After studying date palms and their hybrids nonstop for the last 3 years, I am all but certain this is the palm I had. It was sold to me...Read More for $125 as a P. dactylifera 'Medjool' in July '08, at approx. 15 gallon size. The guy swore up and down it was a pure Medjool, and even showed me a larger one in the back which he believed to be a hybrid. (For what it's worth, that one looked exactly like the one I bought.) The fronds were tied up with rope when I examined it, and when I removed the rope, the fronds stayed up due to the temporary stiffness the rope imparted; this was my fatal error which I only realized later. Anyway, the fronds were quite dark green and glossy, and later got even darker and glossier after I planted it that same day (in full sun). The leaf spines were massive and quite yellowish-orange. Its suckers all came off at ground level, not a single one actually on the trunk itself. (One of my biggest tipoffs that it had no P. dactylifera blood in it.)
Anyway, It did very well, and survived the brutal January-February '10 freeze just fine. It never had any graphiola, which must be a benefit of its P. reclinata lineage. (Graphiola plagues palms unaccustomed to humid, rainy areas; e.g. P. dactylifera.) I got compliments on it from people walking by. But I was so disgusted every time I looked at it (the floppy fronds with that classic P. reclinata curvature about 3/4 of the way down, the chubby trunk), and being the P. dactylifera addict that I was/am, just looking at it conjured up thoughts of my having been screwed over. "I wanted a palm with glaucous, stiff, upright fronds and I got the exact opposite? The horror!" So I self-righteously cut it down in early '10. I now have a Shumard Oak in its place, which will be a great wildlife apartment for the next 500 years or so, hence I can't complain. But looking at pics of mature hybrids of this type makes me wish I had kept it, or at least sold it. I do have photos of it which I should post sometime. So I am rating this hybrid "Positive" in order to reflect its good attributes and cold hardiness, overlooking my personal grudge with the seller. (A palm nursery on River Road in Kenner, LA, which will go unnamed.)
Truly a massive palm, it looks a lot like a suckering skinny trunked PHoenix canariensis... though there is quite a bit of variability w...Read Moreith this common naturally occuring hybrid (common in southern California)- some are solitary. Great looking tree!
After studying date palms and their hybrids nonstop for the last 3 years, I am all but certain this is the palm I had. It was sold to me...Read More
Truly a massive palm, it looks a lot like a suckering skinny trunked PHoenix canariensis... though there is quite a bit of variability w...Read More