Pigmy Date Palms in Puna?

[hpp4me]

Has anyone had luck growing Phoenix Roebelenii (Pigmy Date Palm)in Puna. Some cites say it will grow in zone 11, which I believe includes Puna.

If so, how are the fruits?

[JerryCarr]

We have a young one which is thriving and starting to look really good, but I think it is too young to fruit. I have seen much larger ones, but have never seen fruit on one. That doesn't mean they won't fruit, though. Maybe someone else knows more about that aspect, but they often are used as landscape plants with success in Puna, especially HPP.

Cheers,
Jerry

[emorata]

they grow all over puna....i bought a few 10 gallon sizes and they are doing quite well....you should put it in the ground though if you don't plan on watering it regularly since they dry out faster in those containers.

[missydog1]

I now officially hate these palms and never want to own one again. We had maybe 25 mature specimens on our Hilo property, and for them to look good the dead fronds needed trimming, which usually led to some form of impalement by the vicious thorns -- most times just a little owie and blood in foot or hand, but this one time ...

Last year, while trimming, I guess I was tired because on the last frond I planned to take out I lost control of it and it fell on me and a thorn impaled into my thumb joint and a miniscule fragment broke off -- although I couldn't see anything there and didn't realize it had happened.
It seemed OK, hurt at the moment but barely bled.

Ten days later I developed a raging stiffness/ infection where the whole thumb swelled up ... antibiotics, ultrasounds, and in the end had to go to Oahu to have surgery (with full general anesthesia) to get it out. My thumb is arthritic now from the trauma and I still get pain there. I lost the use of my left hand for two months during the worst of it.

in the process of helping my doctor figure out the mystery of why my thumb swelled up, I googled phoenix roebelenii and infection and toxin. There is a fair amount of medical literature about staph from these thorms and they have a known propensity for breaking off when sticking people. There are knee injuries that have required multiple surgeries.

To me their presence in the landscape doesn't outweigh the PITA factor of the thorns.

You will probably still plant them, but I posted this so people would be aware of the possible consequences of being casual with their grooming. Respect those thorns!

The fruit is just red berries, which are pretty enough but then turn black and fall and make sprouts everywhere.

[JerryCarr]

Geez Louise!! What a story. Kathy, I am so sorry you had to go through all that and are still having difficulty. I am aware of the thorns and use thick leather gloves when grooming mine, but I had no idea about the propensity for staph on the buggers. I have a friend with a bigger one who uses long-handled lopping shears to trim his. Maybe I know why now.

Hoping your arthritis goes away over time,
Jerry

[hpp4me]

Wow! Thanks for the warning!

[emorata]

yes they are quite thorny and dangerous, but once trimmed and growing tall - they do be come quite beautiful specimens or you can keep them as barrier plants in the areas you want to prevent any access to property.

noel

[Tolleys]

KathyH,

I almost feel your pain! I too suffered a thorn impalement that sent me to urgent care. Just some pain killer and they removed it from my finger.

They are beautiful trees, but one needs to be very careful when pruning! We had 2 large and 3 small ones in Tempe, AZ. Many a time I backed right into those thorns as they lay on ground after pruning. Ouch!

Susan

[missydog1]

thanks for the sympathy guys! Tolley, I'm glad they got yours out!

The frond I was grooming was from over my head and I was using loppers and catching them by the safe parts, but I got careless after doing it for about an hour and this one slipped and came down on me like a spear ... going deep into the joint where the fragments could never work themselves out...

with these buggahs they never stop irritating until they do come out, thus the surgery (which set me back almost a thousand bucks and that hurt almost as much).

almost a year later my thumb feels almost normal most of the time. One of the worst things was not being able to type -- typing with one hand is brutal when one is used to touch typing.

They are great barriers, for sure.
But for a silhouette in the garden I'm now happy to stick with hapu'u or more friendly palms. I would rather have a row of triangle palms which are low maintenance.

I had three rows of them in my yard so that made for a big chore ... in fact I let the dead fronds hang down in two of the spots but the third one was situated so prominently in the center of the yard that the fronds looked really bad when they started to turn, and drooped down over other plants.

Having a couple specimens would be different and I don't mean to discourage you. If they grow in Waiakea, I don't see why not in HPP. I also had a small one on the dry Kohala side so it appears they tolerate hot and dry as well as rainy Hilo -- as long as they get drainage.

amyhow, I appreciate the sympathy.

[emorata]

gardening is definitely not a light endeavor with plants people are not familiar with....i've also had experiences with thorny plants in puna along with dangerous sap and itchies....taught me to always wear gloves, shoes and sometimes full clothing....gardening is a battle - but i love it!