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It’s that time of year again to climb up on the roof and take pictures of palms. Spanky the Roystonea regia. Jayne the Roystonea oleracea Syagrus picrophylla on the right and Big A’d Buteagrus Mule on the left.

Planted from a 6" pot around 10 years ago it's certainly grown better than expected. Plenty of rain and not much competion from other palms helps.

1st of 2 habitat locations visited that day. This particular spot felt like I’d jumped in a time machine and headed back to the Jurassic Period. Such a stunningly beautiful palm. Gunn Point.

I’ve had this Chuniophoenix for 23 years in its container as part of the palm container collection. Well today it got freedom from its container and into the wild jungle garden it goes. With a great sigh off relief I could hear it say finally I get to be part of the jungle, not keeped locked up in a container freedom at last. I look forward to seeing it grow and adding to the ornamental look of the garden.

Looks like I’m fated to dominate this thread….. Coccothrinax on the right, Chysalidocarpus saintluciei entangled with the crown, immediate left and Archontophoenix myolensis a bit further left (have to look closely to see the different leaves and textures), C. leptocheilos trunk and lower leaf far left and Archontophoenix Happy Hurricane Hybrid trunk in background. Towering Teddy Bears, Archontophoeix in back, Kentiopsis peeking above the roof in front.

Flying Fox Creek is a well known spot for this palm, and it didn't disappoint.

These are fun to grow. First picture is Alfredii, 4 years in the groundm all the alfredii I grow have tingles of purple on the petioles. Tree in the background is a Kukui nut (Aleurites moluccanus), a Hawaiian canoe plant that was used for making lamp oil. Second picture below is fenestralis, this one is growing under an Inga edulis tree that seems to be fertilizing this tree, only two and a half years in the ground. Third picture below is classic madagascariensis, 6 years in the ground. Below is the 4th one, a variant of madagascariensis which I think some have labeled as a different species, also 6 years in the ground. The fronds are not as fine as the regular madagascariensis and they tip dramatically at the ends. Looks different from literally every single madagascariensis I grow. I am sure the botanists will lump this one into madagascariensis.

The Hawaii Island Palm Society planted two Lemurophoenix halleuxii at the Panaewa Zoo in Hilo back in 2006. Flash forward just 18 years and the larger one is sending out its first inflorescence. The Big Island has maybe a dozen mature fruiting specimens in private collections and many more juveniles. Perhaps this is a viable second population if the native habitat in Madagascar is lost. The brilliant scarlet new crownshaft seems to be restricted to young trees just beginning to trunk. Mature trees usually have muted gray-purple crownshafts. This in no way reduces its beauty in the garden. I recently got a dozen seeds from a local grower. High hopes these are viable.

Relaxing after some rain in the garden with a good view of the deck.

Haven't post here in a while (years?), but thought I'd share these from our recent snow falls... Sabal minor ('Louisiana', fwiw) Rhapidophyllum hystrix Trachycarpus fortunei ('Bulgarian')

two B Mad to left of dock...2 B Fen to right of dock ...2 B Alfredii to right will get individual pics when i get home thx J Kinzy for the pic

Here's my Alfredii in S. Miguel, Azores, six years in the ground. Wish I had a few more.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pietropuccio/albums/ The album collects photos of palms grown in almost 50 years in a small garden on the northwestern outskirts of Palermo (latitude 38° 10' 43" N). Before the internet era it was very difficult to find palms other than those in cultivation for over a century, now everything is much easier and I am sure that many new species can be introduced into cultivation.

Spectacular new leaf on this rather slow growing palm. Was Actinokentia, but moved into Chambeyronia. Personally, I think they look better in a grouping because of their sparse habit. Tim

Emerging flowers on Merritt Island, Florida

P. Copelandii this leaf is amazing

Pinanga densiflora. Nice palm, good color, easy to care for, and not a fast grower…….thank goodness. Tim

After a December with lots of nights in the 20’s F and days above freezing, the palms have been able to acclimate to what we are having now…nights in the mid to low 20’s…some days right at freezing and some days nearer to 40 F but definitely a week plus of some real challenging freezing temps. Of course, damage is not necessarily noticeable right away so we’ll see but no obvious damage yet like I had in that ‘22/23 winter that had the moderate temps drop to single digits overnight. The tried and true winter troopers look good and get to thaw out a bit today and tomorrow. The older Trachy and the Brazoria (behind the older Trachy) are too big to protect but the smaller Trachy has lights around the trunk and layers of black landscaping cloth to hold in heat around the trunk. I checked its leaf segments a few days ago and they looked great. The Needle and Sable minors at the base of the large Trachy have always been on their own and done great: The Medi is shrouded with black landscaping cloth that draws in the sun’s heat and it’s lit as well with incandescent lights. I lay them out like a carpet at the base and wrap the trunk. So far, it looks really good. If it’s not doing good it will show the damage right away. The McCurtain is never of any concern. I think our sunny days, even though in the 30’s, it seems to be giving them the recovery time they need to fight the low to mid 20’s at night. Hopefully we can avoid teens and single digits this winter! One last look at the Needle…a cold hardy palm grower’s true friend…

Couldn’t help it. It was looking so grand yesterday. Tim

Brush/knock it off. Your palm leaves will stay colder, longer with the snow on them. It takes 144 Btu's (heat) to change 1 pound of 32f snow into 1 pound of 32f water. That is the same energy needed to warm 1 pound of water from 32f to 176f. I would rather that energy(sun/air)going to the palm leaf, not melting the snow. That snow as it is in a "solid" state, can get super cold on a radiatonal night. That leaf will not warm above 32f until that snow changes state into a liquid. If you are dealing with a ground level palm buried in snow on a zero night, yes the snow will probably "insulate" from the colder air due to the warmer ground. Short story, a palm leaf will warm faster without snow as opposed to with snow. I knocked the snow off shortly after the morning picture. 11/7/24 11/16/24

My sole entry, obtained as Madagascariensis around 3 years ago.

In all the holiday hustle and bustle, a moment to stop for a laugh can’t be all bad, right?

New Year’s Day surprise. Dictyocaryum lamarckianum. Tim

Here is our fortunei vs our palmetto. the fortunei is about 1 year older https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z1Z1dIafCc

No snark intended but most people new to palms consider pinnate/feather palms to be the only palms worthy of their attention. When I joined PT back in 2008 many people on here claimed they hated Sabal palms and expressed hope that they would be destroyed wherever they grew. I never expected such vitriol aimed at the elimination of a native SE US palm. At that time PalmTalk was the "Dypsis, Dypsis, Dypsis" palm forum 24/7. I find it ironic that the Dypsis genus has been gutted in favor of Chrysalidocarpus. Things have changed in the past 10-15 years and the stock of palmate and cold hardy palms has risen. I'm glad to see it. Still, Sabals and other palmate palms get scant respect outside of colder climates even though, in general, palmate palms are tougher and more resilient than almost all pinnate palms. Would it surprise me to learn there are still people who hope all Sabal palmettos are chopped into oblivion wherever they grow? Not at bit.

I got to take a pic with one of my favorite San Antonio palms. I am 6'2" for scale. This is maybe the best colored chamaerops I have ever seen:

A spot of repotting for an afternoon of relaxing. You can’t beat the weddlianum such a beautiful easy palm to grow and germinate. So beautiful as seedlings almost everyone who comes into my nursery and doesn’t know palms always asks what are those palms there pretty and wants one, I tell them there the wedding palm and instantly a sale is made. This lot are destined for retail shops in my area in few years time they sell so good and there tough cool tolerant dry tolerant and very predictable in growth form. What’s not to love about a weddlianum a must for any garden, courtyard or patio. The lady picture is the parent plant me fine specimen.

Pelagodoxa henryana. Actually kind of amazed that they have done this well for having little soil. They must have found fractures in the lava rock. I do keep a lot of mulch as dressing though. A bit of canopy while young and in a somewhat protected spot. Tim

Thought I’d offer up a few from “the hood”. My neighbor’s alfredii is just massive. It could be just the climate that we’re growing them in, but their proportions seem just enormous compared to madagascariensis and fenestralis.

Here are mine in Holly Hill Fla. Ist 2019 and then 2024 .

I finally got everything in around 2 am. Maybe it was overkill, but I didn't want to chance it. Tonight it's supposed to get down to 25F again. Most of these palms I've grown from seed starting around 2007 or 2008. They've been with me in Illinois, Ohio, and Wyoming. They've exploded in growth since I've moved to Texas.

Here's one of my 5 big Alfredii, about 6.5 years from planting as a ~5' tall 3 gallon:

but I feel like I'm in the jungle

This is alfredii, 7 years in the ground from a 15g pot

My Beccariophoenix fenestralis during a cool winter:

Hey all, Foxtails (Wodyetia) are a fairly common grow in SoCal, but generally look nothing like the ones in the tropics. The ones I’ve seen in places like Hawaii are just big, fantastic looking palms reaching proportions of Roystonea. Around here they’re generally much lankier and not as lush looking. About 10 years ago, we were renting out the home that my wife grew up in. As part of some quick and dirty landscaping, I picked one of these palms up spruce the backyard up a bit. The soil, if you can call it that, was as hard as a rock and in the end, all I was able to do was to chisel out a hole, barely large enough for the 5 gallon plant. But there was drip irrigation to it, so the house was rented out for the next few years, and I forgot all about it. In between renters, I discovered that it did not merely survived, but done pretty dang well despite its tough surroundings. Here it is today, feel free to add your experiences and pictures!

Happy New Year guys 2025!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chambeyroneas, marcocarpa and hookeri. A fading "redder" on the right.

After the rat topic, I thought we should show some love for the animal kingdom. Since our garden become home to many. ill start with the anolis lizard, which are specific to the Caribbean. They come in great variety of colors: We are also lucky to have the hummingbirds: And they pollinate my coconuts ! and I’m not talking about other brids, bees, centipedes (which you are about sure to find when you clean a truc of a palm) I’m sure guys from Asia, South America, or Australia must have amazing visitors

This palm would have been planted a very long time ago, 24 hours by train from Adelaide, South Australia, 18 hours from Perth by Train. How it has survived in the desert is a mystery We had a barbecue beside the train in 35c at 9pm while the train got refuelled, from a fuel tank in the desert for that purpose Regards Colin

A glimpse of some South American palms. Wettinia hirsuita on the left and lower center, Iriartea deltoidea on the right with the horned spathes, and the ruffled leaves of Socratea center rear. Tim

Spent some time up in the Northern Territory between Christmas and New Year, visiting a number of palm and cycad habitats (will post those in separate threads). Made some time to pop into the botanical garden and also check out what the local parks had to offer. First up the botanical garden. Borassus flabellifer Hydriastele ramsayi Hydriastele ramsayi Hydriastele ramsayi Livistona victoriae Livistona victoriae Latania loddigesii Latania loddigesii Cycas arnhemica Macrozamia macdonnellii Cycas armstrongii Lodoicea maldivica Lodoicea maldivica Lodoicea maldivica Roystonea oleracea

Here's my B. Alfredii. 2 years in the ground from a 15 gallon.

I have been sent these tracky pictures from china enjoy.

Pritchardia martii. Tim

Asterogyne martiana. Beautiful understory palm from Central and South America. Never seems to have a bad day. These have been in the ground for many years. Tim

Chambeyronia on the right Archontophoenix maxima towers on the left. Pritchardia lanaiensis in center surrounded by Archontophoenix tuckeri and Cyphophoenix in front at corner of the roof.