47 years from seed !

[Darold Petty]

Here is an update on my Ceroxylon  quindiuense.  The seed collection was in Columbia, 1978,  by my late palm mentor, Garrin Fullington.  I ground planted it in the spring of 1983. It is a sibling from the same seed batch as the two plants in San Francisco Botanic Garden.  I have not found aborted flowers on the ground yet, so the gender is unknown.

[happypalms]

Now that’s a living memory!

[JohnAndSancho]

Wow. It just blows my mind that some of y'all have trees almost as old as me. 

[Fusca]

Awesome Darold!

[awkonradi]

Is the gender of practical interest?  If so, then would close up pictures of the flowers be useful?

[Darold Petty]

Not really, since the other two are about 2 miles away, so no chance for seed.

[tim_brissy_13]

12 minutes ago, Darold Petty said:

Not really, since the other two are about 2 miles away, so no chance for seed.

My gut feel without being an expert on Ceroxylon inflorescences is that it might be a male. The inflorescence just looks pollen-y to me 😆. Any idea if the C quindiuense at San Francisco BG are mature and if so what sex they are? 

[James B]

So awesome Darold!

[Darold Petty]

1 hour ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

My gut feel without being an expert on Ceroxylon inflorescences is that it might be a male. The inflorescence just looks pollen-y to me 😆. Any idea if the C quindiuense at San Francisco BG are mature and if so what sex they are? 

I agree, the spadix looks staminate to me.  JasonD might know about the SF Botanic Garden palms.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Iconic palm, Darold. Someday, hopefully, people will be looking up a 150’ (46 meters) or taller tree. I’m just hoping to see any trunk at all on any of my Ceroxylon species. C. alpinum may be getting ready. Darold, you should be very proud! 

[Phoenikakias]

I love this white trunk! Has it ever endured a heat wave and for how long?

[Darold Petty]

The maximum temperature this palm has experienced is 30C, or 86F, for two or three days on 3 or 4 occasions.

[DoomsDave]

Glorious !

[BayAndroid]

Wow, some levels of pride cannot be purchased... That right there is pride. 

[ASHCVS]

One of the best posts ever!

[LJG]

Awesome Darold. Hey, I never knew you were that old 🤣

[palmfriend]

My honest congratulations, Darold!

Very well done, this one is a masterpiece of a growers Patience - of course with a capital letter!

When I was entering the world of palms, seeds of this species were among the very first purchases I did. What an impressive palm!

Seeds sprouted quickly but it was one of the first lessons I had to learn - and it was my fault - they can't stand constant heat, day and night...

It was quite sad but this palm still remains as one of my favorites, so - thank you very much for posting!

Lars

 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Legacy tree Darold.

[Cindy Adair]

Stunning!

I love this genus and your species is my favorite. 
 

A true treasure.

 

[Fusca]

Best I can do is no comparison - 24 years from seed.  Definitely not the best way to grow Cycas revoluta but growing from seed is rewarding regardless! 

[Darold Petty]

I like your Cycad, but my garden is too cool, foggy, and shady !  

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Fabulous specimen Darold and your climate is perfect for this species and  I can attest to having to wear a warm jumper in your garden in mid summer.

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

18 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

I love this white trunk! Has it ever endured a heat wave and for how long?

I live 50 miles south of Darold in a much warmer zone and my 17 year old C. quindiuence in partial shade has endured many heat waves to around 100°F (38°C) and a few in excess of that, without any adverse effects. Same goes for my other Ceroxylon species. My summer climate is otherwise very mild. This summer has been almost entirely in the 70sF. 

[Rivera]

Fantastic!

Darold has also grown an attractive Ceroxylon parvifrons. Knowing Darold, I think more than one actually!

[Phoenikakias]

16 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

The maximum temperature this palm has experienced is 30C, or 86F, for two or three days on 3 or 4 occasions.

Oh well,  perhaps I will be lucky enough to be able growing a Buccaneer or a Royal...

[tim_brissy_13]

6 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I live 50 miles south of Darold in a much warmer zone and my 17 year old C. quindiuence in partial shade has endured many heat waves to around 100°F (38°C) and a few in excess of that, without any adverse effects. Same goes for my other Ceroxylon species. My summer climate is otherwise very mild. This summer has been almost entirely in the 70sF. 

There are Ceroxylon quindiuense and other Ceroxylon sp that survived the Melbourne record temperature of 46.4C/155.5F back in 2009. As long as it’s infrequent and not coupled with high humidity they don’t seem to have any ill effects to heat. Shade helps, but last year was the first year I didn’t put shade cloth over my C quindiuense and it had its best summer so far despite some direct sun and a couple of 40C+ temps. 

[BayAndroid]

.... Wait wait wait... Hold the phones.. 155.5!? 

I've never seen any reference to a high temperature above 130 something (in the whole word). 

[Jonathan]

1 hour ago, BayAndroid said:

.... Wait wait wait... Hold the phones.. 155.5!? 

I've never seen any reference to a high temperature above 130 something (in the whole word). 

Just a calculation error from Tim I think....46.4c = 115.5f!

[Jonathan]

2 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Just a calculation error from Tim I think....46.4c = 115.5f!

We Aussies like to exagerate, lol!

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, Jonathan said:

We Aussies like to exagerate, lol!

Except for the crocs, they are really huge, as their hunting is not permitted and so they have the chance to get old.

[Phoenikakias]

4 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

There are Ceroxylon quindiuense and other Ceroxylon sp that survived the Melbourne record temperature of 46.4C/155.5F back in 2009. As long as it’s infrequent and not coupled with high humidity they don’t seem to have any ill effects to heat. Shade helps, but last year was the first year I didn’t put shade cloth over my C quindiuense and it had its best summer so far despite some direct sun and a couple of 40C+ temps. 

How long did it last and what had been  the lowest evening temp on same day?

[Phoenikakias]

9 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

There are Ceroxylon quindiuense and other Ceroxylon sp that survived the Melbourne record temperature of 46.4C/155.5F back in 2009. As long as it’s infrequent and not coupled with high humidity they don’t seem to have any ill effects to heat. Shade helps, but last year was the first year I didn’t put shade cloth over my C quindiuense and it had its best summer so far despite some direct sun and a couple of 40C+ temps. 

Below are recorded weather information at precisely 16:31 local time. Lowest recorded temp on the 25th of July (after midnight until dawn) had been so far 28 C. Are lows that high in Melbourne during heat waves? Whenever I tried as juvenile a Ceroxylon quindiuense outdoors, it used to thrive until mid of summer with rapid decline afterwards.

[gyuseppe]

I tried 3 species of Ceroxylon, all of which died in the summer

[Mazat]

On 7/23/2025 at 10:48 PM, happypalms said:

Now that’s a living memory!

Shakespeare couldn't have said it better, Richard 

[Mazat]

On 7/23/2025 at 10:33 PM, Darold Petty said:

Here is an update on my Ceroxylon  quindiuense.  The seed collection was in Columbia, 1978,  by my late palm mentor, Garrin Fullington.  I ground planted it in the spring of 1983. It is a sibling from the same seed batch as the two plants in San Francisco Botanic Garden.  I have not found aborted flowers on the ground yet, so the gender is unknown.

breathtakingly beautiful

[Mazat]

On 7/24/2025 at 5:19 AM, DoomsDave said:

Glorious !

👏

[Mazat]

23 hours ago, Fusca said:

Best I can do is no comparison - 24 years from seed.  Definitely not the best way to grow Cycas revoluta but growing from seed is rewarding regardless! 

wow, fantastic, Jon.

[Mazat]

1 hour ago, gyuseppe said:

I tried 3 species of Ceroxylon, all of which died in the summer

very sad, Gyuseppe.

[tim_brissy_13]

13 hours ago, Jonathan said:

Just a calculation error from Tim I think....46.4c = 115.5f!

Haha yes, typo! 
 

 

12 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

How long did it last and what had been  the lowest evening temp on same day?

It was back in 2009 and I can’t find any record sorry. Our record high minimum in Melbourne is 30.6C/87F. Minimum temperatures above 25C/77F are very rare. One source says minimums either side of the day were around 18-20C/64-68F with temperatures on that day remaining above 40C/104F for about 6-7 hours which seems about right based on my memory. Humidity dropped to around 5% at the peak of the heat. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

Two things that rarely happen these days. Starting a life long hobby when young & being able to see the results nearly 50 years later. Congratulations @Darold Petty