Leaderboard

Here’s a double (formerly triple) in the front garden showing of some color.

It' s sunny today after two weeks of cold and rain, so I ' ll take some new pictures of my C. decipiens after arriving home.

I was over at Pauline Sullivan’s house ( now her grandson ) checking for seeds . I took this photo , looking up. Probably the parent to many Decipiens that are in North America. There are two very large specimens near the street. This is the largest . Harry I am 6’ tall looking up! I think I see a smile!

It was a beautiful autumn day wondering around the gardens. I only got to see a little piece of it with much more on display. Looks like a return trip is needed to see more.

Collorfull crownshaft of a Crysalidocarpus ( Dypsis) decipiens after old boot was removed today

I’m not sure whether it would be possible with Phoenix, but im confident it already exists within other smaller genera. Off the top of my head, there exists Howea belmoreana x forsteriana (or vice Versa) and there’s strong suspicion that Cyphophoenix elegans x nucele exists (assuming C alba and fulcita return to Veillonia and Campecarpus as has been suggested). I’d assume Adonidia merrillii x dransfieldii would be possible given A merrillii has been known to hybridise intergenerically. In any case, I’m not sure going down this path for any genus is likely to yield anything interesting, but there could be so much variability you’d never know. I’d guess in general you’d just have something that looks somewhere intermediate to all parents involved. For Phoenix it would take lifetimes of effort and would be difficult given that rarity of some species like P andamanensis. I’d suggest it wouldn’t be wise to dilute something like this in a hybrid.

@DonnaM welcome to PalmTalk! Foxtails are susceptible to cold damage anywhere close to freezing, especially with frost. Anywhere in the 30s could cause some leaf spotting that's mostly cosmetic. Into the 20s can cause severe burn or death, especially in a fairly young palm. To me that looks like some cosmetic cold damage. You can't "heal" the damage but a palm-type fertilizer will help it grow out quicker. Some good fertilizers are PalmGain and Florikan, though I tend to use cheap stuff like Sunniland 6-1-8.

Looks like cold damage. Mine had similar spots and marks last year.

More green in the center. Will plan to get them trimmed soon. Looking for some good fertilizer too.

In January 2020 I received my Mule Palm from MPOM. Over the last 5 years its grown substantially and now I am faced with a decision to up-pot yet again, sale it, or plant it. Of course I chose to plant it. A new pot the next size up would be about $300, and then what? In 2 years I'll be faced with the same predicament. This mule has endured the last 3 seasons outside since it's been too large to come in the house since 2022. The lowest we've been since then is 10F and its suffered minimal to no damage (granted - I laid it on the ground and threw a bed sheet over it when it got that cold). Otherwise it's stayed outside year-round. Now, before anyone comes for me about planting it (Yes, I'm in zone 8) my logic is that considering its survival and knowing its marginal palm here - I am willing to see what happens. Who knows, maybe we won't have anymore century level events for the next 100 years. *fingers crossed* Anyway, the predicament has been WHERE to plant it; the backyard is quite full these days. So, the decision to remove my Namwah banana mat was made yesterday, and plant the mule in its place. While I love my bananas, and they do extremely well here - the Namwah was the right plant in the WRONG place and was a constant pain to keep off of the fence, and off of the patio. Not to mention I have plenty of other varieties of bananas. I made the right move. After 9 hours with only a quick dinner break today I managed to somehow remove the established mat of namwahs, and excavate a planting hole for the mule. (word to the wise - do not plant bananas without intent. Be sure that's where you want them for all eternity and have ample room around them. Oh, and use heavy lifting equipment if you need to move them.... ugh😫) Post trunk chop from winter and now the heavy lifting begins... About 2.5hours into it and I'm questioning my life choices ..... QUEUE 200 LB POTATO..... After about 6 hours I finally managed to get the giant potato from hell out of the ground and dig out a 2 foot deep 2 foot wide meteor impact crater .... *notice the red clay - if you know you know* Once removed from its prison... er, I mean pot.... I had to do some root pruning/releasing. It was extremely root bound and swirling. Once the mess of roots had been freed from themselves - the rest is the easy part. To settle in I made sure to add plenty of plant tone and water in incrementally as I back filled the hole using a mix of seaweed extract, superthrive, and root stimulator water. Hopefully that will minimize transplant shock. Fingers crossed. I do expect to lose some of the lower fronds just from how aggressive I had to be with the root mass. Finally after about 9 grueling hours, sunburnt and bleeding .... Hopefully the Mule likes this spot as much as the bananas did, and I get to see some explosive growth. As per usual it will receive nothing but regular waterings with seaweed and unsulfured molasses water to establish the root/soil microbiome this season with no fertilizers for the next 90 days. IMG_0208.HEIC

Gonna wear a mask today as I head out this afternoon.. the sky is orange.. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/03/weather/new-mexico-haboob-dust-storm/index.html

This is the problem with people using common names instead of the scientific names. Typically "Alexander Palm" refers to Ptychosperma elegans and "Alexandra King Palm" refers to Archontophoenix alexandrae (sometimes mistakenly called Alexander King Palm). The Ptychosperma has a thinner trunk, is less cold hardy and only reaches half the height of the Archontophoenix.

I’d say she’s referring to Archontophoenix alexandrae.

Wanted to showcase a couple of my Chamaerops humilis var. argentea. Slow growing species that does wonderfully under many different growing conditions. Nice blue accent palm for a smaller yard.👍 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Here’s an anthurium i got from ecuagenera last month at our orchid show. I forgot the name but the red “bloom” really stands out amongst the plants in the sunroom. Gongora fulva in bloom right over it.

Wood is slow to break down as well... Still have a few pieces i'd collected for Orchid mounts back in ...2008.

So many fine species to choose from. I'm fond of Garrya elliptica and Cupressus macrocarpa, but my favorite locally native tree is Umbellularia californica. Oily leaves, rich and lustrous green, emitting a pungent and peppery aroma when crushed that makes my scalp tingle. Photos are mine, some from Samuel P Taylor SP and some from a redwood grove right near where I grew up. Often seen as an understory plant in redwood forest, but a striking and substantial tree itself given the opportunity.

They are quite handsome, and as the link states, supportive to a vast number of species in the local ecology. They are also prolific and will sprout many acorns each season. They thrive in coastal areas where redwoods do not.

I don't see any issues with the health of that seedling. Looks to be a Washingtonia seedling, which produce filaments These are very tenacious but would perform better in a pot that's deeper that it is wide. This will outgrow it's container rather rapidly. This is my 3 year old seedling.

I see ups and downs in the temps for March. Check on YouTube for one of the weather geek channels. Those guys will look ahead a couple weeks.

Washingtonia in pots need a lot of water. I bought mine last January and was waiting to plant. I went around 3 days without watering and the fronds started browning off and it set them back a bit. When I planted them I realized there was virtually no soil in the pots just a giant mass of roots. The sagos are very forgiving. I agree with Harry I'd probably wait a couple of more weeks to see what the long term forecasts look like. Any freezing temps I'd throw them in the garage. I'm pretty cautious with potted plants though.

On a palm that size in a pot, less is more! I would suggest no more than a half a handful of Sunniland 6-1-8 or Palmgain 8-2-12. In pots I frequently use Osmocote, just because there's less risk of burning roots. If you use granular I'd do smaller amounts once a month instead of a bigger dose once every three months. If you are planting it, just wait until it's not likely to go below ~40F at night. Don't put fertilizer in the hole, but make sure you loosen up the soil around it. If you aren't planting it, stepping that up to a 7g would be a good choice.

I think they are the same thing. The one that says “Chelated” is an older bottle. This can be applied on the foliage or the ground. Keep in mind that these are only supplements and you should apply a regular palm fertilizer first.

I did contemplate leaving the wife behind for more space in the car. But you know a smart wouldn’t do that at all, now all I gotta do is go back and pick her up 🤣 Richard

So long as there is enough moisture to keep the palm from drying out and the soil in the pot. You should be fine . It won’t be that long before you will be planting them. Harry

Also, if you don't already have one, buy a rain gauge. Our spring weather (in the southeast ) is usually fairly wet so you may not need to do much watering at times. The hole in the bucket method is what I use. Now in the heat of summer and during dry spells, I have used around 20g (4 bucket fulls) at a time or so for bigger (mine have around 3-6' of trunk on them) windmills. That is in the summer though so you should not need near that much this time of year, not to mention the potential rainfall too.

Yes, I think suggestion is good. dear beauties grows 🤗😁

Pretty simple question I randomly started considering, what if someone found a way to cross every single species of a small genus that readily hybridizes, such as Phoenix. Would this even be possible in a lifetime? And if so, would such a creation look completely unique, or closely resemble an already existing, simpler hybrid in the end. My idea would be to either start out with pure species and add one to the previous hybrid, though that could take years for each to mature id think. Ex: ((((Dacty x Sylv)xRoeb)xCanary)xRec)xEtc..) Or , combine already existing hybrids, which would be quicker and easier? Ex: (Dacty x sylv) x (Roeb x Canary) x (etc, etc) Looking forward to hearing opinions

A true collectors palm the Areca vestiaria highly ornamental a small power wash was used to clean the flesh off the seeds coco peat perlite mixture with 30 degrees Celsius bottom heating will be the preferred method of propagation time will tell how many germinate

I decided the pull the trigger and repot the 4 washingtonias for the sole reason that we are having so much wind that they keep falling over and losing soil with roots exposed so I am afraid of keeping them in their original pots. Tomorrow we are supposed to have 15-25 mph winds with gusts of 45 mph winds. Will be waiting 2-3 more weeks to plant the other ones straight into the ground though. Praying we don’t drop below freezing anymore and it looks to be that way so far. Wish me luck everybody 🤞🏼

They actually amazed me when the washingtonias arrived because they were only 3 gallon pots but were so tall (especially the one on the right in that picture). Even the pictures from the other reviews on their site showed ones that were much smaller. I guess I got lucky, but I have ordered from them before also I had ordered 4 sylvester palms also.

Bought from fast-growing-trees.com

A quickie update: To paraphrase a ghaad awful song tucked within an even worse music genre that will likely become someone's chronic earworm for the week, ...Looks like we made it ...Through it's inaugural winter that is.. Feel free to thank me for the infection later.. FYI: Pays to be vaccinated against such things.. 😁 Anyway.... After noticing it starting to respond to increased warmth / sun angle inside, decided it was time to place it out on the patio to see how it might respond.. After a couple weeks out there, no issues so far. Hard to see but, in shot #2, while the new leaf on the main plant continues to expand, it looks like it is already prepping for producing another, ...while the offset on the left is throwing it's first new leaf since being purchased.. ..After the tip on it decided to dry up and fall off right after purchasing.. We'll see how things look in a couple months, once it is 85F+ every day...

Quercus agrifolia, https://calscape.org/Quercus-agrifolia-(Coast-Live-Oak)

i've had this problem many times but it hasn't happened in a while thankfully

Love it and not saying you shouldn’t. I have a few as well. That said, 5-10yrs and we will all get whacked and kill every zone pushed palm and plant back down south.

Most of the Mexican and Guatemalan types should be easy up there. Can't remember the varieties but there used to be several in my old neighborhood there. In fact, before it was razed for homes and building the 85 freeway in the early 90s, there was a sizable Avocado grove located behind a Vet clinic my family would take our dogs to. Remember it because while my mom would take her dogs in for shots / etc, i'd wander over to the grove through an empty lot ( Now extra parking ) to see the Peacocks that roamed that grove.. Nurseries i worked for out there sold all the " common " varieties like Haas, Lamb Haas, Bacon, Mexicola, Wurtz, Pinkerton, Fuerte, etc.. No doubt there are probably other newer varieties around now. Aside from numerous discussions about " Bay Area Avos. / which grow best up there " over on the Tropical Fruit Forum, some additional, interesting reads.. Good article on the subject from Golden Gate Palms: https://www.goldengatepalms.com/avocados A blog post from Epicenter Nursery and fruit: https://www.epicenteravocados.com/blog/ From the CRFG: https://crfg.org/homepage/library/fruitfacts/avocado/

Those are pretty hardy palms and cycads. I would still wait just a bit. Try filing in missing soil with a good garden top soil or potting soil and protect from the wind for now. Once the threat of any freezing temps pass and temps rise a bit , plant away! Harry

Start an IV STAT. That palm needs hydration.

Most palms can be air layered. Clay soil is awesome. Freezes build character. I can go on.

Zones are relative in any case. Always only an indicator. Espescially in Europe but yes recent maps say it's 8a. Also not far from Vienna where they grow palms and I think it's also an 8a. But those areas get more frost than other 8as for example. Either way WOW incredible work! I'm not sure if I like it that much because of the money and energy that gets pumped into it and I think it loses its appeal when it's basically a greenhouse but who knows maybe in a couple of decades he doesn't need to protect them anymore. 😂

Just to show the speed of the b x pjc There is was basically no green left 1 month ago after record snowfall……

A good synopsis Darold. I believe it reinforces my earlier point that there are no quick and simple answers. We have plenty of neighborhoods throughout the State that are in these types of wildland/urban interfaces. Even changing building codes does nothing for the current housing inventory that we all live within. Progress has to start somewhere though.

It's a very complex situation with more layers than an Football- sized Onion.. On one hand, you have folks who will want to clear Chaparral- type vegetation, far away from where neighborhoods butt up against such areas but, as you mention, Clear out the native vegetation, and you increase the risk of mudslides, ...which also destroy homes / anything else in their path... Stopping a fire can be tough enough.. Forget trying to stop an entire mountainside when it decides to come down. ..Adding yet another layer, ..a point that hasn't really been brought up much, but also needs to be discussed more ..What replaces that " woody " vegetation when it is torn out? ..More vegetation ..often in the form of finer / flashier fuels like the various annual grasses / weedy things that were introduced and are already spreading like ..wildfire.. Oats, Brome, Chetgrass, Foxtail Grass ...just to name a few.. ...that stuff often burns much faster than the woodier fuels.. Ever watch a thick, grassy hillside go up? it's often pretty quick, even under reasonably tame conditions.. Add in 60-100mph winds? Good luck trying to stop it ...before... it has already advanced ..1/2 a mile or more. Hearing of multiple football field length fire runs ...within say a 10 of 15 min timeframe during some of these fires is absolutely crazy to comprehend.. Thank goodness Buffelgrass isn't as big of an issue out there as it is becoming here -yet- That stuff can burn fast, and often very hot.. Same with Stinknet ..a god awful annual that burns like Chamise. An FYI, Fountain Grass is almost as bad as it's Buffelgrass cousin.. Yank it, if you see it.. During their recent podcast collab., Zeke Lunder ( The lookout ) and Mike Steinburg ( norcalstormchasing ) brought up the fire that tore through Scripps Ranch awhile back and how despite efforts to clear back the native vegetation -as far as they could to provide what they assumed was a more than adequate amount of defensible space- houses -many of them- still burned.. Simply put, ..isn't anything anyone can do under exceptionally extreme conditions, which unfortunately are more likely to occur more often going forward.. As far as any water retention ponds that may have been in some stage of repair / retrofitting project(s) when the fires broke out ..Ever hear of being caught in X or Y situation with your pants down?.. Anderson Reservoir up by San Jose, has been drained to 3% of it's capacity for a retrofitting project to fix the dam due to several analysis pointing to serious risk of failure during a big enough quake due to how it had been designed originally.. If a serious fire were to occur anywhere nearby while that source of water isn't available, ..that's just bad timing / something you can't plan for / see coming.. As far as future decisions / changes to any landscape - related things, i'm hoping very knowledgeable plant people like Don Hodel will be greatly involved in any public or private city council meetings / discourse before any significant changes are made to codes, etc ..if they are.. Palms have just as much of a place in landscapes as any other plant group ..though maybe not in some areas / circumstances going forward. Future " new " analysis regarding where and how they might be used is smart to look into/ discuss. Is just as important to not allow any deg. of " Palm Phobia " to pop up, and/ or be spread. Is just as unacceptable as not quickly stamping out any other form of misinformation..

Do yourself a favor and ditch the odd political angle... Ain't going anywhere here.. Keep it ..and anything else aimed at CA strictly to yourself. Thanks. As far as my frame ..not train.. of thought? comes from growing up there and a full understanding of how the various ecosystems in my state / region of the country work.. Big fires have occurred out there for ....eons... They are not something " new " Lexington, 1985, Oakland Hills, 1991, Large fires in the mountains east of San Jose, around Big Sur / within the greater Los Padres National Forest ..Pre 1995.. ...On top of all the others that occurred up to that timeframe across the state ..and west.. Remember many of them.. Absolutely not some new fangled " phenomenon " When the long term weather trend in a region of a country ..or world... tilts in a direction that leads to greater warming / increasing drying, ..and there are more people / infrastructure around that can provide ignition sources, There will be more fires.. Woah! Will never comprehend how this is such a hard to grasp concept for some people.. In a nutshell, despite the odd " theories " swirling around out there like ..Cow " exhaust ", Whatever Uptick in large fires has been seen in the last 1, 2 decades in Ca ..or anywhere else in the West... has very little to do with any " bad " management.. Period. As i said, please learn some things, Factual things ...things based in science, ..not just parroting Faux " theories "

In fact my B.eriospatha ( which I used to make this hybrid years ago) are from a more selected strain with bigger fruits and practically no fiber, juicy and easily cleaned seeds when the fruit is eaten. "Wild" B. eriospatha has fibrous fruits and are also smaller.

It would make sense to name the vendor and let everyone know the good/bad/etc. Otherwise, what value would it provide others? The isn't a list or a numeric rating like Google Reviews, Yelp, etc. It mostly boils down to going to the link, and if there is a vendor in there you are considering, read the reviews other posters have left. If you have additional questions, you could post on the thread or PM the user(s) who posted the review. https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/forum/32-palm-growerbuyer-ratings/

I don’t understand. It says that Nature Girl has not read your message yet - so there is no response from her.

Yes, I've had this issue since joining the forum. 6-1-2023

Andy, welcome to PalmTalk. Maybe the Moderator can move your topic to the Discussing Palms Subforum where it will get more attention. We have a Forum Member, Steve in Michigan, who posts regularly and has a large assortment of potted palms. Please do post photos of your palms in the Discussing and/or Coldhardy subforums. Everyone here loves photos and appreciates what you must go through every winter to protect your prized palms.