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A friend pulled this puppy out of a sale and planted it at his nursery!! This palm is 60 years old and stunning! Enjoy.

So I bought 5 Wodyetia last fall that were not the happiest I’ve seen but too good to pass up . I knew at least two would pull through if I gave them a good place to winter down. I was concerned because , as luck would have it , we had an especially wet year. It was more than double our normal rainfall , and Wodyetia don’t like extended wet conditions . I posted in an earlier thread that two are now in the ground and growing fine . The other three were sad and showed no signs of growth. The fronds turned brown but the spears remained green . I checked every time I thought about it and they were dormant . Imagine my surprise when I was working around the garden and saw this . The fronds died weeks ago and I cut them off. The other two ( you can see one in the background ) are just sitting . The spears are green but no growth, I refuse to give up! Harry

I needed a fix of buying a palm it was to much I had to buy one I think a few Australian growers know where I got this one from just buy them if you want them in the collection it’s fun.

I finally picked my little genoformis seeds after about two years of ripening after such a long wait they got planted straight away bottom heating 30 degrees Celsius coco coir perlite mix in a community pot with a plastic bag wrapped around it and some time to wait for germinating.

Dypsis mirabilis. Tim

Welcome , you are amongst frond friends!!If you want mature palms they are expensive. For me , private growers do the best or local information from a person who grows palms , like @Silas_Sancona . This information is the best. I know Mule palms can be beautiful and if these folks say they can handle your area , I would tend to believe it. This forum has people All over the word that are more than happy to help. I can’t because my climate is different than yours . Those queens , most likely , will never look their best in my opinion , tons of water may help . If you see any in your area that look decent , it is because they have been fussed over which is fine if you want to do that . Most folks don’t. HarryIf you pass a yard like this , it’s probably one of us . We come from a different planet , according to my wife😂!

CC in AZ, welcome to the forum, What you're seeing is pretty typical for Queen Palms here.. They just don't stand up to our heat all that well ..unless you want to spend a ton of money on keeping them watered and providing lots of fertilizer. Even then, there is no guarantee they will look good ..more like " decent", at best. Queen X Pindo cross = Mule is your best bet for tolerating our heat better. Washingtonia ..robusta and filifera ( CA. Fan = W. filifera, look much nicer, imo than the standard W. robusta, or hybrids between the two sps. ) Brahea armata, nitida, brandegeei, and some of the Sabal ( Palmetto ) species also do well here ..Sabal uresana, is our closest - native Palmetto sp, and is perfectly adapted to our climate. Two forms, a greener " coastal " form, and the " highland " silvery colored form. Both do fine here. Most of these species are easy enough to track down locally. A few may be rarer, but not too difficult to obtain. King palm, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana ..and all other Archontophoenix sps. are another group of palms that won't handle our heat / dry air ( outside humidity bumps during Monsoon season and the wetter winters ) unless you have a lot of tree canopy that provides shade 8am to sundown. Even then, their fronds will burn up on one of our famous dry / breezy days this time of year. Love a lot of water too. I see one of your Phoenix roebelenii ( Pygmy date palm ) looks like it is struggling behind one of the Queens.. These will do fine here, but need 2-3X a week deep soakings to get through the summer. Stay far away from Moon Valley.. The absolute worst place. Won't even walk into any of their nurseries myself. " wave " at them anytime i pass by the location near the house here. Two best nurseries near you: Desert Horizon, ..and ( even better ) Treeland, over on AZ Ave. Owner has a collection of mature palms planted on -site you can see that handle our heat w/ out much trouble, inc. a large Mule. Hope this helps.

The sweet aroma of Plumeria drew me closer to this. HarryThis came from a chunk that broke off from the parent after a major wind event a few years ago!

Thanks guys, glad to hear it. Dave, I just emptied my Borassus pots a couple days ago and have them in their individual pots now.

Hi Harry I don’t want to be the one to tell you but they are way to close to that wall especially the one near the copper pipes your call but I would remove them asap. Richard

No I didn't dig a trench partway beforehand or anything. I used a all steel type shovel (Wolverine https://pacforest.com/Item/21 ) and dug it out in about 1 hour by digging a narrow trench around and undercutting it. used furniture moving straps to hand pull it over and washed off some clay mud to lighten it. then pulled it out of hole with car after it was apparent that doing it by hand was impossible without about 4 people. Stood it upright and put on a dolly and rolled it over.

Obscenities screamed. Very very loudly!

This palm gets a bit too much sun this time of year and is more exposed to the sea breeze so it doesn’t always look its best. I fertilized it recently and now it’s starting to flower for the first time. Please share photos of yours if you grow this palm.

When this town was incorporated in 1918, crape myrtles were planted along the tree belt throughout the neighborhood. Some of the (presumably) original trees remain, but many have disappeared. Although 'Natchez' didn't become commercially available until 60 years later, (released by The National Arboretum in 1978) I thought it would be a good choice for in front of my house, to shade the sidewalk. These four were only planted a year ago; I'm really pleased with their speed of growth and flower production in such a short time. They're staked because early this spring when they were much more supple and probably not completely rooted in, a windstorm put them at a most unattractive 45° angle. Any suggestions as to when the stakes should come off? I was thinking of waiting until spring.

WOOOOHOOOO!!!! Finally this Encephalartos Ferox flushed actual leaves! I bought this one as a big 15 gallon pot with a nearly-trunking caudex back in the summer of 2021. I planted it in August 2021 and it got sunburned a bit initially. Then the 25ish degree frost in January 2022 burned off half the fronds. And then it coned in the spring of 2022, and I made the apparent mistake of cutting off the cones. I thought it would force a flush, but instead it just sulked and coned again in the spring of 2023! So I just left the cones in place and finally it's pushing 14 new fronds!

About one month germination time in ziplock bag and heat for this species. Here is a germinated sabal Tamaulipas next to a fishtail palm seed that also sprouted.

I planted a 15 gallon brazoriensis in the spring. I’m out of planting spots for the time being. Keeping that one until the greenhouse is finished to plant near it.

Gaussia attenuata at ANSG:

Why is that one not in your yard!!!!!!

I've grown Magnolia virginiana in Connecticut and would call its growth rate robust. There are certainly faster-growing trees but, unfortunately, not as beautiful. I think it's a good choice for your purpose.

A warm day today 23 degrees Celsius for a bright sunny winter day making gardening a bit of fun in the warm air wondering around doing a bit of pruning I just chop up the leaves and use them as mulch creating a natural process of feeding the garden.

@peachy I hope it comes around for you. It can be tedious when weeds are relentless. For me , it is Spring . The last two wet years were pretty bad with the weeds. I would pull every one of them and a week later , more. That is not fun , or if I find any palms that aren’t happy after looking after them all winter. Richard’s garden pictures always make me want to tend to my little garden . I don’t have 5 acres to do so I feel bad when I complain to my wife. Harry

Well I know it's not the best time of year to move this palm but the last 2 years this palm has taken lots more damage in it's spot in the yard. Add that to that it is growing too tall for where it was and I decided to move it by the house. There are a few more reasons including us not being able to see the palm where it was. Now it is more sheltered and going to be in a group of 3 or more going up close to the wall.

It's even more impressive standing next to it! I was in awe! I have never seen a palm that large in person haha.

I have lost two over the years , they can be hit or miss. I had one for several years and it was doing very well….until it wasn’t. The other one died a year after planting. I have learned a lot since then and realize that they like warm , if not hot , place in the garden . Also not too much water . I hand water now so I think with the two in the ground , I can keep them happy . Also the ones I’ve seen that do well were planted close to a wall for warmth. HarryThese have been in the ground for a few weeks and are growing well. This spot gets full sun and reflective heat until about 1 pm. The Rhapis get a bit more shade in the corner as does the Microspadix. I paid $10 each for them. Harry

A few months ago several local Home Depots here got a bunch in. 10 gallon pots. 6 ft tall. Super nice big healthy specimens. $109. So I got two about 2 months ago and planted in the ground. Clay soil but I did some 50/50 amendment a bit around the root ball. The new spears have grown about 12 inches so far and they look fine but not growing as fast as I would have expected. The info tag says 30F+ zone 10

Can you elaborate a bit more about how you dug the hole? Just a (root slayer) shovel? Did you dig a trench beforehand to get underneath it better?

Ditto Charlene! And the Borassus aethiopum are rippin too. 5 of 6 sent out the monster tap roots already. Waiting on #6. Fast, wow.

Had to get onto my roof today so i took a few pics while i was up there. A perspective i don't get too often.

In addition to leaflet stacking with Encephalartos latifrons hybrids I want to see that wide leaflet trait. The ratio of leaflet length to width biased to width. My favorite latifrons hybrid is this one which is with arenarius then backcrossed with latifrons pollen in the next generation. Super stcked leaflets which are chubby too.

Licuala ramsayi to the right of a cluster of Areca vestiara at Four Arts:

Nicely trunked and somewhat tall Licuala grandis specimens at ANSG:

Here are mine: First the double headed purported C miraguama Then the tiny baby crinita And last the purported C argentea growing still in pot in my cold frame All pictures have been shot today, which is very instructive, because this time of the year is in my climate exactly the entry to new growth season and all induced winter damage is revealed.

Euterpe and geonoma in the garden this morning looking good

Hi I think it is my friend Thomas that started this thread. He now has a fortunei that has been in the garden for over 15years and is over 3,5m, unprotected since day one 😀 Probably the largest unprotected Trachy here in Norway. I know there is one in Bergen (60 degrees north) at almost 5m, but he protects it slitghtly in the winter months to be sure, Even though many of the snakker ones are unprotected. Ålesund has the mildest winters of any city in Scandinavia, Even though there is Islands that are Even milder in western Norway. Bømlo for example. There are many unprotected Trachys in Ålesund now.

I am hoping they will be ok. They have some room , about a foot in either direction. The soil in that particular spot is fast draining , also the warmest spot with the protection of the courtyard. The other ones will be planted out on the south side of my yard with quite a bit more room. If those ( one or both) survive they will be like my Pritchardia that hugs the wall on the other side of my house . HarryIt is hard to see but the trunk is actually closer to the wall than the Wodyetia I just planted . The trunk just curved out a bit . I never expected it to live as long as it did as I was told they wouldn’t survive my climate . It was just a very small seedling that I brought home from Maui many years ago. I think it has endured with the help of the protection of the house. Harry

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/magnolia-virginiana/

That sure had a vivid and beautiful color Joe! An unusual amount of color for a palm that small too. Sometimes Phil at Junglemusic gets in some super-blue butia, and he’s willing to ship all over the country. Of course adult form is just as important as color… I see some Butias around town with remarkable silver/blue color but ‘meh’ in form. I’ve been liking one of the JxB F1 I got years ago from Patrick since it increasingly shows top and bottom leaf glaucousness with nice form and wing-span. Still an immature palm but seems to be catching a growth spurt:

The only things I can add is they do better in shade here in Hawaii, so they would definitely need cover on the mainland. High humidity year round and lots of moisture would be a must as well. As far as temperatures go, I really can’t attest to anything lower than 60* f (15.5c) and highs in the 80”s f. (26c to 31c) They go crazy with those conditions, so much so they need to be trimmed back. Not gloating, I’m glad to see you giving them a go in various climates. Tim

I don’t know why you continue to insist upon what I grow and what I don’t grow. For your information, I do have a mule, and a couple pindos. You act like I haven’t lived in this area for 7 years and haven’t studied my own growing zone and historical temperatures, and that I haven’t experienced any of my own winters as well as seeing what is growing in my area and what is not. Im very well aware that Queens are not long term palms here, you do not have to tell me that. I also know that even mules can take damage here based on historical temperatures. Unless I ask for recommendations, please stop giving them. Thank you.

I put in my micro spray irrigation over the weekend (my legs were sore from all the squatting🙄) and its rained every day since🤣. I told people at work that would happen and it has this week. Poured some peroxide into my little blue decipiens that are starting to have some issues, i'm thinking the sun they got may be too much but the spots could also be from heat. Both mean i think they will be grown in shade in the high and dry garden, maybe near the prestonianus and titan i have planted already. They are also doing better than before with normal spears and larger new fronds. It may be still too sunny there too, but it also might be the only place i could get winter sun and summer shade (thats a harder combo than i thought if you want frost canopy too). I have also discovered my rain guage is not great and heavy rains disrupt the wind sensor on the tempest, so i will be getting a typical guage that i can look at direct like i always had. It wasn't far off until the rain came down too hard, so i don't doubt it too much but a rain guage is not expensive either.

I had a beautiful blue butia that I scored out of a sea of normal pindos in blue pots lined up in a home depot parking lot. I saw it while driving by, and knew I must have it. I was dumb and didn't protect it enough before the awful cold snap in 2018 that took out 3/4 of my "pindos". I am still mad at myself for loosing that palm, so hopefully this one gets some more color. RIP you beautiful bastard

That’s some good information, Merlyn. So possibly, the sprinklers running a lot directly on them probably eroded the dye prematurely.

@Merlyn I only have P. elegans. Should be at least 100 seeds, probably but I only have a couple in the 1 gal size. I have a couple P. schefferi as well that I let go.

Here's a nice leaner in West Oakland.

Chrysalidocarpus Prestonianus Hybrid doing the splits