Kentia not so slow (and more pics)

15 years ago

All i've ever read about the Kentia (Howea Forsteriana) is that they are painfully slow growing. For the first year in the ground, mine too was pretty slow. This year though, i've fertilized a lot and it has already put out two fronds and has two more on the way. Already one more than last year and it's only been actlively growing for three months (first frond this year opened in March).

{{gwi:1141231}}

and here are a couple more pics:

Syagrus Romanzoffiana (with a brugmania in the middle)

{{gwi:502966}}

Strelitzia Nicolai (Phoenix Roebelinii to the left)

{{gwi:602250}}

And here are some shots of all of the smoke in our San Joaquin Valley. There are tons of fires burning throughout CA, and the air outside is really, REALLY bad. It smells like a campfire outside and it's been like this for the last week, and the end is not near, there are still plenty of fires going.

{{gwi:1141232}}

{{gwi:1141233}}

{{gwi:1141234}}

Some plants like the filtered sunlight though. Here are a Brugmansia "Frosty Pink" and a Tibouchina Urvilleana whose blooms are able to stay open all day instead of wilting by noon.

{{gwi:1141235}}

{{gwi:59766}}

{{gwi:59767}}

{{gwi:59770}}

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

topher2006
15 years ago
Nice palms cali . I want a kentia !
Central_Cali369
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Topher. You know, kentias are commonly sold here in Home Depots and Lowes. Yours might carry them as houseplants. I bought mine for $9. If you can't get one locally, heres a website that sells Kentia palms from California. The prices aren't too bad either.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here to view prices
Related Discussions
Still Waiting for blooms, seems so slow this time *Pics*
Q
Comments (6)
LTGF, I had only one brug out of 5 I put out that bloomed consistently over the summer, and it seems to like heat. Once the cooling began I got buds on 4 plants, one has begun to flower inside (it's just 2' tall in a pot), one spent the night outside last night and I hope it didn't freeze, one is in the garage going in at night and out daytime, another in my bedroom window taking up way too much room in my bedroom. It's been frustrating but now that I've had a first freeze here I need these guys to bloom so I can cut them back and put them in the basement! Each year is different with them, so keep your spirits up and look forward to what they'll do next year. Meanwhile I have other houseplants blooming their hearts out to make up for the brugs!
...See More
Why is this forum so slow?
Q
Comments (27)
I'm grateful the Iris Forum is not as busy as some. I can't be in here 24/7 so it is nice that I can keep up with the topics being discussed and not miss things as they fly by so quickly, as happens in some forums. For example, I never catch the same thread twice in the Northwestern Gardening foum. I post when I feel my experience is relevant and helpful, or when I just want to praise a great photo or a great variety. I like that the gallery here is slow this year. Some years there are so many posts you can't see them all before they are dropped off. I, like many others, enjoy the photos but am only moved by a few to respond to them. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate everyone sharing their pictures - but some just don't thrill me enough to comment. You want me to post my ambivalence? What's the point? I'm happy you posted this - look at the diversity of the responses! So many different perspectives. I like that alot. And you certainly got some discussion going, eh? =) Mike
...See More
Off to a slow start (pics)
Q
Comments (26)
I don't seem to notice anything one way or the other. Colors haven't been too dependent. I have had some blind shoots, and some of the roses are having buds die out before they mature into a larger size. This is normal to extent, but with so much rain it's noticeable....not a huge deal though. Evelyn has maybe 2-3 dead buds that were killed off during development, but not a big deal. Some of the cuttings I took don't have any blooms, but on the plus side I see new basal canes starting to come out from the base, so that's always nice. One of my WS2000 cuttings is putting out rather bizarre growth with far larger leaves and no blooms...yet at least, so I'm keeping an eye on that one. It's planted close to the parent plant that I got the cutting off that is doing fine. Could just be the weather, an oddity, or possibly a sport, but I'm keeping an eye on any traces of any kind of disease and/or virus just in case....seems fine though...just rather odd. I just dug up my Pat Austin cutting that I planted last year and seemingly wintered over fine and was putting out a lot of new growth then just died for inexplicably no reason whatsoever...this was the case for all of my Pat Austins, so I currently have no more of PA. :( I dug it up and the root systems was very dense and looked awesome...yet they still all died...clueless there. Everything else looks great though minus all the rain. I do have some yellowing leaves from all the water and some interior low lying blackspot since some of the roses are pretty dense right now, but it's nothing significant and I will thin them out somewhat after the 1st flush. Probably another week until I see a bloom, but I still expect a good show for the roses 1st flush inside the ground out of their pots...even my little Graham Thomas cutting in the ground has a bud on it so he seems to enjoy his environment next to his parent Graham Thomas which I didn't think would survive the winter after transplanting him into the ground later last September with a rather cut down root system. Big Graham Thomas is only about 2.5' tall right now, but looks awesome...still has those meaty canes from it's former self in Columbus, so I expect it to recover quite quickly and probably near it's former self by the end of the year.
...See More
Why are Angora Super Sweet so slow to grow? (pic)
Q
Comments (6)
Origin of seeds were from Tomato Fest. ****** There have been a few comments here about poor germination of some varieties from Tomatofest but since the search feature isn't working I can't link you to a specific thread. I suspect the problem might be that the seeds were rather old since they took so long to germinate and are slow growing. If so, they should start growing better soon as they put on more leaves and you can give them a dilute foliar feed of fish or seaweed if you wish. I happened to notice in your picture your Red Brandywine plant and I don't think it's RB b/c the foliage is PL and RB has RL foliage. What was your seed source for the Red Brandywine? Carolyn
...See More
rhizophora
15 years ago
Hi,
My Howea cluster has started to grow a bit faster after I planted them out! They are terribly sunburnt, despite receiving sunlight for only a few hours in the morning. One palm is opening a new leaf, and it seems to be undamaged by the sunlight. A smaller palm looks like it has fried in the sun. Syagrus should be extremely hardy where I live, so I will give it a go (if i can find a source)! Your garden looks beautiful, with all those brugmansia and cannas. Is Strelitzia nicolae hardier than S. reginae?
James
Central_Cali369
Original Author
15 years ago
Hey James, thanks. When i first planted my kentia outside, the existing leaves were burned really bad. We have very hot and long summers, often staying above 100 degrees Farenheit for weeks at a time. The emerging leaves weren't harmed by the sun though. I have seen 10 meter + kenias in full sun in the inner valleys of Los Angeles where temperatures are similar to ours and they seem to tolerate the sun just fine. I think it's all about aclimatizing the palm to the sunlight. You know, there are many queens here that continuously fruit and produce seed. I MIGHT be able to find and collect seeds for you. Again, I MIGHT. I'll keep my eyes out for a couple of large clumps of fruit that are hanging on palms that are planted at the local McDonald's.

About the strelitzia, i would think that they are both equally hardy. I have both in my yard. I can tell you though that mature reginae clumps are more common than mature nicolai clumps. I don't know if it is due to the availablilty of nicolai as opposed to that of reginae. There are some older parts of town that have nicolai clumps that are as tall as the two story houses they are planted outside of. Here are two of the four reginae that i have here at home.

{{gwi:1141247}}
rhizophora
15 years ago
Hi,
That is very kind of you! Sadly here in the UK, there are very few exciting seeds to send back. My howea has grown significantly since yesterday, the leaflets are ufolding.
Here are some (bad) pictures:

Sunburnt Cluster

New Leaf

Thanks
James
watergal
15 years ago
Here on the East Coast, kentias are ridiculously expensive and hard to find. They are great houseplants though.

Kentia not so slow (and more pics)

Comments (6)

topher2006

Central_Cali369
Original Author

Related Discussions

rhizophora

Central_Cali369
Original Author

rhizophora

watergal

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Kentia not so slow (and more pics)

Comments (6)

topher2006

Central_Cali369Original Author

Related Discussions

rhizophora

Central_Cali369Original Author

rhizophora

watergal

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Central_Cali369
Original Author

Central_Cali369
Original Author