Planting a beccariophoenix alfredii how cold tolerant are they

[Looking Glass]

26 minutes ago, happypalms said:

I like it, when I think of Florida I always thought it was this tropical paradise they make it out to be in the television shows. Not the case as I have learned. Apparently it gets cold and your palm is living proof of that I guess. And from what you say it gets cold in paradise! 

It’s a long, vertical state spanning 7 US Ag Zones.  Fairly tropical at the bottom, gets fairly cold up top.  

 

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

It’s a long, vertical state spanning 7 US Ag Zones.  Fairly tropical at the bottom, gets fairly cold up top.  

 

Yes I have been watching to much Don Johnson in Miami vice! All super tropical looking yachts and the vice bling! 

[dimitriskedikogloy]

On 6/11/2025 at 10:15 AM, mlovecan said:

Looks like a very healthy plant.

They seem to be pretty hardy once fully pinnate.   

You've been dodging the magnesium issues those things have at youger age.  Keep a bit of magnesium available for your palm. 

I have this one, great palms to own:

 

 

 

 

 

its amaying how similar it looks to a coconut how old is it? 

[mlovecan]

1 hour ago, dimitriskedikogloy said:

its amazing how similar it looks to a coconut how old is it? 

It's in a part of my garden where stuff sits forever without growing. It was about 70cm where I bought it in 2017. . Sat for about  4 years but is now growing like a rocket. It's about 2.6m tall today.  

[dimitriskedikogloy]

11 minutes ago, mlovecan said:

It's in a part of my garden where stuff sits forever without growing. It was about 70cm where I bought it in 2017. . Sat for about  4 years but is now growing like a rocket. It's about 2.6m tall today.  

and it looks so incredibly healthy too this is my dream. I also have a little seedling i bought from thrinax and im thinking about planting it at my summer place since its 9b there my main location is on the border with 9a and 9b i have made a new post about it.

[mlovecan]

That's a nice little one. I know the size Jorg at Thrinax is selling, so it seems your taking good care of it. Mine was on its' first pinnate leaf when I put it in the ground. They are a bit less fussy at that point.

[dimitriskedikogloy]

28 minutes ago, mlovecan said:

That's a nice little one. I know the size Jorg at Thrinax is selling, so it seems your taking good care of it. Mine was on its' first pinnate leaf when I put it in the ground. They are a bit less fussy at that point.

Thanks, do you believe it’s a good idea planting it in summer I don’t think it can grow well in pots . The only issue is the uncertainty about its cold tolerance 

[mlovecan]

Personally, I plant all of my palms in May. Correct, they don't like pots for long. The time between what you have now and going pinnate can be a challenge but rewarding if you can get there. 

[dimitriskedikogloy]

1 minute ago, mlovecan said:

Personally, I plant all of my palms in May. Correct, they don't like pots for long. The time between what you have now and going pinnate can be a challenge but rewarding if you can get there. 

I will plant it in may then what could be the best spot for it direct blasting sun or close to a bit of shade and protection here is how the garden where I will plant it looks like 

[mlovecan]

Putting palms out before their time normally spells death. Few species will be successful when you put them out too early. It's a shame to work so hard to keep that seedling healthy and then put it out too early. I'm thinking next May for that seedling.

First you'll get 2 or 3 leaves with "windows" and then the leaves will go pinnate. As for location, my sun is so strong that a bit of shade starting out is better. Your sun may not be so strong.

The California guys have more success going straight into full sun but most of them are coastal and the sun is not an intense fireball like the Greek sun.         

[dimitriskedikogloy]

3 minutes ago, mlovecan said:

Putting palms out before their time normally spells death. Few species will be successful when you put them out too early. It's a shame to work so hard to keep that seedling healthy and then put it out too early. I'm thinking next May for that seedling.

First you'll get 2 or 3 leaves with "windows" and then the leaves will go pinnate. As for location, my sun is so strong that a bit of shade starting out is better. Your sun may not be so strong.

The California guys have more success going straight into full sun but most of them are coastal and the sun is not an intense fireball like the Greek sun.         

Hmm alright then as soon as they go pinnate it’s ready for the ground ?

[mlovecan]

That would make a big difference.

[dimitriskedikogloy]

1 minute ago, mlovecan said:

That would make a big difference.

Alright thank you for the help will keep the seedlings in a pot outdoors from mid spring until they start to go pinnate probably one whole year or two 

[sonoranfans]

On 6/25/2025 at 12:18 AM, 96720 said:

I have noticed that if you have hot sun they are not happy mine grows good because it is in the shade of a huge CIP but when it outgrows the CIP I don’t think it will look good or survive!!

you are in arizona, the hottest desert in the US.  I grew palms there for 10 years, most do not like hot sun and dry conditions.  I am in florida now and they are far faster growing in hot direct sun.  I have 3 from 20-30' tall overall.  The 30 footer is in hot sun all day, the others planted at the same time as 3 gallons are in part shade.  More shade here means less growth.  Arizona is a special case of hot and dry, many palms cannot take it at all. 

Low temps tolerance depends on length of cold.  They take lower temps in the california desert than here in florida for example.  My largest out in the open was burned by frost just after planting but frost since then has done nothing, not even leaf burn at 29F.  If youhave a short radiative event they have been shown on palm talk to survive as low as 25F once established.  Protect it when small, then once it is established it will be fine with frost to 28F.  Mine saw 29F for many hours without leaf damage as a large palm.  Here is my largest alfie 3 years ago.  These days everything is grown in its hard to get a pic of the full palm.  It currently has 8' of clear trunk.  Foir scale th4e house to the fence is 35'

[sonoranfans]

On 6/10/2025 at 4:34 PM, happypalms said:

Ok let it laugh a comedy show will be fun. I was never really interested in them and couldn’t see all the hype about alfredii, so I thought I better get one and see what all the fuss is about these alfredii. 

I feel the same way about cocos unless they are in 10b and well watered, they are not very impressive.  BA has a bigger crown, more massive palm than any coconut Ive seen even in 10b, and holding more leaves(20+) with leaflets measured as long as 56" on my largest.  My neighbors cocos look comparatively sickly and yellowish most of the year by comparison.  The best looking cocos need a solid 10b or warmer climate and even those I saw in Hawaii(which were very nice) are not as impressive as my alfredii.   As small palms BA are not very impressive, nothinf special but large ones are 30' across the crown with 30-32" clear bulges at the trunk base.  Get back to us in 10-12 years and make sure you dont dry them out by not watering them.

[Than]

17 hours ago, dimitriskedikogloy said:

and it looks so incredibly healthy too this is my dream. I also have a little seedling i bought from thrinax and im thinking about planting it at my summer place since its 9b there my main location is on the border with 9a and 9b i have made a new post about it.

I also have one from thrinax, same size as yours. I won't put it in the ground yet, im pretty sure it will die at this size. I guess it will be another 2 years before I can consider it, depending on how much it has grown. Waiting sucks but so does wasting a palm. In the meanwhile I hope I can find a bigger specimen for sale somewhere (at a price I can afford).

They have deeeeeep taproots so keep using deep pots like this one. Good job!

How often do you water it at this time of the year? Do you use grow lights?

[dimitriskedikogloy]

1 hour ago, Than said:

I also have one from thrinax, same size as yours. I won't put it in the ground yet, im pretty sure it will die at this size. I guess it will be another 2 years before I can consider it, depending on how much it has grown. Waiting sucks but so does wasting a palm. In the meanwhile I hope I can find a bigger specimen for sale somewhere (at a price I can afford).

They have deeeeeep taproots so keep using deep pots like this one. Good job!

How often do you water it at this time of the year? Do you use grow lights?

No I just have it next to my window and it seems fine it just doesn’t grow much I water it deeply once every 5 days 

[Than]

13 minutes ago, dimitriskedikogloy said:

No I just have it next to my window and it seems fine it just doesn’t grow much I water it deeply once every 5 days 

Wow, that's quite often. Mine is under grow lights and I watered it last 13 days ago but the soil is still a bit moist. I'll water again today. Here it is among some tiny colocasias. I just remembered I bought them all from gilian plants, not thrinax! 

 

[dimitriskedikogloy]

1 minute ago, Than said:

Wow, that's quite often. Mine is under grow lights and I watered it last 13 days ago but the soil is still a bit moist. I'll water again today. Here it is among some tiny colocasias. I just remembered I bought them all from gilian plants, not thrinax! 

 

Yeah my soil is super well draining . Do growth lights actually work and is it worth investing in them I can get roughly 50-300000 lux from my window it’s south west facing 

[Than]

4 minutes ago, dimitriskedikogloy said:

Yeah my soil is super well draining . Do growth lights actually work and is it worth investing in them I can get roughly 50-300000 lux from my window it’s south west facing 

Do you mean 3.000 lux? If the sun hits your plants through the window then no need for grow lights. Mine are in a corner of my room with zero light from outside. I only have one window and I prefer to keep it for myself.

Grow lights work fine for small plants, I've been using them for 3-4 years now. They keep growing, some slowly, some fast. They don't have to be too many Watts from my experience. I have 4 lamps of 20 watt each, white light and I have 5 seedlings and one bigger plant (philodendron) underneath. They are all growing, faster than I'd like to be honest. I am afraid that by February they will be too big for the lamps I have. 

This is my setting:

 

 

[dimitriskedikogloy]

1 minute ago, Than said:

Do you mean 3.000 lux? If the sun hits your plants through the window then no need for grow lights. Mine are in a corner of my room with zero light from outside. I only have one window and I prefer to keep it for myself.

Grow lights work fine for small plants, I've been using them for 3-4 years now. They keep growing, some slowly, some fast. They don't have to be too many Watts from my experience. I have 4 lamps of 20 watt each, white light and I have 5 seedlings and one bigger plant (philodendron) underneath. They are all growing, faster than I'd like to be honest. I am afraid that by February they will be too big for the lamps I have. 

This is my setting:

 

 

Yeah I get plenty of sun through the window even now in winter so should be fine. I have an app called Photone in sun it showed up to 300k lux idk if it’s accurate or not

[happypalms]

18 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I feel the same way about cocos unless they are in 10b and well watered, they are not very impressive.  BA has a bigger crown, more massive palm than any coconut Ive seen even in 10b, and holding more leaves(20+) with leaflets measured as long as 56" on my largest.  My neighbors cocos look comparatively sickly and yellowish most of the year by comparison.  The best looking cocos need a solid 10b or warmer climate and even those I saw in Hawaii(which were very nice) are not as impressive as my alfredii.   As small palms BA are not very impressive, nothinf special but large ones are 30' across the crown with 30-32" clear bulges at the trunk base.  Get back to us in 10-12 years and make sure you dont dry them out by not watering them.

The coconut palm is one that won’t grow in my climate, so a beccariophoenix will do for now for me, the  fenestralis looks it’s best as juvenile palm. There all rather large palms which will suit my garden well that has a lot of space. And as for cocos never been a fan of the genus, but it will be interesting to see if some of the new cocos varieties turn out to be a weed like the romanzifollia! 

[Than]

I wonder if Beccario can grow in alkaline soil.. My soil's pH is 8.2! Of course I can always make a high bed with acidic soil.

[Phoenikakias]

32 minutes ago, Than said:

I wonder if Beccario can grow in alkaline soil.. My soil's pH is 8.2! Of course I can always make a high bed with acidic soil.

Not recommended. It needs soil amendment both regarding acidity and organics. Also fairly sensitive to soil salinity. Please do not transfer knowledge to the 🤡!

[Phoenikakias]

21 hours ago, dimitriskedikogloy said:

Hmm alright then as soon as they go pinnate it’s ready for the ground ?

Grow it meanwhile in a deep pot filled in only with pumice. You won't regret it. 

[gyuseppe]

5 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Not recommended. It needs soil amendment both regarding acidity and organics. Also fairly sensitive to soil salinity. Please do not transfer knowledge to the 🤡!

 

40 minutes ago, Than said:

I wonder if Beccario can grow in alkaline soil.. My soil's pH is 8.2! Of course I can always make a high bed with acidic soil.

Konstantinos has been growing palm trees for a long time, listen to him, don't be like me, who at the beginning tried everything, even if people older than me said that this species is not good for my climate, I didn't listen to them, and I lost many species uselessly, also time and money

[dimitriskedikogloy]

6 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Grow it meanwhile in a deep pot filled in only with pumice. You won't regret it. 

This what was shipped to me I didn’t change the pot or the soil it seems pretty good to me it drains extremely good and keeps enough moisture as for the depth I think it’s okay for now don’t think I will need to repot anytime soon thanks for the advice though 

[Than]

1 hour ago, Phoenikakias said:

Please do not transfer knowledge to the 🤡!

Who's that?

[Phoenikakias]

42 minutes ago, Than said:

Who's that?

Ya know, the amusing, super duper egopathic old man.

[Than]

16 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Ya know, the amusing, super duper egopathic old man.

I can think of at least 3 in this hobby but don't worry, I have no contact with any of them. 

[Phoenikakias]

3 hours ago, Than said:

I can think of at least 3 in this hobby but don't worry, I have no contact with any of them. 

Then exclude all three from provided knowledge and anyone else growing palms in Kalamata! Although I am almost sure there are a couple snitches visiting occasionally this forum...

[mlovecan]

Φυσικά, μια ελληνική συζήτηση πρέπει να γίνουμε πολιτική!

[Than]

14 minutes ago, mlovecan said:

Φυσικά, μια ελληνική συζήτηση πρέπει να γίνουμε πολιτική!

Small countries are like small villages

[Phoenikakias]

49 minutes ago, mlovecan said:

Φυσικά, μια ελληνική συζήτηση πρέπει να γίνουμε πολιτική!

You know more than I do, what is between me and them?

[mlovecan]

I have no idea of any of this. But living in a Greek village, politics is an everyday thing. Not often I see it extend far beyond just a village! There are so few in the palm world in Greece, so I guess it's only natural.

[Phoenikakias]

Nope, no politics at all, just personal...

[happypalms]

17 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

 

Konstantinos has been growing palm trees for a long time, listen to him, don't be like me, who at the beginning tried everything, even if people older than me said that this species is not good for my climate, I didn't listen to them, and I lost many species uselessly, also time and money

It takes a lot of time and effort not to mention patience, when growing palms especially new varieties unheard of in your area. There are only so many cold tolerant palms out there in cultivation, yes a few new ones coming into cultivation but as for super cold zone 8/9, there are those that have done the hard yards so to speak in zone pushing, it’s those growers who put there time, effort and money into trialling new palms. And they are more than willing to share their experiences with others. It’s so frustrating to want a certain variety of palm tree and only to kill it in the cold weather and try again and have the same results dead palms. Listening to others who have tried it and know there stuff on cold tolerant palms is worth its weight in gold! 

[Than]

17 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Grow it meanwhile in a deep pot filled in only with pumice. You won't regret it. 

With some slow release fertilizer I assume?

[Phoenikakias]

3 hours ago, Than said:

With some slow release fertilizer I assume?

Ofc

[Than]

My hands would be shaking adding fertilizer to such a small seedling.. I've got the Osmocote one but I was planning to use it only for bigger palms in the ground.