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Hello, Living in a Rhynchophorus ferrugineus infested country and having my palm garden in one of the most devastated cities of Greece from this weevil(Pyrgos ) and seeing more and more infected palms every time i visit there,i was wondering,how those of you who live in RPW infested countries(European countries mostly but others as well...) deal with this pest and your palm gardens...Is it a serious threat for you? Do you apply any preventive measures?Is it only a serious threat for Phoenix canariensis and very rarely attacks other species? What about once all P. canariensis of the area are dead? Does it move away or does it infect other species present in the area? Personally i will be soon applying nematodes + Biorend R(Chitosan formulation,harmless) for prevention about monthly but this really will be difficult to do for life. I like tall palms and this means i wont be able to reach them at some point and that is when i will be enjoying their looks the most... I really look forward to hearing from you!

Way to start young fellas. I used to be one of the youngest, but I am starting to feel 'grandfathered' in. I started getting into plants and weather at age 11/12 also but I started with vegtable gardening. I lost touch with growing plants during highschool but then bought a house at 18 and started getting into plants again. I first got into Cactus and Agaves and then switched to more of a tropical themed garden when the mediterranean was to difficult in my climate and my tastes changed. I am now a full blown addict looking for acerage to continue to feed the palm addiction!! I now wish I had planted some palms instead of vegtables 12 years ago at my parents place! happy growing! Luke

Chamaerops humilis var. aborescens "Naples"

Kris: Here are the photos. These seeds were germinated last February. Chamaerops humilis var. aborescens "Robusta"

Kris: Here's an image of my grouping of Sabal mexicana from today. This really is one years growth. Again, the material I collected last April was barely viable.

Honestly, I have sprouted Sabal palmetto, Beccariophoenix alfredii, Syagrus amara, Cocos nucifera, Trachycarpus fortuneii, and Roystonea regia this winter indoors using the baggie method illustrated here: http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=4608 but with sphagnum moss instead of coco peat. Temps ranged from 68 on the coldest of days to 85 on the warmest, but usually it stayed about 73F. Washingtonia is super easy, so you shouldnt have any trouble

"This image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a model of the preliminary forecast of the tsunami triggered by the 8.8 earthquake in Chile. The model shows waves of up to three feet traveling across the Pacific Ocean. "

Excellent point Dave to all palm growers as well. Use more mulches and less ferts as I've trumpeted in the past.

Kostas - from my own experience, RPW are likewise attracted to Washingtonias, hence they would probably infest any number of species, given the option. The mistake I made was trimming off a few leaves in early May, which put them onto the scent. My neighbour lost a Washingtonia and a Date Palm a few months ago. His Washingtonia blew over in the wind, although the trunk remained in the ground so maybe RPW had been burrowing away inside. When they cut down his Date Palm I noticed a dead, adult weevil laying on the stump a few days later. Both trees went within weeks of each other. The P. dactylifera had been losing it's crown for some time, but the Washingtonia looked as healthy as ever, but obviously the trunk had been weakened. You've probably seen this photo before, but here they both were last year: