Hi there. I'm new. You may call me Datura or Dat. My mum is an avid plant grower, and I grew up in a home abundant with plants of all shapes and sizes. Obviously, when I branched out on my own, I decided to start an "urban jungle" of my own. So I went to walmart, and bought me some interesting plants. That was almost 3 years ago. One of the plants I bought came without a tag, and I have been trying fruitlessly to find out something about this thing. I call it the Spike Tree. It is now 15 inches tall, and the diametre of the stock is approximately 2 inches. It is in a 10 inch clay pot, which is 8.5 inches deep. The soil is 1/2 cactus soil, and 1/2 potting soil. I purchased it in December of '04. It has grown on average 1.5 inches each summer since I bought it, this year being a good growth year with 2 inches of new growth. The first winter I had it, it dropped all of the leaves almost immediately after I brought it home and replanted. Last winter it lost only half the leaves, and we will see how it fairs this winter. The bark has a silverish sheen to it, the leaves are long and thin, and when one is broken it excretes a white, sticky milk-like substance, remanicient of dandelion milk. The leaves themselves are dark green on top, shiny, with the underside duller and a thick white vein running through it. If repeatedly handled, the bark loses the silverish sheen, becoming dull and pale green. It has reacted well enough so far to my treatment, which is to put them out from late spring to early fall, bring them in and soak them good, then put them in a darker room without direct light, and water once every 3 to 4 weeks. During that period, the stock gets hollow, and is slightly squishy to the touch, not slimy-squishy, but not as firm as it is in the summer. I have looked in every book possible, searched online, and pestered everyone I know until I was blue in the face, but no one seems to know anything about this plant. I have yet to find someone who has even seen anything similar. When I bought it, it was the only one at walmart, and they have never gotten another one. I concider it one of my "walmart scores", when walmart has something shipped to them that should not be, and the employees too uninformed to be able to catch the mistake. It happens often. Now Pictures!! Sorry for the blur factor... the images did not look as nice when taken with the flash. I think I forgot to mention, the leaves have little pointy things at the end of them. the underside of the leaf the trunk in and of itself. you can see the "scars" where old leaves have fallen off, directly under the spike
What you have there Dat is Pachypodium lamerei or Madagascar Palm. They are not a true palm, but quite a nice plant....I have one at home about 4ft tall, but I've had it for a few years... Enjoy Ed
Yahoo! Mr Spike Tree has a name. And 7 years to go until he flowers... I suppose this is in the wrong place, since he is not a cactus as I once thought... you have a 4ft one? have I done some injustice to my plant that has kept him shrunken in these years I have had him? He has doubled in size in the three years I have had him, and he seems happy enough. Any personal recommendations by anyone else who has kept these plants indoors?
Dat, I live in a sub tropical environment and mine are in the ground. Thats why there is a difference in the growth rate... Ed
I've had mine for years which is over 2 ft high. It sits right in front of a south window and gets well watered when bone dry, usually once a week, less in the fall and winter. It's in a small clay pot with just enough room for the roots. I consider them slow but happy indoors growers.
south... hmmm... which way is that, lol. Mine loves being outside in the summer, I let nature do the watering, and put it in the sunniest part of the garden. In the winter I water it perhaps once a month. Should I put it in a sunnier spot for this winter? My mum told me that to get my cacti to flower, I should put them in a darker room, so that's what I've been doing, but if a Spike Tree(I'm sorry, I know I came here to find out what it was properly called but I like my name for it better, lol) doesn't flower until 10th year or later, and I've had mine for 3 years then we could safely assume I have at least a few more years before I could hope for a flower, right? Or do they not flower when kept in pots? I did research, but mostly found information about people growing them out of doors. Any information at all would help :)
If you would like to learn a little more about your Pachypodium, then cruise on down to the "Caudiciform and Pachycaul Tree" forum. We have culture guides, photos, web links, etc. for your plant. By the way, what you have there is a Pachypodium geayi not a lamerei. The P. geayi have the long, narrow foliage, whereas the lamerei will have a shorter, broader leaf. Easily misidentified. Very similar in growth habits, etc. Any data that I have found regarding the flowering of P. geayi and P. lamerei have suggested that only a relatively mature plant (greater than 2 meters tall) will flower and only if grown outdoors. Mark
