View Full Version : Chamaedorea microspadix
palmtree
04-26-2010, 07:52 PM
Anyone have sucess with these in colder zones? Or for anyone who has grown these, are they fast growing (as far as chamaedoreas go) or are they very slow. I bought one and I want to try it in the ground here in my zone 7 with protection. I hear they can handle temps down to 20F and was wondering if they were worth a shot. I will protect it the same way my pindo was protected and the lowest temp it saw with the protection was 25F but it went below freezing often and rarely went above 50 during the worst of winter (some days it didnt even get to 50 in the protection because the winter days this year were much colder than typical).
Any knowledge at all of this plant would be really helpful! I greatly appreciate any help!!
Wish me luck!!!
palmtree
04-27-2010, 08:08 PM
Im surprised no one has tried this palm. I guess Im just going to have to risk it to find out how tolerant it is. Ill tell you how it goes, but that wont be for another year!
chumleyrobert
04-27-2010, 10:49 PM
No worries on this one. I've seen them take into the teens. They do quite nice under oak canopys or most any where except full sun in the open. They seed every year and harvest is usually any time after Jan/Feb. The seed thrown on the ground or put into flats take a few months to sprout. They make nice clumps and spread every year. It's a regular "weed" here on my 13 acre estate. Another good one is Arenga Englerii and Chamaedorea Stolenifera. Robert Chumley
Jack Daw
04-28-2010, 01:53 AM
I, on the other hand, have only bad experience with Chamaedoras. They can withstand low temps for shorter periods of time, but you'd have to use one hell of a protection to keep it alive during 2 months of extreme cold and winter. Another matter: they tend to dislike lots and lots of water during cold and that was agains my climate...
palmtree
04-28-2010, 06:31 AM
Thanks a lot for your info! ITs good to know the pros and cons of this palm. I think the duration of the cold is very important with this so it will need protection. I also cant imagine it liking snow loads too well. Im going to give it really good drainage because I also have a wet climate (about 3 to 4 inches of rain spread pretty evenly through the year.
Thanks again!
Dean W.
03-11-2011, 09:43 PM
Did you ever try them, Alex?
saltydad
03-12-2011, 03:21 PM
I would also love an update.
TommyMacLuckie
03-13-2011, 09:10 AM
I had one that was over 6 feet tall. I planted it under my big live oak thinking that it would be enough protection and that it wouldn't get below 26 like it had for quite a few winters. Then it got down to 18 last January. I covered it up. Didn't matter. They don't like to get below 26F actually.
Glad I left it in a container and pulled it in because this January it got down to 22.
C. radicalis can take lower temps, down to 20F (I still covered them up). But a lot of Chams are mid-20s. I gave up having them planted in the ground, except for the radicalis, and always bring them in when it gets below 28F.
Darkman
03-14-2011, 09:29 PM
What is an easy way to tell microspadix from radicalis? I have several plantings and one is a tree form. It is about six feet tall. The others are short. One of them is forming a clump with three new shoots coming up. Mine have shrugged off 19 degrees in 2010 and 24 degrees in 2011 with no or little damage.
Dean W.
03-15-2011, 09:29 PM
I've read there are two forms of radicalis. One is a taller the other short and bushy.
palmtree
03-15-2011, 11:50 PM
Hi! I did give them a try, but it rotted before June because it was a small seedling and I guess the clay soil here was too much for it. I think Im going to try radicalis this summer if I can get one thats a nicer size.
Darkman, the main difference between radicalis and microspadix is microspadix has lighter green and less glossy fronds than radicalis. To me microspadix looks more like a parlor palm (C. elegans).
I'll definitely tell you if I try radicalis this spring and will post pics if I do!
TommyMacLuckie
03-16-2011, 06:54 PM
Pindo's don't need protection unless it gets into the low teens, specifically 15 to 12 degrees F for 4 hours or more. They are fine if it's in the 20s without protection for extended periods (unless, from what I've read based on research, it's a genuine Butia capitata - if it's a hybrid they're fine).
C. microspadix is not reliable below 26F for 4 hours or more, like water pipes, WITHOUT DAMAGE and possible death. Upper 20s probably OK but below 26 you had better protect it with a heat source or at least cover it.
And they do not like snow. Where they are native to they don't get snow but they do get cold - but not for long.
palmtree
03-16-2011, 11:08 PM
I've seen reports of C. Microspadix handling temperatures down to the mid teens with little or no damage, however the duration of that kind of cold is important too. Im sure that they cant handle much too much snow load and I would never keep them unprotected in anything other then the lightest dusting of snow (the worst snow is when temperatures arent too much below freezing because then the snow will be wet and heavy and it might be included with lots of freezing rain or sleet to make things worse!
Pindo palms (especially in pots) have been extremely tender for me (I usually lose them at 20F). The one in my protection has not seen below the low 20s and it hasnt been damaged. I havent risked mine below 20F yet, but maybe I will when its a bit older.
TommyMacLuckie
03-17-2011, 10:06 AM
Well, my microspadix got severely damaged at 22F and then almost killed outright at 18F and then 21F, all in January of '010, three mornings in a row. And it was covered up for the 18F. I didn't know it was going to get down to 22F for some reason. Too late, damage was done. It looked terrible. With a cover on it it still got damaged. I had to dig it up. It was over 6 feet tall, now it's almost 3 feet at best.
palmtree
03-20-2011, 09:50 PM
It sounds like C. Microspadix is getting some mixed reviews. I just bought another one off the internet and hopefully it will be a larger size than my last one. I plan on keeping it in a pot for at the very least, this summer. Im not sure I will ever have the courage to put it in the ground, but maybe one day in the future, I'll be living some place a bit warmer and will have the chance to plant it in my yard (by then it would be a really nice size!). I'll post some pics of it when it comes (suppose to be around the first few days of April).
saltydad
03-20-2011, 10:04 PM
My experience with leaving pindo palms outside for the winter was not good. Actually, I tried it with a B. capitata and a B. eriospatha. Both died with protection. Now I plant my pindo in the garden, but dig it up and pot it for inside for the winter each year..
nannerfunboi
03-20-2011, 10:25 PM
saltydad.ive been kicking idea of trying palms.. utah here..
theres a guy over on daves garden..in kansas..he is a big time
palm grower.. and has great sucess..
i was thinking same as u.. plant out in garden..then dig up in fall
and overwinter inside.. im just not sure how well palms do getting
dug up???
was thinking same with bird of paradise..
were lucky with bananas..they do ok planting out then transplanting..
good luck to ya!!!:goteam:
saltydad
03-20-2011, 10:31 PM
I also do this with the European Fan Palm, C. humilis var cerifera. They like it; I'm the one with a sore back. These suckers are getting big! The palms I do leave out 12 months a year are the needle palms, R. hystrix, and the windmill palms, T. fortunei. They have been doing OK. Actually I stopped mulching and wrapping them 2 years ago, and while they show some cold damage, they're still beautiful to me here in my Maryland backyard.
palmtree
03-20-2011, 11:07 PM
Saltydad, I definitely think I will try that with one of my pindos! It sounds like a good idea. Palms arent crazy about being moved, but they will be fine as long as you dont damage the roots. I dont think I would risk doing this with my Chamaedora because they grow slowly so any damage would take a long time to fix and they do well in pots anyway.
Darkman
03-21-2011, 02:36 PM
Darkman, the main difference between radicalis and microspadix is microspadix has lighter green and less glossy fronds than radicalis. To me microspadix looks more like a parlor palm (C. elegans).
I'll definitely tell you if I try radicalis this spring and will post pics if I do!
Can you say what this is? Lower right corner NOT CURRENT PIC
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=33154&ppuser=7611><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=33154 border=0></a>
and this? Right side pic. Sorry not all of palm. NOT CURRENT PIC
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=33198&ppuser=7611><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=33198 border=0></a>
Dean W.
03-21-2011, 03:52 PM
Look like Chamaedorea and with seeds too in the top pic.
palmtree
03-21-2011, 07:41 PM
I also definitely think its a Chamaedorea, and my best guess is that its a C. radicalis. Im not 100% positive, but from what I have googled, the fruit on yours looks identical to radicalis, and yours definitely does not have the parlor palm - look of microspadix. I hear that C. radicalis is slightly more cold tolerant than C. microspadix and they definitely look less tender!
palmtree
03-24-2011, 04:28 PM
I just got my chamaedorea in the mail today and took a pic. I'll post the pic soon and if I can find a pic of my much much smaller microspadix from last year (that died after only being in the ground in April and May) I will post that as well.
palmtree
03-24-2011, 11:09 PM
Here they are!
Chamaedorea tepejilote to the left and microspadix to the right.
<a href="http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww59/tropicalzone7/?action=view&current=IMG_1600.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww59/tropicalzone7/IMG_1600.jpg" border="0" alt="Chamaedorea"></a>
palmtree
03-25-2011, 03:36 PM
I found a picture of my C. Mircospadix from last year that died of rot or something. Here it is. You can tell that it is definitely much much smaller than the one I bought this year.
<a href="http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww59/tropicalzone7/?action=view&current=1416d841.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww59/tropicalzone7/1416d841.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2020, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.