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Bauhinia variegata 'rubra' blooming in a 5g pot at a friend's house yesterday-from seed from my tree. Mine lagging behind this year so no blooms yet.

@iDesign , I’ve usually taken extra care when bringing palms home from a greenhouse environment , but you probably already know that. I would start with a mostly shady spot , leaving it in its pot for a while , and hopefully getting some advice from those that know that species. The Dypsis palms I brought home from @DoomsDave were more common ( Lanceolata , Basilonga) and Dave was good about giving advice so I planted in a filtered light situation . They are doing well but they weren’t dealing with an environment change . Dave’s climate is similar to mine . The seasonal timing will work in your favor though so I expect you will be successful. That is a beautiful palm , single or even if it splits off later on . Harry on a side note , after thought- Your situation reminds me of a risky purchase from Phil at JM back in about 1998 or so . He had drug out a lovely looking palm , not quite as large as your recent acquisition , actually about half that size in that size container. It was a Roystonia Oleracae ( he referred to it as Venezuelan Royal) . It was love at first sight but expensive . Phil said that it would not make it through a single winter at my place and strongly advised against trying. I had to have it! It was planted as soon as I got home with little protection. It is still going strong and I had no experience or much help. If it’s meant to be…….😊 I know different palm , just thought I would share. Harry

I finished up most of the backyard, and have a LOT of free mulch. This stuff is ridiculously stabby. I spread it all around the main rear and SW beds...I bet the local bear won't like it much! I've started calling this the World's Meanest Mulch(TM). Here's the center backyard before pruning: And after pruning and taking out most of the weeds: There's a Copernicia Fallaensis on the right of center, just behind the Sabal Lisa. It took 100% burn, but just opened up a brand new frond. The small Beccariophoenix Alfredii triple in the center back are probably all D-E-D. Two of three spear pulled with 100% frond burn. I'll probably yank these and replace them instead of waiting to watch them turn to mush. The Encephalartos Gratus (bottom left) and triple Ituriensis/Whitelockii (behind the Fallaensis) provided a good 20+ foot diameter layer of the World's Meanest Mulch(TM). I made it by clipping off the ~10' tall frond and then using the hand pruners/loppers to just knock the leaves off the rachis: I'm impressed by the Fallaensis. The new fan was a growing spear during the cold front, and looks almost perfect. The old fans were burnt, but the stems/petioles are mostly green. There's another green spear tip about halfway up the left side of the below photo. Despite not being super "leaf hardy" the palm skated right through 22.5F...

My interior NorCal/Sacramento suburb garden: Bauhinia bloom bonanza this month. Keeps local hummingbirds well fed (B. candida and B. blakeana). That's a Butia yatay in the foreground.

Like a lot of tropical fruits,they do ripen quickly. Green one day, black the next! 😄👍 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Beccariophoenix alfredii for sure.

I had the pleasure of getting a tour of @oliver's garden and thought I would share a few photos of the palms he has growing that survived 2021 freeze and I was able to photograph. He also has a Raphia sp. (sese?) planted next to a resaca so it stays wet. First up Tahina spectabilis.

My youngest and smallest Encephalartos arenarius is the first one to flush this year.

Mine are blooming too, but almost no leaves after a quick January freeze and no rain since December. Not sure but maybe the same species as yours. Plenty of seeds coming!

I can't imagine soil conditions where organic matter wouldn't be of benefit, maybe in a cactus garden? Humus aids uptake of nutrients by increasing mycorhizal or beneficial fungi, increasing cation exchange, directly physically improving the soil structure and drainage by encouraging earth worms...ie basically brings the soil back to life. Rainforest soils are often a layer of leaf mould humus over leached clay subsoil, and palms, notoriously, like growing in rainforests! I'd say that if you already have the palms planted on mounds for drainage, then mulch can only be a good thing.

Copernicia fallaensis.

Medemia argun. He has a flowering male and female but not getting any seeds yet. He hopes to do some manual pollination as soon as the female is ready. 😊

Coccothrinax borhidiana.

Syagrus stenopetala.

Beccariophoenix alfredii.

Copernicia macroglossa.

Copernicia baileyana hybrid (I think).

Germinated Chrysalidocarpus onilahensis sprouts from my tree. Not exactly sure how may are in the bag but my guess would be 75-100. $50 for the whole bag. Shipping in CA only. PM if interested

Mislabeled maybe? The palm in the photo is palmate, Cyphophoenix nucele is not. Tim

Yes, it was a perfect picture, I didn’t even need to crop it. Not too much rain here in San Diego, but very warm to hot weather all winter long. I believe I had only two morning lows of 44 degrees this whole winter with many days above 80 and even 90 degrees. Pretty unbelievable, even for San Diego’s inland urban areas.

Hi there. Just checked in after quite a while and pulled up your thread first. Jesus, you garden took a real blow but since I "know" your 'palmtalk cv' because of this remarkable documentation I have no doubt that you will keep going with your great work. All the best from Okinawa - Lars

That Medemia is incredible! I had no idea there were any mature specimens in cultivation, let alone any of that size. A second generation of those two palms would be a great achievement. Ryan

He owns 25% of the world's fertile couples.

I live on Atlanta red clay. I had a similar thought many years ago. Organic matter helps a lot here and pine straw on top helps trap soil moisture. Another enthusiast, from the low country of NC, said absolutely NOT where he lives. He said because of the mucky ground up his way, many people plant on berms. It made sense. Every place has different soil issues to contend with.

And in the SW corner I cleaned up another big area of free World's Meanest Mulch(TM). From left to right an Encephalartos Laurentianus, Cycas Diannanensis, Encephalartos Ferox (totally green!), an Attalea Brejinhoensis, and a burnt Encephalartos Hildebrandtii. Not really visible is a Lepidozamia Peroffskyana, just behind the Diannanensis. The stems of a Cycas Multipinnata are barely visible on the right: And after cutting back all the dead stuff, you can see the Peroffskyana looks remarkably unscathed. It had maybe 50% burn and is flushing now. Likewise the Ferox already has a nice flush of lime green leaves. The Hildebrandtii is just getting started on a new flush. The Attalea doesn't look all that great, but has two new spears growing. Both have some burnt tan leaves, but are nice and green near the bottom. To the right of that are a leaf-burned tall Cycas Multipinnata (green stems), Arenga Engleri, Encephalartos Ferox double, a mostly untouched Micholitzii, and on the bottom right a Mast Tree and Dioon Rzedowskii that look like nothing even happened! Both of those took complete defoliation with frosts around 27-28F, but didn't seem to mind 22.5F and wind...go figure! And this is what I mean by spiky! It's a Ferox leaf full of 1/2" long thorns, and easily goes through the rubber gloves:

Last night I realized the boots of my seed-grown Roystonea violacea were ready to fall off. I peeled them away and discovered about 18" of pink/purple trunk. It's the real deal! It is the sole germination success of 20 seeds I bought from RPS 6-7 years ago before customs cracked down on plant material from overseas. See link below for more info on this rare, endangered palm from the eastern tip of Cuba. https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Roystonea_violacea It survived Hurricane Ian last year with only windburn and a 60-degree lean to the south. It has since straightened to almost vertical and replaced damaged fronds so only the boots remained to hide its trunk. In the photos below you can see scars on its crown shaft from hurricane debris. Eventually, it will grow out of that damage. It will be smaller (up to 50') and more gracile than behemoth Roystonea regia. Still a juvenile, however, but I hope I live long enough to see it flower. Roystonea violacea, Cape Coral, FL, October 2023

The first 2 hippeastrums in bloom this year, I have about 100 in the garden

Bringing back this older thread since I was able to join the “Malcomberi hybrid” club. 😎 Was in Josh’s greenhouse (he just had this one), and I’m loving the brilliant white color of the trunk (top covering has some minor marks, but I’m being careful not to touch the base). I set it down to take this photo, but am now debating its final placement. I assume I shouldn’t give it full (California) sun, but can it handle a “mostly sunny” spot? Or should I give it one of my few “mostly shade” spots? I’m pretty nervous about this palm, due to the low success rate by growers near me that are much more experienced than I am. FYI, mine is a single trunk at the moment. Josh showed me two in his garden… one is still single, and one has split. Both were stunning. Thank you for any care info you can offer, esp in regards to light levels. ☀️ Oh, and the white doesn’t wash off in heavy rain, right? I know it comes off if you touch or scratch it, but i don’t need to shelter it from rain, right? (not that San Diego gets much). 🌨️ Really hoping this one thrives. 🤞

2026 update...and yep, still thriving! The overall width on the last several sets of fronds has widened substantially, with them starting to encroach on my Syagrus campylospatha. Also, comparing the trunk height, the new growth appears to me to be emerging several inches taller; last years shows about at eye height on the statue, this year eyebrow height.

Seed grown, beautiful specimen in a 15Gal pot. 8” caudex, ready to be planted. Located in SoCal. $400obo

This big Encephalartos Hildebrandtii also got completely burned. But the Dioon Rzedowskii in the bottom right looks like nothing happened! The Attalea Butyracea on the right side took about 50% damage but should pull through. And after pruning it has about 6 great looking fronds, and a new flush starting on the offset. They flush bronze, so it it hard to spot. Just around the corner one of my big Beccariophoenix Alfredii just opened up a new frond! The tips of the new frond are a touch burnt, but otherwise it looks great! Below it from left to right are an Encephalartos Kisambo with 2 or 3 short fronds in good shape, a Natalensis "Oribi Gorge" with no damage, and a Turneri "Boila" that took about 75% burn. These are the Encephalartos after pruning, with a new flush in an Encephalartos Chimanimaniensis "Choala" circled in the lower left: And this is what it looked like before, with the photo taken from the right side of the above one:

The difference is that I am not claiming a theory, just stating a hypothesis that weather is disrupted or altered(not catastrophically so) locally if enough cloud seeding has been done. I would be interested in data. I don't need to be spoon fed science, and data will be necessary to disprove an hypothesis. If the podcaster doesn't have knowledge of sufficient data to back his assertions, its just an alternate hypothesis that is untested. And untested hypotheses ( like mine about cloud seeding altering regional rain amounts) do not prove anything. Bring on the peer reviewed research data, hold off on the podcasting. Science that is not empirically backed has its limitations, especially with complex systems.

One of ...several possible.. locally common species within the Genus Megachile swarming at one of their branch homes up in the Ficus out back. Very important pollinators of several plants ranging from various native wildflowers and trees like Mesquite and Ironwood ( Olneya ), to important crops like Alfalfa and Citrus.. No doubt, now that they are out, bigger Leafcutters will emerge shortly, if they aren't out already. Pontia protodice, Checkered White. For whatever reason, these have been quite abundant this year. NOID unusual surprise Raptor appearance.. After going through the list of all our locally common raptor species, ..inc. the rarer " tropical " sps that sometimes wander north of Mexico, and i can't pin this one down.. * Not an Osprey or a younger Bald Eagle ..The two " most likely " candidates that have a white neck / head ..and/or tail. Definitely not a White Pelican either.. * Too big / wings not set at the right angle to be a Kite ( White - Tailed would be the " commonest " sp. seen here. No forked tail so ..Not a vagrant Swallow Tailed Kite wandering thru AZ ) * Wings and size aren't right for Caracara either.. Counting the days until i see my first AZ specimen though.. Flew just above the houses from a nearby Eucalyptus where visiting Hawks and Owls like to hang out when in the neighborhood but was circling much higher up by the time i grabbed the phone to get what ..so so shots i could grab before drifting off.. 40 years of seeing ..pretty much.. every Raptor sp. native to CA. AZ, and FL, ..and KS / Ohio... Never seen any with this color pattern. ..Whatever this is, it is very unique..

Easter Egg weekend colors... Salvia farinacea ..standard flower color.. ..Surprise, white - flowering specimen that popped up this year.. Interesting because all the S.f. planted here originally were blue flowered.. April = the start of Chocolate Flower ( Berlanderia lyrata ) Season.. Scent of fresh backed Chocolate Chip Cookies wafting through the air on a mild morning = Pretty sweet.. Blackfoot Daisy and Berlanderia.. More after dark Oenothera pallida goodness.. White might be bright, but, ..sometimes they're pink.. ..and / or kind of speckly too.. Superb Shorty.. Interesting that the bigger, reliable potted specimen decided to produce most of this cycles' flowers in bunches at the branch ends instead of along them as has been usual. Great, regardless.. Bigger sized and denser flower clusters = more intense scent. ...Time For a trim... Steel 'rhaads = still in training. Correcting a slight, wind caused lean to the overall canopy atm. Bursera fageroides.. ** Note that there are both male / female bitz n' pieces in there.. Bursera silviae finally getting the hint that it is spring.. Echinocereus englemanii ..Possibly ssp. fasciculatus " Black Spined form " Really hard to capture the actual color correctly.. Local ssp. of Complex Diadasia australis < Cactus Chimney Bee > enjoying a pollen bath inside..

https://www.sfwmd.gov/weather-radar/sfwmd-forecast Side note but if you live in southern Florida and you're not using the SFWMD page as your primary rain forecast, you should be. It's remarkably accurate, I check it every day when they update it around 9:30 am. TWC can't tell you with more than 50% accuracy if it's going to be raining an hour from now in Florida. I'm not sure if the other Water Management Districts in Florida put out a similar forecast or not. I couldn't find anything the one time I searched for them.

Outstanding assortment of palms! So many real cool Copernicia's, Tahina and Medemia. Personal favorite is the large Cocothrinax borhidiana! Much bigger than the specimen at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens!

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12728217/ Now that is some advanced hand waving, not enough real science here either way to prove or disprove a hypothesis on impact of cloud seedling. I want to look at data before making conclusions, Scientists of the day didn't believe Newton saying a large ball and a small ball fall at the same rate till he took the data. This is much more complex to take data and render conclusions. I don't think there is even close to enough data to fully support a theory, and we are not even collecting the kind a of data needed and never did. If data isn't collected does that mean it doesn't happen? I support data collection/monitoring and reporting of cloud seeding events in terms of tonnage of silver Iodide dropped as it is toxic to aquatic life and yet its overwhelmingly the seeding method used. If it doesnt work, why do they increase its application? As for what happened in the distant past with drought without cloud seeding, you assume only cloud seeding can cause drought which is a flawed argument, not science. Changes in ocean thermocline patterns are known to have changed the jungle in north africa to the sahara desert, but that took about 10,000 years to rearrange the flow of thermohaline currents. Cold ocean currents are why the west coast is dry and the east coast is humid, if they change so will the climate. Obviously humans struggle with weather prediction at longer time scales than a month or two. When we fail to predict the weather patterns in the future, we look at them after time and try to deduce the cause. Theories for causality determined after an event are interesting but are not certain in linking causality, they just show just correlation. I won't close the book on hypothesis involving cloud seeding based on anything said here. Some limited records on cloud seeding are available in the above link and 13 western states have done it since 2000. And over the last 2-3 years it has increased. As far as prior to 2000, there are no records and the cost was likely pretty high. More important is how many tons of Silver Iodide have been sprayed into the atmosphere each year by each state? Could be 10x more weight in 2025 than 2000. Its cheaper than ever these days to seed, but tonnage is not even recorded as far as I know.

I just noticed this on my other palm tree. Same thing?

A couple more floating around the greenhouse iguanura pycnostachysCalyptrocalyx doxanthus licuala hainensis Geonoma panamensisCalyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana kentiopsis pyriformis bentnickia condapanna

You want em in pots, I got em in pots!

Flying Foxes love mangos and make quite a mess of my trees. However, mango season is over so they're stuck with Carpentaria acuminata fruit. We get a number of species of Flying Fox, these are Black Flying Fox, Pteropus alecto. During the wet season when my dam is full, Shining Flycatchers, Myiagra Alecto, build their nest over water. Both male and female share the job of sitting on and hatching the eggs. Whistling Kites, Haliastur sphenurus, are around all the time but have never seen them nesting at my place. Northern Brush-tailed Possum, Trichosurus vulpecula ssp. arnhemensis, not usually around during daytime, this one was grooming itself just outside the bedroom window.

Down here in south Florida, my Pseudobombax ellipticum has been dropping leaves the last month, and today at 5pm these six leaves in the red circle are the last leaves to fall. and flower buds about to open. and the very first flower this season already dropped.

Next set of actors on the " Spring Season " Botanical Stage : Vachellia farinesia starting to really kick into gear after several hot days.. Flowering enough now that the scent will waft across the street at night from time to time. A muchly subdued " Grape Soda Season ".. Could be the hot winter, Could be the lack of rains but ..while they are blooming, overall, this years' show isn't as great as others for the TX Mtn Laurel across the street / elsewhere around the neighborhood. Bursera fageroides continuing to take it's time shedding seed. ..while it and B. silviae, from the pacific section of Oaxaca in far southern Mexico, start showing signs of awakening form their winter naps. Will be interesting to see if it ( B. silviae ) has an enhanced flowering cycle this year. Can't remember which year it was but, after a similarly mild winter, it exploded with flowers. Much more than it has in subsequent years. Wet looking branch tips = good sign these trees ..the ones that go nekked for the winter, will be leafing out shortly. Uncarina peltata awakening ...about 3 - 4 weeks ahead of schedule. Adenium x also responding to the heat. Other specimen next to it has started moving again as well. Clitoria mariana = Love that blood red, new foliage. As with the winter / dry season - dormant Bursera, Wet / glossy looking stem / branch tips = next step in Plumeria awakening from their naps.. Watching the second carefully since, if ..what looks like a hint of inflo formation to come is legit, it would the first of the seedling plants to attempt flowering. Erythrostemon palmeri responding as expected to this weeks' heat Penstemon palmeri and Oenothera pallida trial plots coming along nicely.. weird how they are much further along than the P. palmeri i planted against an east facing wall, that gets sun earlier than the plants planted in the back bed that gets sun until it descends over the back wall. Fingers crossed but, this attempt at growing ..which ever.. Asclepias species i'd collected down south is looking like it might succeed. Wild Sunflowers should be in bloom ..shortly.. Senna polyantha, currently hidden behind the Sunflowers, is also starting to move. While it won't be a great year for these TX natives either, at least this years batch of Lupinus texanus made it ..Most of 'em, lol.

You gotta start them out in pots before you can plant them in the garden.licuala PNG dwarf Dypsis forcifolia reinhardtia simplex Calyptrocalyx flabellata Dypsis lanceolata and the good old Johannesteijsmannia altifrons Oraniopsis appendiculata

Nice Chamaerops Colin. The forth photo down from the ones at your house has the nicest form. Silver back, short petioles, blunt leaf tips (all the typical vulcano traits). Where did your original seed come from? Did you get some seed from the ones you saw in the wild? Do you have any photos of these wild Italian ones? One day I'd love to grow one like you see in the photo below. To me this is almost perfection. Regards Neil