Palms in spring

18 years ago

Okay, it's still a few more days till spring officially starts, but here are some photos of my palms. After such a mild winter (low of about 16 or 17 degrees) all are looking great, none are showing any leaf damage and not a single spear has pulled. In fact some of them seem to be growing already! None of these were protected in any way, except for a mulch of autumn leaves. Here are a couple of different views of my group of palms:

Yes, they're too crowded! Maybe this year I'll move some of them. Here's a closeup from another angle:

In this group I have 3 T. wagnerianus, now about 6 years old from seed--I may keep this group of waggies close together, to try to mimic a clumping palm. Good idea or bad idea???

My little needle palm, growing oh-so-slowly but rock-solid hardy through 2 winters so far; this one was also from seed, about the same age as the waggies--yes I know this will get REALLY REALLY big someday, maybe I'll deal with it in a few years:

T. "takil", a.k.a. "Nainital", coming through its second winter looking great:

In another part of the garden, a Bulgarian "polar palm" T. fortunei; this was its first winter in the ground, and having suffered no spear pull or other damage, should really take off this year. It got a little too much shade last year, something I'll remedy this year:

Yes, all my palms are still very small, but I enjoy growing plants from seed and watching them grow, and it has been satisfying to watch these little guys get bigger and bigger each year. Can't wait to see what they all do this year!

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Comments (8)

jimhardy
18 years ago
I think this is the year (spring)to seperate them I would think if they get much bigger you'll have a problem doing it without disturbing all of the roots,I hope to have the same "problem" in a few years! That said your palms all look really great! nice job!!!!
topher2006
18 years ago
Good looking palms !
How long does it take to germinate needle palm seed ?
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josh_palm_crazy
18 years ago
Great looking palms Johnnieb. I love seeing your posts especially with the waggie pictures. I'll bet the fortunei will grow like crazy! Keep up the good work John!
JohnnieB
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks everybody!

Topher, needle palms are VERY slow from seed--first to germinate and once they do, to grow to any appreciable size. Mine took several months to germinate, and after a year a few were still germinating every few months. If I were doing it over again, I would start out with a good-sized needle palm because they're so slow.

BTW here's a needle palm growing not too far from where I live; I took these photos about a year ago. I'm not sure people appreciate just how big these can eventually get--the one at the National Arboretum is about twice as big! This one is a little over 20 years old but I don't know how big it was when it was planted. It's one of the oldest and most beautiful specimens in the city:
josh_palm_crazy
18 years ago
I would hate to slip on the ice and fall up against the trunk of that monster. LOL! When I have a permanent spot for a needle palm I'm not going for anything less than a 30 gallon. Their around $500.00! Thats a large investment for me. Check out the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chilly Palm Tree/Needle Palms
kitchenshock
18 years ago
I love that palm with snow covering it. It just seems so wrong. Looks like there a bunch on the other side and down the road too. It's amazing that these palms aren't damaged from the snow.
JohnnieB
Original Author
18 years ago
Needle palms are native to the deep south but judging from the hardiness of cultivated specimens, they may have once grown much farther north than they do now. The same is true of dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor)--perhaps they were pushed south by the glaciers during the last ice age and haven't regained their previous range. So it's quite possible that they evolved and adapted to a climate that was colder, with more snow and ice than they experience now. At any rate, this particular palm has come through single digit temperatures with no damage whatsoever. They really are tough! There's one at the National Arboretum that's even bigger and older--it was planted in 1976 and is now about 9 feet tall and 12 feet across!
jimhardy
18 years ago
That is very cool! I,m looking forward to planting my needle palms(and others!)this spring-however its still pretty chilly here in s.e. Iowa so I'm back for another helping of your palm pics such beautiful waggies! nice job,can't wait to see what they look like at the end of this year!