PlantFiles: Flame Thrower Palm, Houailou Red Leaf Palm, Red Feather Palm, Blushing Palm
Chambeyronia macrocarpa

I have about eight seedlings growing under porch covering that i have raised from seeds. It has been about a year now and they have produced five leaves with two leaflets.

I've just planted two red feather palms in the ground in Port Charlotte, Fl. I picked them up in Homestead where the climate is a little warmer in winter. I've been told they won't do well in Zone 10a. I don't see many comments from folks in Florida about this palm. I would like to hear more about plantings in south Fl. Update April 2008, I now have four palms, the largest is over eight feet. We had a cold front move thru a couple of months back, down to 27 degrees overnight for several hours, no leaf damage, many other palms in my yard suffered with brown leafs, no problem with these. Seems to be more cold tolerent than many other types of palms grown here, Christmas palms, Coconut palms, Bottle palms, etc.

Great palm! Only downside is the slow growth. Smaller seedlings in my unheated greenhouse produce 3-4 leaves per year, but my larger Chambeyronia in the ground only gives about 2. Mine is happy with 1/2 day sun, but would probably be a deeper green with more shade.

This beatiful palm thrives in the San Francisco Bay area, and survives well inland in the Sacremento Valley. There is a great specimen in Modesto California, although it is still.

There are forms of Chambeyronia, that do not spout flaming red new leaves like the 'normal' variety. There is a 'green' form, that looks just like the new red-leaf form, only the new leaves are green. Still an attractive palm, but without that extra bit of fireworks once a year. There is also a yellow trunk/petiole form, called C macrocarpa var. hookeriana... I think that one is described elsewhere, but basially it is the same palm, only having a yellow trunk instead of a green one. THen there are some forms in between... like 'watermelon' variety (has green trunk, speckled with yellow linear dots, making it look sort of like a watermelon rind). And last, but not least, is form Houaliou. This form is unique in its seedling leaf formation having very large, wide, fused leaflets (bifid leaves) with ornamental yellow-gold midrib. Eventually this palm's leaves begin to split with age and it ends up looking a lot like a regular Chambeyronia except with an exaggerated arch or recurving of the leaves. Highly sought after form as it is still fairly rare in cultivation but pretty sure it's just a fad, as soon as folks figure out nothing unique about the look of this palm as a big palm, except NO red leaves.

As far as Florida is concerned, no idea, but I did see some really nice palms in Miami.... sure it does well north of Miami, but haven't seen any.

This mostly tropical tree is grown for it's very wide 'feather' (as opposed to palmate) leaflets, and brilliant red or pink new leaf, as well as its very tropical looking ringed trunk and smooth dark green or yellow crownshaft (leaf base between trunk and leaves). It is one of the hardier tropicals grown in California and Florida, though I don't know if it's growing in any other states on the mainland. It is also one of the most beautiful palms in cultivation.

It takes cold down to around 28F and has significant leaf damage below that. Temps below 25F will usually kill it outright. High temps will also stress it out, and it cannot grow in climates like Palm Desert or Phoenix. It is mostly untested as a house plant, but is not very tolerant of very low humidity or very low light, and it is especially attractive to white fly.

This palm is a slow grower, taking up to 10 years to get to maturity in California, and perhaps 8 in S Florida. It takes a lot of water, though the soil doesn't have to be kept constantly moist. High winds will shred the leaflets, so plant in a protected area.

Varieties of this palm occur: C macrocarpa 'hookeri' is a yellow-trunked form, and there is a 'watermelon' form that has a spotted green and yellow trunk (rare). Most specialty palm nurseries carry this palm, or it can be ordered bare root from Hawaiian nurseries.