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Dave, I ditto a lot of the same recommendations as @Tracy. I do think Hedyscepe and Ambositrae are fantastic growers in my area. Do they get “too big”….maybe. But you b will get many years of beauty before you need to worry about the power lines. They are an average grower, not like Archontophoenix that grow feet per year. I’d say plant away but know your previous Hedy or Ambo may require removal in 20yrs. Pritchardia Minor, Bentinkia Condapanna, Pinanga Javana, and Hyophorbe Indica are all winners as well. You could also get away with planting a clumping Dypsis like Heteromorpha or Lanceolata as well. They don’t get massively tall (less than 20’) and are fantastic looking. Subsidizing palms for Encephalartos is a winning combination. Some big Encephalartos like Whitelockii, Ituriensis, or Kisambo get very tall if kept upright. You’re talking decades before those would be a concern. HB is prime location for growing Encephalartos. All of mine seem very happy. Cordyline, Plumeria, Heliconia etc all excel as companion plants. My lot is fairly small @ 6500sqft so my gardens are cramped. I know without a doubt I will have to dig plants out as they mature but that’s ok. I knew the job when I took it. If I can get 20yrs out of a plant, I will be very happy. I completely understand I’m the outlier and not the rule though. HB is prime palm tree, cycad and tropical plant growing conditions. So many possibilities. -dale Bentinkia Condapanna Pinanga Javana Dypsis Ambositrae Hyophorbe Indica

Chamaerops humilis Vulcano Brahea moorei @Jonathan Haycock Chrysalidocarpus pilulifer x madagascariensis F1 Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus hybrid (possibly x pembanus or x cabadae F1). Love the colours on this beast especially when it gets wet. One palm that just doesn’t look like it belongs down here on the freezer, just looks so tropical.

Royals as the sun goes down:

Chrysalidocarpus lutescens Chrysalidocarpus decipiens Brahea dulcis Sabal minor in fruit Chrysalidocarpus madagascariensis Archontophoenix myolensis Jubaeopsis afra Trithrinax (brasiliensis var) acanthocoma Chamaerops humilis var argentea

West facing front yard - not a huge amount of space out front but I’ve packed a fair bit in. Most of this garden gets hot afternoon sun in summer. Positions up against the house seem to retain warmth as well as anywhere so it’s suitable for marginal species. There’s a heavy bias towards Madagascan species here, only somewhat intentionally. Chrysalidocarpus cabadae x madagascariensis F1 (L) and C pembanus x madagascariensis F1 (R) Chrysalidocarpus malcomberi Schippia concolor behind one of my favourite bromeliads, Vriesea hieroglyphica Brahea Super Silver Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae Chrysalidocarpus baronii Bismarckia nobilis Chrysalidocarpus decaryi x leptocheilos F1

Now for my South facing garden on the blind side of my house. Not much space or sun here, so Chamaedorea sp are well suited. Chamaedorea oblongata Chuniophoenix nana Chamaedorea arenbergiana x nationsiana F1 Chamaedorea ernesti-augustii Chamaedorea anemophila. Chamaedorea liebmannii Chamaedorea metallica Chamaedorea brachypoda Chamaedorea elatior fronds recently served as a nice rodent snack. Thankfully they left the growth points and it’s making a recovery.

West facing backyard garden now. This garden isn’t protected by the retained warmth of the house and cops fairly intense afternoon sun. About half the length of this garden is tricky to keep moist due to a neighbour’s massive P canariensis sucking up the moisture. I mainly plant quite hardy species here. Future plans include some of the rare Trachycarpus and Chamaedorea sp once there’s a bit more canopy. Arenga micrantha @Jonathan Chamaedorea alternans Ceroxylon echinulatum Chamaedorea radicalis tree form. Gets tall fast! Chamaedorea plumosa Laccospadix australasica Arenga disticha A pair of Trachycarpus sp Nova behind the bromeliad Cyphophoenix elegans

Clinostigma samoense is no slouch. That's it for now folks. I'll update this thread with more palms in due course.

I'm told this is Calyptrocalyx hollrungii. Such a pretty palm.

One of my favourites, Dypsis scottiana. Shame to see some have been vandalised, but this one is doing well.

These orbicularis are still popping up after close to 15 months, and they only started to germinate at 12 months, I had them dead and buried at 6 months.

A nice young dictyosperma conjugatum.

Car shot on Phoenix canariensis:

Don't think I've created a thread on this garden before so I'll start documenting its palms, commencing with a some that stood out over the weekend. Can’t help but admire this island of Adonidia merrillii each time we walk past.

Both these Pigafetta elata looked terrible after planting last year, but are really starting to come good now.

Chamaerops humilis 'Vulcano'.

My son loves peeling spent leaf bases, as do we all. Carpoxylon macrospermum

East facing backyard garden. This is really my prime location. Gets the morning sun, warms up relatively quickly but then protected from afternoon sun. New Caledonian and Oceanic species seem to love it. Some things it here which aren’t known to grow in Melbourne elsewhere doing well. Cyphophoenix nucele Bentinckia condapanna Chambeyronia divaricata Euterpe edulis ‘Orange Crownshaft’ Chambeyronia oliviformis Pritchardia napaliensis Hyophorbe indica ‘Red / Southern Form’. Only 4 years from seed, getting too large to capture well in photos. Chambeyronia macrocarpa var hookeri Pritchardia martii settling in after a rough start in ground. Chamaedorea woodsoniana big male getting ready for its Spring pollen spreading. The crownshaft of this one always bulges heavily this time of year. Chrysalidocarpus baronii Black Petiole/Vokona Lodge Chambeyronia macrocarpa var flavopicta Cyphophoenix elegans. One of my favourites in my garden. Very large and great colours.

Growing season pretty much over now in Melbourne, so time for some updates. Starting with the South facing backyard garden. Generally cooler climate stuff growing in here: Archontophoenix myolensis getting very large now. Howea belmoreana to the left, Chamaedorea hooperiana to the right. Hedyscepe canterburyana Lepidorrhachis mooreana pair. Pleasantly surprised with how they coped with multiple 40C+ days and a couple around 44C/111F. Didn’t stop growing over summer. Chuniophoenix hainanensis. Slow here, but happy enough. Oraniopsis appendiculata getting (too?) large A couple of Chambeyronia divaricata settling in nicely. Linospadix apetiolatus (left) and L microcaryus (right). I like the contrast of the entire fronds and finely divided leaflets of these two. Caryota monostachya Ceroxylon alpinum Archontophoenix purpurea. Possibly the nicest colour a palm can produce in my climate.

Licuala mapu and licuala peltata sumowongii loving the rain.

Not wth Howea, seeds usually take around 12 months and longer, up to 18 months. And I know the Howea seeds you’re talking about and they are of good quality, picked fresh from the palm!

Enjoying spring rain

Yellow latania opening a new frond

I’m just lucky with my T princeps. Don’t really give it any special attention and it’s not in a particularly protected spot but it just keeps looking better. It must just like the climate here with an extended cool season. It doesn’t mind the occasionally extreme heat so I’d say you’re right; probably long periods of heat and humidity they wouldn’t love. Yes - the T nanus x princeps was yours Jonathan. I probably planted it at a smaller size than ideal, but it’s finally starting to look like something now. Growth habit has been cheeping in that typical T nanus way so far. The S bermudana pictured was also from you, and there’ll be a couple more of yours to come in updates of other areas of the garden.

Great pics , thank you. Harry

Joeys can tricky or can be very simple. Iam going with simple and easy. I have had them just up and die for no reason other then root fungus in containers. Iam backing of the water in containers now realising my mistake of overwatering them. So a little surface drying won’t hurt them. Drainage is the key to joeys. My ones in the ground can and will drink as much as I give them, I have black sandy soil so super good drainage, so much do it can be a problem in dry times. I have joeys sitting permanently in shallow trays of water and they love it. Tender roots yes so grow them on bench’s, I have successfully transplanted joeys from the ground. Two lived from four so doable but delicate. All in all dont fuss over them treat them like any other palm. The biggest mistake is fussing over them, they do like humidity. I fertilise my joeys with seasol liquid fertiliser, and use a soil fungicide called Agrifos but not continuously (phytotoxic). They detest drying out and dry low humidity. Last picture is one I just put in the ground without any irrigation or watering to see what would happen, well I know what happened in my climate!

The Cyphophoenis nucele will grow to be a beautiful specimen Harry. Mine has several years of growth ahead of yours so is a nice preview of what to expect. Separately, what caught my eye in the garden this morning were some flowers in different states of development. First on a Burretiokentia koghiensis, then some blue and red orchids growing adjacent to each other. Cleisocentrum gokusingii (merrillianum) are the blue flowers and fragrant Maxillaria tenufolia is the red flower.

My little Cyphophoenix Nucele has been in the ground 11 months and it is opening its second frond. This one takes a while for the frond to fully open . Harry On the right side is the frond that opened about 5 months ago , much larger than the other fronds . The lower , yellowing frond will be trimmed off after the new frond fully opens. this view clearly shows how each frond is getting noticeably larger with wider leaves. I guess it’s happy in a spot that only sees a couple of hours of morning sun . This is a palm I had never heard of , so a bit of a gamble . I am expecting similar growth habits to Chambeyronia .

North facing backyard garden away from the house. These palms need to cope with hot sun and frost. Not much protection from anything here. Jubaea chilensis Brahea calcarea Beccariophoenix alfredii (left) and a Syagrus sp from S sancona seed many years ago which isn’t. I think I’ve narrowed down to S orinocensis, S picrophylla or S oleracea. Arenga engleri. Slow grow here. Sabal bermudana Chrysalidocarpus sp bef. Never been completely happy this one, possibly too exposed and planted too small. Pritchardia maideniana looking great now. This is a tough palm. Phoenix rupicola. My only Phoenix in my collection (mostly by choice due to size constraints)

I couldn’t wait for the rats to get this rare one, they can’t get out so in theory they can’t get in, an old rat trap should do the trick!

Moving on to the North facing little nook outside my back door. I use this space for some of my marginal species as it gets reflected heat off the North facing brick but is still somewhat protected to the West from the deck and pergola. Chrysalidocarpus lanceolatus Gaussia maya Dypsis rosea. This frond has been red for months. Chambeyronia oliviformis Chrysalidocarpus arenarum Chrysalidocarpus arenarum crownshaft and petiole detail. Love these colours.

Cyphophoenix elegans and nucele do well in the coastal zone as does Clinostigma savoryanum. Maybe my neighbor a couple of blocks away, Billy or Dale in HB, can share their experience growing Bentinckia condapanna in the region impacted by the marine layer. I think they will be positive comments.

It just goes to show never give up on your seeds. I had this lot dead and buried, took them off the heat mat and put them on the potting bench around 12 months ago to use the old medium in some potting soil. Well iam glad I didn’t use that mix. I lucked up on one seed sprouting. If they haven’t rotted away completely, keep those seeds around you just never know your luck.

🌴🌴🦜🦜🗿

Thank you, I might dig it up it’s in a heavy amended raised bed. So definitely not enough drainage. Good spot for a palm!

Yeah it looks like we are flipping into summer mode later next week. AIFS (Euro AI) has modelled 31C / 88F in London, in May, although that is further down the line… This has been such a weird spring. Pretty warm and dry, but with a 10 day period in mid-May with below average temps and late radiation frosts for me here. If it wasn’t for that, it would have been pretty good for me. Anyway the Canadian GEM is the first model I have personally seen 35C / 95F modelled on for the UK this year, again in May. Almost certainly won’t happen. But one to watch…

Four dypsis louvelli about to show off what they are known for.

Continuing my posts above, I thought I’d post the imposter P. hillebrantii next to the the real P. beccariana. The growth rate and size are apparent. Some close-ups as well. Tim

I bought this as beccariana about 15 years ago. It seems to fit but I would be interested in other views. The trunk is quite thin for such large leaves. It's protected by a huge stand of henon bamboo which is flowering so it's going to be a challenge to keep it protected from prevailing winds.

Down in Key Largo:

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Only one new frond but looking good, they're slower when grown in shade.

Dypsis lantzeana, dypsis louvelli.

A lot of red, with 5 hokoeri in a row!

Upskirt to show seeds:

Mein Gott! That's further north than Cleveland Ohio! Or NYC. Or Chicago! They're a bit slow, even out here where it's more like their habitat. Keep us apprized of their progress!

Growing season in Melbourne has started now, so it’s a good time for an update on some winners and losers from winter and some new plantings. I got down to around -1C/30F a couple of times and had around 15 frosts which is around average. Day time temperatures were slightly above average which helped. Chambeyronia divaricata pair - first winter in ground, no issues at all but slow. Euterpe edulis Orange Crownshaft and Bentinckia condapanna. A bit of spotting on the B condapanna but otherwise ok. Hyphaene petersiana first winter in ground has survived - just. Let’s see if a bit of warmth can kick start it back into growth. Linospadix apetiolatus and L microcaryus enjoyed winter and even kept growing. Lepidorrhachis pair loved winter as expected. Such a bright green. Oraniopsis in the background never has any issues with winter. Geonoma stricta was the only loss in ground due to cold this year. It didn’t even make it through June. If you’re thinking about planting one of these in Melbourne or a similarly cool climate…don’t 🤣. Some new plantings: Chamaedorea benziei. The one I kept in a pot grew faster than the 3 already in ground. It joins the triple to make a quadruple planting Chamaedorea alternans double planted Chamaedorea oblongata ‘Loran Whitlock Bubble Leaf’ form. Apparently there’s some history to this form and may be distinct from oblongata. I’ve planted all 4 of mine here in the hope of maximising chance of seed. Jubaeopsis afra Pritchardia minor. Particularly excited about this one. Seed from @richnorm a few years ago. A massive Chamaedorea cataractarum taking up a very large space was removed to make way for this.