Young Garden palm shots

Garden is nearly 2 years old now... palms are growing slowly. Thought I'd show a few that have done OK in my relatively poor climate for southern California.

This first one is Ceroxylon quindiuense... has done much better than I expected... got it nearly 2 years ago. Thought it would wither in summer heat (got up to 120F this summer, and over 100F every single day in July)... yet it didn't even look unhappy. Nice thing is it grows fine all through winter, too... one of few that doesn't go into the 'winter coma'. Relatively 'fast', too, in that it makes a new leaf nearly every other month.. though 'fast' is relative, as the king palm (leaf just behind the tree to right) is already taller... but only makes a leaf every 6-8 months... but each leaf is associated with a LOT more height.

Yeah... doesn't look like much. It's Trithrinax schizophylla, a pretty rare palm for So Cal, so far. Got it as a single leaf on a seed from Hawaii last year (that dead leaf is the one it came with) so it's grown well. Is in full sun most of the day and doesn't seem to mind... Obviously it will be a while before it's plantable, though.

Attalea cohune, another uncommon So Cal palm. Doing well, though browns a bit in winter. Not fast, either.. max 1.5 leaves a year. Gets afternoon sun only. Got this as a seed 5 years ago. Now about 3' tall

This is Dypsis leptocheilos... growing in almost 0 sun. Doing well for this species in this climate, and think growing against house in no sun is helping it. But don't hold much hope for adulthood someday. Grew this one from seed, too, about 4 years old

This is Ravenea dransfieldi... doesn't look like much, either, and not sure it ever will... growing in as muhc sun as you see it here. But been alive for 3 years here, 2 in the ground. Slow as molasses, though. Only about 6" tall

This is a great palm for So Cal, so no surprise, really... actually, it's two palms side by side: Ravenea glaucas. Nearly doubled in size in a year, both doing well, though have to be careful with watering as watering the crown has repeated caused bud damage... none since I stopped that, though... could have been even larger had I not been so careless.

This is Archontophoenix purpurea... purple king palm. Doing great in only summer sun, when it doesn't look so great. Only a few more years until it will be in the sun all the time... hope it acclimates by then.

Nice C. quindiuense. Aren't those the tallest palms in the world? good for So Cal with additional humidity. true?

Jubaeopsis... I find this a finicky palm... and the fact it's even alive after having to dig it up from the parkway where I originally planted it a year ago amazes me... still, what a slug! Takes a year to make a leaf or two.

So far the Ceroxylon hasn't asked for additional humidity.. but as it gets larger, it may become more picky.

Do you think the D. leptocheilos would like it closer to the coast?

How large to you let your palms get before you plant them in the ground, or do you plant them right away? It seems that when I plant young palms in the ground they always die. Is there a better time of the year? I have two small Archontophoenix purpurea, (just starting to get the split leaves) in a pot but was thinking they might grow faster in the ground.

Lonny

Very nice plants, Palmbob. Ravenea glaucas and ceroxylon are already quite impressive...
But let me ask you a question : I've been monitoring from time to time South California's temperatures (taking as a point of reference your place, Tarzana) and although we are in mid-November, almost a month before Christmas, you still enjoy constant highs around 80 - 85 F. Is this normal for your climate? The reason I'm asking is because I thought we have similar climates and therefore, I could maybe try some palms that grow over there. But from what I see, although techinically we are both in 9b zones, your place is a LOT warmer than mine (at least during winter)...

It's not winter here yet. It will get cold. Usually to freezing or below at least 1-2 days. Some years much worse, some much better. But this is a bit warmer than normal for this time of year. Rainfall is also unpredictable- usually we get rain only when it's really cold, just about the opposite from what any plants really want. But come May, just as it's warming up, we can pretty much guarantee it won't rain for at least 6-8 months, at leat not that it would make any difference. That lack of rainful during the warm months is a real problem for some plants, as is the pouring rain when it's nearly freezing here.

This is Actinokentia... a real contender for the slowest palm in southern California. This particular palm is fast, a leaf a year!

Basselinia gracilis is usually a reliable plant, but my 4 plants took a pretty big hit this summer when it got super hot, and are still slowy making a come back. This is a shot of one before the big 'fry'.

I am looking forward to see how these turn out... Butia archeris... have 4 of them, and this one has put on the most leaves in the last year (two)... looks like another 10 or so years before it will be recognizable as a palm, and not just grass.

One of the best Chamaedoreas for southern California, C adcendens... grows all year long, even in winter, and has nice color.

Here is another good Cham, but tough if you dont' have the canopy (I don't have any yet)... I planted it in this corner (northeast) where it gets almost no sun.. but 'almost' isn't good enough as you can tell by the fried leaves it got in July when the sun did manage to hit it for a few weeks. Oh well.

This is another excellent Chamaedorea- oreophilla... mine needs a girl, as he's cranking out pollen almost every other week. This one also got hit by sun, but managed to not burn at all. Also grows all winter long.

Chuniophoenix nana is another hard-to-go-wrong plant for so Cal... relatively fast (at least compared to Chuniophoenix hainensis which makes a new leaf maybe yearly and never seems to be any larger). Looks a bit like a Rhapis.

Dypsis ambositrae is doing OK, though it takes a pretty big hit each winter. I have two, and both stop growing about this time of year, and regularly crank out one to two weird shrunken leaves in the late spring... maybe 1-2 normal leaves over summer, and then back into their comas. Hoping this will lessen as they age.

Dinky but this dypsis saintlucei is doing great, as are the 3 others I have in the ground. I normally don't plant out plants this small, but I get impatient. It is really best to plant things out at the 5-15 gal size and not earlier, though you can certainly get away with it earlier when planting really fast growing or hardy stuff.. and this is pretty hardy so far. When you get a new palm, best to grow it up in its pot until it is completely root bound. If that's in a 1 gal, then move to a 15 gal and wait until it's root bound in that one.. then dig a hole about the size of the pot, and drop it in, back filling it with dirt you dug out of the hole. This will lead to the least set back and the greatest chance of success with just about any palm.

Hey Geoff! I've had better luck growing Actinokentia's here by the coast. This year both of mine through 3 new leaves! About the same growth rate as my Alloschmidia's.

That is too bad about D. leptocheilos. I love htis palm. In fact I am going to give one or two a try. I am in 10a in a microclimate in Vista. We seldom freeze and get a cool ocean breeze almost daily in the summer. I hope I can get it to look like some I have seen in the tropics someday.