Thats a BIIIG pot!
Nice bottle palm.

That's out of my league, but wow!! Definitely a big, manly plant.

Just curious, being in Florida, why not plant in the ground? I love these....

Christopher

Something that Majestic would look nice in a Hospital.. Nursing Home etc. Some place to give it a sense of scale and to put some smiles on a few faces.. My 2..

Charlie

it would lose some visual effectiveness of the height it will lose if it drops down that far,however that problem could be worked around by building the ground up to match it's former height or even more if u like. like a series of raised beds up to the palm,yaknow?

just throwing ideas around :)

Like a pyramid raised bed!!!!!!!!! ;) Cool idea.

Christopher
I grew these from seed and have moved up to 24 inch pots over the last 20 years.. have kept the 5 in my meighbors yard for over 10 years but they are moving so had to make a choice lol My grow area has turned into deep shade and these are rather frost sensitive ,plus a neighbor donated the pot and muscle to get it planted . Hopefully I can maintain it on my small patio for a bit longer.lol I sold the other four to a landscape co but couldn't bear to part with this one lol
5 cubic feet of soil holds a lot of water hope I came up with the right mixture I stuck a couple of pieces of lantana in but think I'll switch that to some type of sedum. Sure need some type of underplanting lol gary

Gary, now that is one, BEAUTIFUL Bottle Palm!
Two years ago I searched everywhere for a Hyophorbe palm, but all I found were seeds.

I attempting sowing the seeds, but they never sprouted. I did toss one in an aquarium with odds and ends, and a palm grew, but don't know if it's Hyophorbe or another palm.

Another palm = I detached a tiny, baby offshoot from one of my older palms, placed in the tank..didn't label either..so don't know which palm grew.

20-years? Is that how long I have to wait? lol.

But, serioulsy, your palm is delightful. I LOVE its bottle-like trunk.

Is the pot plastic? Wonder how the castors hold your palm?? It looks quite heavy for such tiny wheels.

It's obvious why it won't fit in a window. Unless you live in a mansion, with tall ceilings and skylight! lol.

I don't blame you, not for a minute, not wanting to part with your seed-grown palm tree.

Will it survive winters? If so, can you plant in the garden? Or would you rather it remain in a container?

Great palm...Toni

Thanks for the "props" TMG!

You're too kind! :)

Toni
they should have been put into the ground several years ago but I lacked space and now I lack full sun.lol
The casters held up a 150 gallon aquarium for several years . The pot is a standard fiberglass nursery pot with a coat of fusion. They don't like temps below 40 but have survived down to 27 with some protection.
They have always been maintained in pots since they germinated 20 years ago. They are around half the size they would be if given perfect conditions
Probably the worlds worst choice as a pot plant as they get large, very sensitive to water and require full sun and warmth.
If you still want to try one Get VERY fresh seed clean all the flesh from the seed,soak in warm water for 48 hours , put into zip lock bags with damp long fibered sphagnum moss and keep the temps above 80 degrees . Be patient as I recall it took 7 months to germinate . They are very sensitive to fungus so probably a good idea to add fugicide to the sphag from the start.
There are several other problems but have probably completely discouraged you by now?? lol
gary

I agree an underplanting would be cool, but wouldn't want anything with any height to hide the beautiful, dramatic trunk. Tradescantia zebrina could fill the soil surface and drape down the sides to cover the pot. Probably an invasive weed where you are though, for any pieces that might come loose... What about Bacopa or Lobelia?

Hi
I stuck in a couple of pieces of lantana that i had but
feel they will hold too much moisture near the roots of the palm VERY susceptible to rot. Don't like the pink flowwers anyway lol
I'm leaning toward sedums "Dragons blood " has a bright red could take the full sun and very dry conditions . Would stay under 4 inches and won't climb.. Should trail over the sides and maybe soften the effect of the gigantic pot lol Another of the "ice plants" would be "baby rose " the variagated variety looks good but has pink flowers but has the same habits as the dragons blood but haven't been able to locate ,so far. the plants you mention wouldn't like the conditions necessary for the palm . Thanks for the suggestions !!! gary

These look pretty good...

{{gwi:110652}}

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Hmm, Lantana is one of the most xeric plants I've encountered since moving south. If there's a trailer with a flower color you do like, I think it would be an excellent companion.

I think companion plants do the opposite in a large pot, help use excess moisture, and send roots through the soil around the edges above the lower roots of the primary plant. The soil without roots in a pot is that which holds moisture the longest.

Dragons' blood Sedum is definitely smashing! That would look cool. You've got room there for a whole mini garden at the base of that tree. Do you ever see Alternanthera 'Joseph's coat' around? That's an upright, but very short and colorful. I've been putting it at the base of some of my pots and like it more all the time, don't know why I didn't think of it yesterday. Creeping thyme would also love it there. Or some cute little native Portulaca pilosa. Gibasis geniculata, and/or Callisia repens.

What are those plants, asleep? Love the 2nd one!

They are sedum of some sort or another that are typically used as groundcover. :)

Oh ok, thanks! I've seen a lot of Sedums, but none like those. The top one looks like a vine.

the top one is the same kind that my mom had for years and years. every time we moved she brought some with her and in no time it would fill up empty space(controlled erosion too!).

wish I had some now.
worse comes to worse I know a guy I let have a sample years ago and he (like mom) let it run loose in his yard so surely he has a sample he could send me through the mail. I keep telling myself that I should drop him a line to catch up a bit but I really haven't spoken to any of the people I used to talk to in years. I guess I take some comfort in just knowing that some of that culture(mom's sedum) is still out there somewhere. for now I guess that will do. :)

Gary...When it comes to plants, especially rarer specimens, it takes a LOT to discourage me. lol.

When I first hunted Bottle Palms, 'Ebay,' all but one entry came up seeds. The actual palm plus shipping happened to be way over my budget.. :)
Also, a seller can say seeds are fresh, when in fact, they're old and dry. How does one know if seeds are fertile? Especially since sellers place seeds in a plastic bag, without an expiration date.

It's too bad most palms cannot be ID'd until semi-maturity, otherwise I'd snap a pic of the palm in the aquarium. It looks like most other palm seedlings..

Do Hyophorbe seedlings need direct sun?
Are mature/large leaves thick or thin?

When you speak of temps, 'lows,' do you mean as a container plant or grown in-ground? Seedlings or mature?

I know 20-yrs is a long time, lol, but would you happen to remember how old/height your palm was when shape/bottle was noticeable? If you don't remember, it's understandable.

Gary, considering my location, it'd be a longggg time before Hyophorbe would be 1/8th size of your tree..
I'd be happy with a 4'er w/a bottle-shaped trunk.

Purple has a beautiful palm...smaller, but its trunk is thick and firm. It too reminds me of a Bottle palm.

I wouldn't worry about adding plants near the pot rim, unless palm roots fill the entire container. A hanging/cascading plant that requires a lot of light would look great.

Gary doesn't want 'pink' flowers, he wants blue..lol

Asleep. I like your Sedum, especially the second plant. Never have seen that variety. Very handsome.

Oh, thought you had the two Sedums now.
You should write the guy, Asleep. Afterall, it was you who gave him cuttings? in the first place.
If he says no, go to his house in the middle of the night and take cuttings..lol...j/k. Toni

Toni
There really isn't a way to tell if seeds are fresh , in my case i got them from a landscape bottle that was fruiting.
The "bottle varies considerably from palm to palm . here is another that was grown from the same batch of seeds . So I know they had the same culture and age . the bottle usually appears in around the 5/6 year but varies a LOT from planmt to plant. Note how different these two are ?? Some don't even develop it at all.
In this case you can see the stilt roots as they age they tend to push up above the soil gary

hi
have no idea why the pic is rotated . Imagine the left as up lol
Thanks everyone for the suggestions on underplanting on this pic you can see a hint of the :stilt roots . This is why they usually aren't underplanted in a pot. They need the air through the roots . I"ve lost a bunch over the years due to rot but since they are maturing think I might get by with some type of Xeric underplanting. Think sedums would be worth a try. !!! gary