Palms For California

Pronunciation: kahm-uh-DOOR-ee-uh POO-mill-uh

Common Name: none

Chamaedorea pumila is far more well known as Chamaedorea sullivanorum, a name that honors one of California's finest palm growers ever, Pauleen Sullivan. Sadly, this palm has since been lumped into synonymy and sadly the earlier name Chamaedorea pumila takes precedence. It is beautiful, though somewhat touchy, dwarf understory bifid palm with ornamental ridged, narrow bifid leaves that often have some color variations on each leaf. It is not a very hardy palm and intensely despises low humidity and poor water quality, along with high heat and bright sun. But many experienced growers have had good success with this attractive species from Panama and Colombia.

Synonym: Chamaedorea sullivanorum

Appearance and Biology Habit: solitary with a crown of 2-4 bifid leaves Height: 1' Trunk: single; 1/4" thick; 1"-4" tall; green; ringed Crownshaft: none Spread: 2' Leaf Description: pinnate/bifid; narrow and long; divided about 1/3-1/4 length of blade; leaves evenly pleated; leathery in texture; deep green to blue green, sometimes fading from one color to the other on same leaf; also there is a lime green leaf form with even narrower leaves; 1' long Petiole/Leaf bases: 2"-4"; thin and unarmed Reproduction: dioecious Inflorescence: 4"-5" long; unbranched, from below leaves; upright at about 45 degrees Fruit:

Horticultural Characteristics Minimum Temp: 32F Drought Tolerance: low Dry Heat Tolerance: low Cool Tolerance: moderate Wind Tolerance: low Salt Tolerance: unknown Growth Rate: very slow Soil Preference: moist, acidic and well draining Light Requirement: shade to filtered sun Human Hazards: none Disease or Horticultural Problems: brown tipping from a variety of causes (low humidity tops the list) Transplants?: unknown Indoor?: unknown Availability: very rare