Hyophorbe Species, Champagne Palm, Poison Palm

Concerning the H. indica, there are two subspecies: one has a green crownshaft. The other has a purple crownshaft. seeds of each indica s...Read Moreubspecies look noticably different. I have a purple five footer i got in the fall of 2010(this palm is rare in south florida). I wrapped it up during the second cold snap, but the initial cold took its toll; all of the leaves except the lastly unfurled turned brown in the days after. the lastly unfurled leaf also turned brown(but about 30% of that leaf stayed green). Since, it has recently opened a new spike that has not yet projected all the way out, but seeing green on it is a bit more comforting! Fairchild has a couple adult specimens but they are the green variety. Montgomery Botanical center(MBC) has lost a few(purple crownshaft) to the cold and to bud rot--I am perplexed this palm grows well in so cal... all the literature says it to be more tropical than the other two ubiquitously planted members of the genus. Maybe this palm is sensitive to high humidity?..

I have a nice n' beefy indica growing in a 20 gallon tub and boy is it gorgeous!! For some reason, I have yet to see another indica with ...Read More as much of a bulging trunk then my palm. The base is 10"+ and tapers to 5 1/2-6" just under the long, very dark green crownshaft. It has been a great grower for me and has put on several inches of trunk for me in the last 2 years.

Of the three common species of Hyophorbe, this is the only one that does well in most areas of Southern California. The other two, the b...Read Moreottle palm and spindle palm are only for the warmest areas or microclimates. However, this palm grows pretty well even in 9b, taking frosts down to 28F (as long as not prolonged). It is a very attractive species with a dark bronze-green crownshaft and attractive, arching leaves. Unfortunately it doesn't have the curiously bottling trunk of the other two species. It is pretty slow growing, but faster than the other two in So Cal. Several flowering adults are currently growing in So Cal, and someday soon we might even have some second generation plants here.