What’s your fastest and best growth rate palm in the garden

[Billeb]

Everybody has looked at a particular tree or two in their garden and thought…..”Wow! That has grown so much in a short amount of time”. I was looking at old pics today and realized my Prestoniana “Big Curly” had exploded since putting it in the ground. I’m getting a new frond every couple months. Pictures below are only a little over 13 months apart! 
 

Let’s see what your best growth rates are! 
 

-dale 

[Tracy]

6 minutes ago, Billeb said:

I’m getting a new frond every couple months. Pictures below are only a little over 13 months apart! 

Nice growth Dale.  Are you getting that type of new leaf production year round or more when it has warmed up?  For pure speed, I would have to rate my Chrysalidocarpus pembanus and leptocheilos as the fastest.  My largest and oldest Chrysalidocarpus pembanus have caught up in height with older Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and Howea forsteriana in my neighbors yard.

The Chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos to the right in the photo of the Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus was planted months after the prestonianus and was smaller when it went in.  Ring spacing between the two says it all.  The Chambeyronia (Kentiopsis) oliviformis to the left of  them closer to the phone wires became a speedster once it got ringed trunk.  It is one of the things that predates my remodel and redo of the backyard in 2014, so has a 4 year head start.  Since it is also in the photo, the Chrysalidocarpus saintlucei was planted as one of my smaller palms at 1 gallon and not until 2016. It is trying to catch up with the C. prestonianus in height with wider ring spacing, so more height gain with each new leaf.

[SeanK]

Does anything grow as fast as a Washie? Definitely, T.fortunei is pretty quick to add height.

[James B]

In terms of speed of new leaves my Roystonea Regia pushes new spears by 2” a day when it’s over 95 degrees.

In terms of putting on height my Archontophoenix Tuckeri has grown taller by approximately 24” or so and will probably be 12 feet tall at the top of the leaves soon. 

Placement of these palms is what is holding back the R.Regia from putting on height. It’s in full blazing all day summer sun until 630pm each day. In my previous garden I had one that shot up like a rocket (easily 3 feet each year)because it was in shade from 2pm on.

[Fusca]

Surprisingly my fastest grower has been Butia odorata.  4 years in the ground from a 7-gal 4' overall height.  It's more than doubled in both height and trunk girth.  Photo just taken with the original pot it came in for scale.  This will likely change going forward as I have Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and Roystonea regia planted as well.

 

[rizla023]

For me, the royal and s. Sancona are putting on the fastest growth, aside from a queen we have in the front. Pembana is finally rooted and putting on growth. Same with Veitchia a. It started off super slow and has not put out two new fronds in 3 months. 

[sonoranfans]

No doubt my fastest palm is this monster sabal causiarum.  It is just 13 years from a 3 gallon strap leaf.  its over 35' tall and has a swollen trunk base of 40"+

I also have 2 large royals that push out ~12 massive leaves a year and are taller but they started out as trunking palms.  The royals went from 4' trunk to about 22=25' in 13 years, and they have some thick trunks like this causiarum not as thick down low but even thicker up high at 15-20'.  I give the win to causiarum since it started a 2 foot tall strap leaf palm.

 

[-2 brian]

Really impressive Dale, especially being coastally grown. 

 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

3 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

No doubt my fastest palm is this monster sabal causiarum

Absolute stunner 😍 how far is your Bizzie behind it ? 

[Palmiz]

I couldn't pick out of these 4 I have, these are from 2021/2022 and today.

Dypsis Madagascarensis hybrid this one was 

2022 rest 2021

Roystonea Regia

Veitchia Arecina

Foxy lady

[Bkue]

I have a few “fast” ones but has to be the roystonea for me. 7+ feet in a year, 6 rings, and 15+” girth. Can barely make it a a week or two without a new spear opening and another shooting up. 
 

One of my bismarcks, once settled, has 3-5 new spears going at a time and seems to accelerate towards end of summer into fall. 

[DoomsDave]

Whoa @Billeb! Such a thread!

Palms can be so fast in so many wonderful ways.

The best part is how they can vary speed wise.

For all round speed, IMHO Washingtonias, Archontophoenix and royals just blaze away. Yowza. Forty five to fifty feet plus in like 15 years. From like 7 gallons more or less.
 

But! Surprises and nuances lurk, in my limited old-goat experience.

[Patrick]

On 8/18/2024 at 1:57 PM, SeanK said:

Does anything grow as fast as a Washie? Definitely, T.fortunei is pretty quick to add height.

I will see your fortueni, and raise you a Livistona decora...

[Harry’s Palms]

I agree @DoomsDave. I planted a Washingtonia Robusta down at the bottom of my hill. It is now the tallest palm on my property. It started out as a volunteer in a neighbor’s yard that dug up , stuck in a bucket and left in my courtyard as a gift. It has fallen prey to my insurance company so it will have to be trimmed up but it will grow back quickly . HarryThis Caryota Urens actually passed up most of my Syagrus R.  and the Archontophoenix 

[Billeb]

5 hours ago, Palmiz said:

 

Foxy lady

The hybrid and Foxy Lady are most impressive. Foxy Lady is something to look forward to for me. 
 

-dale 

[Billeb]

On 8/18/2024 at 12:42 PM, Tracy said:

Nice growth Dale.  Are you getting that type of new leaf production year round or more when it has warmed up? 

 

Thanks Tracy. The first picture is at the end of June last year and we are currently in the middle of August so I think it benefitted from two “warm seasons” here in HB. I feel like it grew year round but I didn’t pay too much attention to it to be honest. I know I cut off at least 3 thinner small fronds. It’s given me at least 5 or 6 easy. As you know, the next gets substantially bigger and bigger. Typical for a big Dypsis I’d say. 

 

10 hours ago, -2 brian said:

Really impressive Dale, especially being coastally grown. 

 

Thanks Brian. Appreciate it. 
 

 

Somebody else asked me what I thought the “secret” was and the only thing I can think of is I microdose liquid Fertigation pretty regularly thru a Dosotron and I throw a few inches of organic matter top coating around my planters every 6  months or so. Everything seems to respond well. 
 

-dale 

[sonoranfans]

16 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Absolute stunner 😍 how far is your Bizzie behind it ? 

the biz has a smaller crown of leaves than causiarium and its noticeable today 2 years after IAN hit.   After hurricane in sept 2022, the sabal grew out of damage stunningly fast, while the biz has been slower.  The biz is finally back to pumping out leaves super fast now, 4 spears are equal height ready to open.   Its a few feet shorter than the sabal I guess.  Its hard to see up there.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

My fastest which is kinda surprising but maybe not is my BxLytoWedd pics are 17 months apart. This thing has gone bonkers. It has also had spear pull and was knocked over from Beryl. 

T J 

[EricSatBch]

Not exactly sure what this F2 Chrysalidocarpus hybrid is, but best guess is it has some Pembana/Lutescens.   I have several grown from seed all with the same characteristics and this particular one has definitely been the fastest for me and outpacing my Pembanas.   A lot of yellow when younger, but now fading...had first seed rack a few months ago.  First pic is June 2020 (2 years old), following pics are from today.  Second fastest I would say is Ptychosperma schefferi.  First pic 5 years ago.  

[miamicuse]

For me it's Chrysalidocarpus lutescens.  I don't like when they have lots of suckers and crowd the lower portion of the palm, so occasionally I would trim off ALL THE SUCKERS to clean it up.

When I finish I collect my tools and picked up the trash and take a few steps away and look back, I see a new sucker or two already six inches tall LOL.

[Harry’s Palms]

@EricSatBch that is some impressive growth for Chrysalidocarpus. I don’t have any hybrid , mine are both straight Lutescens. Here they are moderately slow but steady . Harry

[Merlyn]

@OC2Texaspalmlvr I should have bought more Butia x Lyto Wedd from Patrick, it is a really pretty and very tough palm!  Mine are just now getting to be the same size as your "17 months ago" photo.

For me it has been Queens, winning by a big margin.  They were so fast I cut down 6 out of 8 this year.  I am sure that AM shade from the house meant that they "stretched" and grew with bigger space between rings.  But these went from 5-7g size to 12-15' of clear trunk in 6 years.  Only Pembana was quicker, growing 3-4' of trunk per year.  But Pembana wasn't cold hardy here, so I had to remove those several years ago after crown and trunk rot.  For a height comparison, the roof peak is around 25 feet...

[Harry’s Palms]

@Merlyn those have a canopy that rivals the Queens you removed. The faster growing palms with nice canopies are important for the understory plants. Nice looking palms . Harry

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

2 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I should have bought more Butia x Lyto Wedd from Patrick

I totally agree, with how chunky mine has gotten and its growth rate. I definitely want a few more haha. What is crazy is it's more cold hardy and faster then my BxPJT which I consider my prized possession. 

T J 

[palmfriend]

Hi,

 

From seed to seeding in ten years...

Veitchia joannis (sp.?)

 Alexander palms were a bit faster - within eight years - but right now I don't have a good picture at hand.

 

Lars

 

[mlovecan]

Nothing really stands out at the moment. However, my Archontophoenix myolensis had the strongest growth in my garden's history as a seedling. It went from about a foot tall to trunking in a single year. However, in the last two years it has had a deficiency - I've used manganese to try to correct it with absolutely no luck. Quite stunted now.

[Looking Glass]

Satakentias have been fairly fast for me….

May 2021….

 

The Fugly times….

 

July 2022…

August 2024….

[sonoranfans]

I once wished every palm to be fast, funny how now I wish them to be slow.  In the end the birds get all the best views.  

[aabell]

I've grown a few things from seed over the past two years and the Veitchia have been incredibly fast. This particular one has always had wider leaflets than its siblings and is the tallest of my seedlings, some good genetics. My Archontophoenix alexandrae started slower in the first year but are threatening to pass up the Veitchia this summer. 

May 2022: 

September 2022: (planted it out from a 1 gal a few weeks before hurricane Ian)

August 2024:

[aabell]

Here's the Alex over the same time frame: 

April 2022 just germinated:

August 2024 trunking:

Another one, I think it's a little smaller:

We lost a big shade tree during Ian, so my crop of experimental Alex and Veitchia seedlings that I had germinated just to see if I could suddenly became the the future canopy of the garden. These are reputedly not the best sandy soil Florida palms but I just love the way they look. Hoping that by starting small I can get a little shade from them within a few years.

[Bkue]

Fortunate that most of mine have been fast even zone pushed. That said, the roystonea have been the fastest for girth and height. 

[Merlyn]

@Looking Glass those Satakentia look amazing!  I have a couple of small seedlings I bought from Meg back in 2021.  They have sat in tiny nursery pots doing a whole lot of nothing, because originally I thought they needed full shade in FL.  I'll have to step some up to 3g and plant a couple out next spring!

BTW - I see you too are an avid grower of native and imported hardy perennials and annuals!  That reminds me I need to get out and kill some weeds too. 

[Alberto]

On 8/26/2024 at 6:37 PM, sonoranfans said:

 

 

On 8/20/2024 at 10:54 AM, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

My fastest which is kinda surprising but maybe not is my BxLytoWedd pics are 17 months apart. This thing has gone bonkers. It has also had spear pull and was knocked over from Beryl. 

T J 

Wow! That's unbelievable fast for 17 months. The idea and the sight of your "Butia x Lytocarium weddellianum" made my mouth water! 😀 Wow , the drooping leaflets and fronds are stunning! Today I saw my Lytocarium hoehnei flowering and it crossed my mind to try to cross it with some Butia or queen palm.....

[Looking Glass]

13 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@Looking Glass those Satakentia look amazing!  I have a couple of small seedlings I bought from Meg back in 2021.  They have sat in tiny nursery pots doing a whole lot of nothing, because originally I thought they needed full shade in FL.  I'll have to step some up to 3g and plant a couple out next spring!

BTW - I see you too are an avid grower of native and imported hardy perennials and annuals!  That reminds me I need to get out and kill some weeds too. 

The weeds are unstoppable.  You can weed for 16hrs over a weekend.   The next week they are all back even worse  It’s like they enjoy the abuse.  

Baby satakentias don’t handle a lot of sun well.  I think dappled sun is best for them.  At 7g mine burnt for the first year even with hand watering every other day.  Now they do better.  
 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

13 hours ago, Alberto said:

Today I saw my Lytocarium hoehnei flowering and it crossed my mind to try to cross it with some Butia or queen palm.....

You definitely should try it ! You cross Butia x Hoehnei you can count me as a customer haha I'll take a pic of my BxLytoWedd trunk, it is thick , way thicker then I ever thought it would get. 

T J 

[D. Morrowii]

The fastest growers for me here in Florida are..
Coconut 2/26/22

9/2/24

Roystonia 4/24/22 (my kiddo helping me ground it) 

9/2/24

Tuckeri 6/5/22

9/2/24

Bismarckia 4/18/24

9/2/24

No before and after pics but Veitchia has also been super fast. 

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, D. Morrowii said:

Bismarckia 4/18/24

9/2/24

No before and after pics but Veitchia has also been super fast. 

Awesome speed on those!  I'm guessing that you meant 4/18/22 (or older) on that Bismarckia strap leaf seedling.  😄  If that was the growth in 4 months it would have been the first one in your list!  

[D. Morrowii]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

Awesome speed on those!  I'm guessing that you meant 4/18/22 (or older) on that Bismarckia strap leaf seedling.  😄  If that was the growth in 4 months it would have been the first one in your list!  

Lol yes, 4/18/21, dang it too late to edit….