Phoenix Palm Hybrids

Robert Pittman  February 6 2010 08:12:14 PM

Phoenix palms are among the most popular varieties of palms in landscapes worldwide.  Phoenix palms are either male or female and must be polinated by another Phoenix Palm.  It is for this reason that so many hybrids exist.  Seeds that are collected from palms outside of a varieties origin are much more likely to be hybridized.  In order to understand the characteristics of the hybrid Phoenix Palms it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the potential parent plants.  Palms included in the Phoenix family are:

Phoenix roebelenii, commonly known as the Pigmy Date Palm
 
The Phoenix roebelenii is a single trunk palm.  Multi trunk Roebelenii's are the result of multiple plants being grown together from an early age.  The Pygmy Date palm is in many ways the perfect miniature palm tree, complete with a slim trunk and beautiful feathery leaves. The Pigmy Date Palm is more sensitive to cold than many of the Phoenix Palms and does not like frost.

Phoenix reclinata. commonly known as the Senegal Date Palm

Phoenix reclinata or the Senegal Date Palm produces a large cluster of tall, slender trunks and a dense crown of elegantly arching leaves. The Reclinata is a very robust plant and will succeed in tropical to warm temperate climates and withstand moderate frosts.

Phoenix sylvestris, Commonly known as the Sylvester Palm, India Date Palm or the Wild Date Palm

Phoenix sylvestris or Sylvester Palm has a tall trunk and is much more slender than Phoenix canariensis. The Sylvester's very full and dense crown has elegantly recurving, greyish, plumose leaves. The Sylvester Palm is as easy to grow as any Phoenix Palm and will adapt to temperate as well as to tropical conditions.

Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the True Date Palm, Medjool, Zahidii or Deglet Noor

Phoenix dactylifera variety Medjool is widely used as an ornamental. Taller, thinner, and with spikier, bluish leaves than its popular cousin from the Canary Islands, the Medjool Date Palm is a handsome tree. The Medjool Date Palm's adaptability to a wide range of climates, excellent resistance to drought, salt spray, brackish water, and various pests, and its general robustness make it the palm of choice for dry climates, temperate as well as tropical. Phoenix dactylifera tolerates salt water intrusion and cold better than all the other Date Palms.

Phoenix canariensis, commonly known as the Canary Island Date Palm or the Pineapple Palm

Phoenix canariensis, Pineapple Palm, or the Canary Island Date Palm is one of the most popular landscape palms. The stout form of the Canary Island Date Palm is a familiar sight in most warm temperate and subtropical countries of the world. The Canary Island Date Palm with it's stately appaearance spans nearly thirty feet on mature specimens.



Hybrids are more strongly influenced by the female palm carrying the seeds.  If you are looking for a thicker single trunked Phoenix Hybrid, you may want to have the female Phoenix Palm to be the one with the thicker trunk.  The Canary Island Date Palm crossed with the Phoenix roebelenii will have different results depending on which palm carries the seeds.  The "Fluffy" is a beautiful example of this cross.  The Canary Island Date is the female and the male is the Pigmy Date Palm.


The Sylvester Palm crossed with the Canary Island Date Palm can lead to a highly desirable cross known as the blue headed Canary.  The trunk of this cross is stouter than the sylvester.  The fronds are long and arching.  It is the blue color of the fronds that sets this hybrid appart.


Reclinata Hybrids are highly sought after.  The cross with the Pigmy Date Palm has slender trunks with soft elegant fronds.  The cross with the Sylvester Date Palm has thick trunks and can have blue frantic fronds.  The cross with the Canary Island Date Palm has the thickest trunks of all the hybrids and massive green arching fronds.  Most the hybrids are less clumping than the Senegal Date Palm and this characteristic makes maintenance less of a project.
 


Phoenix Palm Seeds collectected from landscape specimens are likely to be hybrids unless the parent plant has the same variety in close proximity.  Phoenix Hybrids are crossing with other Phoenix Hybrids. This melting pot of Phoenix Palm Hybrids can make for some interesting results.  

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Phoenix dactylifera - True Date, Medjool, Zahidii, Deglet Noor

Robert Pittman  January 18 2010 10:57:34 PM

Phoenix dactylifera or The True Date Palm is an economically important tree and one of the oldest cultivated crops in the world. Dates originated in Western Asia and North Africa over 5,000 years ago. Today they are cultivated commercially in Iraq, North Africa and in the U.S. in California and Arizona.

Common cultivars of the Phoenix dactylifera used in cultivation are the Medjool, Zahidii and the Deglet Noor.

The Medjool Date Palm variety is a common sight along roadways and adorning entry ways to exclusive developments.

The trees are dioecious and often reach over 100 feet (30 m) tall or more with a gray slender trunk. The trunks can be  trimmed with diamond shape leaf scars for ornamental purposes. The large greenish to bluish gray pinnate leaves often reach 18-20 feet (5.5-6 m) long. The canopy can be up to 40 feet (12.2 m) wide. Although they are very large trees, they can be grown in containers for many years before they get too large. Phoenix dactylifera is slow growing unless in a truly desert climate.  Temperatures above 120 Farenheit will push this palm to grow faster (up to 3' of trunk growth per year). The True Date Palm will grow much slower in a Temperate or sub tropical climate (usually less then 2' of trunk growth). They are the most cold hardy of the Phoenix Palms and are hardy in the landscape in USDA zones 8-11.

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Phoenix sylvestris - Sylvester, Silver Date Palm, Wild Date Palm, India Date Palm

Robert Pittman  January 18 2010 10:40:42 PM

Family: Palmae

Common names: Date-sugar palm, Indian winepalm, sugar palm, wild date-palm

Phoenix sylvestris is gregarious in many parts of India. It is commonly found on low ground in the sub-Himalayan tract, along the Ramganga River in Rohilkhand and along river banks and on stretches of low ground in the Deccan and Mysore (Brandis, 1906).

In Himachal Pradesh, it is found in all the districts in forests up to elevations of 1,350 metres. Wild date-trees are growing abundantly on the hill slopes at Jabli (17 km from Kalka towards Simla) and its adjoining areas where thousands of plants of this species can be seen.

Morphology

An unbranched, erect, tall dioecious, evergreen tree, 4 to 8 metres in height with large persistent leaves in a terminal tuft; stem clothed with persistent bases of leaf-stalks; root suckers, absent.

Leaves, compound, 1.5 to 2 metres in length, green with a. few spines at the base, each leaf containing numerous (120), pinnae which are linear, 26.5 cm long and sharply pointed at the end.

Staminate flowers, sessile, 7 mm long, 5 mm broad; perianth, 3, each 6 mm long, 2 mm broad, creamish; androecium, polyandrous, with 6 stamens; anther-lobes, about 3 mm long; filament, very short; anthers dehisce longitudinally, releasing white pollen.

Pistillate flowers, sessile, 4 min long perianth green, circular, cupshaped, three-toothed, small gynoecium, with. 3 distinct carpels; style, curved and very small.

Flowers, borne on a spadix covered by a spathe which is 29.5 cm long; the spathe separates into two boat-shaped halves, exposing the flowers at maturity; both male and female inflorescences, about 25 cm long, bearing about 2,800 flowers.

Fruits, oblong, 1.4 to 1.7 cm long, 0.9 to 1.1 cm in diameter, weight 542 mg, volume, 447 microlitres, deep purple to black; a bunch of fruits weighed 1,321.5 g and contained 2,390 fruits.

The flowering and fruiting season

The flowering season of this plant was observed to be from the first to the third week of August in the case of plants growing around Jabli. The fruits take almost one year for attaining maturity. The ripening starts from the first week of June and continues till the middle of July.

Yield

A wild date-tree yields very much less than a cultivated date-palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). The trees of Phoenix sylvestris Roxb. under Jabli conditions were found to yield only about 7 kg of fruit.

Medicinal properties

The fruit is cooling, oleaginous, cardiotonic, fattening, constipative, good in heart complaints, abdominal complaints, fevers, vomiting and loss of consciousness. The juice obtained from the tree is considered to be a cooling beverage. The roots are used to stop toothache. The fruit pounded and mixed with almonds, quince seeds, pistachio nuts and sugar, form a restorative remedy (Kirtikar and Basu. 1935). The central tender part of the plant is used in gonorrhoea (Watt, 1892).

Dessert quality

The fruits are harvested unripe by removing the whole bunches. They are then kept covered with wheat straw. They ripen within two three days.

The fruits are seedy, and the seed occupies more than half of the fruit. The fruits are sweet. The overall fruit quality is good.

Utilization

The plants growing in the plains yield a good amount of juice which is used for making toddy and jaggery. The juice, as such, can also be drunk.

It is an ornamental tree and can also be used as an avenue plant.

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Frost or Cold Protection

Robert Pittman  January 6 2010 08:08:44 PM

Frost or Cold Protection

To help protect palms against frost damage:

1.        Make sure palm is hydrated.  Water the ground around the palm early enough that it has time to soak up the water prior to frost.  Do not keep foliage wet.

2.        To help reduce leaf burn, spray palm with an anti-transpirant such as Vapor Gard.

3.        Cover palm with a sheet or blanket and put a light bulb under it for heat.  Be careful to set it up so it will not set anything on fire or become an electrical hazard.


To help palm grow out after frost or cold damage:

1.        To prevent bacteria in the bud, use Copper Sulfate or Kocide101 to drench head and bud.

2.        Fertilize in spring to get new fronds growing.  Palm fertilizer can be purchased at a nursery or home improvement store.


Rob Pittman
[A Quality Plant]

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Cold Hardy Palms

Robert Pittman  January 10 2009 10:35:05 AM

There are approximately 2500 different species of palms.  The vast majority of these species can't be grown outside the tropics.

Palms that can be grown in zones 6-9 are considered to be cold hardy.  The chart below shows absolute lows.  Average temperatures for a region are of little use when selecting the right palm for your zone.  One night below the tolerance of the palms in your yard will mean certain death.

Palms are monocots.  They have no ability to sprout back from the roots.  If the heart of the palm dies, the whole palm dies.  Clumping varieties of palms like the Fishtail palm (Caryota Mitis), Dwarf Sugar palm (Arenga engleri) or the Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens) can come back from the root zone as long as the root zone was not killed during the cold event.

USDA Hardiness Zones and Average Annual Minimum Temperature Range

6b	-5 to 0 F	-17.8 to -20.5 C	McMinnville, Tennessee;   Branson, Missouri
7a	0 to 5 F	-15.0 to -17.7 C	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;   South Boston, Virginia
7b	5 to 10 F	-12.3 to -14.9 C	Little Rock, Arkansas;   Griffin, Georgia
8a	10 to 15 F	-9.5 to -12.2 C	Tifton, Georgia;   Dallas, Texas
8b	15 to 20 F	-6.7 to -9.4 C	Austin, Texas;   Gainesville, Florida
9a	20 to 25 F	-3.9 to -6.6 C	Houston, Texas;   St. Augustine, Florida
9b	25 to 30 F	-1.2 to -3.8 C	Brownsville, Texas;   Fort Pierce, Florida

Examples of extremely Cold Hardy Palms:
Rhapidophyllum hystrix - Needle Palm
Sabal minor - Dwarf Palmetto
Trachycarpus takil - Kumaon Palm
Trachycarpus latisectus - Windamere Palm
Trachycarpus wagnerianus - Miniature Chusan Palm
Trachycarpus fortunei - Chinese Windmill Palm
Serenoa repens - Saw Palmetto
Nannorrhops ritchiana - Mazari Palm


Know your zone and the minimum temperatures your palms can withstand. Select palms that can handle the worst your area has to offer.

On calm cold nights the coldest area will settle in the low lying areas.  If you are at the base of a low lying area you may be several degrees cooler than higher elevations.  The front of my main field is several degrees warmer than the back.  The distance is is less than a quarter mile from the front to the back of my field.

There are measures that can be taken to protect palms that are planted out of their zones. Measures like providing wind block and canopy are effective.  If your palms are not too tall, covering them with fabric or frost cloth and supplying supplemental heat will help to hold warmth in and keep frost off.  A low wattage lamp will work to provide the heat.  Christmas lights wrapped around the palm can work on calm nights but help much less on nights with winds in excess of 5 mph.

Rob Pittman
www.aqualityplant.com

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Palm Tree Fertilization

Robert Pittman  December 26 2008 03:36:42 PM

When determining the frequency of fertilization applications you must first determine whether you want your palm to maintain a good appearance or maintain a healthy appearance and grow rapidly.  A homeowner is normally concerned with the appearance of their palm.  This can be accomplished with two fertilizer applications a year (one in the fall and one in the spring).  Adding a third or even fourth application will push the palm to grow rapidly.  This is done in the nursery and tree farm industry to make sellable palm trees faster.  Fertilizer can be purchased through local chain stores like Home Depot or Walmart where palms are sold.  Palm fertilizer will inlcude a "Micro Package".  Palms require Micronutrients that other plants don't.  Micronutrients palms require include Boron, Iron and Manganese.

Rob Pittman
[A Quality Plant]

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Trimming Palm Trees

Robert Pittman  December 11 2008 10:49:00 PM

Palm Trees need green foliage for photo-synthesis.  We recommend that you only trim foliage that has begun to turn yellow or brown.  

The exception to this rule is if the palm is newly planted.  Palms that are field grown and then dug up for landscape installations have lost part of their root system and may not be able to support a full canopy of fronds.  It is common to remove a portion if the fronds to reduce the palms need for water.  Sabal palmettos, Cabbage or Sabal Palm, typically have all the foliage removed at the time of digging.  This practice greatly enhances the palms ability to replace cut roots and leads to much higher survival rates among transplants.

Over trimming, trimming green foliage, can result in the decline of your palm tree.  Signs of decline include the loss of trunk caliper which is often referred to as "Pencilling".  Queen Palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana) are commonly over-pruned to save time and money.  

Some palms like the the Bismark Palm (Bismarkia nobilis) can tolerate over-pruning without showing signs of stress.

Trimming of  seed pods or flower stalks is fine and can be done prior to the opening of the pods or after the seeds have developed. The energy used for seed development will be diverted back to the palms foliage.

Rob Pittman
www.aqualityplant.com

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How much water is enough for my new Palm Tree?

Robert Pittman  December 9 2008 03:59:31 PM

Palms can be planted any time of year.  The care your newly planted palm will require will be based on the time of year you plant the palm.  Other factors like drought tolerance, cold hardiness, soil conditions and lighting requirements will need to be considered too.  The recommendations below are based on growing conditions in Florida.

Palms planted at the onset of rainy season need less care than those planted at the beginning of a dry Spring.  Plant your Palms between Memorial Day and Labor Day and very little suplemental watering will be needed. The rainy season typically starts by Memorial Day and lasts well after Labor Day.  During this time the ground becomes saturated and palms have no trouble finding ground water.

If you decide to plant your palms at the end of Fall or during winter, the palm will not need much water.  The palm will be growing slowly and may even go dormant.  Palms planted during this time will not have enough time to "root in" and find ground water prior to Spring.  You must water the palm through Spring and can cut back on watering once the summer rainy season kicks in.

You may want to wait on planting palms that are not completely Cold Hardy for your Cold Hardiness Zone.  For Central Florida, this means witing until after the second week in March.  Palms that have rooted in are much better prepared to take on a cold event than newly planted palms and will certainly recover faster from freeze or frost damage.

Drought tolerant palms have the built in ability to handle less watering. Like all palms, they still require an establishment period. Follow the same guidelines for drought tolerant palms and you can't go wrong.

Drainage is important to palms.  Poor drainage due to clay soils or low lying areas will require much less water than sandy soils that are elevated.  Adjust your watering to the the soil conditions.

Water your palms with enough water to penetrate the soil completely.  You can water your palm less often by watering deeply.  Surfacew watering does little to benefit your palm as the roots designed to gather water are not at the surface.

Palms that are planted from plastic or cloth containers are less likely to experience shock than field grown palms.  Field grown palms have lost some of their ability to gather water and will nedd to replace the lost roots to be able to support itself.  Field grown palms will need more water.  Watering everyday in copious amounts during the spring will be required.

Rob Pittman
www.aqualityplant.com

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Planting depth for Palm Trees

Robert Pittman  December 9 2008 03:43:45 PM

How deep should you plant your new palm tree?

We are frequently asked this question and there is a simple answer. Palms should never be planted deeper than the surface of the dirt in the container they come from. Over planting a palm tree (planting the palm too deep) will suffocate the roots that are responsible for gathering nutrients from the soil.  It is our practice at A Quality Plant to plant palm trees 1-3" higher than grade.

A sure sign of overplanting is the darkening of the palm foliage.  The foliage can turn black on palms like Foxtails and Christmas Palms.  The palm will need to be raised to cure the problem.

The Sabal Palmetto, Sabal Palm or Cabbage Palm, is routinely planted deeper than the surface of the ground and can withstand this practice better than other palms.  If this is done on a birm or on the hill adjacent to an over-pass, the palm will do better.  Deep planting a Sabal Palm on level ground is not recommended.

Rob Pittman
www.aqualityplant.com

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