Hardy Tropicals UK

Hi,i bought this Trachycarpus and i wanted to firstly ask ..is it a sikkim? and also if it is, will it be ok in the greenhouse for winter?
Thanks x

Welcome to the forum Jool,

That looks like one I have,

Its grown well, got new leaves. I was'nt sure what it was as its simply name 'Trachicarpus'. I do have Trachicarpus f which looks totally differnt.


EDIT: forgot to say mine has been out since I bought it in a mild winter last year.

Just buy fleece bags unless you have a conservatory or greenhouse heat.

No such thing as a Trachycarpus sikkimensis, renamed trachycarpus latisectus

I'm not a massive Trachycarpus guru so to me it looks like regular fortunei but somebody else might know different.

The leaves are totally different Jez,

They have a feel of paper, not like other Trachis at all...certainly not like the fortunei.

I'm not a massive Trachycarpus guru so to me it looks like regular fortunei

Oh yes you are look Jez.

Trachycarpus latisectus (formerly Trachycarpus sikkimensis)

That isn't a latisectus, and the leaf is wrong. It look like a standard Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan Palm) to me.

It'll look like this is 30 years.

I'd agree it's just a statndard Fortunei but I think that in Derbyshire it will probably be 40 years before it looks like Dave's.

joolz68 wrote:Hi,i bought this Trachycarpus and i wanted to firstly ask ..is it a sikkim? and also if it is, will it be ok in the greenhouse for winter?
Thanks x

i have one that looks just like this.

why do the leaves have a palmate clumped up effect instead of a proper fan like my waggies and my big T.F. ?

is it just because they are young?

I don't know ML,

The leaves are totally different to my fortunei, very soft and papery like texture. but the ticket does say Trachicarpus fortunei...nothing else.

Just realised I am the proud owner of three Trachis now. Good job Mark never saw any at Aldi...

I wish I knew where I bought it.

They are a transition between strap leaves and palmate leaves, all palms do it.

I seperate mine sometimes and it seems to encourage them to put out more mature looking growth afterwards. At least it did on my Brahea 'Super Silver's and Trachycarpus Princeps. It didn't help on my R. Hystrix though, they are still pushing out unsplit fronds.

yep its just a plain old fortunei, ask for your money back !

Thanks gang,i thought i had been Mis sold as soon as i started searching winter care for it,the leaves didnt look like google images but its the 1st Trachycarpus ive bought so no experience Not sure if i can ask for my money back or swap it,theyve shut down their ebay shop but still have a website online so might be worth a moaning email to them.
Will it be ok in my greenhouse this winter?,no idea how old it is or when they can be planted out.
I doubt i will be around in 30yrs to see if it makes that height dave

Ive just gone to the website and they are still selling Trachycarpus latisectus 'sikkim' so maybe if i email them i might get a nice response His fortunei are a lot cheaper for sure

If you want to plant it out then you're better off with a Fortunei than a Lati.

Plant in early Spring and water well for the first few months. It will be fine in your greenhouse over winter but if you get temperatures below -7c then I'd be inclined to bring it indoors for the worst spells just to make sure. Mature ones that are planted will take nuch lower but young potted plants are not as hardy as many places claim them to be.

It looks like a 4 year old plant to me, give or take.

GoggleboxUK wrote:If you want to plant it out then you're better off with a Fortunei than a Lati.

Plant in early Spring and water well for the first few months. It will be fine in your greenhouse over winter but if you get temperatures below -7c then I'd be inclined to bring it indoors for the worst spells just to make sure. Mature ones that are planted will take nuch lower but young potted plants are not as hardy as many places claim them to be.

It looks like a 4 year old plant to me, give or take.

Thanks gogglebox i didnt think it would be that old ..26yrs to go dave il be 70 x

Mr List wrote:
i have one that looks just like this.

why do the leaves have a palmate clumped up effect instead of a proper fan like my waggies and my big T.F. ?

is it just because they are young?

That is the trait of a young T fortunei, it is that which identifies it as T.f