24 year old Howea Palm.
By Stan510
26 Aug, 2016
2 likes
Back in 1992 I envisioned this palm one day towering over my home. Its taken every single day of those 24 years for it just barely clear the roof.
Truth is,if I knew it grew that slow,I would never have started. Good thing I didn't know.
The peak of the roof is about 20'.
1992,pre Internet,Nirvana was hitting no.1 on the charts.
Long ago.
Comments on this photo
I bumped that up that routine a few years ago. It was growing much slower then before then. Didn't the old books used to say - do not over water and they need little fertilizer?..wrong outdoors. Outside..all it can take. But- it can cause trunk splits.
29 Aug, 2016
Yes, in a pot you definitely don't want to over-water Kentia palms. In the ground it can almost be sitting in wet soil with no problems. I know, when I lived in Mission San Jose, Fremont. The one I had in the ground grew extremely fast with lots of water and fertilizer. It was kept wet all the time in clay soil. It loved it!
I know on Lord Howe Island many of the largest ones are growing right along streams and wet spots. I'm sure you've seen the pics of the 100' plus tall Howeas on Lord Howe Island. They're magnificent! The tallest ones in southern California are only 60 - 65' tall. Most of those were planted about 100 years ago.
30 Aug, 2016
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What else?
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See who else is growing Howea forsteriana (Kentia palm).
See who else has plants in genus Howea.
Howeas love a lot of water and fertilizer and then they grow fast. The one I have by the down spout grew very fast (because of the water). It has 7' of trunk from a 5 gallon container planted in 2005.
29 Aug, 2016