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This Spring’s annual order from Floribunda has arrived! Three one gallon Basselinia glabrata, two Pinanga coronata, two Cyphophoenix alba, and three 4” container Prestoea montana. Are are robust and big for container size as is usual.

The first ring on my California grown Chrysalidocarpus robustus. I don't recall seeing any other big specimens here in California. Thanks to visiting the Big Island I have seen some tall specimens which put my juvenile plant in perspective.

Everything in the picture was planted by hand circa 2018-2019. New zoysia sod just went in a month ago. Love my little tropical garden! (SW Florida Zone 10b) JD

Nineteen years ago I crossed my fat trunking Butia eriospatha with Jubaea chilensis. I have several of this palms growing here. A few were imported into England also. Yesterday I cleaned the trunk of one of this two. It are beasts! How you call the hybrid of a Butia eriospatha x Jubaea?

Two of my Kentiopsis oliviformis are getting ready to bloom for the first time

It’s nearly 13 years since I had the great fortune to first meet the legendary ( and extremely generous) Tassie Troy and I thought it’s time to pay homage to all those who have helped me , and those in the Palm pantheon , like Darrold and Colin and Jonathon, who visited in the early days ( when there were only tiny plants) and didn’t wonder, at least out loud , if anything would ever eventuate. Here are a few pictures .There are around 25 species including 12 of chamaedoria. Some like the big baueri , trachycarpus and forsteriana are hard to depict . Nothing can keep up with the torallyii. Of course all 4 Lord Howe Island palms love it here in Hobart. Mike

A rather fast growing majestic Syagrus with stiff dark green leaves. Ripe fruit is yellow and the size of golf balls. These have got to be in the 30 foot range. (10m) Always loaded with seed. Tim

Hey all, Got invited up to Beaumont to see fellow palm geeks Randall (inland palms) & Eric (Beaumont tropics), along with Bill (Cardiff palms). Beaumont is about 2,800 feet in elevation (I believe) and we had great weather. Both have wonderful gardens. We started at Randall’s. Yes, there is a house back there. He must have 150 palms and cycads packed in there. First up, the nerds congregate. Followed by a nice, fast growing Nanorropes richiana, and an awesome Phoenix rupicola.

Dave, I’ve always been a “plant them even when they’re tiny” kind of guy. Many of my big honking palms were planted as 2 or 3 inch seedlings directly to the ground. Here are just a few of them…

Damn that thing is beautiful. More than I deserve. Sprouting seeds maybe sell the babies.

Just one Sabal (burmudana) in my garden of well over 100 different palm species but I love it. The photo doesn’t show how massive it actually is very well.

A somewhat bit of a rare Howea species, there about the place if you look hard enough. But not that common, the fosteriana got all attention and the bell was left second place. A nice palm with that punk look about it!

Had a nice dinner under the Roystonea regia: grilled up some cevapcici, which are caseless Serbo-Croatian lamb and beef sausages with some mushrooms in wine and garlic sauce. And a politically incorrect beverage. .

I spoke with the person in charge of the French Guiana Botanical Garden in South America, at the Palmetum de Guiana. They explained that they have two Tahina spectabilis palms, one in the Palmetum garden and another in a private garden in Cayenne. In total, there are three Tahina palms in French Guiana. They also explained that they obtained the seeds from RPS Germany in 2008, and that many palm trees originated from those seeds. Those in Thailand also originated from the 2008 RPS sale. They also mentioned that there is a Tahina spectabilis in Venezuela. These are probably the only palm trees in South America. In our conversation, they also noted that there are Tahina palms in Martinique and Guadeloupe. With all this information, it is very likely that it could flower in the French Guiana garden in 2038, if it flowers within the minimum 30 years required for this highly sought-after palm. Below is a photo of the Tahina plant. Its trunk is thinner, which will likely accelerate its flowering. Hugo Aravena Chile

Next, the best Trachycarpus princeps I’ve ever seen. Interestingly, they won’t grow very well here near the coast. But a slam dunk in the dryer air where he lives. Followed by a canopy view with a Livistona decora poking its head out. As his canopy has expanded, what used to be impossible for him to grow, is no longer out of the question. Case in point, Becarriophoenix alfredii.

Not exactly today, but....

Update on this guy. It’s now spit into two trunks. Still lots of color. If officially named it “dypsis sp. quaman” until I get a better ID.

Flowering Oraniopsis appendiculata at the Royal botanic gardens in Sydney

Calyptrogyne.

Last Friday, this Iriartea deltoidea dropped a flower sheath with a loud "thwop!" and shook itself out like a wet mop. A day or two later I finally returned with the camera to capture the glowing flowers. Now on the fourth day, the bees are still buzzing around it. These stately palms are a favorite.* I first saw them in Costa Rica, looking down on the fluffy crowns from hanging bridges, mesmerizing. These individuals were planted in July of 2011. IMG_5346.MOV *(All my palms are favorites.)

It is that time of year again in the Northern Hemisphere. Mostly a variety with orange flowers here in my garden. They make a nice green ground cover when not in bloom.

Pinanga caesia may suffer from overexposure on PT, but mine only recently started blooming so the novelty hasn't worn off yet. I still get startled when I walk by when a new inflorescence is about to open. The entire tree is Technicolor, but the blooms dial it up to 11.The deep red covering (bract?) only stays on for a few hours. After it falls away, the soft pink flower buds are exposed for less than a day. First thing the next morning the flowers open to a cloud of bees. After only a few hours all the flowers have fallen to the ground leaving just the bare violet rachilia that might go on to make fruit, if I'm lucky. I wonder what role the intense colors play. I assume the bees are attracted to some fragrance, not the color, but I really don't know. I could believe brightly colored fruit attracts birds for seed dispersal, but that is months down the road. No matter, it is an impressive, albeit brief, show. Palmpedia says this species is difficult in California. I hope people on the mainland are able to find a protected spot in their garden that can provide the right microclimate for this beautiful palm. If you are going to try zone pushing, might as well swing for the fences. I hear that this is one of the taller Pinangas,. I'll need to keep adding another baby every few years so I always have eye level blooms.

A nifty diminutive palm from New Guinea, Hydriastele rheophytica. Loves water hence, the name, and sparsely clumping. I remember Brad posting a photo of one in his garden not too long ago. Tim

To my knowledge, the only Worldwide example of Archontophoenix alexandrae “Alba” came from a batch of regular Alex seed germinated in SE Queensland a number of years ago. Subsequent seedlings were distributed amongst a few lucky Aussie growers and are now maturing. Seed from these first generation palms appears 100% true to the “Alba” form. Not only do they have a yellow crownshaft, but some also produce pink/red new leaves. Gorgeous palms. Look incredible planted together with Archontophoenix pupurea.

This little Veitchia always looks great, especially sporting a large spathe. Flowering is infrequent and I can only surmise that it’s a function of having just the right amount of rainfall. I’d throw in temperature and humidity, but those conditions don’t fluctuate much in East Hawaii. We’ve had over 100” (2500mm) since the beginning of the year. Here are a few updated photos. Tim

I am curious if other SoCal gardens have had their KO’s bloom and/or set viable seed? This is by far the biggest and best flower mine has set.

A few from LHI.. Last one is a red leaf emergent fosteriana

Here’s one I’ve grown from seed. It’s been flowering about four years, and is just now developing seeds. It’s growing away from a big Beccariophoenix, & is surprisingly stout. Nor is it very tall, maybe 2-1/2 meters.

Really good looking palm, Tim. Here's another Hawaii entry - my quartet, planted September 2013. Photoed from my third-story balcony.

He was a busy host.. Notice how he seamlessly folded the mule palm into his deck!

Next up is a nice stout Brahea armata, followed by a great Phoenix rupicola & finally Dr. Randall explaining the characteristics of a Cycas hybrid.

An update, plants already brought there. A picture of the chief gardener next to the donated plants. And the previous happy owner...

Visited the motherland this week. The smaller fruiting coconut is from a ditch that was collected by a lady in homestead Fl 5 years ago . receives no love from the owner . second the largest coconut that has managed to evade the 2021 Texas palm massacre lol over on port Isabel if anyone wants the exact address message me . across the same street I found a yard with 3-4 young cocos that looked really great the lady who lives there mentioned her husband collected all the cocos that washed ashore and they sprouted! other pics are of various parts of the valley for whatever reason palm talk won’t let me insert individual Info per pick so if yall have questions I’ll answer what I can haha . #Zone10A-BTexas IMG_9409.mov

The yard was FULL of Clivia flowers but due to the unprecedented heat in March, I didn’t have much time to snap photos before the flowers began falling off.

Don't see them actually eating the seed, but they sure seem to be attracted to them.

Yeah, a Royal Palm would have a long bright green crown shaft on its trunk beneath its canopy of fronds. $500 sounds reasonable for a Majesty that big but starting out with a vigorous younger one would probably make more sense.

Trachycarpus princeps

Prestoea acuminata var montana inflorescence would catch anyone's eye. In two weeks it will be pink, then red. The bees are having a party.

The next step in this flush. It clearly has a tilt toward the southwest sky, which is where it gets the fullest sun exposure.

It’s also just this side of lethal. The dead leaf that fell would make a wicked conk on the noggin. Conan and waste cart for scale.

I didn't think this would open sky flowers but I was mistaken. It is a pleasant surprise to see them.

Hey y’all, I had a question. I’ve had this palm for probably 12 years. A great grower, looks good all the time, almost no burned leaves ever. A few years ago, it began flowering. A little sporadically at first, but now it’s to the point where every leaf base has a flower spathe underneath. The upshot is that it flowers like crazy, millions of little flowers falling, all throughout the year. But absolutely no fruit has ever developed. Any thoughts is what might be causing this? It just looks and grows so dang good in every other way, it’s hard to believe that it’s missing nutrients. Thanks in advance!

A great chamaedorea variety to have this one, right at home on jungle floor in the understory of the garden. If you create the palms habitat in the garden they certainly reward you for that microclimate, and thus chamaedorea is right at home!

Hello everyone, My name is Sebastián Vieira, and I’m writing from Colombia. I’m a naturalist and currently the Executive Director of Salvamontes Colombia, a non-profit organization focused on the conservation and restoration of threatened species and their habitats, mainly through the creation and long-term care of private natural reserves. Although I didn’t come to conservation through a formal biology track ( I originally studied and worked as an engineer and spent many years working in telecommunications ), my interest in plants and the natural world has been with me for as long as I can remember. Over time, that curiosity slowly turned into field work, conservation projects, nature photography, and taxonomic research, especially on Pleurothallid orchids. It was that long, hands-on relationship with nature that lead me to be a co-founder of Salvamontes, and nowadays, its leader. Andy Hurwitz invited to come and participate in PalmTalk, and share with everyone here our amazing story, so it’s really nice to finally introduce SalvaMontes and our work here, especially thanks to the invitation from the International Palm Society, whose support has been fundamental for one of the projects I care most deeply about. That project is the Sabinaria Natural Reserve, located in the Darién region of northwestern Colombia, close to the border with Panama. This is an incredibly rich rainforest area, still poorly studied, and it happens to be the only place on Earth where the striking palm Sabinaria magnifica is found. A few years ago, while visiting the area, it became clear that much of the known habitat of Sabinaria magnifica was privately owned and increasingly exposed to deforestation and land-use change. Given how limited the species’ distribution is, it doesn’t take much habitat loss to create serious long-term risks. With that in mind and with crucial support from the International Palm Society, we were able to acquire and legally protect 50 hectares of tropical rainforest, securing what we believe is a meaningful portion of the global habitat and population of Sabinaria magnifica. Today, that forest is permanently protected as a private natural reserve. What makes this especially rewarding is that Sabinaria magnifica also works as an umbrella species. By protecting its habitat, we’re also conserving many other threatened organisms that depend on the same intact forest. This includes species like the critically endangered harlequin frog Atelopus fronterizo and the rare tree Magnolia sambuensis, along with many other plants and animals that are still little known. For us, Sabinaria is much more than a single-species project. It reflects a broader way of doing conservation: protecting habitat first, learning directly from the field, working with local communities, and committing to long-term stewardship rather than short-term interventions. I’m really glad to be here and look forward to learning from all of you, sharing updates from the field, and exchanging ideas about palms and their conservation around the world. I am also sharing some images showing the Sabinaria palm and its natural habitat. Finally, it is very important to thank and recognize the important support and participation of biologists Norman Echavarría, Norberto López, Saul Hoyos, Gloria Galeano and Rodrigo Bernal. Without them this project would not be a reality. PS: I will come back soon with additional information and images. Warm regards from Colombia, Sebastián Salvamontes Colombia

A couple pix of bliss!

Most sabals are slow compared to the alternatives for most people. Washingtonia robusta or filifera are popular widely out west and are fast growers. Among many palms enthusiasts I think fan palms in general are not what they are looking for. Feather palms are more popular in general. There are many choices in california, and some members do have sabals and they look very happy so its not the weather. I think sabals are most popular in colder zones, 9B and lower. They do grow a bit faster than CA sabals but "sabal steve" has shown that S causiarum grows fast in california, he has a monster. If you go to a palm nursery in california you might see 100 species available and the vast number are pinnate palms. I'd say the choices there are vast and if you are unlimited by weather few will be sabals are hundreds of species are available and pinnate palms look more tropical in general. Sabal palmettos and some other sabals are slow in florida to so they plant them with 10' of trunk. I have grown my sabals(uresana, causiarum) from strap leaf seedlings. But in my yard they represent only 2/65 palms, a small percentage.

My twenty+ year old C. Decipiens (formerly known as Dypsis decipiens) is bulging in its crown shaft. It’s never flowered before and, for those in the know, do you think an inflorescence is hiding in there?

The Encephalartos laurentianus flush is progressing better for this time of year than normal. The mild weather has allowed the flush to emerge without wind and rain damage. Sometimes the portion of the leaves above the adjacent 6' block wall succumb to wind shear, but not yet at least on this flush.

Flowering now after taking a few years off