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…..almost yearly problem in my garden when things fill in. I feel like I’ve removed what others would consider grail plants just to thin the heard. Tough decisions. I think the hard work is done for that plant. It looks happy now and appears like it will gain momentum in the coming years. -dale

I got some seeds sold as Encephalartos turneri about 12 years ago. One is flushing right now that is planted in deep shade. It’s still fairly small and has only been in the ground for about a year. These two photos were taken about a week apart. I have another one that’s bigger, it’s in full sun and has a more interesting leaf form. It’s not flushing at the moment but here are two photos of the plant. I’ll also upload photos next time it flushes, which should be soon.

I don't recall the species of this bromeliad but it isn't growing in my yard so don't feel compelled to know. It is attractive. I recall these being planted at least a dozen years ago, as I often pass this home while walking my dogs.

Clearly growing palms isn’t your thing nephew. Ha! Sure, I’ll give it a go..

I remember the water mains bursting in Houston in 1983 with 8b temperatures and it was three days before water service was restored. 1989 was a 8a winter for Houston and killed almost all the palms. I visited Orlando in the warm months of 1983 on business recruiting aerospace engineers in central Florida to move to Houston to work on Space Shuttle programs at JSC. One day I took an exploration trip to an undeveloped area about 50-75 miles S.W. of Orlando. I ended up on a dirt road in a somewhat swampy wooded area and was amazed to see the tree limbs heavily laden with bromeliads. They were thick with many tree limbs covered with them. I made another trip to Orlando in the early spring of 1985 and went back to that same wooded area to once again view the trees laden with bromeliads. To my astonishment 99% of the Bromeliads were dead and the floor of the forest was littered with their carcasses. On another day trip I went to Tampa and noticed that the bay was ringed by dead mangroves. I imagine that the bromeliads and mangroves move up and down the Florida peninsula from decade to decade as freezes come and go. The nice thing about Florida is that these types of tropical plants can find refuge in S. Florida and then move back up the peninsula during warm periods. Ed in Houston

Since 1989, winter hasn't been what it once was. I'm inclined to thinking the 1980's were the anomaly and not the other way around. Urbanization has certainly also played a role.