Chad I saw them too. I would love to get some and prolly will. I have been on a palm growing frenzy the past week or two (my bday was last week) and I don't know how much more the wife can take of my palm buying lol. I have bought about 6 palms in the past month. But I would really love a live takil despite the fact I am trying to germinate takil seeds right now.

Click for weather forecast

Im in the same boat. I have 3 palms due in now and 5 agaves. Plus a order from PDN and Yuccado that will ship in Feb. Luckily for me all my plants fit inside my heated building.

I saw they were $22? is that right?

How big are they?

Yeah, they are 22$. If I had to guess, I would say they have 1" to 2" trunks. Their palms are always small seedlings. Last time I was there I wanted a chammy vulcano, but just found other ways to spend my money.

I was looking over there site last night but I just think there prices are so high for what you get. not only the palms but the amorphs and everything are just to much for me. Are the prices at the nursery the same as online? I was really in a palm buying mood last night but couldn't find what I wanted in a decent size...guess I'm gunna wait ou the BB stores and see what I end up with. Good luck with that Takil I hear there one of the best cold hardy out there.

At open house there you can go through and pick out the plant you want. I always come home with much larger plants than in mail order. They are going to save money by shipping smaller plants. Prices dont change. But I have found stuff that was not offered on line yet or stuff thats out of stock.

My guess is they have 2-3 leaves max-would be cool if they are bigger-please post a picture of it when you get it(-:

Hey chad thanks for the info on the takils. I was just about to order one from them too. A few weeks ago I got a t.f. Bulgaria and a t. nainital oh and a s. minor Hatteras and all were kinda small but healthy and growing fast for me. I really want to try the c. humilis volcano they are offering but if they are tiny then forget it. Chad would you recommend I buy one from PDN based on the size you saw vs. the asking price.

Not sure if anyone can answer this yet, but can anybody explain what Plant Delights means by no hairy fibers near the crown? Do true Takil have the hairy fibers on the trunk at all like a Fortunei?

Earthworm, I will order from them cause I know they grow the plants there. Any plant I get from them I feel assured that it will perform. As far as size, their plants are comparable to yuccado and any other pint sized palm I have recieved from ebay. Just wish they offered larger sizes.

IB, their Takil looks just like a Trachy F. without the long hair coming out of the crown.

Jim, will be two months before it arrives. But I will post a photo when it comes.

Is the hair coming out of the crown just shorter or nonexistent? Does the rest of the trunk have the hair?

I think he meant the ligules.

Right, what Jim said!

PDN, has the actual photo of theirs on the website. However, their palm ( growing in a very shady area) has a very thin trunk. Not sure if thats typical.

One thing I find odd after looking through 100s of pictures )-:(only)is there seems*
to be a form of Takil that has very long petioles/open crown and one that seems more compact....

If you look at the beautiful Takil on the RPS website with the
deep canyon in the background and the pics of the Takil growing
in the botanical gardens in Italy you can see a good example of this.

Looking at the DVD Alexander (poster from EPS)offered of
many,many pics of Takil in Habitat you also see this-does not
appear to be because of where they are growing as the RPS
Takil picture is in an exposed area with plentiful sunlight and I am sure wind....

All that said,your right Chad,the one at PDN is growing in shade as you know.

I guess we will all find out soon enough-very exciting to finally be able to grow true Takil.

can anyone tell me the advantages/disadvantages of this over a regular fortunei? I don't really like starting with small palms if I can help it and if there arnt any real benefits ( growth rate being a big one) then I will stick to regular fortunei

Mike Takils are supposedly the most cold hardy of the Trachycarpus species. Plus ppl say they are better looking than regular t. fortunei. Like ppl say I am better looking than, well never mind.

Just have to wait and see how this plays out=how they look in cultivation.

http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/images/TraTak.jpg

Mike, I think some ppl like Jim and myself just want that special palm for the collection. With this palm, I will have 6 Fortunei, Waggie, Nanus and 2 princeps. I might even add a Trachy Fortunei " Bulgaria " which is said to be hardier than normal Trachies. Of course this goes along with my compulsive disorder. Maybe thats why I have 50 different sp. of agaves

I understand wanting that special type I do as well, though most won't make it outside here. Anyway it just bothers me a bit buying seedlings of somthing that is SO close to another type and having to wait 5 years to find out the nursery had a "mix up" and its not what you thought it was..There are a few on ebay I REALLY want but buying seedlings and not being able to see those positive markings yet just holds me back..guess no risk no reward right. I Hope yours and Jims are both takils and they grow well

I would think that you would get a more pure plant genetically if you purchase one now as opposed to purchasing one 5 years from now after they've been cross-breeding with other trachycarpus.

I agree with Islandbreeze, that Takil at PDN is only 6' away from a T. fortunei "Charlotte" form. I suspect some cross breeding in a few years. Tony and I were discussing that very same thing my last trip over. There were 7 agaves in bloom and he had thousands of ants going up and down the stalk. Cant wait to see what comes of it all.

Chad I got a Bulgarian from PDN about a month or so ago. Although small it sure is eager. If I am not mistaken it is now my fastest growing trachy in my greenhouse. Even faster than the Nainital (dark green version)I got from them at the same time. I am thinking about getting the Charlotte from PDN just cuz. Of course if I do I'll have to get the Takil as well. I am a roll the dice kinda guy. Funny cuz I am not a gambler though. Good thing with all the casinos around here. Anyway Chad what's Charlotte's claim to fame besides the obvious? Does it look any different from just regular ole trachy?

Earthworm, Charlotte form looks the same as any trachy. Its just that seed was collected a long time ago and the palms were already 30'. Using the location connects the seed to an area where it is hardy and can be used to determine what USDA zone to rate it at. Charlotte is warmer than a zone 7b but back then PDN could not grow trachies.

In regard to telling the difference between Fortunei and Takil.

You almost need to buy a smaller plant because larger
ones are not available except possibly in SanFran.

Anyway,the smaller plants reveal there true heritage,Takil
has 2 ridges on the first leaf or so and Fortunei 4 at least
thats what the general consensus is 0:

In regard to hardiness,I believe Max Cola from Italy said most
of the Fortunei in parts of Italy were wiped out during the
cold of the 80s whereas Takil was untouched-probably the only info out here on this.

It is possible that they will at least be more consistent in
there features and hardiness because(hopefully)they are coming
from a more stable area in a wild population whereas with Fortunei
in general you have no idea where they came from originally.

I would think that you would get a more pure plant genetically if you purchase one now as opposed to purchasing one 5 years from now after they've been cross-breeding with other trachycarpus.

There has been some issue already in India in that some
palms were planted(possibly)in an effort to repopulate Takil.

Unfortunately it is believed the palms planted were not Takil
but Nainital-I have always held the belief that Nainital and Takil
are related but this is not proven by any means....what is Nainital?

Possibly regular Fortunei with mountain genetics?
There is some evidence that Nainital is some type of hybrid
as there seems to be a green form (at least when they are small)
and a less green form that is very slow growing-the former being much faster.

Anyway,I think as long as you can land a 2 ridger seedling you can be pretty
assured you have a Takil....should be quite a while before we have
to worry about any hybrids(domestically) with Takil.

Why not try one/-they are an amazing palm from a truly magical area in India!

hmm all this hype..im about to give in LOL