P.rupicola,The nicest Phoenix of them all.

Stan - P. rupicola is very prolific in South Florida. With its heavy clustering habit here along with its spiny nature, this palm is not as popular as it once was.

In my opinion, the Phoenix cariensis (Canary Island Date Palm) is the most beautiful of the genus. Its all in the eye of the beholder.
 
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Moose- you might be right. I guess I had in mind for the typical California backyard. But where there is room?,the CIDP is still majestic.
 
MooseMan - I think you misread "reclinata" for "rupicola" - as P. rupicola is solitary and has fewer spines than most Phoenix. IMO - P. rupicola is the prettiest of the Phoenix (at least most tropical looking), and "fits" in most normal yards. But I am probably jaded by seeing P. canariensis everywhere in SoCal my entire life. :RakeBash

But, many palms named as such I suspect may be hybrids - as I have seen some P. rupicolas that were very "soft and weepy" looking - almost like a larger P. roebelenii.

More info here http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Phoenix_rupicola
 
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I like all of the Phoenix palms. My favorite is the giant tall clumps of P. reclinata that is often rarely seen here. Here is a shot of what I purchased some years ago as P. rupicola, looks like it may have some roebelenii genes.
 
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Tony, Here is a photo from 2002, the palm was planted in 1998 and was a couple feet shorter than it is in this photo.
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Very cool Scott, I have been thinking about putting a Rupicola in my front yard. The problem is that I heard they grow very slow. So if I buy a small one I'll probably be dead before it blossoms into it's full glory. There are 2 places down in Florida that sell ones that already have clear trunk, but those places only sell wholesale to people in the trade.

Did you buy yours with about 2 foot of clear trunk and in 14 years it has only gained about 2-3 feet of additional trunk? That is what it looks like from the photos. I don't want to have to wait that long.

There is a place that sells them in 10 gram containers, but if I get one like that I will likely never see it as a mature tree right?
 
Florida mutts.... Except for the P. dactylifera retiring here from the date groves of SoCal and AZ, most of the Phoenix palms here look like some kind of genetic mish-mash. I gravitate to the P. reclinata mutts as my "favorites". Of course, they aren't for small yards. Healthy, happy P. canariensis is a real beauty, but here they are just stressed out shadows of those found in more suitable climates like SoCal. One could be excused for thinking it was a different species altogether.

TonyLoco...try walking into the nursery with CASH. Most likely they'll sell to you. You may have to transport and plant it though.
 
Tony, The palm had about 2.5' of clear trunk when planted. Now some 16 yrs later 9' of clear trunk is noted. That would give a avg. of about 4.5" per year for trunk growth.
 
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On the big brother palm board,their is a post of an unknown P.palm. I think its another smaller hard to find palm, Phoenix loureirii. I had one seedling killed off by the 92 cold freeze (24f low point) for near a week.
I defy any spelling bee champ to get that spelled right from cold...
 
I take it,That's the original fat trunked form?. RARE. Most I've seen had slimmer trunks- and pretty tall. At least they are ID as P.loureirii...I wonder now.
Is that very old?
 
I take it,That's the original fat trunked form?. RARE. Most I've seen had slimmer trunks- and pretty tall. At least they are ID as P.loureirii...I wonder now.
Is that very old?
Stan, The palm was planted in 2000 from a 3 gallon pot. At the time it had no trunk and here we are 14 years later with 3' of trunk. It is a male and has flowered for the last 3 years.
 
Here is P. loureiroi var. hanceana also planted from a 3 gallon pot in 2000. This one will show some damage from heavy frost on older leaves only. Damage can still be seen on a few of the lower fronds from the Dec. 2010 event here.
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Sorry posted wrong year in above post for the freeze. The freeze was in Dec 2009. Here is a photo from Jan 2010 showing the freeze damage.
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There are some locally ID P.loureirii that don't look much like that. Much taller,thin trunks. Hybrids? They are old also- very old,circa 1890-1900. They are in Pleasanton Ca a 9b now and probably a 9a for decades as it used to be all orchards. I wouldn't doubt those palms saw near single digit freezes and even now every year see mid to upper 20's to freezing,for many weeks of winter nights.
They also are at the Castlewood country club golf course in Pleasanton. I don't have photos,but Google maps should have decent pics to take a look at.
 
I drove by the country club. Yes,they might be one and a quarter century old palms. I see they have the spiky top like Scotts...from half a block away I couldn't make out a pattern on the trunk. But,they are not CIDP.
I dont doubt anybody who thinks he might have the climate for them-- does. It can get VERY cold in that small canyon area. No amount of Tampa cold will ever take them out.

btw- from June to September Pleasanton averages about 90f give or take. Near central valley hot.
 
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