Leaderboard

When I was living in Arizona in 2008, I saw a really nice p. rupicola triple at treeland in chandler. I was inspired by the curved trunks and nice green canopy. When I moved to florida I found a nursery MB palms that carried 1g size rupicolas. I liked the rupicola for its cold tolerance(26F) and its bright green foliage. It also has thorns that don't hurt you, they bend at the base of the thorn. Having been stabbed many times by my various phoenix species I grew in Arizona, I was interested in a pain free trimming process. This triple was planted in early summer 2011 and has been a slow, easy care grower. I thought it might be a permanent hedge but now it looks as if its going to be exactly what I wanted, an attractive medium height canopy for filtering hot western sun. It has fruited 3x the last one a full load of striking red fruits(sorry, no picture). The three palms grew away from each other more than any triple I ever tried, no need to tilt a palm when planting. Here is a pic taken today of the overall palm, and a close up of the trunks. just after a post hurricane Milton trim of the many(30-35) dead leaves After many of my other palms have grown tall and more difficult to view into the crown this one still gives a nice crown view. Anybody out there have phoenix rupicola pic/experiences. they would like to share. For scale, the fence is 4'.

I’ve have the pleasure of undertaking the task of caretaking a felid of Sabal Palmetto I never dreamed possible around 25 years ago another farmer named John planted his field with 25g mutant sable palms trees. I’m almost positives introduced to him by a man that worked for him at the time.Mr Robert R, will call him for short. So if you know the story already, the trees known today as Sabal Lisa (named after Robert’s wife Lisa) a dwarf stiff mutation of the Sabal Palmetto. A tree I never knew anyone would have spent the time to plant a field of. Well they did!! I heard a field existed so hunt for them I did, With no expectations of course. Believe it when I see it, I told myself. Well I’ve had people tell me story’s before in moments of there own discovery, as “shaking in my boots” well shaking i’m by boots I did!!! Ask my son who was with me at the time. What’s wrong dad said Eli like Oh nothing son trying not to hug the trees and cry like a woman at the adoption clinic. I said let’s adopt all of them!!! Ok he said, not knowing what the big deal is. shrugged his shoulders and walks back to the car. I actually looked up to the sky and said something at that point “please God” Well long story short adopt i did? And now I’m broke!!!! living in 1980 school buss in that field. My background is exotic garden design and plenty of them i’ve done. Burnt out on vanity gardens for people that don’t know the difference's from xmass palms to a Kentiopsis. I took the dive it’s quite a transition. Now i’m another broke farmer named john. Sill no less exited, I haven’t had to answer the phone! So far i’ve got some iron water to come out of the old shallow well in the middle of the field and decided to sub irrigate the trees putting slow release down and root pruning. It’s my understanding form other nurseryman and my own personal stupid decisions like digging sable minors in the winter. It’s best to wait till march. Well here we are!!!! So this week end I made a redneck sign sat in a red neck town and tried to sell them on the side of the road? No one stopped to ask how much but i’m glad cuz they would have lift faster then they showed up. It’s a hard sell 6’ at 500.00 bucks even though it’s a good price if you don’t know what it is or the story behind it a hard sell. So here I am reaching out the the palmtalk group to ask for help to continue the research of this little little known Palm Named “Lisa” Please help another broke farmer John feed the trees (and himself) call 9413909071 or e-mail swmpcablive@icloud.com for more info. Thanks John G

Hybridism is many times a natural process of evolution together with mutation. Almost all crops are the result of hybridization with local related wild spp. It is an illusion to believe, that wheat or rice cultivated in northern Europe and Korea respectively are the same with the originally domesticated plants in the fertile crescent and southern China. We humans are also a result of hybridization. How about a Phoenix hybrid, which is resistant or less attractive to weevils? Yes you have guessed correctly, Phoenix hybrids up to now are not preferred by rpw. In a recent congress in Philippines, it was discussed the possibility of dactylifera x theophrasti hybrids as more resistant to rpw.

Here is how my Queen palm looks following the ultimate low of 21F. Just a bit of tip damage on the most exposed frond. The newest frond opening is quite droopy som I’m not sure if that was from the cold or maybe the wind? The only protection this palm got was from being enshrouded on 4 sides by filifera fronds and a small Crepe Myrtle. I’ve since trimmed back some of those fan palm fronds to give it a bit more breathing room and sunlight. Also shown are my young Washingtonia robustas. Planted May ‘23 from 1 gallon they are growing great. Some bronzing of fronds mostly from the cold two weeks ago, but not set back at all.

And here are a few more photos from around San Antonio. The last few are from today.

I went to Houston a few weeks back and saw these beautiful Butias:

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!

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.

This was just announced on Facebook, he only has these public sales once a year. Any Central Florida and especially the Orlando area palm lovers this is your personal heads up. I can vouch for his selection and friendliness. It's a beautiful property with many hard to find rare exotic palms. I'll certainly be attending.

I know which commercial landscape Gardner you are talking about, and she is referring to Archontophoenix alexandrae. She should not be calling them Alexander King Palms because, like another poster said above, in Florida that typically means Ptychosperma elegans.

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.

Hot take: Phoenix dactylifera shouldn't be planted on a mass scale in FL.

I’ve have the pleasure of undertaking the task of caretaking a felid of Sabal Palmetto I never dreamed possible around 25 years ago another farmer named John planted his field with 25g mutant sable palms trees. I’m almost positives introduced to him by a man that worked for him at the time.Mr Robert R, will call him for short. So if you know the story already, the trees known today as Sabal Lisa (named after Robert’s wife Lisa) a dwarf stiff mutation of the Sabal Palmetto. A tree I never knew anyone would have spent the time to plant a field of. Well they did!! I was heard a field of lisa existed so hunt for them I did. With no expectations. Believe it when I see it I told myself.I’ve hade people tell me story’s of there own discovery as “shaking in my boots” well shaking i’m by boots I did. You can ask my son who was with me at the time. What’s wrong dad? Eli asked, Oh nothing son, trying not to hug the trees and cry like a woman at the adoption clinic. I said let’s adopt all of them!!! Ok he said, not knowing what the big deal is. shrugged his shoulders and walks back to the car. I might have actually looked up to the sky and said something at that point (please God) Well long story short adopt i did? And now I’m broke!!!! living in 1980 school buss in that field. My background is in exotic garden design and plenty of them i’ve done. Burnt out on vanity gardens for people that don’t know the difference's from xmass palms to a Kentiopsis. It’s a bit of a transition. Sill no less exited, I haven’t had to answer the phone! So far i’ve got some iron water to come out of the old shallow well in the middle of the field and decided to sub irrigate the trees. Spreading slow release and root pruning. It’s my understanding form other nurseryman and my own personal stupid decisions like digging sable minors in the winter. It’s best to wait till march. Well here we are!!!! So this week end I made a redneck sign sat in a red neck town and tried to sell them on the side of the road? No one stopped to ask how much but i’m glad cuz if they asked the price would have left faster then they showed up. Five hundred for a six foot trees is a hard sell if you don’t know what you’re looking at or the story behind it even if it’s a good deal. So i’m reaching out to the palmtalk community to help the continued research of this little little known tree The Sabal Lisa. By purchasing one today you can help another broke farmer named John feed the trees and himself!! For more information call 9413909071 or Email Swmpcablive@icloud.com Thank you John G

I made these 3 hybrids roebelenii x reclinata roebelenii x dactylifera roebelenii x rupicola, few seeds they are completely different from the parents

New Palms for the Spring Season We are ringing in the Spring season with a brand new price list, new palms for your nursery / garden, alongside our extensive list of rare and exotic species. First we have a restock of Kentiopsis piersoniorum (pictured above). This New Caledonian beauty adds a dramatic flair to any garden and is sought after, and Floribunda is one of the only places you can find it, available now as seedlings for $25.00. We continue our New Caledonian theme with Cyphophoenix nucele, a palm that has a beautiful white crownshaft and upright leaves, available in 4in size for $8.50. Basselinia glabrata is an amazing talking point in the garden, with its interesting stacked inflorescences. These are available as 1 gallon sized plants at $20.00. Hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, Lytocaryum hoehnei is endangered in the wild, but you can help preserve or distribute it to add it to more gardens and preserve this beautiful species. Seedlings available now for $4.00. Reinhardtia latisecta from Central America has amazing wide leaflets and beautiful inflorescences. A wonderful clustering understory palm for warmer climates. All this and more are on our new price list, enter (N) into the search to filter out the new items, but don't forget to explore the rest of the list for old favorites! We also have the trunking cycad Lepidozamia hopeii available in our cycad section! https://floribunda.xyz/pricelist

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

Does anyone have a 2025 price list?

Konstantinos, they are doing great here, one of the best species to grow, I have 3 in the garden, I like them so much and they don't need any care

Awesome palms Tom! I bought this field dug rupicola in 2023. Perhaps now I have a better understanding of why it didn't survive a full year for me in alkaline soil during a hot drought in spite of adequate irrigation. I don't think it was 100% pure since the thorns were fairly rigid. Interestingly last year I planted one that I grew from seed and it's doing fine - no damage at 27°F.

Mine seems to like the summer rains but its in high drainage soil. My experience in Arizona was that in full sun with high heat and dry humidity will most palms will need plenty of water. The low humidity plus intense sun plus heat each elevate evapotranspiration losses. The one in treeland saw 110F+ days(~30 per year) and very low humidity for the spring dry season as low as 6%. Treeland has a water feature near it ensuring plenty of water and it was somewhat protected by other palms from the western sun(the worst sun damage after a long sunny/dry day). I think in the dry hot times, lots of water is necessary. I do feel fortunate hearing of your challenges, perhaps summer florida rain and not my gardening skills are responsible for the health of my rupicolas.

Perhaps ot almost surely the most tricky exotic Phoenix in my garden. It hates salts, it hates too alkaline soil, it hates too wet but also too dry, it hates full summer sun in a dry environment but is also susceptible to scales during summer. I begin considering whether it hates me too and wants to depart...

A nice display of fantastic bonsai in the gardens.

Yer I don’t like Coffs lived there all my life, best move I ever made was to halfway creek far enough away from Coffs. You could be in luck if the cyclone gets me remember my entire collection goes to you, hope you got room for all the rare collectors palms your going to need it, you can leave all the clumping palms behind if you like and send them to @tim_brissy_13 he has lots of room for them.

We all get killed by Cyclone Andrew tomorrow ?

Not where I live. It is, like many suburbs here, at sea level.

Nice set up 70% is the go you will need the humidity to grow red arecas. You can go to 30% for hardening off. Some setup’s have 70% with spaces of no shade cloth to let some sunshine in to harden off plants.

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

Richard I did it for the passion of plants, not for money, I'm jealous of my hybrids, they even offered me money, I refused, I want to keep them, I like them so much, but be careful not all hybrids succeed many times I have had failures

Good on her there is no age limit to get interested in anything, actually I don’t think there is an age limit in life at all. I could see you skydiving bungee jumping marlin fishing the list is endless….. Richard

70% is the go for most palms. Go for a gravel floor to help increase humidity and grow on bench’s a much cleaner environment, and don’t let the weeds in once they set seed in a greenhouse it’s very difficult to get rid of them. Good Luck.

This red Areca vestiaria frond popped open the last few days. Took all winter to get there but looks good.

Hardly surprising in this day and age for the UK... but the area of Brixham in Devon has finally updated on Google maps for the first time in a decade or so, and well... CIDP is doing it's thing there, expectantly.. (this palm has never been posted on here before)... A few more in Brixham...

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

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

With the start of a new month comes the start of a new season ..defined by the only way of defining the seasons that matters, Meteorologically.. Final month of " winter " spent well above average, + our first official 90s for 2025, ..a month early, = plenty of stuff awakening from their winter naps in the yards ..and beyond... Hippeastrum " Stargazer, Minerva, ..or .... " right at peak bloom, while inflo #2 produced by this plant gets ready to open.. Solanum houstonii Calliandra eriophylla.. Echinocereus coccineus ..or triglochidatus.. flowering ..One of the two planted in the yard at least.. ..Ahead of the Beavertails and specimen these offsets came from at the old house too.. Seed started Coral Honeysuckle i thought i'd killed after yanking last fall.. White Veined Pipevine ** Not pictured ** Native Pipevine, A. watsonii is already starting to flower.. Clitoria mariana peeking out of the soil about 4 weeks ahead of schedule.. Caliche Globemallow Though it has thrown around a few sporadic flowers, Erythrostemon palmeri is already reloaded with buds.. While a few in the neighborhood are just starting to show any color, looks like the TX Mtn Laurel will beat the Sweet Acacia across the street to the stage this year.. The pale - flowered specimen.... Orange Tecoma cultivar.

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

Yeah they do look really good and big for being in a three gallon pot they're gonna grow great this summer

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 🤞🏼

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.

How tough are the Australian red cedar trees extremely tough. I planted one tree 25 years ago the large one in the pictures. It seeds and they pop up all over the place which is perfect for where they do that. Simply because they pop up in between rocks and on top of rocks around my garden. I weed a few out but the ones I have left become a shade tree in around 5 years time helping me grow that rainforest garden for free creating a canopy which is perfect for palm tree and I have a lot of them that require shade so the more red cedar trees around in the hot dry parts of the garden that are volunteers is perfect for me. The one I planted today I needed the pick axe to plant it with in hot dry spot that no palm would live in but wait five years time I will be planting a few palms around there. No joeys to start with but some tough chamaedoreas will be start. So get tough hardy trees in the ground create a canopy and your on your way to rainforest garden that can become a super exotic garden like the one I have created, you will need time and a hose but apart from that Mother Nature does the rest.

Here's some from last month at my place. These are weeds and I pull out tons after they flower, but just as many pop up the following late winter.

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.

We have so many Washingtonia in Southern California that they have naturalized. Some believe they are native. I have had many just pop up in my yard as volunteers. Its abundance makes it unattractive to many but I like them. I was given a volunteer that was on a neighbors hill so I planted it . It is now very tall , I have it trimmed once a year . Harry Clearly out pacing any other palms in my collection.

Another hot take: Washingtonia robusta is a very attractive plant. Imagine you’d never seen one before. Large, full, bright green fronds. Orange leaf bases. Some of the more common palms are common because they are popular, and for good reason.

My little kings are starting to go pinate 🙃

starting off strong! lol Jubaea go through an awkward juvenile stage with that thick, short trunk. But once they've outgrown that, wow. A million times more impressive than a phoenix will ever be. BIG crown (bigger than canariensis), and big, heavy, droopy fronds with a silver sheen to them. Canariensis can only dream of looking that good. Add to that a trunk twice the thickness of canariensis, and smooth, almost cement-like look and you'll ditch a canariensis in a heartbeat. Looking at them side by side, It's not even a competetion. Just look at how nice jubaea (right) is next to canariensis (left)... the phoenix is just a spiny, rigid mess. Like someone with wiry hair. Jubaea? nothing but beauty and grace. No spines, a clean, organized set of fronds from petiole to top of the leaflets. Add to that dead leaves that hang on phoenix, and rough, textured bark that often flares open at the base... hold up, I'm about to barf....

Looks great @Allen. While I don't have to go to such extremes here, I did throw some frost cloth in the crown and a small heat cable around the meristem in this arctic blast. Did fine. We got down to 11.7F here. No damage on the butia that I can tell.

Unwrapped it today