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Another thread resurrected from years back. Here’s my Kentiopsis Piersoniorum doing well. Planted out as a 1G plant given to me by @shepcs a few years back. Doing really good in the garden. Let’s see some updates -dale IMG_8247.mov

There will be no shortage of them @happypalms in the future!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DagrwJmtUCE/?igsh=MTZtemU1dmpnZnllbA== Been a while since I've posted any palm content. TL:DR I bought a Bottle Palm. Now story time. I had to take Sancho back to the vet for bloodwork. Welp they changed the times they go to lunch and I didn't wanna find out he needed more pills after I went home, so we went to Laurel and went to Lowes again. Great luck there, found a pink banana there and it's already more than paid for itself selling pups and it's got 3 more on the way. These Bottles had been there for a while, and were still at full price. I figured I'd just do what I normally do and buy the smallest crappiest one and rehab like I do with philodendrons and pothos etc. So I ask about a markdown and I had Sancho on my shoulder. Bless this woman. She pulled out the biggest, nicest one and marked it down to $19. Did it suck getting it in and out of the car? Yep. Did I still have a $240 grocery pickup to squeeze in there? Yep. Tbf $240 feels like it buys 3 days of food now. Anyway the first thing I did when i got it home was basically drown it in neem maxx. I've also been using SNS209 as a soil drench on my indoor plants, and combining that with cutting off any leaves where I see webbing has been pretty damn effective for me. Anyway yeah it's a little crispy and yeah it's got spider mites but a 5 ft 5 gallon bottle palm in this part of the country for less than the clearance price? Aight. Bet.

I recently acquired this Veitchia arecina x Wodyetia (Lady Fox Palm) and am wondering if anyone else here is growing this reverse hybrid. I have a ten year old Foxy Lady (Wodyetia x Veitchia), as seen in third photo and I’m hoping the Lady Fox is a fast grower and hardy like the Foxy Lady. Wodyetia x Veitchia Foxy Lady

First pics were taken june 2021 and the following two today. It isn't slow after forming a trunk.

Hi Lars, Also amongst my first purchases. I have probably 20 but here is their leader, about six years old. This first batch from RPS, then I got some more to grow from Josue.

So destructive - Looks like even the fake palms could be affected...🤷‍♂️😆 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Bit of an update, it’s still alive and the little spear on the side shoot has jut ever do slightly grown a little bit. See what happens in summer now with this little experiment. The most encouraging sign is it’s not dead yet and that’s a good place to start with!

Hi there, not to waste your time but when I was very young and my parents and I made a trip to subtropical region in the early eighties, we went to a botanical garden. Since I for some reason always liked the tropical plant section of our local zoo, I had my attention radar tuned up a bit at that time when walking around with my parents and the travel group we were a part of. However, one plant - a palm - caught my attention because of the translator's description of the plant - palm - we looked at. He said:"This is a Chilean Elephant Palm". I looked at it and made the "connection" immediately...the trunk! The trunk looked like an elephant's leg! Of course it does, so it made sense to me right away, I kept in mind and moved on. (eleven years old at that time) When we moved down to Okinawa and finally purchased the house and the garden, the first seeds I ordered from rps were - exactly - seeds of Jubea Chilensis "The Elephant palm" It was like a dream coming true. Of course I had educated myself in the meantime about what I am dealing with here, but it didn't matter. After three years of waiting to sprout and a decade in a pot, always checked it liked the holy grail since it was were all of it started, I finally went to action and "unleashed" it a couple of weeks ago. Soon after the rain season started with tremendous amounts of water and soaking the garden more than once for weeks - I was kicking myself myself for the bad timing - but since this fella is now alive for more than ten years and has experienced every possible freak weather in the meantime, it went through it remarkably well. Here we go, this may be one of the very few publicly documented Jubea Chilensis planted out in a private garden in Japan. I would be very happy to learn of any others. Alright, enough of talking... I know, it is a strong statement for such a small garden, but why not? Happy growing, little beauty! Lars

It will be interesting to see the difference between the two as time goes on . Harry

They stay bifid. I have a few near maturity about 5-6' and they stay that way.

Back in October 2025 I discovered that a huge banana had made a direct hit falling on this Veitchia. No photo as the banana obscured the palm. It was a struggle to cut the giant banana and remove all the rotting fruit and I might have cut down the palm too. However it was far from a ladder and would have been dangerous to attempt without assistance so I let it be. I noticed as the months went by that the upside down leaves remained green and I had planted the palm where I needed something to hold on to along this slope so I figured I’d use the trunk as a hand rail as long as possible. Yet here it is growing again!

I cleared a patch of asiatic jasmine near my Chamaedorea radicalis a couple of weeks back and found these self-sown seedlings today. They definitely weren't there at the time and look freshly germinated. The seeds must have been sitting there all through the winter. I have plans for this area but I'll try to leave them in place.

Some classic winners in there , Chambeyronias I just plant them like Bangalows so easy. It’s only been in the last 6 years since i turned my attention towards my garden again, I never really even watered much in the past. It’s strange how an injury changes the mind set after a certain age, men was a hernia and a divorce that sat me flat, only now iam getting back into life to its fullest. And a good lady makes all the difference!

Bambusa lako shoot on the right center, emerging from the vines - two lighting versions, I prefer the warmer.

Along the front porch was (and still is) a mess. But it's somewhat less messy than this: I yanked the dead clumps of Cat palm and Elegans here and distributed some of the taller green/purple gingers. The two Peace Lily clumps are very slowly growing back. The dead stumps of Philodendron "Xanadu" seem to be regrowing too. Unfortunately the weeds are growing back faster...again. I desperately need to mulch this area and the other side of the walkway. Maybe by the end of the year this will grow out and not look so bad: Speaking of looking bad and weeds...this agave bed was completely clean of weeds on 5/12. It took a full day of hand weeding to go from this: To this: And the other rear agave bed took a whole day to go from this: To this: Most likely this agave bed will get demolished, as the freeze killed about 2/3 of the plants in this bed. I'm probably going to consolidate the agaves into the left arc and plant palms and cycads in front of the Bismarck.

There’s probably nothing you can do. Sudden collapse is usually fatal. I had a Veitchia Joannis do something like that. One day it looked beautiful and the next day I went outside the crown was on the ground. It was rotten inside but you never would have known.

Just to the left of the above photos I redid the main entrance walkway. On one side I decided that I really disliked the Bambusa Multiplex "Rosa." It was infested with aphids and sooty mold, and attracting large numbers of aphid wasps (ok) and yellowjackets (not nice!). It was just kind of "meh" looking and had to go. The clumps of lilies just below it became the new row on either side of the walkway. They were from my great-grandmother's place in Texas, planted sometime in the 50s. I've tentatively ID'd them as Crinum Lily "Regale," but will have to wait until they bloom again to be sure. From further back at the entryway the two clumps of Orange Bird of Paradise went to a more shady area (they don't seem to want full sun here), and I split up the 3 big lily clusters in a row on each side. On the left I moved a Zamia Nesophila from the sun (next to the pot) over to the other side of the Encephalartos Whitelockii where it's in AM sun/PM shade. It turned back green almost immediately. The purple cannas to the left of the pot went out into the front yard island, replaced with some Bordelon bananas. The pot is my last Attalea Brejinhoensis from Neil in Cocoa Beach. The bottom right corner Licuala Grandis might be d-e-d, but I'm waiting for a while longer to see if it'll push a new spear. And this is the "after" shot, with a row of lilies along the path. Just behind from L to R is a Ptychosperma Salomonense double, a Philodendron "Evansii," Bordelon bananas behind them, Attalea Brejinhoensis, d-e-d stump of the Beccariophoenix Fenestralis, another Salomonense double, a concrete dragon's head, and pre-existing Dioon Tomasellii. You can see the massive dead Jesse Durko culms in the right background.

Over the past month I've made a LOT of changes. The majority of the plants that died are actually agaves and cacti...strange. In the front yard most of the palms and cycads are growing back. The only ones that died were generally small seedlings or known not-hardy palms like Bottles and Spindles. A couple of them (like a few Gaussia Princeps and Satakentia) I should have left in place and waited to see if they'd actually recover from spear pull. In the front bed on the house side of the driveway I had about 73% burn and lost 28 out of 175 plantings or 16%. Deaths were: Dypsis Basilonga x2, Dypsis Cabadae, Ravenea Hildebrandtii x2, Pytchosperma Elegans, Archonto Cunninghamiana triple, Cham. Elegans 3 clumps, Cham. Cataractarum 1 clump, Arenga Hookeriana, a 6-7' trunk Spindle, a Lanonia Dasyantha, Arch. Alexandrae, a small Alfredii, Reinhardtia Latisecta, Burretiokentia Vieillardii, Kerriodoxa Elegans, Actinokentia Divaricata, a small Spindle, Satakentia Liukiuensis, Cyphophoenix Nucele x2, Chamberyonia Watermelon and 2 Hookeri, Arch. Maxima, Arch. Cunningham double, B. Fenestralis, agave Blue Flame, and agave Blue Glow "Mediopicta Aurea." Along the driveway I decided that I'd had enough of hassling with the "Jesse Durko" bamboo. It routinely defoliated and at 22.5F lost 100% of the culms...and started growing back again as a big shrubbery. Instead of fighting with pruning it back from the driveway for the next year I took 3 days and dug it out. I cut down the dead culms first, leaving this: And then a 9" carbide reciprocating saw took a day to slice and dice and clean up the rest: And I replaced it with a division of Gigantochloa Luteostriata #4776 and a couple of Philodendron "Little Hope" transplanted from the backyard. The new bamboo sits about where the old Archontophoenix were planted. Hopefully it'll be far enough from the driveway to not be a daily annoyance! You can see the Ficus Auriculata quickly growing back on the left...and a bunch of weeds starting to take over again...sigh...

My Bottle and Spindle survival ratio isn't that great this year. I lost 3 big Spindles (one with 6-7' of trunk), one small Spindle, and trunk cut too far on one Bottle and killed the bud. Survivors are two trunk cut Bottles, two semi-protected Spindles, one small Spindle and a big Bottle that I didn't touch. Cutting and treating with hydrogen peroxide + Daconil did seem to help. Ones that I didn't touch (with fungicide or cutting) basically all died. So in the future I'll probably trunk cut earlier...but not so far that I chop into the bud!

I checked on it today, the wrinkle doesn't seem to be progressing, it doesn't feel soft either, it isn't browning either, it has stayed green so far. The stipules seem to be moving a little. The dead part was only the top (newest growth). It was not a big plant, dead leaves on all plants were dark green, not brown.

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.

Good news on that! Harry

Nice score . I hope you’re able to bring it back, it will certainly test your patience. I just wonder why the Lowe’s in your area has way better selection than the one in Ventura ( Southern California )where most palms thrive! Our Lowe’s has just generic palms , not elven anything close to collectible. Poor quality and limited selection. Harry

Palmeraie-Union is pleased to propose you the brand new issue no. 55 of its associative magazine Latania. On the program: visits to Reunion gardens and incredible botanical stories from all over the world. The Latania 55 is available for download at the following address: https://www.palmeraie-union.com/latania_pdf/latania55.pdf For memory, all issues of Latania are now available at the following address: http://www.palmeraie-union.com/latania.php Very good reading

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

Thank you!! 👍🏻 Here’s my backup plan. Got a single leaf sprout from FB last year. Happy it’s still alive. -dale

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.,

Well done Jayce, you’ve invested a lot into your garden, collected a wide range of species ( and that is hard to do in Perth, Western Australia) and now have the ground work established. With lots of water and some protection during the fierce Perth summers you’ll start to create a microclimate that will protect the more delicate species. It all takes time but will be worth it. In Perth there is a lot of trial and error finding the right location for each species of palm. You have some more tropical palms on your list that will require a warm, well drained position during our wet cold winters and others will need some shade over our hot dry summers which I’m sure you already know. I’ve been growing palms for over thirty years and creating a microclimate is the secret to success in Perth so bangalow, Alexander, Kentia, Caryota and foxtails grow well here to provide overhead protection. My experience with foxtails is that they grow fairly quickly but take a long time to throw flowers in Perth and seed setting is very irregular so probably not as big a problem here than in the tropics. Chambeyronia are a fantastic show stopping palm but they need overhead shade here as the intense summer sun cooks the leaves so difficult to use as a canopy palm. It is great you have a record of your garden and you can watch it evolve over the years. Regards Russell

A slightly different look but very similar to C. Ernesti Augusti . Thank you @miamicuse , lovely examples. Harry

To all my American brethren, happy Fourth of July! Somehow, my life schedule generally keeps me out of the garden during the morning hours. But I’m lounging around today and even by San Diego standards, the weather is absolutely perfect. Mid 70s, high clouds, couldn’t ask for more. Just a few random shots. Kentiopsis pyriformis starting to look good now that it’s approaching its 10th birthday. An Allagoptera arenaria under an umbrella tree, stretching like crazy, looking for sun. A nice petite Pritchardia perlmanii.

If they start eating metal and concrete, look out UHI. 😅

I even had a variegated foxy lady, that is until a great big cane beetle got in and ate it from the inside. Foxy lady about the only hybrid I do like the look of. I admire the work involved in creating such hybrids!

Wowo such a beautiful palm

The same thing happened to one of my chamaedorea Radicalis, a big branch came down it give it a fair old snapping, it sat there for a year sulking then it started to get on with growing again. Mother Nature has her way of dealing with things in a certain manner!

Blue Latania

Beautiful plant!

It’s been a long wait for a first inflorescence since planting a tiny strap leaf Syagrus matafome in the ground twenty years ago. Today, this recently popped open one surprised me. Will be interesting if it produces any fruit.

July 2026 update

Here’s an Archontophoenix species, seed collected from McBride Gardens in Kauai as purpurea. It is not, but it is lovely nonetheless. Another store-bought “tropical foliage” palm from years ago at a home center. Just a beautiful example of Archontophoenix, although I don’t know which one. Sabal mauritiformis at the best possible size. Long petioles and 6 foot diameter leaves. Lastly, another Home center purchase from 15 years ago, Crysalidiocarpus lutecsens. Common in the tropics, much less so here. But just such a glorious palm when it is content with life.

Hi there, First of all, Happy 4th of July to all our American members here. Hope you have a safe and wonderful Independence Day! Alright, just a short update of this one - please have a look: A great source of joy! It looks quite happy and I recognized for the first time... ...two new spears at the same time! One more time a full shot... Maybe I got to think seriously about a small pond to be made....🤔 Thank you for following - Lars

I’ve never actually germinated Brahea armata seeds, but I have some interesting recently observations for others in the genus. Over the last few of years I’ve been accumulating different Brahea species seeds. B sarukhanii, B dulcis ‘blue’, B Clara ‘Icy Blue’, B aculeata and B brandegeei. For all, I had low germination at best, sporadically over months. In the case of B sarukhanii and B aculeata, only 2 out of 100 and 3 out of 50 respectively. About 6 months ago I decided to start again with the B Clara. They were in mostly perlite and nothing seemed to be happening, just a gut feel that something wasn’t quite right to trigger germination. Seed was still solid and just a tad of mould on the surface on some, so thought it was worth soaking again and putting in a new mix. I soaked in about 50% bleach for a few minutes then water for a day or so and then some hydrogen peroxide afterwards. Re sowed into containers filled with coco coir and perlite and some with added potting mix (not sterile). After only a week, I had a bunch sprouting, maybe 30% of the remaining seeds, after months of nothing prior. No change to temperature - stil put them back on 29C heat mats. Just a couple of weeks ago I decided to do the same for B dulcis ‘blue’, B aculeata and B brandegeei. Within a week the same has happened for both B dulcis and B aculeata. Multiple sprouts all after many months or nothing at all. With germinating palm seeds, we often hear patience is required. But I think the lesson in this is that if something doesn’t seem right, don’t be afraid to change a variable. I’d expect this might apply to many other species with typically sporadic germination and long viability periods, probably less applicable to tropical species with short viability.

I'm resurrecting this thread because I too have noticed that brahea seeds germinate best after a cold period. The fresh seeds may germinate without cold, but I have found that older seeds need to be left out over winter.

They are pretty tough, I think it will be fine. In retrospect, I think the only thing you did that I wouldn’t recommend is the blood and bone fertiliser but as long as it wasn’t excessive, it shouldn’t cause permanent damage. I’d keep it on the more well watered side of things at least for the rest of your growing season and then back off a bit as it cools down.

i didn't know bottle palms could recover like that

You’re correct on the Chungii, the D minor ‘Amoenus’ and the variegated Malay, I do have Asper, but none of them are in these photos. I’ve got the black form and the straight form. Bambusa Lako is the black one with the philodendron climbing it Gigantochloa atroviolacea is the other black one in these photos. Chusquea coronalis is the wee tiny leaf one, yellow is Sacred Bali not Eutuldoides, there is D brandsii, Schitzostachyum Murray Island is my preferred screening form - Australian native I believe, the green bushy form. What you were calling Nana was at one point sold as Nana, but that is Nana what it is - real name Thrysocalamus liang from Thailand. Wispy higher foliage with narrow culm base is T siamensis or Monastery Bamboo. Lacy leaves with black/white mottled culms is Nastus elatus, there is D sikkmensis there and some mis or un ID’d forms. I also have several other species, not depicted here - let me know if you have questions about specific photos if I know what it is I’d be happy to tell you! Otatea acuminata I forgot to include and it has a unique sloppy grass form.

Here is one of my Butia odorata x Parajubaea torallyi var. torallyi F1's at City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane.

There is an older post from spring 2022 last year that I posted on growth rate of Jubaea with pictures of the above jubaea starting in 2006. The graph below shows growth of this Palm. Leaf frond stubs will stay on the Jubaea until it starts growing the trunk, when that happens the Jubaea is in its adult stage of growth and adds girth and weight rapidly kind of like many adult gentlemen. When the trunk begins to swell and diameter expands it begins breaking the fibers that attach the leaf to the trunk similar to breaking the seams in pants when the belly expands. This is what causes the leaf to fall away clean from the trunk. Queen Palms and Coconut palms do the same thing. So, leafs fall away clean after the Jubaea begins its adult trunk and waist building stage.