Anyone ever had success w/ traveller's palms here?

18 years ago

I love the way traveller's palms look, and would love to try to grow one or two here. I know they would be frost sensitive and need to be protected from winds. Has anyone ever seen any growing in Phoenix Metro?

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Comments (7)

bethhawthorne
18 years ago
I had travelers palms once, and boy did they hurt. Too much luggage lifting I think. :)
sonotaps
18 years ago
I have one growing in my yard and it is quite young. They are subject to root rot in addition to frost/wind damage. I can't imagine the ultra-low humidities help either.

Buckets are not a 'happy place' to grow them from what I have gleaned from reading I have done. If you are truly in 8b I can pretty much guarantee certain death.

I just planted mine in late summer (should have started it sooner) and it is just kind of 'there' right now. I don't expect it to look fantastic, and I expect to see suffering from cold and lack of humidity here. When we had our 'warm spell' it started to come alive with another leaf. Now it is just kind of sitting there again.

Not an ideal plant for our environment here. Just an amusing experiment for me to see what happens. It will never be a real beauty like those found in the tropics.

Ravenala Madagascariensis is related to the banana (I have read). My bananas looked great in the summer but now look rather tattered (I didn't really bother to protect them). They grow fast and will recover very quickly when the weather warms up. So too I suspect will the Traveler's Tree.
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desertdenial
18 years ago
The species is classified in the bird-of-paridise family, strelitziaceae. The flowers are similar. I have a spot in the garden in which I intend on planting a traveler's palm, but I definitely don't have high hopes!

Here is a link that might be useful: travelers palm on davesgarden.com
birdlady_in_mesa
18 years ago
WOW, those are beautiful. I can understand why you would want them.

Susie
sonotaps
18 years ago
Desertdenial,

I may have been delusional when I read they were related to bananas (Musa). I may have confused 'banana like leaves'. Anyway, good luck with the Traveler's Tree when you plant it (late Feb./March would be good).

I have three Royals growing well for the past 2 years. You'll be surprised how fast they grow and how they take our sun. Perfect. Once they get rooted nicely they will resist cold better and they just didn't get a full growing season when planted in Oct. This summer they will get huge if you give them fertilizer and water, and they don't have the picky issues that Queens have in terms of nutrition.

Cool! Good luck! Nice to see someone else trying Royals.
desertdenial
18 years ago
Since this is supposed to be a thread about travellers palms, here is a photo I found today:
http://www.americanrag.com/photogallery/Tahiti/Day%202%20Raiatea%20004.jpg

Sonotaps, my royals are looking pretty crispy. I want to get 3 more, but I want to see if they push up new growth by March. I am in 8b on the edge of town. Do your royals stay green in the winter?

How are your Foxtail Palms doing? I want to plant them in full sun but nurseries say they need shade. Who in the valley has shade that high?!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:394339}}
sonotaps
18 years ago
Desertdenial,

I feel like I'm hijacking this thread but at least I responded to the original line of query. Sorry.

The Royals are deep green with a couple of fronds 'drying out' as nutrients are spent (older ones, which is normal for palms). They are a little older now and have started to grow trunks. You just have to get them throught the first two years with cold protection. On the other hand, if you really are in 8b, you will have some trouble with them. They say 28 degrees is their limit but that depends on duration, etc. In the winter, I string Christmas lights on them as a precaution (I'm not in the warmest area, but not the coldest either) and I treated them with Anti-transpirant (Anti-stress) this season which seems to work really well for palms but not for much else (1st season I have used it) as I have discovered.

Foxtails are doing well. I have them on a north wall with eastern exposure along with the rest of my palms. It is the 'coldest' part of my yard though. They are more sensitive than the Royals when young despite what you might have read but 'toughen up' as they get older (like everything else, really). I would agree that they need AM and early PM sun and shade from late afternoon sun. Foxtails are doing well and grow under the filtered canopy of the Royals. I saw one in full blasting sun at Paddock on Thomas Road in Phoenix a while back, but it isn't the best looking one. Some mulch would probably help (hint, hint, Paddock!).

For the record, I don't expect my Traveler's tree to look like that beauty in Tahiti (if it lives). Wow!

Good luck with the Royals. You first frond may come out yellowish from cold damage but then the ones after will be OK if they come back. Remember lots of water and small doses of monthly fertizer in the warm months. A few good doses of superthrive might help too.

I hope they recover for you and wish you best success!

Anyone ever had success w/ traveller's palms here?

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bethhawthorne

sonotaps

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