chamaedorea radicalis alternative

[Mr List]

I was going for the understory palm jungle look with these but they are toast and I don't really fancy trying again.

is there any shade loving fully hardy plant that looks a bit like palm leaves?

NB
no ferns!!!

[stephenprudence]

Supposedly Chamaedorea microspadix is a little hardier than Chamaedorea and looks like a cross between a palm and bamboo.

I'm actually going to try Rhapis excelsa under the carport in the side border, it tolerates the shady conditions very well (in fact it doesn't tolerate direct sunlight), and is hardy to around -4 to -5C (some sources suggest -7C when mature) at the growing point.. fronds are hardy to about -4C amd roots apparently hardy to -11 or -12C.

[Dave Brown]

People mis-interpret ''hardy to'' figures.

Hardy to -7C in radicalis case means can survive dropping to -7C briefly then returning to + figures in a few hours. What it doesn't mean is, can sit there at -7C for most of the day rising briefly to +figures for an hour or so before the next freeze. How often do you see frost last all day in the shade... it is quite common here, so exposed my C.radicalis is fleece bagged in cold spells. The other lurk under shrubs. All of my outside ones have survived, although a bit battered by constant Arctic gales.

C microspadix is supposedly hardier, but the same applies. Mine is under the shelter of the open north facing porch, so no radiation freezes, but even this defoliated after the -2C/-3C gales in March giving a windchill of -12.2C. The super dry air just desiccated the leaves.

[Mr List]

In case it wasn't too obvious by me saying totally hardy and only LOOKS like a palm ,
I wasn't after replacing them with palms

[pdid]

How about hellebore foetidus

[MikeC]

How about:

Some dwarf bamboo with palm like leaves? E.g. Pleioblastus humilis or sasa veitchii

Or

mahonia soft caress

[jungle jas]

Try Mahonia soft caress. Or grow slow growing waggys then dig them up and sell them when they get to big.

[pdid]

Or hebe parvifolia

[Vagetarian]

I like the Mahonia, I'd plant some if I had any actual soil.

[MikeC]

Pleioblastus distichus possibly?