We all love foxtail palms Wodyetia bifurcata

[happypalms]

The much loved foxtail palm, more popular than an air conditioner in 40 degree Celsius heat. And they will take those temperatures well, along with quite cold weather not a snow blinding frost but down to 0 degrees Celsius. Dry tolerant and tough as nails. The only fault they have is seeds and more seeds by the wheelbarrow full, to the point they become a weed. But well worth growing, one Australian palm that has made it big abroad! 

[peachy]

There are a row of Foxtails planted in a traffic divider in my area. They are never fed or watered and stopped growing at the 3 metre or so height. About 20 years ago when they were at the 2 metre mark, we had a black frost, temps went down to minus 5c.  There were hardly any green plants left for many kilometres and the lines outside the town dump had a 3 hour wait to get in and unload all the 'burnt' plants.  Those neglected foxtails were never removed even though they looked very dead indeed. It took about 6 months but they each sent up a spear and although it took 3 years they eventually got back to normal but I think the lack of height now is a result of the big freeze.  Foxtails can handle down to minus 3c without a problem as long as there is no frost.  I have noticed that since we had 2 winters in a row of much cooler than usual daytime temps, all the foxtails around here get yellowing on the lower fronds until spring growth starts again.  Amazingly even though they are so common here now, they are still at the higher end of the price range for common palms.

Peachy

[donalt]

I tend to agree that foxtails are better able to withstand occasional cold if there is no frost. We had such an even that you described here in central florida in December 2010 (upper 20s with frost)......it took a year for the palms to recover. The first new fronds were stunted. Now, they produce so many seeds (thus seedlings) and I really should gather a dozen of them and start new palms. They are beauties and better suited to homeowners' yards than the eventually giant royal palms.

[happypalms]

56 minutes ago, peachy said:

There are a row of Foxtails planted in a traffic divider in my area. They are never fed or watered and stopped growing at the 3 metre or so height. About 20 years ago when they were at the 2 metre mark, we had a black frost, temps went down to minus 5c.  There were hardly any green plants left for many kilometres and the lines outside the town dump had a 3 hour wait to get in and unload all the 'burnt' plants.  Those neglected foxtails were never removed even though they looked very dead indeed. It took about 6 months but they each sent up a spear and although it took 3 years they eventually got back to normal but I think the lack of height now is a result of the big freeze.  Foxtails can handle down to minus 3c without a problem as long as there is no frost.  I have noticed that since we had 2 winters in a row of much cooler than usual daytime temps, all the foxtails around here get yellowing on the lower fronds until spring growth starts again.  Amazingly even though they are so common here now, they are still at the higher end of the price range for common palms.

Peachy

They do take a belting once they are a bit advanced. But minus 5 is pushing it but they survived. There a common street tree used in roundabouts in my little town of Grafton. 
Richard 

[happypalms]

44 minutes ago, donalt said:

I tend to agree that foxtails are better able to withstand occasional cold if there is no frost. We had such an even that you described here in central florida in December 2010 (upper 20s with frost)......it took a year for the palms to recover. The first new fronds were stunted. Now, they produce so many seeds (thus seedlings) and I really should gather a dozen of them and start new palms. They are beauties and better suited to homeowners' yards than the eventually giant royal palms.

They seem to tolerate quite cool air, just not ice on them. But you can kick them when there down and they bounce back. As you have noticed seeds seeds and seeds is the only drawback to them. Get a nice group planting and they look good. 

[TampaBayRay]

…..and the birds cant haul off them big ol nuts😒 the bees have been all over mine last few weeks coincidentally😵‍💫

[Harry’s Palms]

I am still trying to learn on them . I have two small ones that are doing OK , growing slowly . I refuse to spend any money on a large one even though some do well here , to me it is like buying a lottery ticket here. Some do well…..some , not so much. I bought my babies as 3 gallon for $10 each , five of them . I have two left and they are growing slowly . It ain’t the cold that gets them here , my yard is frost free , and I have very warm summers . I just haven’t broken the code on them yet. Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

3 hours ago, happypalms said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is about how my big one looked about a year before it died . It was an already trunking palm when I planted it. It grew very well for ten years and then it did this . Penciled down crown with small fronds. A year later it was gone! Harry

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, TampaBayRay said:

…..and the birds cant haul off them big ol nuts😒 the bees have been all over mine last few weeks coincidentally😵‍💫

A cassowary in Queensland near cairns could! 

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I am still trying to learn on them . I have two small ones that are doing OK , growing slowly . I refuse to spend any money on a large one even though some do well here , to me it is like buying a lottery ticket here. Some do well…..some , not so much. I bought my babies as 3 gallon for $10 each , five of them . I have two left and they are growing slowly . It ain’t the cold that gets them here , my yard is frost free , and I have very warm summers . I just haven’t broken the code on them yet. Harry

Drainage is the code, amend with gravel and sand that may see you have success with them. If that fails buy a lottery ticket and win big time and move to Australia and grow 200 of them! 
Richard

[Harry’s Palms]

Thanks for the tip Richard. Yes , I would love to live in a sub tropical climate and have Happypalms to use as a nursery to build my jungle. Or , I could build an Urt in the back and work in your jungle for you , help with your greenhouses and basically just be there to annoy the heck out of you!🤓Harry

[happypalms]

47 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Thanks for the tip Richard. Yes , I would love to live in a sub tropical climate and have Happypalms to use as a nursery to build my jungle. Or , I could build an Urt in the back and work in your jungle for you , help with your greenhouses and basically just be there to annoy the heck out of you!🤓Harry

Don’t forget to bring the monkeys 🙈Iam married nothing annoys me anymore🤣

Richard 

[TampaBayRay]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

A cassowary in Queensland near cairns could! 

TreeRats roll em around for exercise here in WCFL😂USA

[peachy]

11 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I am still trying to learn on them . I have two small ones that are doing OK , growing slowly . I refuse to spend any money on a large one even though some do well here , to me it is like buying a lottery ticket here. Some do well…..some , not so much. I bought my babies as 3 gallon for $10 each , five of them . I have two left and they are growing slowly . It ain’t the cold that gets them here , my yard is frost free , and I have very warm summers . I just haven’t broken the code on them yet. Harry

They don't live in Melbourne,  just not enough heat there. Don't know about Sydney or Adelaide.  Unless there are a lot of them growing where you live,  I would guess that they are a no grow for your climate.

[tim_brissy_13]

2 hours ago, peachy said:

They don't live in Melbourne,  just not enough heat there. Don't know about Sydney or Adelaide.  Unless there are a lot of them growing where you live,  I would guess that they are a no grow for your climate.

Marginal in Melbourne. I know of a couple that have survived for 20+ years but they look terrible.

Seen some in Sydney that look as good as any further north. Can’t recall seeing them in Adelaide but I suspect they would do ok in some areas. 
 

These should be fairly easy for So Cal as long as you’re not in a frost sink. Pretty sure I’ve seen some on this forum flowering. 

[tim_brissy_13]

By the way, it has been renamed Wodhyethia bifurcata out of respect for the elder Wodhyethi it was named after. 

[Harry’s Palms]

2 hours ago, peachy said:

They don't live in Melbourne,  just not enough heat there. Don't know about Sydney or Adelaide.  Unless there are a lot of them growing where you live,  I would guess that they are a no grow for your climate.

There are quite a few healthy ones , but there have been about as many failures . My friend , a few blocks away down the hill , planted two in his front yard years ago . One died and the other is beautiful with an abundance of viable seeds. Harry

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, peachy said:

They don't live in Melbourne,  just not enough heat there. Don't know about Sydney or Adelaide.  Unless there are a lot of them growing where you live,  I would guess that they are a no grow for your climate.

Sydney yes they live peachy. 
Richard

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, peachy said:

They don't live in Melbourne,  just not enough heat there. Don't know about Sydney or Adelaide.  Unless there are a lot of them growing where you live,  I would guess that they are a no grow for your climate.

Sydney yes they live peachy. 
Richard

 

11 hours ago, TampaBayRay said:

TreeRats roll em around for exercise here in WCFL😂USA

Imagine hitting them with the lawnmower, hitting the shins!

[Butch]

They do excellent for me, here in Southern Cal... Like Richard said, almost a weed... I get hundreds of pounds of seed every year... These are the two full size ones I have left (Had to remove the largest in the back yard because of it growing in to the power lines), not counting all of the volunteers... 

Butch 

[Harry’s Palms]

@Butch I have noticed that they do very well against a building . Not sure it is coincidental, but the nicest ones like that thermal wall. I have also seen them out in the open around Ventura but more often the ones planted against a wall or building are doing well. I planted my two babies fairly close to a wall in my courtyard and they are going into their second winter here .Those ones of yours are very nice! Harry

[happypalms]

7 hours ago, Butch said:

They do excellent for me, here in Southern Cal... Like Richard said, almost a weed... I get hundreds of pounds of seed every year... These are the two full size ones I have left (Had to remove the largest in the back yard because of it growing in to the power lines), not counting all of the volunteers... 

Butch 

Couple of nice ones! 

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

@Butch I have noticed that they do very well against a building . Not sure it is coincidental, but the nicest ones like that thermal wall. I have also seen them out in the open around Ventura but more often the ones planted against a wall or building are doing well. I planted my two babies fairly close to a wall in my courtyard and they are going into their second winter here .Those ones of yours are very nice! Harry

You can’t beat thermal mass for that extra couple of degrees, a game changer! 
Richard 

[FlaPalmLover]

The healthiest and nicest ones will have 6-8 large fronds in their crowns, dark green fronds, lots of fruit, etc. You can always tell when they're truly happy, once you've seen enough of them. They may grow fine in California in some cases, but I suspect the nicest ones will generally be found in Australia, Florida, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. They like humidity and fast-draining soil types. They do like water and rain; they just like for it to drain away well.

[happypalms]

53 minutes ago, FlaPalmLover said:

The healthiest and nicest ones will have 6-8 large fronds in their crowns, dark green fronds, lots of fruit, etc. You can always tell when they're truly happy, once you've seen enough of them. They may grow fine in California in some cases, but I suspect the nicest ones will generally be found in Australia, Florida, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. They like humidity and fast-draining soil types. They do like water and rain; they just like for it to drain away well.

They do grow best in granite based soil, and in sandstone country. Here’s a good one in Sydney botanical gardens. 

[FlaPalmLover]

Here is one in downtown Orlando that is really nice that I've driven past several times:

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, FlaPalmLover said:

Here is one in downtown Orlando that is really nice that I've driven past several times:

Another Australian living abroad making a good life out the situation given!