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earthworm73

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earthworm73
12 years ago

I had been having a really hard time finding any t. fortunei in my area. The only options I thought was to either order off of ebay and pay through the nose for shipping or drive close to 100 miles round trip to a nursery I knew had them. Luckily I found this one at a berry farm of all places. This one is a beauty at 43 inches tall but looks a little tattered from the car ride home. I took a pic of my languishing w. robusta as well. Slowly building my palm garden back up.





They are not as yellow as they seem. Bad exposure on a crappy camera.

Comments (7)

  • tropicalzone7
    12 years ago

    Nice palms! They dont look yellow at all to me!
    -Alex

  • subtropix
    12 years ago

    Your Washingtonia is going to be needing transplanting sooner rather than later. Also, don't be too afraid of watering. Then again, your climate is much cooler right now--here, we'd be having to water it twice a day and it'd still be dry! A few summers ago, a local supermarket chain was selling decent-sized Washys $10.00. Then there was one that I drove up from Miami and a few planted from seed. Now, I have a bunch of them in large tubs. Nice palms that are frequently the subject of scorn by some palm snobs (who hate all things common). Regarding the Trachy, eBay does have some big ones available--prices are not bad except for SHIPPING costs. I do notice though that some of the Trachys sold on eBay are shade-cultivated (I guess this reduces water consumption so is cheaper). This makes the leaf petioles very long and the palm unadapted to strong sun. Of course, the plant will eventually acclimate to high sun and heat (and grow thicker--rather than taller), but also means that the plant is more likely to go into shock if you plant it in a very sunny spot. Are you leaving the Trachy containerized? If so, it too is going to need a larger container soon. Enjoy!

  • jimhardy
    12 years ago

    I was going to say the same thing-bigger pots for both.

    If you get a lot of rain in your area,make sure your Washy's
    potting mix drains well-esp in a bigger pot.
    Washys love letting their roots roam!

  • subtropix
    12 years ago

    Pot size is really a balancing act and depends on a lot of things--species of plant, growth rate, seaon of year, temps precip, SOIL type, etc. . The Washy just grow sooo fast this time of year--difficult to keep up with watering unless there is adequate soil in the pot. On rhe other hand, a person who tends to overwater is better off using smaller pots--especially in the Fall and Winter. My back yard though bakes from the Summer into the Fall--two garages form an L-shape, there's a LOT of blacktop and exposure is due south (unobstructed). I water at least once a day, often twice. If I used smallish containers, I'd be afraid the roots would bake--esp. with the Trachy because they are not too fond of high heat. P.S., Big time heat wave is just beginning--going to 100F and beyond, make sure those palms do not get too dry.

  • earthworm73
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hey all thanks for the comments.
    njoasis , I have only had to water the washy twice in the past 3 weeks. We have been having an unseasonably cool and record breaking summer this year. It has been raining almost everyday. We usually can count the raining days on one hand from end of June to September.

    jim, the washy is in a mixture of potting soil, builders sand, perlite and small size pine bark. It drains really well.

    My plan is to keep the washy in the pot for at least the rest of this summer and maybe the next before I am forced to put it into the ground. I want to get as much growth out of it as possible before I through it to the wolves sort of speak. As far as the trachy is concerned. My plan is to keep it potted until next spring then I will plant it. I am going to protect it at least from rain it's first year in the ground. Our winters are normally not something these babies can't handle but the cold or freezing rain on the growth point could seriously damage it. Since I have lived up here I don't remember any winter nights/early mornings going below the upper teens. But if we do that could burlap and christmas lights we be in order (thanks to yall's advice).

  • subtropix
    12 years ago

    How! Twice in three weeks--amazing!--It must be downright CHILLY. All week we are expecting highs in low 90's/nights low-mid 70's, then the BIG heat begins with highs in the upper 90's/low's near 80 F--BLAZING sun all day--as the Southeast drought seems to be spreading north on the East Coast. I had to dig out a Trachy on the south side of the house as the heat seemed to be too much for it. (Now it's in a container on the north side of the garage until it recuperates. Had transplanted it a few weeks ago before it got really hot but still not a good idea to have translated in the Summer--even for palms. I find that Trachys do better with some degree of protection from strongest sun--but yours should be okay in full sun. I have a Needle Palm in a sunny, hot spot in the front of the house that should form a nice-sized shrub eventually. Would like to put a Med fan in the sunny front but afraid of how it would react to COLD and potentially, VERY WET Winters. Enjoy your Sunday! :)

    P.S.: Be careful of those X-mas lights, you'd be very surprised how much heat even the tiny ones generate under plastic (if not set on blinking mode)!

  • earthworm73
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Yeah njoasis its been hella chilly up this way. They say we are a semi-med climate with wet winters and warm very dry summers. Can't tell this year. July has been feeling like May. Yeah the whole south wall of my house has nothing growing there so next summer my plan is to make that tropical with probably the t. fortunei, some hardy bananas, cannas, etc. Not sure if I should put the windmill palm there as the wife saw a 15 gal. she likes. I am cool with getting another one with the hopes of one day making some seeds so I can stop having to beg and borrow for them and share some with others. BTW anybody have any t. fortunei and/or waggies seeds they could donate? I pay for shipping if need be. Digging up that bad boy seems like a lot of work in the doggone heat but hopefully its worth it in the end.

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