Hi all need your help. One of 6 King Palms I purchased at Home Depot and planted in the yard 6 to 9 months ago can't be a Cunninghamiana. I can send a pic but I don't think it will help ID. Here are it's characteristics, planted in 100% full sun area, with many heat wave spells in the 80s and a few 90s:

-no Ramenta on the underside of the leaflets, so it cannot be a Cunninghamiana, correct??

--original fronds super dark green like a healthy queen, but were unaffected by full sun transplant and stayed dark green. Hardly any tip burn either. New fronds also emerged dark green. Trunk is dark green 

- no silvery undersides of the leaflets either,  so cant be Alexndra?  It simply looks just like a Cunninghamiana, but dark green fronds and trunk with no Ramenta under any leaflets 

All of my other King Palms had the old original fronds go yellow and tattered when planted in full sun, same area, same soil. And the new fronds emerged a vibrant bright green with Ramenta on the underside of all leaflets, clearly Cunninghamiana. 

Any ideas?  Thank you so much

A picture really IS worth a thousand words...😎

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

Without looking at the palm , I cannot help. I will say I bought two “King” palms at HD years ago . One was a double and one single . I knew immediately that the single was not a Cunninghamiana like the double . Turns out it was(is) an Alexandrae . It has silvery undersides and a bottle shaped trunk . Big box stores don’t really know palms that well. Harry

As I have noted before even a doctor would want to see scans before a diagnosis. Pictures please then the world of palms can give you a diagnostic report of the palm you have! 

Alright, here are 2 pics. On closer examination, I see signs of what looks like limited Ramenta on ther undersides of the leaflets. So that means this is just a Cunninghamiana? It still doesn't explain its ultra dark green original fronds that seem unphased to full sun and heat, and the new emerging fronds just as dark green. The canopy is as dark gteen as a super healthy queen palm. All of my other Cunninghamiana have new fronds that are vibrant bright medium green that looks totally different with the original fronds all yellow and tattered

6 minutes ago, MJSanDiego said:

Alright, here are 2 pics. On closer examination, I see signs of what looks like limited Ramenta on ther undersides of the leaflets. So that means this is just a Cunninghamiana? It still doesn't explain its ultra dark green original fronds that seem unphased to full sun and heat, and the new emerging fronds just as dark green. The canopy is as dark gteen as a super healthy queen palm. All of my other Cunninghamiana have new fronds that are vibrant bright medium green that looks totally different with the original fronds all yellow and tattered

Looks like a Bangalow to me.

Isn't a Bungalow palm just another name for Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana? So it's a Cunninghamiana then?

33 minutes ago, MJSanDiego said:

Isn't a Bungalow palm just another name for Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana? So it's a Cunninghamiana then?

Piccabeen  palm in Australia is the common name. And yes the good old Bangalow palm is Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana. It’s a good sales trick, oh i havent got that palm! So if you see a piccabeen palm for sale you already have it! 

Sounds good to me! I love the palms in Australia. Great pics, thanks!

28 minutes ago, MJSanDiego said:

Sounds good to me! I love the palms in Australia. Great pics, thanks!

Here’s a volunteer in my garden. Dam weeds they are! 

Pretty weed though! I still cant really figure out why the one Cunninghamiana is so dark green like a queen palm. I can't believe it is such a drastic variation in the exact same blazing full sun environment as the others, with even the original shade grown fronds unaffected by the blazing full sun. In reality, the normal Cunninghamiana vibrant bright green fronds really stand out against the dark green. Just like us, we all grow different!!!!!

@Jim in Los Altos Hi Jim I was hoping too see your expertise. This phenomenon is really baffling to me. It's almost like it's a hybrid with another variety of dark green that handles full sun better? I've never seen anything like this on any Cunninghamiana from Home Depot and I've purchased over 15 of them over the last 3 years. Any ideas? BTW, during this season I can see fronds growing before my eyes as I drench them like you would not believe, I see movement of a spear growing or progress opening within a half hour while drenching. Once they get going, you cannot overwater. The warm Feb and March really helped get them going. More water = even faster growth

I’m glad you got it sorted out. Nice looking palms that do grow very fast , once established . From what I understand , they can hybridize quite easily but I don’t know first hand. I have Alexandrae , Maxima , and Purpurae as well as Cunninghamiana . They all seem to do well here. So far , the Alexandrae is the largest. Thank you Australia! Harry

5 hours ago, MJSanDiego said:

Pretty weed though! I still cant really figure out why the one Cunninghamiana is so dark green like a queen palm. I can't believe it is such a drastic variation in the exact same blazing full sun environment as the others, with even the original shade grown fronds unaffected by the blazing full sun. In reality, the normal Cunninghamiana vibrant bright green fronds really stand out against the dark green. Just like us, we all grow different!!!!!

The more exposed to the sun the more yellow they go, they love a shaded root zone with moisture. They really are a rainforest palm,in gullies and creeks, the more exposed they are in habitat they tend to go a light lime green. A cool root run is what they prefer.

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I’m glad you got it sorted out. Nice looking palms that do grow very fast , once established . From what I understand , they can hybridize quite easily but I don’t know first hand. I have Alexandrae , Maxima , and Purpurae as well as Cunninghamiana . They all seem to do well here. So far , the Alexandrae is the largest. Thank you Australia! Harry

Thanks Harry. I know everyone has varying success and experience with these, but in my experience they did not like going straight from nursery pot to clay and rocky ground and watered like crazy during the cooler rainy season. So after killing many to root rot, I planted in September and October will great success, in the same crappy soil. And as luck would have it, we had a very warm winter and spring 2026 so they did get established quickly this time with lots of water because they really do prefer the warmer nights. Its not so much about cool daytime highs, but repeated cool nights with too much water is an issue, during the first few months of transplanting. Anyway, once those new roots shoot out and frond movement, you can water like a river!

19 hours ago, MJSanDiego said:

@Jim in Los Altos Hi Jim I was hoping too see your expertise. This phenomenon is really baffling to me. It's almost like it's a hybrid with another variety of dark green that handles full sun better? I've never seen anything like this on any Cunninghamiana from Home Depot and I've purchased over 15 of them over the last 3 years. Any ideas? BTW, during this season I can see fronds growing before my eyes as I drench them like you would not believe, I see movement of a spear growing or progress opening within a half hour while drenching. Once they get going, you cannot overwater. The warm Feb and March really helped get them going. More water = even faster growth

Hmm, All my cunninghamiana (50+) are prettty dark green regardless of the amount of sun exposure. They are all really well fed and watered however. The only Archontophoenix species I can’t seem to green up is purpurea. The three I have are yellowy/green and would likely like less direct afternoon sun.

6 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Hmm, All my cunninghamiana (50+) are prettty dark green regardless of the amount of sun exposure. They are all really well fed and watered however. The only Archontophoenix species I can’t seem to green up is purpurea. The three I have are yellowy/green and would likely like less direct afternoon sun.

Thanks. It could be the soil and/or fertilizer. I also wonder if sun intensity and/or daytime humidity levels could be a factor with your purpurea. All of my cunninghamiana are planted on hills, pretty steep grades. The sun belts them but they are thriving wirh a vibrant healthy medium green (not a yellow green). Except for the one dark green! I don't mind the variation, just curious if it was a hybrid, but probably not