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I had 8 very large brahea moorei, about 20 years old, I only have this one left, about 10 years old

A nice batch of rps seeds if I do say so myself. Bottom heating 30 degrees Celsius coco coir perlite mix and about 3 months time is all it took for this little science project to be a success. There is a debate thats always going on about imported seeds and everyone has his or her own opinion about what germinates and what doesn’t. Let’s just say if I harvest seeds from my garden knowing that they are fresh and export them to some far off destination halfway around the globe. And the grower germinating them gets nothing to germinate. It’s not the person who posted the seeds fault to there best of knowledge they where viable when harvested. The person sending them did the best they could to provide rare palm seeds with the thought of providing the best seeds they could. I have had batches of seeds that never germinated from imported seeds that’s growing for you. It’s no different than buying a stack of rare palms and having them die in your greenhouse or garden after you got them it’s not the seller’s fault. Like they say no one is twisting your arm to buy them!

I took this pictures in Taormina. Some looks better than others as everywhere despite the location but in general they do grow in open non protected spaces

A quick update. Man, a couple of the stems are starting to get kinda tall with no increase in girth. Still nifty little palms though. Tim

Bill, i have posted the below palm on FB before. I just took a pic tonight after i removed a leaf base. Is this the same palm as yours? I'm still confused as to if it's true C. nauseosus. Or C. Highland Redneck. It is about 12-13ft tall now. It was collected in habitat in 2007. Sold to me as Dypsis lastelliana.

I had a few spare adscendens in the greenhouse and a nice little spot in the garden for a group planting. There was already three mature ones in the spot so why not a group planting to accompany them. I think they look rather cute like little turtles running around the garden. Now all I have to do is plant the other three hundred I have around the garden!

I had made about ten of them, I only have 3 left, one is much bigger than this one

I'm following up on the Aloidendron "Hercules" hybrid and blooming. I took photos of blooms today, and as you can see they aren't as large and showy as some Aloes. Mine is now about 14 1/2 years in the ground, so it first bloomed about 4-6 years ago. You probably will see more heads and a larger trunk before you can expect to see your first blooms. They do get immense as you can see. I water the adjacent plants via drip, but stopped watering this several years ago to try to get it to slow down. I do worry a bit about its proximity to my front wall. Size Large (US size 10)Men's sandal for perspective on the trunk girth.

You really should come visit someday - You would be surprised at how many palm trees there actually are here! But seriously, big palm trees are not yet common in the City , mostly because people here don't think that they can even grow them anywhere in the five boroughs . But I do remember when I was a kid, there was once a huge needle palm bush and good sized Trachycarpus fortunei planted for a while in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. That Trachycarpus even had a really nice temporary frost protection greenhouse with heating during wintertime ( I may be dating myself, but back then New York City was still a Zone 6B ). When out-of-town people think of New York City, they always envision Manhattan , but it is just one of five boroughs that make up the Big Apple, each with it's own unique environments. Needle palms, and Sabal Minors are definitely now foolproof in in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, The Bronx's and Manhattan. And once local gardeners and landscapers realize that they could also grow Trachycarpus , Butia, and possibly even Chamaerops humilis and Sabal Palmettos here in our current Cfa humid subtropical Zone 7B , you will definitely see them more and more in New York City in the future. But I suspect that only once we hit Zone 8B in a decade or two, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will feel comfortable in planting full size palm specimens in public spaces. But for now, any palms currently being grown in the city are now in private yards and gardens by zone pushing pioneers like me.

From my December 21, 2024 visit I finally visit this pair of Washingtonia x filibusta hybrids in Seven Bar Ranch, that it seems all of you talk about. Looking good! . I assume this is a Washingtonia filifera, which I remember seeing as a small 2 ft plant, when I still lived in ABQ but traveled to the west side a few times. It looks like there are at least three 'Stokes' Dwarf Yaupon Holly shrubs in front, sheared tightly. Driving around that part of town, between Ladera to Taylor Ranch, there was a surprising amount of escarpment live oaks, Italian stone pine, and other interesting plants compared to what I remember. Most were probably there when I lived in ABQ into 2013, but have simply grown in size over the decade. SOme were Texas and western honey mesquites that were in a 1990's design I specified for a park design, still growing nicely at an overlook of the city and Rio Grande. I may post on some of those in that subtropical but hardy plants area here.

Few more volunteers from today's bike ride.

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

cycas circinalis

I went for a visit to the Coffs Harbour botanical gardens and they have a few plants for sale at the gift shop, I couldn’t help myself when there was a tray of echinacea plants there for sale 11 all up. Well what do you do when you have a garden the size of my garden you gotta buy the whole tray ones not going to do much of an impact statement. So I splashed out and got the lot Iam sure the garden will look better for the purchase. Iam sure the wife will be happy with the flowers I know iam.

RIP to the mule palm after 8 years. After much agony I decided to cut the mule palm. It is already done. While I was able to protect the spear and mid fronds a few feet up it had grown too tall to be safe to reach on a ladder and I felt unsafe the last time I tried to wrap it. Also the palm is soo tall that the fronds are above the first floor and we can't see them out our windows. it is going to be replaced in spring with our large potted waggy. Thanks to everyone for following along. Since we first planted it I told everyone this would be the eventual result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFKT2zlcMbU&lc=UgzhStMwFhGE08fGJrB4AaABAg

Don’t jinx us Marcus.

the stations here directly at or near the harbor all had low temperatures this morning between -2.7 °C at the harbor directly to -3.3 °C and we -5.2 °C, extreme differences for the fact that it is only a 15-20 minute walk.

Just love this thing, keeps getting better and better. Tim

I think you are correct on the 1990 map using a different number of years: The Arnold Arboretum map remained the standard over the 1960 USDA map until 1990, when the US Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the U.S. National Arboretum, updated the USDA hardiness map, using data from between 4,800 to 14,500 weather stations. Various publications by Dr. Marc Cathey, who oversaw the map project, have given a wide variety of radically varying weather station numbers. I expect the low end would be more accurate. Although Cathey also claims to have used a 15-year dataset, the 1990 map actually used a 13-year dataset from 1974-1986 (US) and 1971-1984 (Mexico). This revision shifted most areas into zones that were one half to one zone cooler than the previous Arnold Arboretum map. https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/articles/plant-hardiness-zone-maps Additional Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardiness_zone https://tpacker25.medium.com/an-illustrated-history-of-americas-plant-hardiness-zones-with-a-closing-look-at-one-north-carolina-county-694dd2185803 https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/planting-zones/shifting-hardiness-zones.htm https://farmflavor.com/lifestyle/garden/guide-to-the-new-usda-plant-hardiness-zone-map/ https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/pages/map-creation If anyone is interested in reading it, there was a short article in the December 2023 issue of The Palmateer discussing the history of zone maps: https://cfpacs.com/org/wp-content/uploads/publications/2023/palmateer_2023_04_84.pdf

Euro completely botched FL last week and now wants 3F in Dallas same as 3F in Minnesota 🤣 GFS has temps almost 30 degrees warmer (I like this one)

This is my baby Beccariophoenix Alfredii. I just received it right before winter and put it in my heated greenhouse. (Zone 8a) I didn’t repot because it had a long journey to get to me. It arrived in great condition. It took it about 2 months before resuming growth in my greenhouse, but now it is taking off. Has already put out full spear with the new one coming in nice behind it. The temperature in my greenhouse never falls below 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night and peaks at about 85-90 during the winter months.

of Chamaedorea stolonifera, I had 6, but I have this one left, and it's also the least beautiful

1 photo female specimen 2 photos small seeds (sterile) 3 photos male specimen 4 photos a small high rupicola

Equatorial rainforest trees, coconut palms & more. My island also had its own coconut forest 🌴. Lots of beach erosion endangering the costal coconuts of the island. Also was amazed to spot a date palm growing in equatorial climate. Amazing tropical holiday in the Maldives ( Ari Atoll )

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.

Yes it a saintlucei a lovely palm to grow. It grows so easy in my climate.

Montage 5 years in ground and 3 in pots! Protected in zone 7

Yes temperatures can vary a lot within small distances. Espescially next to water, in big cities or at different elevations.

Hi everyone! I have 3 Voanioala Gerardii available, 2-3 leaves. Leaves are about 12-14”. They are 300$each plus shipping. I have heating packs and insulation available for a few bucks extra. PayPal, zelle etc available.

hey if you don’t mind me asking, what palm is that on the left in your picture?

But in Sicily it can grow in open sides in parks. I have seen pictures...

A neighbor's tree branch came down and broke a big portion of my Vasconcella quercifolia. My loss is your gain! If anybody would like cuttings and you are driving through the Fresno area, you are welcome to some of these. (Sorry no shipping). Keep in mind these are female and will need a male to set fruit. Jury is out on weather papaya will pollinate, but other vasconcella will. Cuttings are BIG My poor tree was loaded with fruit too 😢

In the case of the time period that USDA zone maps use for their zones, only the 2012 and 2020 maps used 30 year periods. Possibly the 1990, but I don't think so. I've read how older USDA zone maps used much shorter periods, such as 7 to 10 years. I need to find that documentation.

Washingtonia in Clayton, N.C. Impressive for Zone 8A. Link to Google Street View: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1ykvkyDzkAYq5E5V8

I don't think anyone is anxious if the right palms were planted . January and February are winter months in Texas. Every single year we see freezes in most parts of Texas and there's absolutely no indicator that it gets nearly as cold as February 2021. Length and type of cold were unique that only happens a couple of times in a century. While local news sources mentioning another artic front moving towards Texas around the week of 19-25th no one can say where it is going to hit and how severe it gets. We will know more about it later the week until then we enjoy the cold weather that gives us a break from our months long excessive heat.

@PalmSupreme Greenland Dock is a still/stationary body of water though, unlike the Thames which is flowing. So not too surprising about it getting a thin layer of ice around the edges during a mid-January cold snap, although the fact it is freezing at all is kind of significant. Although it would have done the same in December 2010, Jan-Feb 2013, February 2018, January 2021, December 2022 etc. So it happens every 2-3 years really. Given this is a mid-winter event when the cold prospects are at their best, the minimums haven't actually been too bad. I still think it has been a fairly bog standard mid-winter cold snap for 10-14 days, but nothing even remotely record breaking for 90% of the UK. Certainly more significant up north in Scotland and northern England. But for the south coast and especially the SW it has been a bit of a nothing burger. For us in the southeast and London it has been a proper cold snap, but again nothing out the ordinary by any means for January. A mild 2nd half of the month and the month will finish around average overall, albeit changeable. Here's a Washingtonia near you in Rotherhithe. I haven't posted this one on here before. It's on Dean Close. The street view image is 2 and a half years old. Maybe you could snap a photo of it sometime to see how it is doing after the 22/23 winter and this current spell that we have had. I'm guessing it looks normal, but it is also a fair bit bigger now... Not much palms around your area though. Some CIDP's visible in back gardens on street view but not a lot there really. Not in any way weather related, but I think they are just a bit underplanted in Rotherhithe compared to other areas of London. Texas folk better hope that ECM is just on one tonight and won't verify. That's an insane temperature departure from average...

yes I did it! this way it's better, everyone can see it

Here's and excerpt Henderson (2009) from Palms of Southern Asia

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

From the icebox , Alvin post freeze lol and an ancient cidp …

yes,f you grow phoenix roebelenii, you can also grow phoenix rupicola, which is more resistant

Here is an alfredii in Pearland, Texas. Two years from a 1 gallon. It survived high teens(F) a year ago, just a mound of mulch and a box thrown over top. Shockingly the fronds did not have much beyond tip burn and it took off this year as a result.

This is awesome documentation to show yearly growth ! And a beautiful palm to boot!

Florida has become really bad for homeowner's insurance. My rates have skyrocketed in the past few years despite my house being concrete block in an area that hasn't flooded in 50+ years. My wife's parents were recently told their house was "uninsurable" because it's too old. It was built in the 70's and is also concrete block with a new roof and new front door and windows.

So ironic that I was gonna post @Harry’s Palms about the same subject. I was cancelled by my insurance last week because my canopy tree was over my roof line. I just had the whole canopy tree cut down yesterday and now I'm sorry to say, most of my palms on the tropical side is probably gonna die including a huge foxy lady. Regardless, I was opted to upload my photos to their site to appeal with obstruction taken care of. I hear even if you take care of the obstruction, they will not renew so I will see in 5 business days. I did obtain a copy of their report. It is so ridiculous!!!! The report looks like a 5th grader did it with an aerial pic of my house on google maps and a red arrow pointing to my tree obstructing my roof. That was all they needed to cancel my insurance. Now I am dreading to have to cut down all my other prized palms now that they are growing fairly large over my roof. Not yet but I have anxiety over it. I live well into the city and not abutting any open space so I am not sure why my insurance, very famous company, is doing this but they just want out with any reason. I dread looking for a new insurance company knowing it will probably be 3-5x more than what I currently pay now. Geez .... so nice that these companies lived off the profits for so long and now they are leaving us high and dry. 😠!

That’s insane Harry how ridiculous I fully understand your situation on the fires my property backs onto state forest and then national parks we constantly get fires around pretty well much every season it’s a great joy living in the bush the only reason I would sell is because of fires I fear the day my garden gets destroyed by fire you can replace a garden not a life if it comes to that iam starting up the fire fighter pump turning on the sprinklers on the roof getting the my wife and cat and leaving it to the gods and hopefully I can return to my home when it’s all over my insurance company is quite fair but last time I renewed my insurance I was told they don’t replace walls only the full house so I was basically told to let it burn to get full cover we have council regulations that are very strict on new dwellings with so many things you have to do just to get your house approved so the insurance companies have left it up to council regulations to enforce the regulations but you will pay extra if your home is in a bushfire prone area on the other hand you can’t get flood insurance if your home is in a flood zone Australia a sun burnt country burning one day flooding the next. Richard

Looking pretty nice now

I got these beautiful 3 gallon needle palms delivered today. Just because I'm in zone 9B doesn't mean I don't appreciate these palms. Big needles can add that real jungle effect to any garden and I have some wet spots so these should love it. The bonus is they'll be a care free palm any time some cold weather comes my way. These came from Mail Order Natives out of Florida. They were very reasonably priced and shipping was quite affordable considering the weight of the two packages. It looks like they can get 4 per package so it might've been cheaper if I did it that way. Definitely recommend them as I have purchased from them in the past. They have saved me years of growing these out from seed. Can't wait to get them in the ground.