Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

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Dave Brown
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Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by Dave Brown »

Forgot my Chamaedorea elegans (Palour palm) was still outside and it went down to -3C on Thursday night. :shock: It didn't bat an eyelid :wink: Being blown about a bit at the moment though.

Anyone one else tried these outside, even if by chance :roll:
Best regards
Dave
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stephenprudence

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by stephenprudence »

Yes I have one of these outside, I leave it uncovered, I think without frost it can probably take -6C or thereabouts. I think the wind and sun is a greater risk to these rather than cold in all honesty.
Nathan

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by Nathan »

Dave I have one outside that seems to take the cold in its stride. Has been planted out for at least 3 years now. I did have some outside in my Mums garden years ago that took -3C before they were damaged, -4C killed them...
kentgardener

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by kentgardener »

Hi Nathan

so that I can make use of your previous experience - could you please let me know the rough area where your mum's garden is located.

Many thanks

John :)
Adrian

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by Adrian »

Mine are ok here as under story palms, take slight damage but come through winters pretty well.
I have a beauty here but that stays in the conservatory.
Nathan

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by Nathan »

kentgardener wrote:Hi Nathan

so that I can make use of your previous experience - could you please let me know the rough area where your mum's garden is located.

Many thanks

John :)

John,

My Mum lives in Horndean, which is about 8 miles north of Portsmouth. It gets much colder here in winter as its in a sort of "valley" between Portsdown Hill & Butser Hill (sort of halfway between Petersfield & Portsmouth), though my Mum's place is actually on a slope so I guess a lot of cold air drains away... The lowest I recorded there was -7C, though I only started recording the weather in 1993, so it obviously has gone lower in the past...

By the way most of her garden is at the SIDE of the house, not the back... :wink:

Nathan
philip kitts

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by philip kitts »

Dave Brown wrote:Forgot my Chamaedorea elegans (Palour palm) was still outside and it went down to -3C on Thursday night. :shock: It didn't bat an eyelid :wink: Being blown about a bit at the moment though.

Anyone one else tried these outside, even if by chance :roll:

Thought I'd freshen this link after the horrendous winter what's the damage out there?
huporhaha

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by huporhaha »

Mine's dead with a capital D :cry:
otorongo
Posts: 1434
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:12 pm
Location: sub-subtropical London

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by otorongo »

I got one from Sainsburys for £2 and I'm leaving it outside for the winter :) It's pot-plunged under some evergreen leaves, by a fence and near the house wall, so fairly well protected.
Mr List

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by Mr List »

do these ever get trunks?
i have only ever seen them as a pot of seedlings in GC's
Conifers
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Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 2:11 pm
Location: Northumbs

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by Conifers »

Mr List wrote:do these ever get trunks?
Yes
Mr List

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by Mr List »

they must be slightly hardier when trunked then.
GREVILLE

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by GREVILLE »

I have about a foot of trunk with a particularly generous head of leaves. This stays outside until the first air frosts and it has taken a brief zero but not below on a number of occasions.

A friend of mine has a single-trunked specimen over six feet high and something over four feet of trunk. This has stayed in her north facing bay window for years. Every time I see it I want to cut off the remains of the old petioles left on the trunk :roll:
miketropic

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by miketropic »

can I see pics of anyone who has a good size one? my sister brought me one back from Florida not long ago but it was from the airport so it might be 8 in tall. like to see some large ones.
pipster 12

Re: Chamaedorea elegans hardiness

Post by pipster 12 »

Hi Dave,

these plants surprised me-had a large c elegans that my aunt gave us about 12 years ago-it was grown indoors at her house-it was shoved outside in late autumn. Spent the winter outside (not particularly cold one)- sat in water in -4 c and it didn't even damage! At a guess -5/-6 C. The palm was left near our patio doors at the back of the house north facing it received no sun.

We hadn't noticed when we put it out that there was no drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.

strange thing about exotic gardening sometimes the plants you least expect to survive do -whereas plants that should take cold sometimes don't.

This plant was no seedling though around 5 feet with pot. These plants are easy to grow and replace if killed. I was thinking of trying it outside myself. My c. radicalis survived in my garden for 8 years taking -8c one night before the freezing winter of 2008 polished it off. To be honest it hardly grew, looked bad and sulked most of the time. It was planted under evergreen shrubs in dappled shade (well protected)

c microspadix ? I will never know-grew 2 beautiful plants through the summer only to be stripped of foliage by birds in 3 weeks-no surprise they died soon after.

If you live down south c elegans definately worth a go dave

phil
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