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My house has changed after 5 years on this forum…. It’s a jungle out there. (After many holes dug, a truckload of fertilizer and mulch, and a zillion gallons of water) Thanks for all the assistance.

I got this problem with a 40' tall coconut palm leaning into a pool. A standard bucket truck will not reach it from outside the fence. So it has to be climbed with a ladder while it sways in the wind. Here is a bit of splash into the pool, and I collected 45 coconuts.

Good job, that Pseudophoenix is the bomb. Tim

Some type of Nolina or Dasylirion perhaps.

Some colours from the garden, wish the bottle and triangles retained that red as they mature. Also bronze new leaf on the Archontophoenix sp.

Here they are thatch palm and Lisa

Santa anas are devastating in causing water loss. Its one thing to be hot and dry but add strong wind and plants are desiccated even more rapidly. Wind is often underestimated as a drying force. I remember some santa ana winds from my time in orange county CA, my patio plants looked nice then the winds came and they just crisped up. Coastal humidity kept them happy till the desert winds came, then dead in a few days. That was my first exposure to santa anas. You really cant address santa anas with windbreak, they bring the desert with them.

Galveston yesterday. Came across another Bismarck 🤩.

Put my 2 cents in, Sabal bermudana seems pretty drought resistant, the opposite with Sabal mauritiiformis.

Palms need moisture just to feed on nutrients. Nutrients diffuse through moist soil towards root surfaces and are consumed/transported at the root surface membranes into the plant. If you dont have moisture in the soil the nutrients wont diffuse, they stand still. The diffustion towards roots is driven by a "chemical potential gradient" which is only functional in moist soil. So if diffustion stops, nutrients are consumed at the root surface and this critical surface is depleted of nutrients and uptake stops. In addition, the non consumed parts of fertilizer concentrate near the root surface which can blunt the chemical potential of new nutrients and slow future diffusion to the roots. This is where some parts of the soil become more hydrophobic and tend to repel water. Ideally the non absorbed parts of nutrients need to be rinsed away and "low ion" water should moisten the root area to recondition the root surface. I use humic acid to rinse irrigation salts and nutrient residuals from my soil that can make it hydrophobic. Rain is amazing at this as well as it is pretty much pure of ions so its better at rinsing them away (Rain also feeds with absorbed nitrogen). If i look at these basic principals water and nutrient transport in soil, the fastest growth would be consistent full root zone nutrient additions in high drainage soil with frequent rain(or irrigation). Irrigation water that is not distilled or purified can add salts which accumulate and can even draw water out of roots. Its kind of hard to get nutrients into the roots when water is being drawn out. Watering will be key in dry climates but the soil can accumulate irrigation salts. Adding mulch helps because it slowly produces humic acid as the final waste product of microbe consumption of the organic material. THose low levels of humic are preventative of salt accumulation. However concentrated humic acid takes less time to cure your soil of hydrophobicity issues. Yeah it sounds like a boatload rant that is too technical, but I left the math equations out. My simpler analogy avoids the complexity of the physical science: a bunch of people are in line to get on a bus. These people carry the cash(nutrients), the bus seats are the root uptake sites. Those in the back of the line are held back by those in the front and how fast they pay, get on and get seated. If they pay and get on fast, the line moves well and the cash(nutrients) are collected. But if the front of the line cant pay or cant get seated, cash(nutrient) collection stops. To keep the "line" going you need moisture. Why constant wetness is bad: 1) waste products are not removed by rinsing the soil to regernerate the full chemical potential that drives diffustion of new nutrients. Water moves through dry soil fast as it displaces air at ~600x less density. water does not move well through already wet soil as it must displace existing water of the same density. 2) oxygen is depleted by beneficial microbes that are needed to assist nutrient uptake at the root surface. These microbes need oxygen to survive and flourish. No oxygen your beneficial microbes die and in addition there is a soil pH shift with oxygen depletion and waste product accumulation that may also inhibit uptake.

Let’s see what’s cooking in the greenhouse!

They are a nice palm, I have seen a few in a couple of gardens, one garden they were in a creek bed and had access to unlimited water and would have been submerged in floods for sure. The other garden they were in a gully and they were impressive in size, a group planting of 3 monsters. Either way they are beautiful palms. Still somewhat rare, and the ones I have offered for sale went quite fast. As palm conservationist or palm nuts we should prioritise getting them into as many botanical gardens we can, asap for preservation of the genus!

I didn’t realise how much water palms like, my Oraniopsis I once thought was dry tolerant, believing that they are slow growing I assumed my one that was small was doing well, but it was lack of water that caused the small palm after 25 years in the ground, I soon realised how wrong I was. I get mulch each year about 40 cubic meters and buy topsoil at least 20 cubic meters a year and you would think where does it go, my wife says that the sand monster eats it up and she very much dislikes gum trees that drink any water that is available and they store it for dry times . I know how you feel, but in the end you look at your garden and then you say oh I see we’re all that soil, mulch and water goes., into your garden!

A few pics from a foggy morning. I love all plants. But at some point, the silhouette of a Sabal palm hooked me for life. It was the first plant I added to the garden, and hands down my favorite.

I would like to see Richard’s house if he brings all of his 100,000 palms inside for the winter 🤣

I'll add that P. pacifica and P. thurstonii do grow fine out here in the desert around Palm Springs. I have a couple of P. pacifica (purchased from a nursery in Florida) in the ground and a P. thurstonii that I sprouted from seed I collected from the tree at our former house on Big Pine Key, and after four years it's still strap-leaf and still in a container. Both grow fine here, though I purposely keep P. pacifica under canopy to avoid the leaf-damage that occurs under open sky on cold nights. It has been documented both in Florida and SoCal to be relatively bud-hardy but leaf-damage occurs under open sky somewhere in the low 40s. Out here in the desert it throws new leaves so fast in spring and summer that by June-July it has a nice head of new leaves, although I haven't seen any real damage growing mine under canopy despite temps into the low 30s F. Also Matt Bradford I believe did grow one at his house in San Diego but winter damage to the leaves and slow recovery in the cool spring and summer meant a result of diminishing returns for him, so he removed it, and documented this in a post on the forum here. While I haven't seen any results about P. thurstonii in the coastal plain or fogbelt (zone 24), it is definitely a slower grower than P. pacifica for me here. I noticed this in the Florida Keys as well. It is certainly correct that at least P. pacifica is not recommended for the coast and coastal/interior valley areas. The great thing about the Hawai'ian Pritchardia species is that there are so many of them and they occupy such different niches, elevations and windward/leeward locations, sun, cloud, rain, dry, etc., that there are species for many different climate zones in California. When I lived in Los Feliz (eastern Hollywood, Los Angeles), I grew a Pritchardia beccariana that thrived, and it got quite tall after we moved across town, though it is gone today. I'm sure this was due to purposeful removal and not cold damage. It went through the 1990 freeze with no real problem at all, while young Royal palms and other plants around it were killed.

I remember my first trip to Kuaii, the coconuts stacked up around mail boxes in residential neighborhoods with a “free” sign . How much coconut can a family eat? I will say , like most fruits and veggies, home grown / fresh coconut is awesome! Harry

Oh, no... 😱 Why do some 'landscapers' think they are giving you better value by taking off way more during a trim than is necessary? aztropic Mesa, Arizona

I don’t think those will need to be trimmed for at least a couple of weeks!!!

Not a 100% ID but, While there can be variability between specimens, esp. if crossed w/ another sp., Leaf shape / look of the trunk point me towards Q. hemisphaerica ( Darlington Oak ) as a good place to start. Laurel Oak can look similar though. Taking it a step further, would look over species / crosses listed within both the subsection Phellos and Incana on iNaturalist to narrow down the list of possibilities a bit more, if Darlington isn't a good fit.

Syagrus R., resists up to -6 degrees Celsius, you shouldn't have any problems

I'm about 2 years and multiple freezes behind you, and it shows! Great looking garden, hopefully for many years to come!

I just read that they extended the drought(1x irrigation a week) to oct 1st in my area. It has been very dry and 90-93F day time highs and 77-79F lows. No its not the desert I used to live in, more recently dew points are 73-77F, but sandy soil is a big problem compared with clauy here as it dries out fast. And that wouldn't be a problem so much if we hadn't been in this pattern since last october(80-90% less rain). The palms are adapted to being irrigated 2-3x a week depending on season and the system get shut off when it rains consistently every 3-4 days as it does in mid to late summer. I think we got more than the 0.88" totals reported from sarasota bradenton, possibly we are far enough north to get a little more. We have had about 1.5-2" in june based on my homemade gage. WE got most of it in 2 "downpours" so runoff was high. I am really glad that I put all my wet loves in back of the house on the south side protected from the hottest summer sun. Premature brown tipping on older leaves is very common but the buds are ok. Out front in the blazing sun the waxy drought resistant palms have sustained a little of that same dry tip. Having come from arizona, I already had a bit of palmcare PTSD but my garden now has more to lose, it has 3x the palms. Palm winners in the drought, no particular order: 1) bismarckia nobillis(mature): very drought tolerant in full all day hot sun and looks unfazed. Th eonce a week irrigation might be needed as some in unirrigated public plantings don't look so good. 2) Copernicial Fallaensis:(mature) coming back from hurricane damage so the crown isnt full size but it is not losing any leaves and keeps growing. This one has a huge 15 year old root system from a 9' tall palm as planted with a 150 gallon size rootball. So I expect the big root system can supply the recovering smaller crown with water from deep down. My smaller juvenile in the ground for 2 years in august is a bit less resistant, some brown tipping on (3) older leaves. 3) Copernicia baileyana(mature): yes these are drought resistant and perhaps the best of the green(non blue) palms. If you want a vibrant green in dry florida conditions this one looks great. People need to plant these palms more in florida. 3) Sabal uresana: it dropped some leaves that were still hanging on from oct 2024 hurricane milton, but it looks unfazed. It also in an area where it doesnt get directly irrigated, the sprinklers are blocked. 4) serenoa repens silver(mature): these dont seem to be affected, they have the normal amount of dried out leaves the past three months. These are 15 years in the ground and monsters that grow laterally and shade their own roots which may be important to moisture persistence. I am going to look at partially shutting down irrigation for them, getting rid of a few sprinkler heads. Every couple years I use up a bunch of sawzall blades trimming back trunks that run along the ground. 5) Phoenix rupicola: perhaps the weakest of the drought resistant palms in this category, rupicolas dry dip in the drought on older leaves. This one is totally exposed to full sun and the hottest late day sun exposure. This is the first time I see any notable dry tipping in 15 years, but it is also a triple which is a big advantage in root shading. I love this triple, its spreading out and going to stay under 25' to provide a nice wide umbrella. I highly recommend these in florida. Yeah they are slow but they are still pretty close to the eye and a vibrant green color. Some of the prettiest leaves in my yard. Most sensitive, losers that need shade/protection and brown tip anyway 1) chambeyronias((4) 2-15 year in the ground) hate this weather/soil, sun burn spots occur after water loss in transpiration which is an attempt by the palm to shed heat. 2) Satakentia luikiuensis(mature) hate this weather, they are dropping leaves faster than they are adding them and they are up over the house to the east but the roots are in full late day shade. Tie between chambys and satakentia, but dont put chambeyronia oliviformis in there, they are moderately drought resistant 3) archontophoenix sp(alexandre, maxima, myolensis, purpurea) These are bunched get little sun on roots and they are mostly in a raised bed with many pop ups, and not much sand. Still, they let me know they are not favoring the climate 4) Chrysalidocarpus Leptocheilos: Teddys really like water especially in hot late day sun. Not as thirsty as satakentia or chambys but the dry tip sets in fast. In the middle: 1) chambeyronia oliviformis: planted near the archies and not in a raised bed show they are more drought resistant, might be the relatively waxy leaf(to archontophoenix). 2) Roystonea Regia(mature 40-45' with huge root systems)): a little bit of brown tipping on older leaves but it is pushing out new leaves faster than they are dropping. And they are growing fairly quickly still. But these are not juveniles and have some massive roots and pretty thick trunks. 3) Copernicia Alba blue(mature): This one is borderline, not quite as drought resistant as the cuban copernicias but better than the C. oliviformis for sure. The skinny trunk probably doesnt hold much water as compared with the thicker cubans. This one appears to be browning leaves a little faster than growing them. 4) livistona saribus(Mature) in the middle 5) livistona decipiens(mature) int he middle 6) livistona chinensis(mature quadriple): seemingly less drought resistant than the other livistonas but it has more of the hottest sun, thought he quad protects the roots. There is some notably brown hanging around and not self shedding. I will not trim till it cools off a bit and I can cut them up and put them at the curb. 7) my juvenile copernicia hospitas(3 in a triple): These are still 2-6' tall and have small root systems. 3 years in the ground and started off slow, got a little hurricane damage a good grow year and then this drought year. Jury is out as to whether are going to be in the first group or this one due them not being established. I am hoping that as mature palms they will be in the most drought resistant group. Brown tipping on older leaves is there. These have the hottest western summer sun and not shade from it. Anybody else have interesting drought or moisture sensitivities that you notice in your climate? My observations are for a cool 10a west coast florida with sandy soil and a drought year since last oct. I have grown palms in arizona but there are others who have much more experience with different species that are possible to obtain these days in arizona so I leave it to those more knowledgeable than I. I was thinking we each have a climate and soil type and that new growers can use this kind of information to select and locate palms in their yard. After 25 years of growing palms, 10 in the arizona desert and 15+ here in mid west coast florida I have learned to select the right palm for the right spot looking at sun movements and soil in the area. And perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned is to bunch palms for watering efficiency but also for cold tolerance, and I try to select at least half the palms that you know will weather the climate once established without ER help. You don't want too much long term ER duty. We all lose a few palms int he extremes but it really hurts to lose 3/4ths of your palms in one season. Recommendations for different regions of austrailia, southern europe asia etc can help future palm talkers limit the cost of learning and same some time in establishing the garden. To make your observations mose useful to others describe your soil, palm placement/sun exposure, sloped ground if present, etc.,

A hot open area in clearing, full sun virtually. Taking extremely dry conditions to complete soil saturation that would grow a palm in the right season of rainfall. Super tough plant, I have collected seeds of them in the past and got 4 to germinate out of 8 seeds. With a male and female close to each other. Iam unsure of the pollinater, we do get the weevil in my area so possibly that or a mammal, or some other insect. A very intresting Australian macrozamia, and very cold tolerant to heat tolerant!

I thought hesperaloe at first thought, after that no idea at all!

That’s the best thing you could have done, by changing your technique you learned what works best for you and the seeds. If one is not producing good results then it’s time to change things that your doing, sticking with the same is not going to teach oneself new things that work. This is one thing plants have taught me!

Is there still a house on the property?

Joeys I don’t mind and if they ever get to be weed even better, but the cursed tree fern is a problem in my container plants, such a problem, I guess the old saying one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. I reckon you water your one a lot especially in your sunroom?

Nice. What's wild is I think me and you both jumped in here around the same time so I've been able to watch in real time. Looks great dude.

I went to the nearest shelter today to drop off a case of prescription food that Sancho won't eat anymore. She said the small dogs go as soon as they come in. I've got a customer who had a stray dumped in her yard and that might work if it's not too big. I wanted a puppy from the shelter so bad but I'm in no shape for puppy and potty training and I don't want to have to feed a giant beast either. I think 20 pounds is about my weight limit. And it's gotta get along with Sancho and the 2 million cats.

Great effort, and 5 years worth of growth that we can only dream of in more heat deprived climates! Is the garden full now, or do you still have some room out the back to play with?

My pindo palm has been developing black spots on its older fronds that eventually spread and the frond dies. My research led me to believe the cause is a potassium deficiency which pindos are prone to and I have been providing it with supplemental potassium and palm specific fertilizer monthly but that has not slowed down the black spots. I had the same problem last year and the black spots mostly stopped developing after the palm received additional potassium but that the case this year. I have been removing the affected fronds out of concern this may be a fungus. The pindo is producing new growth like crazy so I’m not sure how concerned I should be.

IN high humidity environments mulch breaks down fast. In a drought environment it dries out and blows away. Add torrential rain, and it gets washed away too. So yes I have mulched about 50-60 cubic yards on 2000+ square feet(200 square meters) of garden space every two years. I started with grey white sand in half of my yard to 2-3' deep. No rain changes everything. When I first moved here from growing palms in arizona I killed a number of palms by not understanding how dry the soil becomes in just 3-4 days. I couldnt put palms under 5 gallons in the ground unless its a heavily amended raised bed or a clayish soil mix spot.

Took these pictures Sunday, thought now would be a good time to show update photos. Bragg Blvd Washie Seed Grown from Texas

It's nice that they are leaving the volunteers in place. Landa is a great park. The robustas will only add to its beauty.

Still managing to dodge it. Min of 2.4C last night then fog and drizzle rolled in again pushing temperatures to 4-5C before sunrise. Just checked and we’re actually back down to 3.5C at 8:30am. A bit unusual for here when clear skies were initially forecasted to have these temperatures rises throughout the night. Still haven’t had a single frost settle on grass or leaves which is a pretty good result for this time of year. Looks like tonight is our last immediate risk of frost. If we get light frost and temps stay above freezing I’d be pretty happy, I thought for sure this stretch would give us multiple frosts and a night or 2 below freezing. Day time temps warming slightly too now.

Wondering around the garden this morning and noticed my Slick Willy/Bef is flowering. This palm is at least 15years old from a 15g pot. Slow in a pot but speed up considerably when planted. worth the wait!

Photos. It's hard to get scale, but the trunk is actually quite think - ~10 inches diameter. And the inflorescence is impressively big. It expanded a LOT after it first opened up.

I don’t know what it is but to me, Decipiens looks fantastic as a double planting. It’s already quite the statement palm but two really makes it look great! That is a perfect set with awesome growth. Funny to me no irrigation is required. Must be nice! 👍🏻 -dale

Another beauty in the garden!

I’m really liking the various species of Chrysalidiocarpus and Dypsis . Some grow very well in Southern California collections in tight areas with filtered light from other palms . I have never heard of this one . Harry

Survivor stories: IT'S ALIVE! I was able to cover up my pandanus utilis pretty good during the hard freeze. All the leafs got fried but the center held a green hue giving me hope it would live. I pampered it and over time noticed the crown had green, but no growth for months. One day i took the top between my finger and thumb, gave a gentle tug and the whole top pulled out with a mushy rotten bottom. I thought "well, that's dead and i just didn't know it yet." So i stopped watering/fert, let the weeds grow around. And had been planning to dig it out and put something else there. But through the combined powers of indecision and procrastination that never happened. Months later i spotted a little green shooting out of the middle and was surprised to find the crown growing back. Now it's getting pampered again and looks like recovery is possible, which is a big chance from a few weeks ago when i considered it a dead body in the front yard i needed to get rid of.

The title I have chosen is self-explanatory I guess... As we all know selling/sending plants from the US to other countries is highly restricted while on the other hand it is totally free and unregulated among the countries of the European Union. It would help us members from European countries if we had our own thread for swapping and selling seeds and plants. The UK should not be in btw since sending plants to and from the UK is also subject to strict regulations after Brexit.

Mid winter in Melbourne and it’s the Ceroxylon sp. opening new fronds catching my eye. C echinulatum C alpinum C quindiuense C amazonicum C vogelianum

Whack that syagrus in the ground, nows the time to let it be free, to go forth and multiply! Richard

I posted this Pinanga picture in the what caught your eye thread, but it really belongs in a color thread.

Chambeyronia hookeri doing its best cyphophoenix impersonation.

Cyphophoenix elegans doing its best flamethrower impersonation.

Carpentaria

Definitely agree with you after growing both species. As for the citrus scent, Mele Pa Bowman is just as strong as Obtusa, if not more. It's somewhat leggy, but much hardier and more suitable to SoCal weather than Obtusa.