Leaderboard

I have lots of Cycads flushing right now! Like Dale said this is an exciting time of year. Here is Hor Wood x Are Wood(aka bride of frankenstein) I can definately see the Horridus starting to come through.

What you said about the color of the Purpurea is interesting, as is your comment about its growth. Of course, I can't just compare its size based on how long it's been planted; there are many other factors. Although I read that it tends to be one of the more delicate varieties and grows somewhat more slowly than other Archontophoenix species... but I don't know if that's true, and many factors are involved. They arrived today, and yes, it's definitely a Purpurea. In person, you can see the difference in the crown cap, although it's young, and I imagine that when that old leaf falls off, it will be more noticeable, especially when it's a bit more mature. I love learning from such passionate people on this forum. I'm grateful for the patience you show in explaining things. I've had hardly any luck on another forum in my country, and nobody shares information there.

I have tried growing Vanda coerulea twice. The first one survived a couple of years and the second attempt was similar in duration. They don't seem to like my damp and cool winters. That is a lovely Vanda you have. I am happy that this third attempt with Epidendrum lacustre Panamanian variety is thriving still after 4 years. The flowers aren't especially large or colorful, but I love their structure.

squashed queen palm

These 2 Cycads basically never stop flushing and flushed right through the winter. Encephalartos Cleopatra x True blue Arenarius.

It could be. It's puzzling because there is littoral rainforest nearby but here it has always been a lomandra groundcover in my time. I'm sure it's salty winds causing the burn. When they are sheltered by other plants they are fine, but as soon as they reach a certain height they become exposed and the burn is noticeable.

Yeah, it’s growing at a really fast rate. The Maypan Claude is amazing. I took old photos from when it was planted in November 2 today and using the size of the landscape lighting fixture It was able to estimate bole size and current crown diameter and it’s actually projecting that this is gonna have a 16 inch diameter trunk, which is pretty close to its bole size all the way up we even double checked it with a tape measure and gave Claude those measurements and it gave me a two-year estimate and it’s telling us when it’s gonna flower in the fall

Two more smaller but well tended. These trees are ubiquitous and when the fruit starts falling in early summer, it gets very messy!

Steve - you can't have it both ways mate. What's happening to you with CRB is devastating but you actually needed more government intervention, didn't you?

CIDP is not nearly as slow as sabal palmetto, and they are one of the few choices for a really cold hardy pinnate palm. ANd people like the pineapple look architecturally. Most of the CIDP I saw in CA were public plantings and you can grow a phoenix in the heat with much less maintenance than any sabal. They are tough in the desert too, less needy of water than any sabal. Water is expensive out west in my recollection.

I must agree with @sonoranfans; folks want quick results. They want the landscape to look mature in 3 years, if not 3 months. That's why W.robusta is everywhere, moreso than W.filifera. Rare to see Braheas in Cali landscapes. Money, size, and speed.

Most sabals are slow compared to the alternatives for most people. Washingtonia robusta or filifera are popular widely out west and are fast growers. Among many palms enthusiasts I think fan palms in general are not what they are looking for. Feather palms are more popular in general. There are many choices in california, and some members do have sabals and they look very happy so its not the weather. I think sabals are most popular in colder zones, 9B and lower. They do grow a bit faster than CA sabals but "sabal steve" has shown that S causiarum grows fast in california, he has a monster. If you go to a palm nursery in california you might see 100 species available and the vast number are pinnate palms. I'd say the choices there are vast and if you are unlimited by weather few will be sabals are hundreds of species are available and pinnate palms look more tropical in general. Sabal palmettos and some other sabals are slow in florida to so they plant them with 10' of trunk. I have grown my sabals(uresana, causiarum) from strap leaf seedlings. But in my yard they represent only 2/65 palms, a small percentage.

The Encephalartos ituriensis flush is progressing nicely and yes it will be big.

Bunch of stuff coming alive in the garden. I’ll post quite a few times here in the coming weeks/months. Love this time of year. Admittedly I don’t know the cross but I believe it’s Longifolius x Princeps. Could be Lehmannii x Princeps as it’s very blue. Who knows….its happy tho. Last year was a 2 Leafer, this year it’s 4. -dale

V. Manuvadee. A favorite blue. been looking for this one for years to replace the one I lost to cold one autumn. Just shipped from a wonderful grower in HI.

How its going.

Needle Palms continue to amaze me! I used to live in Western Montana. I think that Boise is a half or full zone warmer than Missoula. Nevertheless, I would never have thought that a small palm could make it in the ground over even a single Boise winter. That's a good looking Rhapidophyllum.