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The longest day of the year and gloriously gorgeous. Maybe share thoughts or pictures or both.

I’ve had this Syagrus Schizophylla sitting by my front door for a while now . It is pushing a new spear and roots out the drain holes of a very deep nursery pot . What does a “ palm dad “ want to do for Father’s Day? PLANT A PALM. Perfect weather and you know it’s gonna be a great day when you can dig a deep hole in good soil without hitting a rock. When I picked out the spot , I chose a place with full morning sun and afternoon shade . There were a couple of seedlings sprouting ( I have a habit of pushing seeds in the ground in random places about the yard.) I easily dug them up to place in pots , the soil was very easy to dig so I didn’t disturb them too much. One of the seedlings is a C. Radicalis , they are everywhere. The other looked like a Chamaedorea until I got the dirt away from the plant ….attached was a C. Decipiens seed! Yay. So I guess one of the many seeds I had planted , germinated , a very special surprise. The planting of the S. Schizophylla went well and I was done in about an hour . This after a lovely ride to Ventura on my bicycle. I hope the rest of you are having a great day. Harry My special surprise! Chrysalidiocarpus Decipiens It sprouted right next to this C. Radicalis on the right. A very deep pot means a very deep hole! The “birth certificate was buried in the container . Nice info to have I know….my Sketchers are no match for @DoomsDave red Converse!😂 The new spear is just recent , since I acquired the palm. I think it will be happy here , sharing space with a young Archontophoenix C. that is growing rapidly. Harry

I planted these Veitchia joannis as small 4" pots last year and they are rockets in our cool montane tropical conditions growing next to our coast redwood trees.

I am happy to report that my 40+ foot tall Royal Palm is pushing out new growth. I was very concerned because it is so close to the house. If it had succumbed to the cold, I would have had to call in someone with a crane to get it out of here. I couldn't take a chance it would fall on the house... But, it is growing. So, a mature Royal palm can survive brief cold down to 24 or 25F.

Oh man , that is terrible. We were in San Diego over Mothers Day and I saw a few naturalized specimens along the freeway that had been infested . Hard to look at. Harry

I have always loved chatting about palms/cycads and plants in general with Maria. I've known her and her sons for the better part of 10 years, and she has always been so kind. Maria was the owner of Sago Rey Palms in Fresno, where she continued the business after the passing of her husband Thomas Wash. I was very saddened to hear of a horrible incident at the nursery over Easter weekend, and further saddened to learn of her passing. She will live on in the memory of many of us here in the area (and out of the immediate area) who have crossed paths with her. My garden is full of plants she cared for and nurtured. If any of you got those really blue Sabal uresana seedlings, they came from Maria. A few photos from her obituary: https://kmph.com/news/local/nursery-owner-dies-after-easter-machete-attack-nephew-faces-murder-charge

I planted these Veitchia joannis as small 4" pots last year and they are rockets in our cool montane tropical conditions growing next to our coast redwood trees.

Blue latania

This view

It looks like most of the street views over that way were last updated Nov. 2025. Peninsula Ave. and Atlantic Ave. typically showcase the better microclimates over that way. Last I spoke with the CFPACS president, his was recovering.

Just looking awfully photogenic this morning. Tim

I have seen a squirrel eating a lubber last year (2025). It's the only time I have seen it, but I did some research and there is evidence that squirrels actually do snack on the occasional lubber, of course, not enough to help. I did take a picture of it, not sure if it's still on my phone or not. And, yes, I fight the lubber fight every year too, they love my spider and rain lilies most but also seem to eat anything else that is soft tissued, like my Asian pitcher plants (Nepenthes). I also do the roach spray when they hatch but try to use as little as possible. When they mature, I catch them and throw them in the lake. I tried putting them in the pitchers of my Nepenthes, but they always crawl out, I have even had them chew their way out, might be better for the plant anyway, don't know what their toxicity would do to the plant.

2 days of 40C / 104F showing for Reading I am seeing nighttime minimums in the high 20’s C as well man…

🥶😢😱

Metroxylon amicarum gaining size while the feral hogs mine the adjacent landscape.

Hi folks, I'm planting out part of my property with a Dwarf Coconut grove. So far, I have found five distinct dwarf cultivars to try. Interested to see what else is out in the world...I'm sure there are quite a few other dwarf varieties...looking to obtain some if anybody has fruiting specimens... :-) Golden Malay for example...

It’s always been one of favourite palms, knowing they grow so easy in my climate. I just had to order 1000 seeds from rps and ended up with about 700 of them. One of my number one selling palms. A palm as spectacular with black petioles, no thorns and a beautiful silver underside leaf. A perfect deep shade understory palm. They make great patio plants. They will always have place in my garden any day.

Yep. Fresh seed makes all the difference. I have a batch of about 40 of these going myself. Now, it's just a matter of time to get them up to my preferable 5 gallon selling size. 😄🌴 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Some of my favorites that have no problem with desert extremes include Bismarckia, Brahea, Coccothrinax, Copernicia,, Hemithrinax, Pseudophoenix, and Sabals. Unfortunately, most are slow growers, and somewhat difficult to locate, especially in larger sizes, on the west coast. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Beautiful ! They look quite happy. Harry

I have to say it was beyond disappointing when I worked and prepared 14 years towards finally moving to Hilo, HI, and had everything set up to establish myself there, only to be met with a housing crisis, living out of my car/hotel, and subsequently having to emergently find a new job, which just happened to be in El Centro, CA. If I had moved to Hilo, HI only 6 months earlier, none of this would have happened 😔 Now I have my eyes on Mexico in 5 years to finally have my permanent garden, as it looks like Hawaii and coastal southern California are no longer realistic options for a large palm garden. Either way, though, it's been fun experimenting with palms in the desert and seeing which ones can take the heat. Many palm trees have pleasantly surprised me!

can't say I have ever moved one but mine seems to be a delicacy to gophers and seems to wear the root damage really well. so maybe that's a sign that they dont mind having their roots messed with.

Perhaps multifrondis or debate sis? Encephalartos natalensis × horridus male flushing. I never removed last year's cones on this boy. It is developing a sizeable caudex with no pups. I have another on the other side of the Aloidendron Hercules, but it has put out a few pups in the last several years. This is a fast grower.

Good question. Time will tell. If there is a nasty cold snap like back in the 1980s, who knows if the roots will survive and allow the foliage to come back from the ground. The all-time low in Fernandina Beach is 4F, so that would be a challenge.

Here's a pic of the four I planted, taken August 2021. BTW, I have a couple of pots of around 50 rapidly growing seedlings that I have no idea what I'm going to do with.