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A few more…

And finally…. Thanks for looking.

Some more….

Iriartea deltoidea is one of the first palms I tried out growing here and all the specimens I put in the ground turned into beautiful magnificent specimens and have really good speed of growth. At the time I didn’t know anything about this palm and sort of picked it randomly because I liked the pictures of it. It’s always fun to find things that just really like our particular microclimate. These thrive in our humid, cool rainy climate with a rather narrow temperature range. I don’t really have time to baby plants because I just don’t have enough bandwidth to look after each palm so it’s always nice to find Palms can just throw in the ground and walk away and know they’ll just completely fend for themselves and still look really good.

Sabal Minor at Hammocks Beach State Park (Swansboro, North Carolina)

As I walk around my yard I thought I’d shoot and upload a few photos. It’s getting late here so I’ll have to be quick.

Nice one I put in a hundred seeds a couple of months or so ago and I planted one I had in the ground. Yours look pretty spectacular. I did read they take the cool weather, so that’s music to my ears with conformation from you thanks.

I’ll probably wait until mid March here in West Texas. It’s not common but we have had a late cold snap in early March before. Here you know you’re safe for sure when the mesquite trees start budding out. Supposed to be in the 80s here this weekend though so everything I will be planting is sitting in pots out back.

Not yet but I've got the windmills and butias uncovered from a 7 week nap and all my potted palms are getting some nice rays on the back deck with the exception of several because the nighttime lows are just a little to cool right now. But I have a major planting project soon

Replacement palm in its new home.

Some lovely little Australia seedlings. Locally collected seeds from a palm native to my area. Such a hardy tough palm. I wanted a few for my garden for the dry areas. Easy to grow and propagate. Cool tolerant drought tolerant a to Australian palm.

Once having seen these full, majestic crowns from the Arenal Hanging Bridges in Costa Rica in 2008, the impression never left me. So not long after beginning my Hawaii garden, I planted 3 in July 2011. One was unfortunately lost to a falling tree, but the remaining 2 are growing well and producing hunky flower spathes. They are so gorgeous I wanted more, and in May 2022 planted another trio toward the front of my garden for better viewing as they mature. So far, so good. Photo by Scott Zona, Arenal Hanging Bridges, Costa Rica

Sure looks like it to me . Some take a bit longer to get pups . The underside surface of the leaflets should show a silvery white color . Harry

One excited to put this L nitida in ground. I ordered 2 from Florida last spring. I put the weaker of the 2 in ground, and it’s done decent through winter. I have a more ideal spot for this one.

Some nice aiphanes seedlings loving the the tropical heat. Home germinated from a local seed source. This is there second summer having survived two winters. So it looks promising for this palm varietie to survive the low winter temperatures, not in the ground yet it will be interesting to see if they live or old man winter has his day with them.

Earlier updates on Hammocks Beach State Park...

I planted its sibling Orange Frost as a 3 gallon and just three months after planting, it experienced being covered in ice and 17F. Dropped all of its leaves but no major damage otherwise, leafed out like normal. Just went through 19F last week with no damage. Google and YouTube are mostly wrong when it comes to plant hardiness imo. Citrus used to be one of the most common fruit trees in Houston and grew here for 30 years making tons of fruit each year. The citrus here survived some dips into the teens with varying damage but most "normal" citrus like mandarins, oranges, grapefruit, etc can be grown here. Only the limes and most lemons are a lot more tender.

An update on the gorilla's efforts to beautify the neighborhood. Post flowering the trunk branched.

So when a plant fan starts to run out of space and sees an opening what do they do? In my case, it can lead to a little Gorilla planting. So back in 2013, when the greenhouse property was replaced with an infill development, they had a master plan to hide the new development from the older established neighborhood across the street (mine). The builder eagerly planted what the neighbors wanted to get their permits approved with minimal neighbor opposition, despite the density of the new development which doesn't match it's surroundings. Fast forward a couple of years, after the HOA for the development decides to ignore the prior agreements with adjacent neighbors for the project approval and rips out the trees designed to buffer the new neighborhood. Now the old neighborhood sees an opportunity in the voids to fill a few spots. A neighbor planted a couple of Dracaena draco's in the void a few houses down. I think that prompted a gorilla to arrive one night across the street from my garden and drop another younger Dracaena draco in the ground. So this "gorilla planting" is starting to get a little bigger these days and actually popped out it's first inflorescence. Do you have gorillas in your neighborhood doing some plantings????

When I was a child I had the ambition to become a biologist, but that didn't work out. It seems that we know more about the moon than the abysmal depths of the world's oceans. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250130-colossal-squid-the-eerie-ambassador-from-the-abyss

...A gift for our Landlord's Secretary / everyone else at the office to celebrate the Lunar / Chinese New Year.. No Sake included since i don't drink Lack of Plumeria this time of year for making Lei = Not a problem.. " Winter " Sunflowers, Desert Ruellia / "Torch Glow " Bougainvillea < for the Lei >, ..and a few Chamaedorea metallica fishtails.. Simple, perhaps ...but significant in symbolism for a prosperous New Year ahead..

Brian, just some local knowledge, nothing scientific, but Carpoxylon seems to be one of those palms where you let the leaf sheath fall off naturally. I’ve known of several cases where friends regularly removed the frond and sheath prematurely, for that clean look, only to expose wounds on the trunk which lead to disease and eventual death. Those palms, in this case, were the size of yours and apparently succumbed for this reason. A lot of palms seem to be more forgiving when you do this, but Carpoxylon doesn’t appear to be one of them. Removing the sheath before it’s ready to fall off is probably the reason you see the yellowing on the crown shaft, and the decay on the old sheath is a natural process of dying. Eventually your palm will get so tall you won’t have to worry about the leaf sheath. Tim

Nein! But it will start soon...

Thanks iam still trying to work how text a name in with a picture. Iam not a tech person just a gardener who loves palms. But I can say my garden is in subtropical climate in a unique microclimate, and it’s in the Australian bush with a lot gum tree and various other Australian trees. Google maps Halfway creek NSW Australia grays road iam in there somewhere.

They NEED very well draining soil in pot, something like pumice or leca, but they thrive in clay soil in the ground.

Here are some of the tropicals I will be planting this spring, The first picture is 2 purple heart plants that I got cuttings from Oak Island NC Off a really big plant, The second Picture is 2 Tradescantia Nanouk Cuttings i got off from one of my plants in the ground, The third picture is a Musa Basjoo That I got at a local plant nursery a couple of years ago, and The 4th picture is Dwarf cavendish banana That I divided off a big one that I used to own but it died. I Will we buy more tropicals and plants soon

Darn , I’ve been spotted! 🤫Harry

Yeah I was wondering that also Valdese NC is Borderline zone 7b 8a

Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) lutescens

In my garden seeds germinate naturally in the ground! Not many, because most spots are bone dry. But wherever there is irrigation and decent soil, small plants pop up!

The University of Hawaii at Hilo has an extensive botanical garden that would probably surprise many visitors. It might also surprise a lot of the students whose dorm windows overlook the gardens but have never walked over to see what’s going on. There are three separate areas planted along the edge of a large creek that runs through the campus. One area contains an impressive collection of bromeliads. The middle area has a large and diverse collection of cycads. The third area is a long narrow pathway flanked by dozens of mature palms from the world’s tropics. All of this is the result of decades of hard work by a single person, Dr. Don Hemmes, who began planting the palms a little over 30 years ago. Don is a cell biologist who took up the study of fungi once he joined the UHH faculty. After he retired from full time teaching, Don has had more time to devote to the gardens and has been assisted by super volunteer Normand Goupil. Between the two of them, they keep the gardens looking as though they were just vacuumed and dusted. Here is Don with a Tahina that was knee high only a few years ago. Every garden in East Hawaii has at least one Marojejya darianii. A fairly recently added Ravenea krociana might soon be trunking. This Lemurophoenix halleuxii has to compete with was much larger neighbors out of frame. This Dypsis lastelliana is bursting with many inflorescences of different stages of development. A large Beccariophoenix madagascarensis blooming its head off.

After a very lengthy application process, the volunteer team caring for the Botanical Gardens at the University of Hawaii Hilo recently received accreditation from BGCI Botanic Gardens International. This required cataloging the hundreds of species of palms, cycads, and bromeliads with currently accepted names, creating a searchable digital database and detailed map of the gardens, and setting up collaborative research projects with other institutions around the world. The garden was created by UHH professor Don Hemmes decades ago. Many volunteers have helped nurture the gardens over the years. The current crew includes Deb Beaty, JR Miles (HIPS president), Bill Nelson, Ken Beilstein (cycad specialist), and Rob Talbert, the computer guy who took the lead preparing the application and setting up the digital database. The garden is located along a stream that runs through campus. Although today it is not prime real estate for building more parking lots or structures, the unofficial, volunteer nature of the gardens left them vulnerable to the whims of future university administrators. The goal of gaining the BGCI accreditation is to communicate to the university and wider public the value of the collection and hopefully protect it in perpetuity. Plus, it gives me a good excuse to post some current photos of a few of the star residents. This photo was taken from roughly the same spot as the one at the beginning of this thread, 3.5 years ago. This Tahina is definitely in high gear. It might not be the largest one on the island, but it is right up there with the best. Immediately to the left of the guy posing for scale is a poor Lemurophoenix halleuxii about to be swallowed by the Tahina. Lots of hobbyists in Hawaii planted Tahina in their residential gardens 15 years ago when they first became available. Not everyone left enough room around to accommodate the massive size of these palms. Tahina have this odd habit of crawling sideways the first several years until they sink down a mature root system and take off growing vertically. You can see where the palm began off to the left and slid about three feet to the right before making a trunk. And of course, every East Hawaii Island palm garden has to have at least one Marojejya. This garden is a must see for any palm grower visiting the Big Island. It's easy to find in the middle of Hilo, and it's free!

Hibiscus sp. Barambah Creek, an outrageously pink Aussie native!

As a reliable harbinger of spring I noticed my daffodils are emerging from the soil.... ,,, but it's also this indication on my Erik the Red Aloe that has me thinking this year I may get a branched floral shoot! I plan to cut off and root all the offsets on this plant.

A friend of mine scattered my excess Rhopalostylis seeds on Mt. Davidson, where the Eucalyptus forest provides summer moisture from fog drip, similar to a redwood forest. I confess that I have never returned to see if any became established. Really, I need to get out more, perhaps later this week.

Don’s beautiful gardens demonstrate how planting a seed can create a wonderful legacy for future generations. In a different sense, Don’s long career in education and research has planted many ‘seeds’ through all the students who benefited from his guidance. You never know where things will lead. Decades ago, Don invited a very bright local high school student to do a summer research project in his lab. That student, Jennifer Doudna, went on to graduate from Hilo High School, and eventually earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology studying in the lab of a Nobel Prize winner at Harvard Medical School. She continued further studies with another Nobel Prize winner at the University of Colorado Boulder. This must have rubbed off because she won the 2020 Noble Prize in Chemistry for her pioneering work on CRISPR gene editing technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Doudna Not sure if Dr. Doudna's home in Berkeley is landscaped with palm, but it certainly should be. This is just a partial sample of the collection. If you visit the Big Island, be sure to stop by to see the entire UHH Botanical Gardens. They are free and open to the public.

Nice choice for replacement! Hope it does well for you.

Another little fix of a couple palms purchased mail order. It’s an addictive hobby collecting plants and every now and then you just need a fix of something new in the plant collection and these little guys are the order for the day again. A few will know where they came from and I highly recommend the seller for providing quality rare palms. Always arriving fast in the post and in perfect condition.

I've witnessed Mother Nature's cruelest late frost ironically on April fools up here, tho that was back last century! lmao. A week of super warmth coming will feel good and give my energy bills a break🤞Jan was cold enuf, and a recent record for the Continental U. S. they say for coldness. Feb may erase that as La Nina strengthens. We'll brace for it. P.S. No palm damage seen i laugh when i saw peeps covering stuff with temps "only" in the twenties last week! If a burford holly, much less a Sabal or Trachy cannot take that then to hell with it🤬

Xenon Posted 3 hours ago Winter is over in Houston and south Texas guys, I'm calling it now. Its time Famous last words b4 disaster? At the very least tempting a jinx!

How long are the leaves? Here is mine! Both have a quite long pseudopetiole!

More than likely it's Chamaedorea elegans

Topsail Island, NC

Sneeds Ferry, NC

Better late than never… here’s my top 10 tomatoes from last season. I’ll try to keep this season review brief, despite growing 50+ varieties, of which a good 10-15 deserve to be shown. Some varieties that were decent in 2023, were poor in 2024, and vice versa. Some new varieties really impressed and will be 100% returning this coming season. So without further ado… Starting with a few honourable mentions… Black Krim Buffalosun Gourmandia And now the actual list… 10.) Solar Eclipse 9.) Jack White 8.) Black Moon F1 7.) Vivacious F1 6.) Pink Berkeley Tie Dye 5.) Chup Chups 4.) Ozark Sunrise 3.) Brandywine Suddeth 2.) Rosella Purple 1.) Mariana’s Praise That’s my top 10 of 2024. Onto the new 2025 season now…

Deep burgundy, shady spot helps to precise definition of new leaf's color.

Another oddity; this one had varying degrees of golden leaves. Not sure how noticeable it is in the photos.

Today I decided to take a trip to Craven County, NC to view Sabal minor in habitat. It grows abundantly here on wet sites.

Richmond, VA

Hampton, VA