Everyone’s favourite Chamaedorea Radicalis

[happypalms]

They seem to be pretty popular with the cool climate growers and just about everyone who grows palms would have one or two around their house. 
So easy to grow and propagate there fast becoming the modern day chamaedorea elegans. Very tough dry tolerant cool tolerant and fast to grow, is one reason they are popular, from medium amounts of sun to deep shade there a palm that fits into any garden or container! 

[Harry’s Palms]

These quickly populated my garden after bringing home a squat pot of 8 mature , seeding specimens over 25 years ago. I now have several seeding Radicalis in my gardens around the house . All of mine are trunking type that get very tall in time . Little red berries everywhere, even on very young ones ! Some of them growing in full SoCal inland sun. Harry

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

These quickly populated my garden after bringing home a squat pot of 8 mature , seeding specimens over 25 years ago. I now have several seeding Radicalis in my gardens around the house . All of mine are trunking type that get very tall in time . Little red berries everywhere, even on very young ones ! Some of them growing in full SoCal inland sun. Harry

There perfect for your climate, one chamaedorea that is a champion grower great bang for your buck. I prefer the trunkless varieties but when I see some of my ones in group with trunks of varying heights there just ad beautiful.

Richard 

[Phoenikakias]

How thick can be the stem of a trunking specimen? I understand there must be some variation but I am interested in the potential of the sp. I have one specimen, that it has an exceptionally robust stem compared to other three specimens in the same group. It is the one in foreground.

[peachy]

I planted a little one in full sun earlier this year and it is really doing well.  Mine is the trunking variety as the trunkless ones just take too much space on the ground.

[Harry’s Palms]

@Phoenikakias that is a large stem for a Radicalis . I have one that sprouted right next to my Pritchardia that just started to trunk earlier this year . It also has a fairly large stem , larger than the others. I forget how old it is but it started producing fruit pretty early on and has babies all around it that have grown . It looks like you have at least one volunteer as well. Harry

[Phoenikakias]

23 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

@Phoenikakias that is a large stem for a Radicalis . I have one that sprouted right next to my Pritchardia that just started to trunk earlier this year . It also has a fairly large stem , larger than the others. I forget how old it is but it started producing fruit pretty early on and has babies all around it that have grown . It looks like you have at least one volunteer as well. Harry

It carries also larger fruit and seeds, than the rest. Could it be a tetraploid?

[Harry’s Palms]

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

It carries also larger fruit and seeds, than the rest. Could it be a tetraploid?

I guess it is possible . That trunk on yours is almost as large as my Tepejelote! Interesting to see if seeds are viable and if they carry the gene. My “big boy “ has the same size fruit as the others , it’s just a larger specimen. The fronds were almost twice the size of the others before it got a trunk. It isn’t quite as large as yours but noticeably more robust. I also have a Howea Foresteriana that grew in my courtyard , it  grew more than twice as fast as my others and has a swollen foot that is huge . I dug it up from a Kentia farm where they used to process thousands of seeds. It was just  seedling and it was noticeably different than all the other volunteers. It now has some seeds on it and I am planning on germinating those to see if the genetic anomaly follows . Sometimes it is just a “ one off “ occurrence. I sure love my “ Super Kentia” , take care of your “ super Radicalis” ! Harry

Believe it or not , there is less than two years , maybe a year and a bit,  difference from these two Kentia palms . Both dug up from the same place. The one on the right just took off immediately. The first year , right after planting the shorter one , they were close to the same size! This photo was some time ago  ( a year or so?) it now has seeds hanging on it. Harry

This is right after the base started to swell , even bigger now. Just an anomaly? Who knows. Harry

[Foggy Paul]

What are people’s experience with planting these in mostly shade? I thought they were supposed to handle it well, but mine (a gift from @Darold Petty ) have been super slow so far. A couple are finally going pinnate. The slug damage has been largely controlled. (Coconut LaCroix for scale.)

 

[Rivera]

54 minutes ago, Foggy Paul said:

What are people’s experience with planting these in mostly shade? I thought they were supposed to handle it well, but mine (a gift from @Darold Petty ) have been super slow so far. A couple are finally going pinnate. The slug damage has been largely controlled. (Coconut LaCroix for scale.)

 

Paul - I have a couple seedlings in the ground that are totally shaded by a Howea belmoreana. They're at a similar stage, or a little behind yours, and have been very slow. But even Chamaedorea plumosa were slow for me at seedling size, and really picked up after a ring or two. 

[Foggy Paul]

Thanks Chris @Rivera, much appreciated. We should check out each other’s gardens sometime. I’m out by the beach all the time. I bet your belmoreana looks better than mine…

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, Foggy Paul said:

What are people’s experience with planting these in mostly shade? I thought they were supposed to handle it well, but mine (a gift from @Darold Petty ) have been super slow so far. A couple are finally going pinnate. The slug damage has been largely controlled. (Coconut LaCroix for scale.)

 

They love shade, give them a bit more water, where they a gift of seeds or seedlings, if seedlings they look like they are sulking and will pick up in a bit later on! 

[Foggy Paul]

5 minutes ago, happypalms said:

They love shade, give them a bit more water, where they a gift of seeds or seedlings, if seedlings they look like they are sulking and will pick up in a bit later on! 

They were seedlings. Darold gave them to me in May 2023 and I planted them out on October 2024. I have seven, so I think they will be a nice little grouping when they gain some size.

[happypalms]

23 minutes ago, Foggy Paul said:

They were seedlings. Darold gave them to me in May 2023 and I planted them out on October 2024. I have seven, so I think they will be a nice little grouping when they gain some size.

Could be a little crowded, but give a bit of attention and they should start to move, as you know summer is the growing season! 

[Phoenikakias]

16 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I guess it is possible . That trunk on yours is almost as large as my Tepejelote! Interesting to see if seeds are viable and if they carry the gene. My “big boy “ has the same size fruit as the others , it’s just a larger specimen. The fronds were almost twice the size of the others before it got a trunk. It isn’t quite as large as yours but noticeably more robust. I also have a Howea Foresteriana that grew in my courtyard , it  grew more than twice as fast as my others and has a swollen foot that is huge . I dug it up from a Kentia farm where they used to process thousands of seeds. It was just  seedling and it was noticeably different than all the other volunteers. It now has some seeds on it and I am planning on germinating those to see if the genetic anomaly follows . Sometimes it is just a “ one off “ occurrence. I sure love my “ Super Kentia” , take care of your “ super Radicalis” ! Harry

Believe it or not , there is less than two years , maybe a year and a bit,  difference from these two Kentia palms . Both dug up from the same place. The one on the right just took off immediately. The first year , right after planting the shorter one , they were close to the same size! This photo was some time ago  ( a year or so?) it now has seeds hanging on it. Harry

This is right after the base started to swell , even bigger now. Just an anomaly? Who knows. Harry

Yeah this can occure in almost all palm spp, I suppose. The more offspring are propagated and nurtured by people, the more the odds for appearance of such 'monsters'. In nature an overwhelming percentage of produced seeds and seedlings die quite fast, so chances are considerably reduced. I think I have such a 'monster' Chambeyronia in my cold frame. It displays a phenomenal rate of growth compared to other individuals grown  in identical conditions.

[gyuseppe]

the seeds are double compared to seeds of radicals forms small 

[Harry’s Palms]

15 hours ago, Foggy Paul said:

They were seedlings. Darold gave them to me in May 2023 and I planted them out on October 2024. I have seven, so I think they will be a nice little grouping when they gain some size.

I agree with @happypalms , a bit more time . Once they go full pinnate they seem to gain speed . I have not noticed any difference in speed on my full shade Radicalis. I have had tight groupings such as that and usually 3-4 will take over and the others will fade. They are easy to separate but it is winter for us now so best to let nature take its course. They will be lovely as they grow. Harry

[happypalms]

14 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

the seeds are double compared to seeds of radicals forms small 

Nice one gyuseppe good looking palms! 

[happypalms]

13 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I agree with @happypalms , a bit more time . Once they go full pinnate they seem to gain speed . I have not noticed any difference in speed on my full shade Radicalis. I have had tight groupings such as that and usually 3-4 will take over and the others will fade. They are easy to separate but it is winter for us now so best to let nature take its course. They will be lovely as they grow. Harry

Most palms sulk if planted from containers in the ground. But water is one trick in the warmer time of the year, some winters I hardly water my garden and in the nursery I try not to water all winter if I can help it. 
Richard