The best Raveneas for a Mediterranean climate

[DoomsDave]

So, what Ravenea works for you, in the Medit climes of the world?

That means: California (where the girls don't they warn ya), South Africa, Chile, Western Australia, the land down under, and of course, the countries around the actual Mediterranean.

Hmm

Which one? Or more?

For me: R. glauca, hildebrandtii, and rivularis, for starters. Xerophyla, okay, others?

Whaddya say?

[Sutter Bob]

Somewhat Mediterranean here - frosty winters, dry, hot summers. Citrus, grapes and olives do fairly well.

Dry summer heat 100 plus no problem for any of the 4 Ravenea listed if given water. Winter lows here are the challenge.

Rivularis - extreme defoliation if uncovered but tend to bounce back. Ratty Jan-June but ok after that. They love the heat if given H2O.

Fairly cheap here and can be used as small annuals. Not too bad if given a little cover. Will probably never get old here.

Glauca - planted a small one here two years ago in medium cover. Lost it to 20F this January. Will try again in other locations.

Hildebrandtii - one survived this winter under cover. Recently attacked by snails or slugs which have been poisoned. So far so good. Might be ok under cover.

Xerophila - first experiments this year. One in ground since January growing nicely. Getting ready to plant a second one soon. Optimistic.

Would expect these do do well in frost-free areas with dry summers if watered sufficiently.

[Phoenikakias]

Im my place 37,81 NL in Attica, Greece the -2 C with two consecutive days of heavy snowfall have withstood Ravenea rivularis and xerophila, not the glauca (all totally uncovered). I think latter tolerates better steady temps below 8C, (while rivularis tends to yellow) but not extreme lows.Xerophila tolerates well dry fost but what about the wet one? I think it may have a chance if planted in an absolutely free draining medium (like Medemia). Ravenea madagascariensis too tender not only to frost but also to steady cold temps. What about sambiranensis?

[DoomsDave]

Some swear by Monticola.

Others by sambirensis.

How about you?

[Phoenikakias]

Some swear by Monticola.

Others by sambirensis.

How about you?

What is the 'monticola' and where particularly it comes from? Not that I have never heard of it befor, but in the 'Palms of Madagascar' its status has been debated.

[Geoff]

_{R rivularis are everywhere here in the San Fernando Valley, some over 20' tall... pretty surprising since this place is devoid of any other 'interesting' palms. Ravenea xerophila works great for me and grows pretty fast if planted in a raised planter box with cactus soil (sluggish if planted in our clay soil, but survives- mine is 10 years old now, but still small in clay.... other one died after I trie to transplant it.. bummer). R glauca is probably the best looking and easiest if you want a palm that looks like a palm in a hurry, but tired of Majesties. Still, we get colds here in the Valley that can defoliate this palm (lost one 5 years ago when it got down to 25F... all day long). Ravenea juliette ended up being too wimpy for this climate, as was robustior. Not tried any others here, though madagascariensis and hildebrandii did great in Thousand Oaks, similar to here, though a tad more mild. Not tried any other species.}

[Phoenikakias]

Ravenea rivularis has a weak aspect, its sensitivity to dissolved solids in the water that is, if conbined with soluble fertilizer. On the other hand it is a heavy feeder, so a slow releaser or a reverse osmosis is necessary.

[quaman58]

In addition to those mentioned above, R. sp. "giant" seems to do well here. Like most Ravenea it loves water (overwatering seems near impossible), & looks best in filtered light when smaller. I've also been growing R. lakatra for a couple years with no problems.

[Gtlevine]

• I've had success with all of them, never a problem.
  

[DoomsDave]

I have a baby "Giant" in the ground, right next to my path, of course . . .

Sot far, it's growing.

[pogobob]

I'd like to get a hold of the Andringitra form of Ravenea Glauca that is described in the latest issue of Palms by Dr Dransfield. It is a stunner with a more robust crown of spherical recurved leaves that doesn't look anything like the common Glauca.

Also, I think the editers of Palms are to be commended for finally putting together a very readable and interesting issue! I hope this will be a lasting trend.

[Gtlevine]

I saw those in habitat Bob, awesome plants.

[Than]

On 6/21/2012 at 9:19 AM, Phoenikakias said:

Ravenea rivularis has a weak aspect, its sensitivity to dissolved solids in the water that is, if conbined with soluble fertilizer. On the other hand it is a heavy feeder, so a slow releaser or a reverse osmosis is necessary.

How fast does yours grow?

[Phoenikakias]

49 minutes ago, ego said:

How fast does yours grow?

If you manage to keep it healthy and pristine, it can be quite fast, slightly faster than say a CIDP.

[DoomsDave]

Anyone have any new cool species like hildebrandtii?

[James B]

I have 3 Ravenea Rivularis. One is a double.

All are starting to trunk this year which is exciting 

[James B]

Slow to put on height, but it puts out 12 leaves a year easy. This palm always has 3 or 4 spears growing at all time. About 12-13” across at the base. So not quite Royal size but I’d consider it the next size down in terms of giant vs extra large palms. 

[JubaeaMan138]

Sambiranensis is the best looking in my

opinion . Even beats out most dypsis in my opinion 

[iDesign]

Just bought a Sambiranensis this week, and it's already one of my favorite palms. I love the graceful "erupting from the ground" look (it's even bigger than it looks in person).

Was hoping to put it in a relatively sunny space (not here... this spot was just for a quick photo). I've been reading everything I can about it, and so far the only tip I've found is to give it TONS of water. Any tips (esp on sun tolerance) would be much appreciated.

[quaman58]

Stacey,

I've had one growing for a number of years; it's probably similar in size. It's been dependably somewhat slow, never holding more than 3 fronds or so. So it's alive, but not setting any records. Not sure what ails it besides probably getting less water than ideal. I saw one at Joe Palma's in San Marcos that was happy as a clam, way overhead now.  So it's not necessarily cold, as he gets a bit chilly every year.  Regarding other Ravenea, here's my rundown: hiilibrandii somewhat slow for me, but probably in a less than ideal location; glauca, dependable and nice and full looking all the time; krociana, slow to get started and struggles a bit with leaf burn; robustior, as challenging as the prior; madagascariensis "new" , awesome and on it's way to the moon; "giant" awesome, all luck on my part; juliettae, one of the best in the genus, always looks perfect; xerophyla, alive but slow slow slow; lakatra, slow but steady; and finally louvelli (very possibly not the real deal),  but different looking and growing nicely in heavy shade). Might be forgetting something, if so I'll report back...

[JubaeaMan138]

3 hours ago, quaman58 said:

Stacey,

I've had one growing for a number of years; it's probably similar in size. It's been dependably somewhat slow, never holding more than 3 fronds or so. So it's alive, but not setting any records. Not sure what ails it besides probably getting less water than ideal. I saw one at Joe Palma's in San Marcos that was happy as a clam, way overhead now.  So it's not necessarily cold, as he gets a bit chilly every year.  Regarding other Ravenea, here's my rundown: hiilibrandii somewhat slow for me, but probably in a less than ideal location; glauca, dependable and nice and full looking all the time; krociana, slow to get started and struggles a bit with leaf burn; robustior, as challenging as the prior; madagascariensis "new" , awesome and on it's way to the moon; "giant" awesome, all luck on my part; juliettae, one of the best in the genus, always looks perfect; xerophyla, alive but slow slow slow; lakatra, slow but steady; and finally louvelli (very possibly not the real deal),  but different looking and growing nicely in heavy shade). Might be forgetting something, if so I'll report back...

Joe palmas was the first sambiranensis I seen. Blew me away . Would kill to have one that size . If anyone knows we’re to find one let me know . 

[iDesign]

2 hours ago, JubaeaMan138 said:

Joe palmas was the first sambiranensis I seen. Blew me away . Would kill to have one that size . If anyone knows we’re to find one let me know . 

I got mine from @Josh-O at Fairview Nursery (Vista). I didn’t notice any others this large, but I didn’t go down a couple of rows so might want to PM and ask. He was talking about putting some of his lager stuff in the garden, so probably better to ask sooner than later (this one was headed to the garden before I snagged it)

Wish me luck... sounds like this one’s not a sure bet, but hoping to beat the odds 

[Billeb]

1 hour ago, iDesign said:

I got mine from @Josh-O at Fairview Nursery (Vista). I didn’t notice any others this large, but I didn’t go down a couple of rows so might want to PM and ask. He was talking about putting some of his lager stuff in the garden, so probably better to ask sooner than later (this one was headed to the garden before I snagged it)

Wish me luck... sounds like this one’s not a sure bet, but hoping to beat the odds 

I bought one from Josh last spring and haven’t put it in the ground yet. It’s def growing albeit slow it seems like. Drip irrigated every 3 days. I’ll take pictures tomorrow. 

Here is a picture of one in Oceanside and the reason I was on the hunt for one. Some of you may recognize the tree/ garden. Somehow I’ve missed Joe’s all the times I’ve been there. This one is East facing on the North side of his garden so gets unobstructed morning sun but shaded afternoon and a majority of the Winter months. 

[Phoenikakias]

14 minutes ago, Billeb said:

I bought one from Josh last spring and haven’t put it in the ground yet. It’s def growing albeit slow it seems like. Drip irrigated every 3 days. I’ll take pictures tomorrow. 

Here is a picture of one in Oceanside and the reason I was on the hunt for one. Some of you may recognize the tree/ garden. Somehow I’ve missed Joe’s all the times I’ve been there. This one is East facing on the North side of his garden so gets unobstructed morning sun but shaded afternoon and a majority of the Winter months. 

Why does it display so extended brown tips on older fronds?

[Phoenikakias]

All of you in SoCa are so lucky to have access to larger juveniles. In southeastern Europe only option for obtaining one is growing the plant as a seedling onwards. So following information is not of particular interest to lucky growers: seedlings are quite intolerant of constant cool and moist conditions in my cold frame and reversely quite fast and surprisingly tolerant if hot and moist conditions inthere during warm season. Perhaps obtained seedlings are either already contaminated with water molds in the nurseries, where they have germinated or later in my cold frame, and disease breaks out in advanced fall, when temp sinks and moisture rises. Either way, I discovered that they have considerably higher chances of survival if conventional soil is substituted with a mix of leca, pine bark and cinder.  

[Than]

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

All of you in SoCa are so lucky to have access to larger juveniles. In southeastern Europe only option for obtaining one is growing the plant as a seedling onwards. So following information is not of particular interest to lucky growers: seedlings are quite intolerant of constant cool and moist conditions in my cold frame and reversely quite fast and surprisingly tolerant if hot and moist conditions inthere during warm season. Perhaps obtained seedlings are either already contaminated with water molds in the nurseries, where they have germinated or later in my cold frame, and disease breaks out in advanced fall, when temp sinks and moisture rises. Either way, I discovered that they have considerably higher chances of survival if conventional soil is substituted with a mix of leca, pine bark and cinder.  

This mixture is not favorable ground for fungi then? Do you recommend this kind of medium for other palms too? 

[Billeb]

10 hours ago, iDesign said:

I got mine from @Josh-O at Fairview Nursery (Vista). I didn’t notice any others this large, but I didn’t go down a couple of rows so might want to PM and ask. He was talking about putting some of his lager stuff in the garden, so probably better to ask sooner than later (this one was headed to the garden before I snagged it)

Wish me luck... sounds like this one’s not a sure bet, but hoping to beat the odds 

Here’s the one I got from Josh. Not too impressive but…

 

-dale

[joe_OC]

18 hours ago, JubaeaMan138 said:

Sambiranensis is the best looking in my

opinion . Even beats out most dypsis in my opinion 

Saw some amazing palms at Bill's garden in Hilo, but his little grove of R sambiranensis stopped me dead in my tracks.  I've managed to get 2 of them.

[JubaeaMan138]

1 minute ago, joe_OC said:

Saw some amazing palms at Bill's garden in Hilo, but his little grove of R sambiranensis stopped me dead in my tracks.  I've managed to get 2 of them.

I got some growing from Bills seed as we speak 1 leaf but doing good 

[Phoenikakias]

On 2/5/2022 at 8:05 PM, ego said:

How fast does yours grow?

This is mine, planted in the ground as a trunkless juvenile. I stayed away from any fertilizer this year and applied instead only fungicide on the root zone. High rainfall helped too, that now it is looking half decent.

[joe_OC]

9 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Why does it display so extended brown tips on older fronds?

It's a very exposed area of Mark's yard.  

 

 

[iDesign]

46 minutes ago, joe_OC said:

> Why does it display so extended brown tips on older fronds?

It's a very exposed area of Mark's yard. 

Shoot... I probably should pick a different location for mine then. The spot I'm currently thinking would work well cosmetically is REALLY exposed.

I'm trying to put my finger on the sun/cold/exposure requirements for this one (sorry for thread-jacking, but sounds like there's some interest). From what I've read...
- Give it TONS of water, but also well draining soil
- Give it a relatively sunny spot
- Can handle cold spells (based on Joe's success in more inland San Diego)
- Too much exposure will result in brown tips on leaves(?)

Does the above sound accurate? That last requirement is a bummer for me, as I was hoping to feature it a little off from other palms, to show off the graceful V-shape.

Anyone think it might do well in the (very exposed) location shown in this photo? Or do I need to find a more protected spot for it? Would love to put it here (for cosmetic reasons), but not at expense of plant health.

[TomJ]

10 hours ago, Billeb said:

I bought one from Josh last spring and haven’t put it in the ground yet. It’s def growing albeit slow it seems like. Drip irrigated every 3 days. I’ll take pictures tomorrow. 

Here is a picture of one in Oceanside and the reason I was on the hunt for one. Some of you may recognize the tree/ garden. Somehow I’ve missed Joe’s all the times I’ve been there. This one is East facing on the North side of his garden so gets unobstructed morning sun but shaded afternoon and a majority of the Winter months. 

Mark actually bought this as a Monticola. 

He calls it a Sambiranensis.

I have both in ground and I can't tell the difference the two... if there is any.

[Billeb]

46 minutes ago, TomJ said:

Mark actually bought this as a Monticola. 

He calls it a Sambiranensis.

I have both in ground and I can't tell the difference the two... if there is any.

I vaguely remember him stating something like this. 
 

-dale 

[Billeb]

52 minutes ago, iDesign said:

Shoot... I probably should pick a different location for mine then. The spot I'm currently thinking would work well cosmetically is REALLY exposed.

The spot I’m thinking is in a narrow planter between my house and a walkway. Facing West so full afternoon sun. Not too concerned about it protruding too far into the walkway due to its super vertical stature. 
I haven’t planted it yet cuz the siding on that side of the house needs to be replaced and I really don’t want to work around the tree(s). 
 

-dale

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, iDesign said:

Anyone think it might do well in the (very exposed) location shown in this photo? Or do I need to find a more protected spot for it?

 

4 hours ago, Billeb said:

The spot I’m thinking is in a narrow planter between my house and a walkway. Facing West so full afternoon sun.

I have killed a tall specimen that I think I planted out as a 7 gallon plant, so I'll share my thoughts on Ravenea sambiranensis.  The leaves on mine were extending higher than a 6' wall nearby once I planted it.  I think what killed mine was planting in an exposed spot where wind caused the tall upright leaves to frequently torque on the roots as they tried to expand into my native soil.   It never rooted in well and I was having to remove tall leaves that had been bent over in wind or were partially broken. So the first recommendation would be to give it a spot that is protected from the wind.  This species seemed more prone to leaf burn from dry conditions or late afternoon sun (which I was giving mine).  So if I were to try it again, the other consideration would be to plant where it would have am sun and pm filtered or shade.

On different species growing in my subsection of Mediterranean climates, are Ravenea glauca, julietiae and a third acquired as julietiae which is something different.  Ravenea glauca handles full sun, adjacent to a south facing white fence with block wall down low, so lots of reflected heat and light, as well as another in filtered pm sun now.  It thrives with the only thing I fight being scale and a little bit of black mold during the foggy season.  Ravenea julietiae is a winner here.  Mine probably would have had similar issues to the R sambiranensis with wind and tall leaves, but I planted mine much smaller (shorter) to allow it to establish in my soil as the leaves extended higher.  Julietiae's lush deep green leaflets are very attractive and while not a speed demon, it isn't a slug in growth either.  I recently planted a second one, which will get more pm sun at a much younger age than my first one did.  The first has grown up and into more sunlight over time so that it is in mostly full sun until mid afternoon or later depending on time of year and the sun's arc through the sky.  The plant I acquired as R julietiae, but is much slower is exhibiting more arch to the leaves, and a lighter green leaflet.  The lighter green leaflet color could be cultural, in that this plant is full sun from late morning until late afternoon.  Speed, arch of leaves and leaflet color make it clear that it isn't the same plant as the others that I acquired as R julietiae.  Time will tell what name should be associated with this plant, so for now I just refer to it as a Ravenea.

[joe_OC]

4 minutes ago, Tracy said:

 

I have killed a tall specimen that I think I planted out as a 7 gallon plant, so I'll share my thoughts on Ravenea sambiranensis.  I think what killed mine was planting in an exposed spot where wind allowed the tall upright leaves to cause frequent torque on the roots as they tried to expand into my native soil.  So the first recommendation would be to give it a spot that is protected from the wind.  This species seemed more prone to leaf burn from dry conditions or late afternoon sun (which I was giving mine), so if I were to try it again, I would plant where it would have am sun and pm filtered or shade.

On different species growing in my subsection of Mediterranean climates, are Ravenea glauca, julietiae and a third acquired as julietiae which is something different.  Ravenea glauca handles full sun, adjacent to a south facing white fence with block wall down low, so lots of reflected heat and light, as well as another in filtered pm sun now.  It thrives with the only thing I fight being scale and a little bit of black mold during the foggy season.  Ravenea julietiae is a winner here.  Mine probably would have had similar issues to the R sambiranensis with wind and tall leaves, but I planted mine much smaller (shorter) to allow it to establish in my soil as the leaves extended higher.  Julietiae's lush deep green leaflets are very attractive and while not a speed demon, it isn't a slug in growth either.  I recently planted a second one, which will get more pm sun at a much younger age than my first one did.  The first has grown up and into more sunlight over time so that it is in mostly full sun until mid afternoon or later depending on time of year and the sun's arc through the sky.  The plant I acquired as R julietiae, but is much slower is exhibiting more arch to the leaves, and a lighter green leaflet.  The lighter green leaflet color could be cultural, in that this plant is full sun from late morning until late afternoon.  Speed, arch of leaves and leaflet color make it clear that it isn't the same plant as the others that I acquired as R julietiae.  Time will tell what name should be associated with this plant, so for now I just refer to it as a Ravenea.

Totally agree that julietiae is a winner.    Mine is reaching 10' tall, and has not had any issues.  Have it in a place where it will be able to grow into the sun.   Also pretty well protected from Santa Ana winds.

[iDesign]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

I have killed a tall specimen that I think I planted out as a 7 gallon plant, so I'll share my thoughts on Ravenea sambiranensis...  I think what killed mine was planting in an exposed spot where wind caused the tall upright leaves to frequently torque on the roots as they tried to expand into my native soil...

Thanks for the sage advice - I'll find a more protected spot for this beautiful palm.

At least your sambirnensis did not die in vain 

[Than]

12 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

This is mine, planted in the ground as a trunkless juvenile. I stayed away from any fertilizer this year and applied instead only fungicide on the root zone. High rainfall helped too, that now it is looking half decent.

You forgot to mention when you planted it. 

[Phoenikakias]