oh and it doesn't matter if it's technically a "hardy" type of palm or not, I have a greenhouse to overwinter in.

I've heard carpentaria palms are very fast. in my experience Veitchia, Caryota, and Archontophoenix are fast seedlings.

washingtonia's, phoenix palms(some), queens are kindof quick to.

There's nothing much faster than Carpentaria acuminata. But keep the water up to them. 3 or 4 years and they'll be well over your head.

Hi
For me Queens hands down . Went from a seed to seeding
from 01/ 08 Might add that it was also tortured for several years . Kept in pots root pruned, and double germinated!! The double is now about 25 feet both ways
if you have to bring them in for winter why do you want fast growing?? gary

Of all the plams I have grown from seed Washingtonias are by far the fastest. You can still see regular growth in the winter if you leave them in a south facing window. I have to Filifers that I sarted in the spring of 2011 that are over a foot tall now. regardless you wont find any that grow as fast as bananas.

Coconut Palms seem to grow very rapidly from "seed" (nut).

Here is a link that might be useful: Virginia Beach Weather

Pigafettas are pretty fast... not grown one personally as they are very tropical... once they get going, they outstrip Carpentarias easily.

Here is a 2 year old seedling in Hawaii

and these palms, also in Hawaii, are guessed to be about 10 years old (one maybe 9). These can reportedly grow 6 feet of trunk a year... not too many other palms can boast that... even our Washingtonias grow maybe 2' on a great year

Wow! I guess the reason I wanted fast growing is that I don't really have any right now, and I'm impatient,as well as cheap! I just love growing things from seeds, too.
The ones I have are going right now are christmas palms, collected in the keys, and boy are they slow...and a couple of foxtail palms from seeds I bought at the TPIE last year.
I do have a coconut palm and it seems to be fast growing, it's doubled in size in the two years I've had it.

I think the other thing you have to consider is the climate. In the winter unless you keep your house at 75 you will see the real tropical type palms slow way down. I keep my house at 60-65 in the winter and my bottles and coconut pretty much just go dormant. Washingtonias though will continue to grow faarly steady in constant 60s if they get direct sun.

Andyandy, you beat me to that concern. You can get away with a lot lower winter temps with some of these palms. Washys are quick, and easy from seed and very cold tolerant. I have also had great luck with Canary Island dates from seed and I don't find them nearly as slow as their reputation. Have no direct experience with Butias or Queens from seed but they are also cold tolerant and fast at least past the seedling stage.

Climate/species will make a lot of difference. The Pigafetta is really fast, provided they have high atmospheric humidity, lot of water, and lot of sun. Reduction in humidity and watering will really slow them down (and risk death). And shade will slow them as well.

I am sure this can be debated but......

Palms, when compared to many other types of trees, tend to be slow growers. One of the most comprehensive studies examining palm growth was undertaken in 2001 by Fairchild Tropical Garden and recorded by the "Journal of the International Palm Society." The lifetime growth rate was studied in approximately 140 different palm species. The study found that the roundleaf fan palm (Livistona robinsoniana) is the fastest growing palm tree. This native of the Philippines grows about 22 inches a year.

Livistona robinsoniana was changed to Livistona rotundifolia but is now Saribus rotundifolius. If you go back long enough, it was first described as Corypha rotundifolia, then also spent some time as Licuala rotundifolia. (I'm sure everyone was desperately awaiting this information, LOL.)

But anyway, I have a Saribus rotundifolius [Corypha rotundifolia] [Licuala rotundifolia] [Livistona robinsoniana] [Livistona rotundifolia] which isn't a fast grower. My climate would be closer to the Philippines than Fairchild Tropical Gardens but soil type I wouldn't know. So that study would only be applicable to where it was carried out. I guess you'd have to do your own study for your own area to see what was fastest for you.

If 140 species were studied out of the thousands of palm species that exist, chances are they missed a few fast growers. ;-) Fastest on earth is Pigafetta, when grown in the appropriate climate, no contest. 22 inches a year is nothing compared to the 6 to 8 feet of trunk per year on a Pigafetta. If the study was conducted in Florida, there likely wouldn't be Pigafetta in the study, because Florida has a dry season, which Pigafetta won't tolerate.

What is probably most interesting to those on this board is which of YOUR palms is fastest for YOU. Among my palms in Hawaii, it's Clinostigma samoense. In California, it is my Archontophoenix alexandrae. You? :-)

I'd like to get some of that Clinostigma samoense but haven't seen any in nurseries around here. Same with Pigafetta, although someone I know near me has some. So for overall fastest from seed to maturity, mine would be Carpentaria (also the one I have the most of as it grows and seeds so fast).

Which is fastest for you????

Its a good point and I would have to say the Washingtonia but
I have not counted the leaf # this year on the biggest Fortunei.

I think the Washy at about 12 or so now is the fastest for me
and will probably always be in hot summers.

Saribus rotundifolius are indeed fast, and maybe just as fast from seed to a usable landscape palm, but then Pigafettas easily outpace. Someone who grew and sold these Saribus palms says you can grow them in idea conditions (this was Thailand- about as ideal as you can get) from a seed to a 6-8' palm ready to sell as a landscape plant in just 5 years (pretty remarkable).

In my climate in southern California I cannot find anything that grows faster than a Caryota urens (maybe now called maxima).... Archotophoenix initially are fast, but then get passed up by even Washingtonias. Leaf number and height are two different things, though, and many palms will crank out a lot of leaves without a significant change in height... so which is a faster palm, then? A healthy Majesty palm will make many more leaves in a year in my yard than any other palm, but overall height is a very different story.

I think that maybe I'll just get some bigger palms next time I go down to the TPIE and save myself some time. I bet any of those you all were talking about won't grow too fast from seed in Indiana with me only heating the greenhouse to 45 in the winter.

Nice to know the Caryota speeds up,mine has been a little slow as a small guy but has put out a nice new leaf(-:

sorry am alittle confused, the once called livistona robinsoniana aka livistona rotundifolia is now called saribus rotundifolius? so not considered a livistona at all?

That's right. From what I understand it was done on the basis of DNA testing. However, back in the 1800's it was at one time described as Saribus rotundifolius, and after having done the rounds is now back there again. I've copied and pasted the entry in the Kew Gardens checklist below:

Saribus rotundifolius (Lam.) Blume, Rumphia 2: 49 (1838).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homotypic Synonyms:
* Corypha rotundifolia Lam., Encycl. 2: 131 (1786).

Licuala rotundifolia (Lam.) Blume in J.J.Roemer & J.A.Schultes, Syst. Veg. 7: 1305 (1830).

Livistona rotundifolia (Lam.) Mart., Hist. Nat. Palm. 3: 241 (1838).

* Basionym/Replaced Synonym

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Livistona altissima Zoll., Tijdschr. Ned.-Indi� 14: 150 (1857).

Livistona microcarpa Becc., Philipp. J. Sci., C 2: 231 (1907).

Livistona mindorensis Becc., Philipp. J. Sci., C 4: 615 (1909).

Livistona robinsoniana Becc., Philipp. J. Sci., C 6: 230 (1911).

Livistona rotundifolia var. luzonensis Becc., Philipp. J. Sci. 14: 339 (1919).

Livistona rotundifolia var. microcarpa (Becc.) Becc., Philipp. J. Sci. 14: 339 (1919).

Livistona rotundifolia var. mindorensis (Becc.) Becc., Philipp. J. Sci. 14: 339 (1919).

aw got it, very interesting. while at least they finally got it right( lets hope!)=)
thank you!

Old thread, but what do you think is the fastest one as an indoor plant? I'd go for pigafetta but those aren't easy to find. I'm also thinking of carpentaria acuminata and washingtonias which are readily available.

I collected 6 fruits from a relative's just pruned queen palm. I saw a video showing soaking in hydrogen peroxide in a glass dish under a light keeping them extremely warm (I have no greenhouse window) would degrade the flesh of the fruit and at that point approximately 7 days, change to clean peroxide water to eradicate any oil left from the fruit for a few days. For some reason the video ended unless the intent was strictly to bare and disinfect the seeds. I just started last night. I'm assuming after following the steps, I plant them in small pots and gradually introduce them to full sun. I have no experience with queens. Any advice would really be appreciated. Thanks. Carol, 9b