, rocket up and turned in the beauty posted below. He is in full sun in the outer western suburbs of Brisbane.

Peachy

 

I guess they are quite a novelty for QLD, but where I’m from ten a penny, and the majority look like dogsh*t once they grow tall and cop the full force of the wind.

There are exceptions, with some sporting stiffer leaves that cope better in exposed locations. My father’s T. fortunei is one such example (pictured, West Midlands, UK). 

Beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder, but in my opinion, there are much nicer species to grow within the genus.

[Las Palmas Norte]

I remember there was a guy from Australia quite some time ago that used to post on-line. He went by the name Adam from Oz or  something close to that. He anathematized and cursed Trachycarpus every chance he got. Called 'em "Trashy-carpus".

[Luis Arroyo]

On 7/26/2024 at 10:44 AM, Chester B said:

Wow that's quite the collection.  Oreophilus is the one everyone wants, including me.

Since moving down to Texas from Oregon I had to leave some of mine behind, so I only have a few species and varieties left.

T. fortunei

T.  fortenie "Tesan"

T. fortunei "Nainital"

T. princeps

T. latisectus

Sorry to hear that it won't be easy restoring your windmill collection due to the USDA stupid Draconian hatred towards the Windmill Palm. For some nonsensical reason the Windmill Palm is prohibited from coming to the United States in all its varieties. Even seeds get confiscated. Sometimes a phytosanitary certificate is required other times the Seeds  get through.  I guess it depends if the vendor has import permits as well. But I think it is BS living windmills are banned from entering the United States. The USDA site doesn't even try to hide the true motive. "To protect the domestic Growers Market"

 

I take that to mean yes we are bought out and paid by the crappy cookie cutter majesty palm Market to prevent cold hardy Palms from disrupting sales of non-hardy garbage. Another example its got more to do about sales  (imho) and not protecting against diseases and pests is the native sabal palm of the United States. They grow all over the US South and up the east coast to the Carolinas even though Delmarva Peninsula two Southern Delaware.

It is a super hardy Palm into single digits Fahrenheit just like the needle Palm, another American Native. But you will never see retailers sell these two Palms where they have a chance to survive the cold north of the Carolinas. You never see these Palms being sold in the Mid-Atlantic United States, or the Northeast. But what you do see all over Home Depot and Lowe's and the Monopoly of Home Centers is trashy cheap Palms that have no chance like again Majesty Palms ,Phoenix robellini, livingstonia non Hardy Chinese fan palm & and of course the infamous Sago "palm" cycad.  That's all you'll find north of interstate I- 40 in the United States.

Why the hell would I buy a majesty palm that's 15 ft high in New Jersey? Why would you sell pump it took 10 to 15 years to reach that size in a state where they have no chance of surviving? But they won't sell cold hardy Palms likely to  survive 5 to 10+ years at least and grow big enough to provide you seeds barring an abnormally cold winter? Well I guess the seeds part answers my question.

It is impossible to get takil, Nova or Princeps seeds or seedlings in the United States. Imagine that! an entire nation spanning a continent and not  one single place online selling it! 

Edited December 30, 2024 by Luis Arroyo
Misspellings and addition

[Luis Arroyo]

On 7/26/2024 at 2:52 PM, Allen said:

Europe seems to always have all the Trachy variants and here in the states we have fortunei and wagnerianus and beyond that is rare

I there were two attempts to bring Takil to the United States.

Both were botched thanks to respected US Palm info source mislabeling Miss labeling a T Fortunei Wagnerianus as "Takil".  I'm sure some of you Palm collectors have seen a website or two advertising takil and the photo is a Waggy Palm!

Something around the late '90s to around 2000s these were brought into the United States as t a k i l but when they germinated they were quadruplicate strap leaves and turned out to be a possible hybrid of Fortunei & Takil known as T FortuneI var. NAINITAL. 

It seems in Europe This variant is Now official called "SP Kumaon" and yet that's another problem and a nail in the coffin of trachycarpus takil coming to the United States, because in the United States we're being told that trachycarpus takil is the botanical name of the "Kumaon fan palm" so that just adds more fuel to the fire of people believing that there's no such thing as Takil, that what we call t a k i l is just a random unstable mutation just like the so-called "Trachycarpus Winsan". The first introduction was botched with Nainital. Now we're going to find out Nainital is Kumaon in EU?

If you're a US grower you're going to give up and tell yourself there's no such thing as T. Takil, just a recessive  T Fortunei variant that looks more impressive.

I've never seen a palm tree be so destroyed & discredited in the minds of people before it gets a chance to be really seen and appreciated. You now have a plurality to possible majority of growers & importers in the USA  that believe there's no such thing as Trachycarpys Takil.  

The second reintroduction to the United States was more successful and true but it was very small due to many of the Native pounds being cut down in India for their fibers. The Palm remains endangered despite conservation effort in India to preserve it. This has meant restrictions on who can approach and got the seed. Getting back to the US free intro, somebody who really loved the species big germinated a field of dozens upon dozens true  takil in the US south. I guess he was trying to naturalize the Palm in the United States and save it.

They're starting to approach seed age and what happens? By  bad luck a palm Nursery guy from California just happens to be driving down and spots The Palms. He bought each and every single one of them.  Did not leave any in nature. Took them all to his Nursery in California. As a certified professional Nursery owner and professional importer , he was able to get them across California's draconian agriculture inspections .

I won't mention his name or his Nursery but if you go to YouTube and type " Takil The to kill for palm" you will see him and his beautiful specimens and he will actually tell you the story of how he came across them. Pisses me off. Not that he bought any of them that's fine I'm sure many will survive in the California climate and it's beautiful thing that he did that because the US East Coast is subject to brutal Arctic blasts every 10 or 15 years. But what pisses me off this he left none to naturalize in the eastern US at least that's the impression I got.

So if you want a true t a k i l California and Oregon are your Best Bets. Unfortunately, they don't ship and the websites are not very informative. It's the kind where they make you send them an email.

I am located in Newark New Jersey in the New York New York metropolitan region. I was lucky enough to buy many seedlings and seeds from Banana Joe / Jungle Joe Clemente in Salt Spring Island BC before the US USDA became draconian after covid. I also bought seeds from Bulgaria and have many at least a couple dozen t-bulgarias, Bulgaria X Nainital, Bulgaria X Waggy and many other Palms through eBay when they were able to ship from Canada. They were the best they could buy after 15-20 seedlings even 50 of them for less than 30 bucks including shipping. All my window Palms well almost 9 out of 10 ratio are Bulgaria or some other hybrid with Waggy and nainital. I have a 1 gallon true Takil & 4 in liner pots from seeds I had given up for dead. These Takil take forever to germinate. But I'm always happy with excitement when I see a duplicate strap Leaf growing out of one of 1 gallon potted Palms. I have three 6 ft tall Bulgaria windmills in the ground. They're almost Bulletproof in winter. The rest are potted. I Either bury THEM in leaves or place them within plastic bags ffull of leaves.

I even have a couple of three and five gallons in pots I protect them by filling large garbage bags with leaves and placing the Potted Palm Within the leaf bags. They are clear plastic to allow sunlight to warm them. Doing very brutally cold nights where dips below 30 Fahrenheit I insert 2 L bottles of soda full of hot water. That keeps the bag in the pots warm throughout the night.