Beautiful colours in dypsis plumosa seedlings

[happypalms]

A special bit of colour in these plumosa seedlings. They could almost go for being red arecas there that red some of them. The seeds are from my own palm in the garden. It will be interesting to see how long they keep there red colour for, but gor now there definitely interesting as seedlings. 

[Harry’s Palms]

I didn’t know that’s how they started. I have a small one in the ground that I planted last year , nice shade of green and opening a new frond right now but no red. . This has been a fast grower for me even through winter . Keeping it from being destroyed by wind is a challenge . This year I am going to tie it up before the windy season. It is now about 2-3 feet tall and looking so good. Harry

[happypalms]

40 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I didn’t know that’s how they started. I have a small one in the ground that I planted last year , nice shade of green and opening a new frond right now but no red. . This has been a fast grower for me even through winter . Keeping it from being destroyed by wind is a challenge . This year I am going to tie it up before the windy season. It is now about 2-3 feet tall and looking so good. Harry

It’s been that long 24 years since I last saw a seedling of these ones. And don’t have that sort of storage space in my brain for that sort of data. Even if I could download it I gotta find it to do that. I will keep an eye the most red ones and see what happens. I had another ten I did a few backs and they are still holding the colour almost sort of brown black with a red tinge. So who knows what they will do. 
Richard 

[Tyrone]

This species can do this when given strong light in my experience. They will grow out of it though. Some of those are exceptionally red. 

[sonoranfans]

I had dyctosperma album furfurcea some were red, some green.  Turned out the red once had been attacked by aphids.  I read a peer reviewed article in the ag literature that said some plants produce anthocyanin when attacked by bugs.  Might be you have had a bug attack.  I looked closely unbder the leaves and found aphids on some red ones which were easily dispatched with insecticidal soap(non toxic).  The theory as to why they turn red is not clear, might be it repels bigs and one theory said it made the visible to herbivore predator insects.

[Jonathan]

8 hours ago, Tyrone said:

This species can do this when given strong light in my experience. They will grow out of it though. Some of those are exceptionally red. 

I wonder if this species might be a candidate to experiment with down here in Antarctica?

Looks like it does well for you Tyrone, judging by the Palmpedia pics??

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, Tyrone said:

This species can do this when given strong light in my experience. They will grow out of it though. Some of those are exceptionally red. 

I wouldn’t say they have strong light 70 percent shade cloth. I pretty well much wasn’t expecting them to stay red be nice though if they did. You look at some and there green and then there’s a few that are red. With a few more bright red, interesting they are all different, but I don’t think it’s anything to get over excited about but they do add a great bit of colour as seedlings! 

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I had dyctosperma album furfurcea some were red, some green.  Turned out the red once had been attacked by aphids.  I read a peer reviewed article in the ag literature that said some plants produce anthocyanin when attacked by bugs.  Might be you have had a bug attack.  I looked closely unbder the leaves and found aphids on some red ones which were easily dispatched with insecticidal soap(non toxic).  The theory as to why they turn red is not clear, might be it repels bigs and one theory said it made the visible to herbivore predator insects.

Could be the cold weather bringing on the strong anthocyanins. Which would indicate a nutrient deficiency in potassium induced by the cold. I will have a look for bugs though. Or it’s just what they do as seedlings. Either way it’s a nice bit of colour in the greenhouse. 

[happypalms]

33 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

I wonder if this species might be a candidate to experiment with down here in Antarctica?

Looks like it does well for you Tyrone, judging by the Palmpedia pics??

Just another one I got for you then. Sending my palms of to Siberia is such a sacrifice I have to make in the name of palm scientific research in a cold complex area of such a climatic dead zone for palms!  

[sonoranfans]

4 hours ago, happypalms said:

Could be the cold weather bringing on the strong anthocyanins. Which would indicate a nutrient deficiency in potassium induced by the cold. I will have a look for bugs though. Or it’s just what they do as seedlings. Either way it’s a nice bit of colour in the greenhouse. 

could be cold as well.  How cold did it get?

[peachy]

Was that a tiny empty bottle of cochineal I spotted half hidden in the corner ?

Pessimistic Peachy

[Harry’s Palms]

My little Dypsis Plumosa . Harry

‘This is the third frond since planting it about a year ago. Each frond is increasing in size but the stem is not getting much larger….YET!

[Tyrone]

7 hours ago, Jonathan said:

I wonder if this species might be a candidate to experiment with down here in Antarctica?

Looks like it does well for you Tyrone, judging by the Palmpedia pics??

I had to check out palmpedia to see what pics you were looking at. That’s a picture from my sisters place in Perth about 15 years ago. Her plant seeded and I germinated a heap and sold them on when I was still living up there. I sent those pics to RPS. 
That being said I have two trunking ones down here that have flowered but never set seed. They don’t like the winters down here and any frost messes them up a bit. But a frostless winter and they do ok. In cold wet winter environments they need perfect drainage. I planted mine down here on a mound surrounded by gingers and other vegetation. They love full sun, the hotter the better. 

[Tyrone]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

My little Dypsis Plumosa . Harry

‘This is the third frond since planting it about a year ago. Each frond is increasing in size but the stem is not getting much larger….YET!

I think that’s a Chamaedorea. 

[Rubberboots]

On 6/19/2025 at 11:40 PM, happypalms said:

A special bit of colour in these plumosa seedlings. They could almost go for being red arecas there that red some of them. The seeds are from my own palm in the garden. It will be interesting to see how long they keep there red colour for, but gor now there definitely interesting as seedlings. 

Wow awesome...wish I had a couple 🤙🏿

[DoomsDave]

7 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

My little Dypsis Plumosa . Harry

‘This is the third frond since planting it about a year ago. Each frond is increasing in size but the stem is not getting much larger….YET!

That thing’s lovely!

Did you get it from me?

[Jonathan]

7 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I had to check out palmpedia to see what pics you were looking at. That’s a picture from my sisters place in Perth about 15 years ago. Her plant seeded and I germinated a heap and sold them on when I was still living up there. I sent those pics to RPS. 
That being said I have two trunking ones down here that have flowered but never set seed. They don’t like the winters down here and any frost messes them up a bit. But a frostless winter and they do ok. In cold wet winter environments they need perfect drainage. I planted mine down here on a mound surrounded by gingers and other vegetation. They love full sun, the hotter the better. 

Ah, I  see...that being  the case, I reckon they'd struggle down here. I'll cross them off the list of potential victims for now.

Out of interest, which Madagascar species are rock solid for you in Albany?

[happypalms]

10 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

could be cold as well.  How cold did it get?

Down to 3 degrees once this winter and the rest of the temps around 8 degrees Celsius give or take a few degrees. 

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, Rubberboots said:

Wow awesome...wish I had a couple 🤙🏿

What country are you in. Pm me 

[happypalms]

9 hours ago, peachy said:

Was that a tiny empty bottle of cochineal I spotted half hidden in the corner ?

Pessimistic Peachy

We don’t fudge at happypalms palms! It must have been a bottle tie dye ink!

Richard 
 

[happypalms]

22 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Ah, I  see...that being  the case, I reckon they'd struggle down here. I'll cross them off the list of potential victims for now.

Out of interest, which Madagascar species are rock solid for you in Albany?

I would still try one. That Fremantle doctor wind is a killer, about the best thing about it is we won the Americas cup there with it!

[Harry’s Palms]

2 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

That thing’s lovely!

Did you get it from me?

Yep, sure did! Harry

[Jonathan]

18 minutes ago, happypalms said:

I would still try one. That Fremantle doctor wind is a killer, about the best thing about it is we won the Americas cup there with it!

Well, next time your palm sets seeds, send a few down and I'll put them in the torture chamber!

[Jonathan]

19 minutes ago, happypalms said:

the best thing about it is we won the Americas cup there with it!

I believe we actually lost the America's cup there...we won it in America! 

[Harry’s Palms]

8 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I think that’s a Chamaedorea. 

I was also considering that possibility by the size of the stem . When I removed a leaf base it seemed small for Dypsis. It would not break my heart either way . The trunk will tell in a year or so which Genus . It sure pumps out the fronds for a small  palm. Harry

[happypalms]

6 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Well, next time your palm sets seeds, send a few down and I'll put them in the torture chamber!

Done my poor palm seeds going to Siberia! 

[happypalms]

5 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

I believe we actually lost the America's cup there...we won it in America! 

Iam pretty sure the yanks lost the cup in WA but we won’t tell them that! 

[happypalms]

9 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

I believe we actually lost the America's cup there...we won it in America! 

Apparently we cheated with a winged keel good old Bondy hey! 

[Tyrone]

49 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Ah, I  see...that being  the case, I reckon they'd struggle down here. I'll cross them off the list of potential victims for now.

Out of interest, which Madagascar species are rock solid for you in Albany?

The best Madagascar performers in my garden are (using old names) Dypsis decipiens, ambositrae, baronii, Ravenea rivularis, Ravenea glauca (Isalo form and Andiginitra form), Beccariophoenix alfredii,  Bismarckia nobilis. 
Dypsis pembana does ok here provided you protect it and stop trees falling on them, and plumosa is about the same as pembana. I can grow lutescens down here and there are a few nice specimens around town but they largely look battered and tatty compared to Perth. Dypsis baronii is a much better choice but you won’t see them in anyone else’s gardens down here, at the moment anyway. 

[Tyrone]

34 minutes ago, happypalms said:

I would still try one. That Fremantle doctor wind is a killer, about the best thing about it is we won the Americas cup there with it!

No Fremantle doctor down here. They only have one direction for an ocean breeze up there. Here everything is an ocean breeze except from the north. 

[Rubberboots]

9 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I think that’s a Chamaedorea. 

@Tyrone @Harry’s Palms how can you tell? What's the difference.

[happypalms]

47 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

No Fremantle doctor down here. They only have one direction for an ocean breeze up there. Here everything is an ocean breeze except from the north. 

I could imagine a hot north wind from that desert a killer for sure.

[Harry’s Palms]

40 minutes ago, Rubberboots said:

@Tyrone @Harry’s Palms how can you tell? What's the difference.

This is the first I have had of either. Generally , the Dypsis would have a larger trunk and the Chamaedorea will have a thinner, bamboo looking trunk. I am not experienced with this palm but I have seen plenty of Chamaedorea Plumosa so once it gets older I will be able to tell. I will say that the stem seems small for a Dypsis this size. Harry

p.s. - it was labeled a Dypsis when I got it but that’s no guarantee. 

[Rubberboots]

6 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

This is the first I have had of either. Generally , the Dypsis would have a larger trunk and the Chamaedorea will have a thinner, bamboo looking trunk. I am not experienced with this palm but I have seen plenty of Chamaedorea Plumosa so once it gets older I will be able to tell. I will say that the stem seems small for a Dypsis this size. Harry

p.s. - it was labeled a Dypsis when I got it but that’s no guarantee. 

@Harry’s Palms amazing...do you have more than one ..I'm gonna have to pay you a visit sometime 🤣

[Tracy]

23 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I had dyctosperma album furfurcea some were red, some green.  Turned out the red once had been attacked by aphids.  I read a peer reviewed article in the ag literature that said some plants produce anthocyanin when attacked by bugs.  Might be you have had a bug attack.  I looked closely unbder the leaves and found aphids on some red ones which were easily dispatched with insecticidal soap(non toxic).  The theory as to why they turn red is not clear, might be it repels bigs and one theory said it made the visible to herbivore predator insects.

Interesting.   My Chrysalidocarpus plumosus seedlings are all green, so i was a bit surprised to see the red leaflets.   Mine were volunteers growing at the base of one of my specimens.  Fairly exposed to sun most of the day. 

[Harry’s Palms]

54 minutes ago, Rubberboots said:

@Harry’s Palms amazing...do you have more than one ..I'm gonna have to pay you a visit sometime 🤣

Just the one, for now. Harry

[Jonathan]

3 hours ago, Tyrone said:

The best Madagascar performers in my garden are (using old names) Dypsis decipiens, ambositrae, baronii, Ravenea rivularis, Ravenea glauca (Isalo form and Andiginitra form), Beccariophoenix alfredii,  Bismarckia nobilis. 
Dypsis pembana does ok here provided you protect it and stop trees falling on them, and plumosa is about the same as pembana. I can grow lutescens down here and there are a few nice specimens around town but they largely look battered and tatty compared to Perth. Dypsis baronii is a much better choice but you won’t see them in anyone else’s gardens down here, at the moment anyway. 

Thanks Tyrone. I suspect we're too heat deprived for Bismarkia and R rivularis,so probably pembana and plumosa as well. The others should do ok.

Troy has a cracking baronii, so they seem solid, I've got some seedlings and seeds to try out. 

I had 3 Isalo glaucas and 4 alfredii planted in my crappy dry sand, but have dug them all out to transplant to a better life at our new property. ..100% survival rate, which was good. Glauca seems a pretty good grower here, alfredii very slow, however never got enough food or water. I'll remedy that and see how they go.

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, Tracy said:

Interesting.   My Chrysalidocarpus plumosus seedlings are all green, so i was a bit surprised to see the red leaflets.   Mine were volunteers growing at the base of one of my specimens.  Fairly exposed to sun most of the day. 

I can’t work it out either why I got so much red in my ones. Unless cold weather but they were doing that prior to winter. My ones are under 70 percent shade cloth. It will be interesting to see how they grow.