Show your best Brahea armata pics.
The following thread was started by Roger Oly, 8b on February 09, 2008 at 9:00 am PST
This one is fuller and gets more sun, but neither one has ever lost a spear in the last five years.
Anyone growing this palm.
The above followup was added by Roger on February 09, 2008 at 9:02 am PST.
Will it grow in Eastern Washington???
A
The above followup was added by Adam in Richland on February 09, 2008 at 9:12 am PST.
hey Roger..
good talkin with ya yesterday about plants...Your Brahea armata looks pretty good!! I will have to go and take a picture of that one Brahea armata in hillsboro I was talking to you about, its not as big as yours...wel ill just have to take a picture of it..lol but yeah it looks reall good..ive always been "iffy" on Brahea armata and its slow growth..but as I keep looking at your picture..dude seriously it looks really good im impressed with your Brahea!
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 9:21 am PST.
Roger, if anyone can grow a Brahea armata it is you. With your fast draining soil, great micro-climate for the NW, and your knowledge of using plants together it is no wonder you haven't had a problem with this species.
I tried growing them in the early ninties when I lived in Aberdeen. I planted a one gallon sized armata in a raised bed of that horrible blue clay soil found around Aberdeen, that I amended with compost. It didn't make it through the winter with temperatures in the low twenties. I tried another one the next year, losing it also.
Of course in those days I was completely ignorant of the plants needs. If I was going to grow one now in Aberdeen, I would have used builder's sand instead of compost and had overhead protection either from a plant or man made structure to keep the 100 inches of rain that Aberdeen gets from doing damage.
The above followup was added by Issaquah John on February 09, 2008 at 10:47 am PST.
John thats a lot of rain for B.armata. Aberdeen is z9a I would think but it doesn't have a lot of heat. Plus I am not sure it would have work by adding Builder's sand becuse Sand and Clay makes concrete. Right?
John in Beaverton, B. armata are hardier than Butia I think but are a lot slower like you mention. I think they could take 10F here and still live as long as it wasn't a really long cold spell. Like I said I have never had any spear damage on these palms since they have been in the ground.
There is only one other B. armata in my area that I am aware of that looks pretty good.
Adam in your area this palm would love the extra heat and you guys also warm up pretty fast in spring. I would put one in a large container and bring inside the garage when the temps dip into the mid to low teens. Rain would not be a problem over there I think.
Man! I can't wait to do some digging this spring and summer. Lots of changes coming up for the garden this year. New gate and fence for one project that's going to be really cool and different thats for sure.
How about more pic's people?
The above followup was added by Roger on February 09, 2008 at 11:21 am PST.
Hi Roger that looks a beauty with quite a bit of trunk as well. Have you had it growing outside long or did it suffer losing leaves when you planted it out.
I planted one with 14 leaves and finished with 7 a month later but it picked up again after that.
I have 3 Brahea armata here all of similar size to this ( not big) but this one is about the bluest.
Kev
BTw where is Aberdeen ...I thought that was Scotland...Don't go with the sand as we have had Butia yatay arrive here in builders sand and most died!!!
The above followup was added by Kev Spence on February 09, 2008 at 11:54 am PST.
Same here, but it took about three years to lose that many leaves. It will be interesting to see how much growth they put on this summer. They can be slower growing when young in our climate. Now it grows faster.
The above followup was added by Roger on February 09, 2008 at 3:02 pm PST.
Kev, Aberdeen, Washington is on the coast of Washington State, forty five miles west of Olympia. It is above five miles from the Pacific Ocean as the crow flies and is locate on Grays Harbor where the Chehalis River enters it. Check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen%2C_WA Its latest fame is it being the home of Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, the two founding members of a Grunge band called Nirvana.
So you say don't plant in builders sand, thanks for the information. I am still learning and appreciate the information.
Roger, sand + clay = cement, you are right, (just hit my forehead for not thinking) . It probably is to cool and wet to grow Brahea and Butia in Aberdeen, not without a lot of work anyway. I never tried a Butia when down there but I saw others growing them, and they froze out in the winter during the artic outbreaks. But I sure could grow wind mill palms, Musa Basjoo, and bamboo down there. And the hardy eucalyptus did really well also.
The above followup was added by Issaquah John on February 09, 2008 at 4:25 pm PST.
Hey all..
Kev your Brahea looks pretty dandy! Ok all..Roger I said I was going to take pics of this Brahea armata in Hillsboro, OR. I knocked on the door of the house that I took the pictures at, no one there, it was almost like no one lived there, but who knows. This palm has obviously had no protection at all..and I mean AT ALL.
There is a big Doug Fir right next to it that must give it some protection. This palm has had some frost damage I think..or water damage, but it was on the older fronds, strong center spear that I pulled on and it didnt pull out, so its good to go.. but here it is..what do you all think of it?
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:13 pm PST.
here it is
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:14 pm PST.
more pics
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:15 pm PST.
More pics
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:16 pm PST.
More pics..I am just taking "varying" shots of the Brahea so you all can get some perspective
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:17 pm PST.
More!!!...lol
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:18 pm PST.
Center spear area
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:18 pm PST.
More of the center spear
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:20 pm PST.
Full view shot
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:21 pm PST.
here is the last pic, its a distance shot from the street..
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 09, 2008 at 7:22 pm PST.
Issaquah John thanks for the directions as it always seems weird to hear of places that we have over here in the UK............bet you have not got a place called Loughborough over there where I live over here.
My dead B.yatay and a trail of sand below........
-------------------------------------------------------
John ,that Brahea is wasted in that "garden" but it has nice overhead cover and is probably quite dry what with the tree roots.
Kev
The above followup was added by Kev Spence on February 10, 2008 at 2:03 am PST.
Yeah I agree..it is a waste on where it is at...it almost sad to see it there..its pretty obvious the owner doesnt know how to "address" the proper "exotic plant etiquette"..lol I think that big Douglas Fir is the saving grace of the palm, I guess you can say a good way to use a fir tree for some rain protection..lol
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on February 10, 2008 at 9:05 am PST.
Below is a pic of my B. armata. It is about 3.5' to the base of the growth spear.
I have another with very interesting foliage, but don't have a picture.
Kev: I love the blue foliage on the first pic you provided. Very nicely formed stiff fronds as well. Had it been through a winter in that pic?
The above followup was added by Jeff, Victoria, BC, 8b on February 11, 2008 at 1:04 pm PST.
Thats a beautiful Palm Jeff.
Jeff - How many leaves does your produce a year?
Mine only produces three adult leaves and three large
spears by the end of summer. Hoping to get more growth this year, since it has more full sun.
John good job finding that Brahaea. I'll try and get a picture of the other one I spotted last summer.
The above followup was added by Roger on February 11, 2008 at 2:11 pm PST.
Jeff yours and Rogers seem to have less of a stiff leaf ,as you have observed on mine, than mine or the other Brahea, posted by John its strange the same spp can look quite different at times and Jeff that is a nice bigun too.
The picture of mine was taken that day and has been in the ground 3 years now .........no protection other than it is quite close to my house.
kev
The above followup was added by Kev Spence on February 11, 2008 at 2:30 pm PST.
I had a five gallon (planted) B. armata that I lost in 2004 (cold damage). It was putting on about 5 fronds a year (after about 4 years in the ground). The one I in the pic has been in the ground two summers, but only put on about 2,5 fronds last summer. The weather was ho-hum and I think it should do better this year.
Kev: My second armata has a different look again than the one above and yours. It is stiff but with shallower leaf splits. I really do like yours though. It looks like a cross between B. armata and a Bismarkia. Do other UK aramatas look like yours?
The above followup was added by Jeff, Victoria, BC, 8b on February 11, 2008 at 9:52 pm PST.
The Brahea over here are all different except the for the DIY superstores all of which seem to look like mine and thats where mine came from too.
Last year they were selling Bismarkias too along side the Brahea and the Brahea looked blue Bizzys purple.
I would think all who bought the Bizzies have lost there palms here and I would not be surprised if some people actually planted them out side............bit naughty by the super stores that.
Kev
The above followup was added by Kev Spence on February 12, 2008 at 6:01 am PST.