I really want one of those palms but everything I read about them says not to. They really hate cold and they are sooooo slow. Have you ever priced one of them that size? You are talking big $.

How much heat can they take ?

They can take just about as much heat as you can give them. I always keep mine(5 feet tall) in my small greenhouse and turn the space heater on when nights got below 50. This year I decided I wanted it to grow strong throughout the winter instead of just survive so I kept the heater on all the time. This means many days it has experienced 110 degrees and it loves it. It has been growing as fast as I have ever seen it grow.

Cool i want one !

topher, I really want one of those too, but even in zone 10a, its too cold for it. They are not easy to care for and I have heard that when the temps dip into the 50's, it starts stressing. I always check them out at the palm shows, but I cannot bring myself to spend the bucks on a Palm that clearly wants to be in a very hot and humid jungle year round. I have seen small ones go for $1000 bucks.

Yeah i know they are exspensive i'll just have to watch how the greenhouse performs, but what about an inside plant.

Surprisingly, it seems to thrive well indoors. I moved near Seattle a year ago from West Palm Beach, FL, for work reasons and I made sure to bring my ultratropical palms with me. Here it is indoors:

and outdoors in summer 2007 during a brief warmish spell way up here in the Pacific NW:

Marcelo

maspirasjr, that is a very nice palm. Did you grow it from seed? If so, do you have any recommended germination techniques? I understand they are very hard to germinate and can take upwards of a year to sprout.

Marcelo,your post makes me wonder how many SouCal palm growers dont have a beautiful sealing wax palm because of the "impossible to grow" hoopla surrounding that palm. At the least it could be kept outdoors 3-4 months. That's worth keeping it indoors the rest of the year. It just needs warm nights..not hot days or highest oppressive humidity or even blazing sunlight. Zone 12 nights,but other cultural conditions not so special.

I don't have personal experience having these indoors. I do know several people that keep them inside with success. It doesn't surprise me that it would work as they are really versatile plants. I've seen them in very well drained sandy soil and I've seen them in almost aquatic conditions. My first thought about them being indoors would be the lack (or low levels) of humidity. The photo of the one indoors in Seattle however sure doesn't look like it's lacking anything.

It is expensive...$650 for a 15g 6' tall clump wholesale.

As far as cold sensitivity...I read somewhere that the theory was that there is a resident fungus in the plant that is activated below 45-50 deg. F that has proven to be fatal. The only place down here where they plant them in the ground without fear is in the lower Keys.

One final thought for those that are toying with the idea of getting one...Some people consider this to be the most beautiful palm in the world.

Thanks for all the info steve I am probaly gonna get a seedling and see if it will live in the greenhouse.

I bought some seedlings from ebay in January! Shipped from Thailand to Canada. Took a risk of course, but they arrived safe and sound and are potted in front of window in very dry conditions. I do mist them everyday and make sure the soil stays moist, but they are doing just fine. I will keep them indoors for most of the year.

Hi
Ah my favorite palm !! Have killed every one I tried. lol
Would think they'd be a better "house " plant . Certainly not a yard plant at least for me lol
Slow growing would be an advantage . gary

Hi. I think this is the most beautiful palm there is and I'm trying to find a nursry in the Miami, Floida area who might have. If anyone knows a place where I can buy them I would appreciate it.

If you grow this one indoors, use a Mancozeb-based fungicide on it through the cold months; it's pretty hard to keep low-temp/low-humidity fungus under control but this stuff seems to work.

Steve Stern (below) probably has some.

Steve Stern
Exotic Palms
25000 S.W. 152 Avenue
Miami, FL 33157
305-246-3125
rarepalm@bellsouth.com
www.rarepalm.com

I have an 8-foot Lipstick Palm that I bring inside when temp is predicted to go below 45º-50ºF. Had it since Spring '03...it's grown about 3 feet. It gets watered almost every day....growing in AM sun-afternoon partial shade.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Wow, seeing someone grow one of these in the Pacific NW gives me hope down here in Southern California!! I actually recieved my second one last night (The first one died), and I am taking out all stops on this one. This palm is so absolutely beautiful in every since of the word. I have it by a window in the house, I have it sitting by a warm mist humidifier, and today i plan to get a heating pad to wrap around the pot to keep the roots nice and warm. I've been misting the plants as well, and I plan to start fertilizing in about two weeks to give the roots a chance to settle in a bit. Once the warm weather hits next month, I will probably have it outside in the sun a bit.

Just a suggestion, there is a vendor on ebay that seals this palm for $69 bucks, and he was offering free shipping for a while as well! The plants are VERY healthy, and strong.

Just a suggestion. :)

Usherray