Chamaedorea rhizomatosa, division

[happypalms]

A recent pacsoa purchase, when I arrived I was greeted by a man by the name of Colin Wilson, so your happypalms he said with a smile. Yes indeed iam Mr happypalms and the first question I asked him was what have you got that’s rare, and with a grin from ear to ear he proceeded to give me the story behind the rhizomatosa, I thought interesting tale of a palm I must have it in my collection. So it has been planted in the ground and it loved winter. So upon knowing you can propagate it by division so out come the snips and the rest history we have a new palm. Very easy and rewarding knowing a rare palm has just been reproduced. So @palmtreesforpleasure thanks for the rhizomatosa, it’s in good hands, and I wonder who in palm land wants one these beauties now one has become available! 

[peachy]

I remember Colin telling me all about that palm and the time and trouble he went through to bring it in to Australia.  He was hoping that whoever bought it would appreciate what they had. It seems like he got his wish !!!   I would have liked it but it clumps.

Peachy

[happypalms]

6 minutes ago, peachy said:

I remember Colin telling me all about that palm and the time and trouble he went through to bring it in to Australia.  He was hoping that whoever bought it would appreciate what they had. It seems like he got his wish !!!   I would have liked it but it clumps.

Peachy

He knew who it was going to, it was like being handed the keys to the city getting this palm an ode to a true palm nut. He knew it was in good hands now all I have to do is get some tuerckheimii seeds of him! 
Richard 

[gyuseppe]

I'm sure that no one in Europe has this species

[happypalms]

5 minutes ago, gyuseppe said:

I'm sure that no one in Europe has this species

I would love to send it to you! 

[gyuseppe]

4 minutes ago, happypalms said:

I would love to send it to you! 

I'm sure you would send it to me, unfortunately it's not possible, but I'm very happy that you are sending me seeds of chamaedorea species, to make my chamaedorea collection again (again thanks Richard)

[happypalms]

9 minutes ago, gyuseppe said:

I'm sure you would send it to me, unfortunately it's not possible, but I'm very happy that you are sending me seeds of chamaedorea species, to make my chamaedorea collection again (again thanks Richard)

There would be a way but that would involve another country and some logistical transport issues, and trust worthy people!

[tim_brissy_13]

Selfishly I’d say give it to me, but I reckon keep it Richard. Whatever you’re doing with it is working, so I’d say give it a year in the pot to establish its roots then plant it out again. And repeat every time you get a good sized new stem. In no time you’ll have a bunch of them. 

[happypalms]

15 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Selfishly I’d say give it to me, but I reckon keep it Richard. Whatever you’re doing with it is working, so I’d say give it a year in the pot to establish its roots then plant it out again. And repeat every time you get a good sized new stem. In no time you’ll have a bunch of them. 

There is another sucker that will be taken soon as well. Plant enough of them and I will eventually have some stock plants to work with. Then I Can supply Australia I jut need five years. But in the meantime I should be taking orders 🤣

[Harry’s Palms]

That’s great that you have this Richard . Does anybody have both male and female plants? That way they could be properly propagated. I mean cloning is great but , like certain Rhapis species , you end up with all one sex. It works though and the beauty is that you have an instant plant ! Harry

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

That’s great that you have this Richard . Does anybody have both male and female plants? That way they could be properly propagated. I mean cloning is great but , like certain Rhapis species , you end up with all one sex. It works though and the beauty is that you have an instant plant ! Harry

There is only one male or female not sure what sex this one is. But no breeding pair in Australia, @palmtreesforpleasure would know what sex it is. Colin was the clever individual who introduced it to Australia.

Richard

[tim_brissy_13]

7 hours ago, happypalms said:

There is only one male or female not sure what sex this one is. But no breeding pair in Australia, @palmtreesforpleasure would know what sex it is. Colin was the clever individual who introduced it to Australia.

Richard

I’ve got a feeling I read something that there’s only one sex in cultivation globally. I think the story goes that when it was collected there was confusion because it seemed like all plants were the same sex (forget which) but they were in fact all the same plant connected via underground rhizomes running for metres between stems. 

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hello Tim, 

I thought you had one Hmmm!

[tim_brissy_13]

2 hours ago, palmtreesforpleasure said:

Hello Tim, 

I thought you had one Hmmm!

I thought I mentioned its demise. Unfortunately it never really took. Survived a year without growth, then the spear grew a couple of centimetres but quickly perished afterwards. I never really figured out what happened but I’m confident it wasn’t cold or heat.  Moisture level seems ok when I had a look at the soil and root ball too. One of the saddest losses I’ve had. Kind of why I suggested Richard hold onto all of his cuttings. If you can grow these well multiply them!

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’ve got a feeling I read something that there’s only one sex in cultivation globally. I think the story goes that when it was collected there was confusion because it seemed like all plants were the same sex (forget which) but they were in fact all the same plant connected via underground rhizomes running for metres between stems. 

Well it’s a rare one indeed. Time to ramp  up production then! I can’t see anyone in the future bringing any into the country in a while we are very lucky Colin did his homework and needs to commended for doing so! 

[happypalms]

19 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

That’s great that you have this Richard . Does anybody have both male and female plants? That way they could be properly propagated. I mean cloning is great but , like certain Rhapis species , you end up with all one sex. It works though and the beauty is that you have an instant plant ! Harry

From what iam reading and learning more about this palm there is only one sex available not sure which one but apparently it reproduces by rhizomes, so a rare one indeed! 
Richard 

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I thought I mentioned its demise. Unfortunately it never really took. Survived a year without growth, then the spear grew a couple of centimetres but quickly perished afterwards. I never really figured out what happened but I’m confident it wasn’t cold or heat.  Moisture level seems ok when I had a look at the soil and root ball too. One of the saddest losses I’ve had. Kind of why I suggested Richard hold onto all of his cuttings. If you can grow these well multiply them!

Iam onto Tim don’t worry about that, chamaedoreas grow so well in my climate, it’s a chamaedorea paradise in my garden! 

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, palmtreesforpleasure said:

Hello Tim, 

I thought you had one Hmmm!

Tim’s on top of the list for one when I can get one to him, but that’s only if he promises not too kill it! 

[Jonathan]

2 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I thought I mentioned its demise. Unfortunately it never really took. Survived a year without growth, then the spear grew a couple of centimetres but quickly perished afterwards. I never really figured out what happened but I’m confident it wasn’t cold or heat.  Moisture level seems ok when I had a look at the soil and root ball too. One of the saddest losses I’ve had. Kind of why I suggested Richard hold onto all of his cuttings. If you can grow these well multiply them!

Well said Tim.

Hold onto it Richard, so you can send some down to the Southern Palm Dungeon in a few years. We promise not to torture it too much...........

[Mazat]

On 9/4/2025 at 11:00 AM, happypalms said:

A recent pacsoa purchase, when I arrived I was greeted by a man by the name of Colin Wilson, so your happypalms he said with a smile. Yes indeed iam Mr happypalms and the first question I asked him was what have you got that’s rare, and with a grin from ear to ear he proceeded to give me the story behind the rhizomatosa, I thought interesting tale of a palm I must have it in my collection. So it has been planted in the ground and it loved winter. So upon knowing you can propagate it by division so out come the snips and the rest history we have a new palm. Very easy and rewarding knowing a rare palm has just been reproduced. So @palmtreesforpleasure thanks for the rhizomatosa, it’s in good hands, and I wonder who in palm land wants one these beauties now one has become available! 

very, very interesting 🤗

[happypalms]

2 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Well said Tim.

Hold onto it Richard, so you can send some down to the Southern Palm Dungeon in a few years. We promise not to torture it too much...........

Yet I’ve heard what they do to palms in that torture chamber they call Tasmania! So that’s two orders so far! 🤣

[happypalms]

1 minute ago, Mazat said:

very, very interesting 🤗

It doesn’t get any better than this palm! 

[Jonathan]

3 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Yet I’ve heard what they do to palms in that torture chamber they call Tasmania! So that’s two orders so far! 🤣

@happypalms is in business!

[Mazat]

4 minutes ago, happypalms said:

It doesn’t get any better than this palm! 

Theoretically, it would then even be able to survive in several additional, less warm USDA zones where it would not survive without this characteristic.
Or am I making a mistake in my reasoning, Richard?
 

[happypalms]

3 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

@happypalms is in business!

Sold to the man with the money! 

[happypalms]

2 minutes ago, Mazat said:

Theoretically, it would then even be able to survive in several additional, less warm USDA zones where it would not survive without this characteristic.
Or am I making a mistake in my reasoning, Richard?
 

Technically not really it’s not like an underground rhizome. It’s a monocot and to rare to be pushing it into unknown frozen tundras! 

[Mazat]

4 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Technically not really it’s not like an underground rhizome. It’s a monocot and to rare to be pushing it into unknown frozen tundras! 

Okay.
I wasn't thinking about the Alps and other USDA zones between 1 and 8, but rather borderline cases and higher USDA zones from 9 upwards. But in this case, it is unique in that it can survive in the zones where it already exists or where it could really be considered. That means its habitat spectrum is increasing.
Either way, it's probably one of a kind ...

[happypalms]

1 minute ago, Mazat said:

Okay.
I wasn't thinking about the Alps and other USDA zones between 1 and 8, but rather borderline cases and higher USDA zones from 9 upwards. But in this case, it is unique in that it can survive in the zones where it already exists or where it could really be considered. That means its habitat spectrum is increasing.
Either way, it's probably one of a kind ...

It would be possible in your climate just bring it indoors in winter. There is not a lot  people growing them in a cold climate due to its rarity, and the only one I know of in Australia in a cold climate died, due to unknown circumstances! 

 

[tim_brissy_13]

19 minutes ago, Mazat said:

Okay.
I wasn't thinking about the Alps and other USDA zones between 1 and 8, but rather borderline cases and higher USDA zones from 9 upwards. But in this case, it is unique in that it can survive in the zones where it already exists or where it could really be considered. That means its habitat spectrum is increasing.
Either way, it's probably one of a kind ...

I guess you’re asking if its growth habit could extend its hardiness zone based on its ability to shoot back up if the above ground stems die? If so in theory I’d say yes. For similarly leaf/stem hardy species, the clumper will be more likely to come back than a solitary palm and there are recorded cases of clumping palms pushing new stems after dying back to the ground. Of course there’s probably no documentation of C rhizomatosa doing this since it’s so rare, but I’d expect it to have some hardiness to a tad below freezing. Down to right on freezing didn’t spot the fronds of mine, however, as I said above, mine never really pushed any significant growth before its decline. 

[Mazat]

4 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I guess you’re asking if its growth habit could extend its hardiness zone based on its ability to shoot back up if the above ground stems die? If so in theory I’d say yes. For similarly leaf/stem hardy species, the clumper will be more likely to come back than a solitary palm and there are recorded cases of clumping palms pushing new stems after dying back to the ground. Of course there’s probably no documentation of C rhizomatosa doing this since it’s so rare, but I’d expect it to have some hardiness to a tad below freezing. Down to right on freezing didn’t spot the fronds of mine, however, as I said above, mine never really pushed any significant growth before its decline. 

Yes, Tim. That's what I was thinking.
It's strange, and I'm sorry for you that it died, and what surprises me is that it didn't grow properly.
It seems to me that many exotic plants are much more cold-resistant than expected....
Meanwhile, the Yucca gigantea in the community garden is growing again, which we thought and then forgot must actually be dead. Sabine planted it (1 plant) 4 years ago in a very sunny location and, with a guilty conscience, she said not really deep (dry, very difficult to dig sand-soil mixture at this location), so that it should have died, roots and all, after a winter with temperatures of just under -9.5 degrees Celsius and sometimes slightly lower.
Now it is sprouting again after such a long time...
Okay, that's a yucca, and we're grateful for it, of course.

[KrisKupsch]

Ha looks like another Chamaedorea lol

[happypalms]

3 hours ago, KrisKupsch said:

Ha looks like another Chamaedorea lol

Yes indeed it does look like another chamaedorea, and a rare one at that indeed!