Thanks for your help guys I will be happy with either one really. I do have 2 robusta seedlings but its to early to compare the seedlings to my plant yet.

I think the vast majority of filifera sold are actually robusta. It is extremenly difficult to tell at a young age and particularly with such a small pic with the trunk in shadow. At that age you can't rely on colour, size, or habit. The main difference may be the heat threshold before growth commences. W filifera handle cold nights, but need warm to hot days.

I'm with Grub and Barrie and say your chances of having a real filirera are probably 100,000 to 1 against, and if you have hit the jackpot, you will have problems with overwintering, unless you can either heat the humidity out, or dehumidify it out. They don't like cold damp. They really need a desert atmosphere with moisture at the root.

But as far as a Washingtonia goes a fiver is a good price. My local ASDA has not had them.

Thanks for that info dave. I will go with what you 3 have said and call it a robusta for a fiver.

I just thought i would add 2 more pics of the washy, with the last pic not being brillant. I did a close up of the trunks and leaf.

These are some Washingtonia I have grown from seed which I bought on holiday in Spain a few years back. The package said Filifera and the area had a lot of Filifera growing, anyone able to tell if that is what they are in my case?

You did well there Rabbie

Probably a mixed form I think. Growers here are looking for quick growing plants and a filifera is slower than a robusta. But it could well be that there are a few filifera's growing along with the filibusta's and robusta's.
Imagine a greenhouse of 10.000 square meters + filled with potplants. I've worked in the greenhouses during school hollidays, they grow really thousands of plants at the same time. It's huge.
It's not done to try and identify every single plant, just call it Washingtonia and your done. Just like the nana's we can buy here, the label mostly says musa banana, go figure out yourself wich one you've bought.
Judging by the size and the way it's grown, I think it could be two years old maybe even less.

I've grown many Washingtonia and virtually all the filifera I've grown from seed have turned out to be Robusta. I've bought a Filifera before now. This was a true Filifera with a fat tapering trunk.lax leaves,broader leaflets,green petioles,green leaf stems, all purple trunk/old leaf boots etc., and they're not too difficult to tell the difference from a certain age. Hybrid's are a different story.All this talk of Filibusta's as intentional hybrids.They're a common enough accidental hybrid. Most Washies you'll see for sale are Robusta's by greatest parentage but it's commonplace to find plants with a degree of characteristics from both species not discounting natural variation.

Needless to say it died !

Paul.

Just been out the back to take some shots which hopefully show some of the differences between the two species.

The leaf bases are more or less green in filifera but maroon in robusta.

The petioles are less viciously armed in filifera than robusta and more green than their maroon counterpart.

Sorry about the quality of the photos.

I don't know if there's much truth in the rumours about the hybrids having the best characteristics of their parents when it comes to hardiness and tolerance of wet.

Cheers

Ed

Going by your pics kite i would have to say that my washingtonia points exactly to a robusta, my stem is nothing like the filifera in terms of colouring and also the leafs are pointing towards the same as a robusta as well. Thanks for those pics

Here's a couple of shots of my W. filifera.
I've found the leaf color to be duller, more grayish, not as rich a green as robusta. Once developed, the petioles are different also.

Cheers, Barrie.

Hi Barrie.

Thanks for the pic yours also is a lot different to mine in terms of leaf and base, yours looks very big from what i can tell. Also your leafs look as though it has a very slight tint of silver in the colour aslo?

It's at least shoulder height in a 5 gallon pot and is growing at a phenomenal rate this year. Now I have to devise a wintering method, if not this year, next.

Cheers, Barrie.

I would say a rain and snow cover would be the most important for it as this is what mainly affects the plants along with the added cold.

I can't wait till my palm get to shoulder height, it will be awesome. only about 8 or 9 years to wait