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My second order this season from Floribunda arrived this afternoon and all are new trials for me. They all are BIG in their respective containers as is usual from this excellent vender. Pritchardia aylmer-robinsonii Chamaedorea arenbergiana Chrysalidocarpus ‘Baby Red Stems’ Pinanga ‘Maroon Crown Shaft’ Anyone with personal experience with any of these, please comment.

Dave, I ditto a lot of the same recommendations as @Tracy. I do think Hedyscepe and Ambositrae are fantastic growers in my area. Do they get “too big”….maybe. But you b will get many years of beauty before you need to worry about the power lines. They are an average grower, not like Archontophoenix that grow feet per year. I’d say plant away but know your previous Hedy or Ambo may require removal in 20yrs. Pritchardia Minor, Bentinkia Condapanna, Pinanga Javana, and Hyophorbe Indica are all winners as well. You could also get away with planting a clumping Dypsis like Heteromorpha or Lanceolata as well. They don’t get massively tall (less than 20’) and are fantastic looking. Subsidizing palms for Encephalartos is a winning combination. Some big Encephalartos like Whitelockii, Ituriensis, or Kisambo get very tall if kept upright. You’re talking decades before those would be a concern. HB is prime location for growing Encephalartos. All of mine seem very happy. Cordyline, Plumeria, Heliconia etc all excel as companion plants. My lot is fairly small @ 6500sqft so my gardens are cramped. I know without a doubt I will have to dig plants out as they mature but that’s ok. I knew the job when I took it. If I can get 20yrs out of a plant, I will be very happy. I completely understand I’m the outlier and not the rule though. HB is prime palm tree, cycad and tropical plant growing conditions. So many possibilities. -dale Bentinkia Condapanna Pinanga Javana Dypsis Ambositrae Hyophorbe Indica

Not under the powerlines though. My guess is about 14 to 15 years before a 1 gallon will hit the powerlines. My sun exposure Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae is about 10 or 11 years in the ground from a 1 gallon and it will hit that height in another 4 to 5 years, so give it head room. Cocothrinax do well here but won't be a height problem. Arenga engleri cap out on height so are well suited for positioning under those powerlines. You get the added bonus of their fragrant flowers this time of year.

Been MIA from here for a while (you know life got busy), but I'm really excited for my Brahea Aramata to be blooming for the first time ever. I bought it almost 20 years ago as a tiny plant from Lowe's and I know how dramatic the flowering can get on these. Finally I see some flower stalks forming. Not as exciting to my friends and family so I thought I'd share with fellow palm enthusiasts 😆

Thrinax radiata

After trimming some tall fan palms day before yesterday I was greeted with a boom late last night as the rain came down. Its more like w whumpff! One of my mature royals decided to release a leaf with a wet crownshaft. The leaf stem and leaflets were completely dry, but the massive crownshaft was quite wet and heavy. Seeing it there on the ground I was grateful I didn't have to trim that sucker from below! So I went out to see it in the morning and took a pic with Adirondack chair for scale The palm is a fattie for a royal and is approaching full recovery from hurricane Milton in oct 2024. The older these royals get the more I appreciate the self shedding, saves me being on a ladder underneath. These royals cost me $160 each with delivery and 90 for planting (each) with a bobcat. They had 3-4' trunk in late 2011 as delivered. We are aware when a leaf dries out or even looks half dried out and avoid being under them at that time. Credit florida weather and a popup automatic irrigation system for its appearance, I don't really put too much care into them! Its nice to have something bullet proof and low maintenance. Most of the time they dont drop with a heavy wet crownshaft but when they do its like what I imagine a big dinosaur sound like with the heavy footfall. I have two large royals, this is the smaller of the two and they are enough for me. Warning! You should be able to see why you should not have these in a place where you walk (or sit) regularly like a front yard path to the front door. And if you park a car under one like this, expect a big body shop repair bill as it is about 50-60 lbs falling frm 25+ feet.

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This has become a handsome medium sized palm with a nice colored crown shaft after leaf sheath drop. It was acquired as C. malcomberi in a 1 gal. container in late 2011 and still not convinced of the ID. Anyway, here are a few photos from last week. Tim

Dark mode!

Here is a better shot of the whole palm

Everytime this palm loses a leaf sheath is quite the event. Who needs sun on a rainy day with this in the front yard, It’s really quite the chunk. Tim

Cyphophoenix elegans and nucele do well in the coastal zone as does Clinostigma savoryanum. Maybe my neighbor a couple of blocks away, Billy or Dale in HB, can share their experience growing Bentinckia condapanna in the region impacted by the marine layer. I think they will be positive comments.

Dave, I am a little suspicious as to which palms that you can grow that they can't grow in Huntington Beach. You have been to my garden in Leucadia and seen what I am growing. Huntington Beach is very similar if not a little warmer and windier than her due to both local topography and the large flart plane inland from Huntington Beach. Look at Dale's plantings in Huntington Beach and some of the other members both there and in Seal Beach. So there are two parts to your question, first the palms that grow well in the coastal zone of Southern California, and second the ones that are smaller for small lots with lots of power lines impacting the overhead heights. On the coastal zone issues Chambeyronia of all variety will grow, several of the Burretiokentia species, Howea's of both variety, Rhopalostylis of all variations. Chrysalidocarpus of many species will all grow here, ambositrae, affinis, basilongus, cabadae, pembanus, rufescens, prestonianus, robustus, lanceolatus, lutescens, saintelucei and the list goes on. I could continue, but the focus isn't on what will grow in the coastal zone of Southern California, but what will grow that is appropriately sized. So I'm now going to focus on the smaller palms that will grow well in Huntington Beach, here in Leucadia, down in OB, Cardiff by the Sea, or Venice where the next SoCal Palm Society will be. Someone mentioned above the various Chamaedorea, which are good choices. Ravenea glauca is a good choice, but Ravenea xerophilla is a bit of a challenge unless there is a good southerly exposure, perhaps with a good wall behind it for reflected heat. Some of the smaller growing Pritchardia won't interfere with power/comm lines overhead. Burretiokentia kogihensis is a slower growing species that won't be a problem overhead for a long time compared to hapala. Cryosophilia stauracanthia is an uncommon small palm that will meet the criteria. Several Coccothrinax do well here in California's coastal zone. On a slightly different note, there are a bunch of Cycads that give a tropical feel. I don't think is a species in the Encephalartos genus that can't be grown here (Dale in Huntington Beach will verify that). Ceratozamia, Cycas, Lepidiozamia, Macrozamia and several Zamia thrive her for a tropical, palmy feel. Complementary plants like Anthuriums, Bromeliads and Orchids will all thrive. I know I'm missing a bunch of good recommendations but this is just a first swing.

Kentiopsis Oliviformis opened a new leaf today. Compared to some others on here, it looks to be more stretched out. It has no rings of trunk yet but it’s 10ft+ to the top of the frond. -dale

Hey palmtalkers. Just wanted to share the progress of my bailey palm. I planted this one from an overgrown, rooted in the ground, 1 gallon baby palm back in May 2016. A picture of that at first planting is shown as well with it being the tiny palm, center of the pictures. It has about an overall height of 9 to 10 feet now to the top of the leaf. Has been slower growing for me than I would like. It gets way to much shade from the surrounding palms now that they outgrew the bailey. It's hard to show in the photos, but this one has that blue-green color. One I prefer. Has been through 3 major hurricanes. Irma, Ian, and Milton. Some winds from Helene as well. It still holds damaged leaves from Milton, but I didn't want to over trim. Took some leaves off and left the others. Hopefully now that it's getting larger and a bit more sun, it will start to grow a bit faster.

Two different palms have come in over the years as Dypsis (now Chrysalidocarpus) Sp. Ambanja. The first was a multi trunk palm somewhat like Baronii. The second was a larger solitary palm. Mine has just revealed its first ring of trunk and is a really nice looking palm. Has similar characteristics as Leucomalla (white spear and coloring) and Sp. Dark Mealy Bug with the black flecking. But has a unique look of its own. Anyone else growing this?

Close to all day full sun 1.5 miles from the ocean.

H rheophytica and Bismarkia today

East facing backyard garden. This is really my prime location. Gets the morning sun, warms up relatively quickly but then protected from afternoon sun. New Caledonian and Oceanic species seem to love it. Some things it here which aren’t known to grow in Melbourne elsewhere doing well. Cyphophoenix nucele Bentinckia condapanna Chambeyronia divaricata Euterpe edulis ‘Orange Crownshaft’ Chambeyronia oliviformis Pritchardia napaliensis Hyophorbe indica ‘Red / Southern Form’. Only 4 years from seed, getting too large to capture well in photos. Chambeyronia macrocarpa var hookeri Pritchardia martii settling in after a rough start in ground. Chamaedorea woodsoniana big male getting ready for its Spring pollen spreading. The crownshaft of this one always bulges heavily this time of year. Chrysalidocarpus baronii Black Petiole/Vokona Lodge Chambeyronia macrocarpa var flavopicta Cyphophoenix elegans. One of my favourites in my garden. Very large and great colours.

A nice row of hookeri with almost three in a row putting on show.

Pseudophoenix vinifera at Mounts:

The solitary one I have in Leucadia is getting more light now that I removed a Guava tree to its west and a little north. The top of the wall is 6 feet high for perspective.

Mine has been a great grower for me. The colors on the crownshaft and petioles are great. I just recently took a close up photo of the trunk showing the coloration:

A great palm for SoCal

How bout a small ‘BUMP’. So, how are all of the posted specimens doing? Thriving I hope. Here is a photos I took yesterday of a grouping grown from seed back in 2012. The tall palm in the center surrounded by B. condapanna is B. nicobarica. Tim

Hey y’all, I had a question. I’ve had this palm for probably 12 years. A great grower, looks good all the time, almost no burned leaves ever. A few years ago, it began flowering. A little sporadically at first, but now it’s to the point where every leaf base has a flower spathe underneath. The upshot is that it flowers like crazy, millions of little flowers falling, all throughout the year. But absolutely no fruit has ever developed. Any thoughts is what might be causing this? It just looks and grows so dang good in every other way, it’s hard to believe that it’s missing nutrients. Thanks in advance!

Interesting palm, getting scary big as well. Every year I look at it and go hmmmmm…… Acquired it in a 1 gallon pot in 2019, still no trunk and extremely long fronds. Interesting pinnae arrangement in pairs, thin and long. Dioecious, I doubt I’ll be getting a mate. Too bad, I was looking forward to making my own buttons from the seeds. There is an orange handled full size shovel in one of the photos for scale. Tim

The first thing that caught my eye today is the fact that despite me having been unable to work in the yard for months, plants are growing but some sure need mowing. I see my volunteer palms that hitched a ride from Floribunda are keeping pace with my remaining stilt palms - I had one cycad pot that had two volunteer palm seeds in it and another with one.

This isn't entirely palm related, but I wouldn't be here without the love and knowledge I've learned from this community so I'm posting it here. I live in a small town, downtown is like old skool buildings, think Mayberry. A lady bought out an old storefront on the main street downtown, and plans to turn it into a plant boutique. Her mom, her aunt, her baby - they showed up with a squad to buy some colocasias from me. She's seen my social media feed and seen my whole operation now. Welp, it's gonna be early next year, but it looks like Sancho's Green Paws plants will be available for purchase in her store. I'm both stoked and terrified at the same time. On one hand, I'm trying to set up a Palmstreet store so I can pay some bills and on the other hand, it's like now I need to hang on to stuff to grow it out, and- I mean, I'd also kinda like to keep some stuff for myself. Y'all, anxiety is not cool.

Mine is beginning to look like something 🙂

Calyptrocalyx leptostachys. Tim

Wodyetia bifurcata, a new genus for my collection. I was able to germinate one seed. My friend and I germinated the rest. It's a subtribe of Ptychospermatinae. These palms have caryota-like leaves. I like them a lot, as their leaves are more feathery than those of Syagrus romanzoffiana, which is also a beautiful palm. And luckily, it's in my collection. 🌴🌴🌴🦜🦜

An interesting little batch of seedlings, seeds kindly donated by @palmtreesforpleasure it will be an interesting palm to grow for sure!

Moving on to the North facing little nook outside my back door. I use this space for some of my marginal species as it gets reflected heat off the North facing brick but is still somewhat protected to the West from the deck and pergola. Chrysalidocarpus lanceolatus Gaussia maya Dypsis rosea. This frond has been red for months. Chambeyronia oliviformis Chrysalidocarpus arenarum Chrysalidocarpus arenarum crownshaft and petiole detail. Love these colours.

Growing season pretty much over now in Melbourne, so time for some updates. Starting with the South facing backyard garden. Generally cooler climate stuff growing in here: Archontophoenix myolensis getting very large now. Howea belmoreana to the left, Chamaedorea hooperiana to the right. Hedyscepe canterburyana Lepidorrhachis mooreana pair. Pleasantly surprised with how they coped with multiple 40C+ days and a couple around 44C/111F. Didn’t stop growing over summer. Chuniophoenix hainanensis. Slow here, but happy enough. Oraniopsis appendiculata getting (too?) large A couple of Chambeyronia divaricata settling in nicely. Linospadix apetiolatus (left) and L microcaryus (right). I like the contrast of the entire fronds and finely divided leaflets of these two. Caryota monostachya Ceroxylon alpinum Archontophoenix purpurea. Possibly the nicest colour a palm can produce in my climate.

Hey y’all. I recently moved to Northwest Florida from coastal North Carolina, and with that, I can finally plant out my potted palms. To start off this thread, here’s the Needle Palm finally in the ground this morning…

Gaussia princeps and any of the Hyophorbe will grow in the coastal zone. Give Hyophorbe lagenicaulis reflected heat from a wall for best results. Pseudophoenix sargentii is another Cthat will be slow enough to not cause problems for closer to 3 decades in a height constricted position. If you have headroom for something bigger in a spot, Chrysalidocarpus decipiens does well along the coast from Ventura to Point Loma at a minimum.

They absolutely can survive planted in the ground, in Phoenix, if sited correctly. (Think microclimate) Here's one I had grown from seed that was in that spot for several years. Also had a bottle palm in the ground for about 20 years before our brutal summer of 2020 took out both of them...🤷‍♂️ aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Tim, I was shocked to find this unlabeled older specimen at Mounts in the back! There are actually two side by side:

Update May 2026..

Cool to see commercial property owners using palms other than syargus, phoenix etc. Have any of you carried your hobby into properties other than your home? Here’s my attempt at identifying these near me in the San Gabriel foothills jubaeopsis caffra bismarckia/ roystoneas ravenala madagascariensis Struggling dypsis sp? With caryota mitis in background some sort of cycas?

This palm should be a top choice in SoCal. Fast and jaw-dropping.

Her are mine on an East facing wall about 15 miles inland in SOC/NLA County.... Biggest problem near a pool is the many dropping seeds... If your not too close to the pool that may not be a problem... Mine may have out grown your screening needs, but you could always remove the larger palms and just keep the smaller ones... Mine just keep putting out new seedlings because of dropped seeds... Just don't put in a pepper tree like my neighbor did 5-6 years ago, for privacy... He put it about 1' away from the corner of 4 adjacent neighbor... That tree is huge now and will someday take out all 4 block walls... It makes a mess on my and 1 other neighbors patio and pools, and shades the other neighbors veggie garden... I keep the limbs trimmed back that overhang my yard, but the other neighbors don't... It's now getting too big for me to trim any farther.. Hopefully Edison will come out and remove it like they did my foxtail... Butch

Here’s my smallest one just slowly truckin along. Planted as a 1G about 4 yrs ago. Definitely getting more size in the trunk area. Hopefully it’s past the slow infant stage these things experience. -dale

Iam sure I have a bit colour in the garden somewhere!

Just a few more Chams in the greenhouse!

I grow this in Jacksonville FL ----collected the seeds in 1988 from habitat in Northern Domincan Republic --- in my front yard ---