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The seed market is very volatile in the fact that you are dealing with a living cell, this makes it difficult for the sellers to guarantee viability and germination rates. As we know some seeds germinate a long time after we have said they are no good. The big difference is when we get fresh seeds the difference is amazing in germinating rates.

This Encephalartos Arenarius x Horridus had… you guessed it yellow leaves. Hit it with the chelated iron and almost overnight they greened up and a couple weeks later it started to flush! If you guys have any problem yellow plants give it a try and it should work for you. And thanks again Gene at Az!!!!🤙

This is the only Chamaedorea in my garden that is growing faster than my Tree Form Radicalis. I got one from @DoomsDave a couple years ago. It had one frond and was nice and green . It is now almost 6’ tall! I wish I had more . Harry Adoption day about two years ago , soaking my new palms after a long trip home! This afternoon , the tip of the last frond almost even with a 6’ fence with a few “rings”. I could easily squeeze on or two more next to it . I will if I run across any small ones.

The plumosa are flowering again, and I have finally worked out the boys and girls and where they are in the garden. No flowers opening up yet. But some daily observations will be the order for the day. I will try and hand pollinate them this year. I managed to get 4 seeds pollinated last season only to have the rats get them, right on harvest there clever little sods. In the 25 years they have been in the garden only twice I have had good seed set naturally where Mother Nature lined it all up. A nice landscaping palm that’s tolerant of a lot of hard conditions.

Even the kiwis have them, nice one across the ditch!

This is the product I am using.

Nothing better than going for it and getting great results. Good one, and advice is always free and mistakes are costly. One great advantage of talking with other growers, and another is I learnt something new today, thanks for sharing your experience!

They are rocket ships once established. I have two of them to a friend 5 years ago they are now 8 to 10 feet tall crown included. And in some very high sun positions. They take it well iam now planting a few in my garden in more exposed sites and they love it. You won’t regret planting them in your garden, the only drawback is that they get so tall so fast you lose them in the mid canopy. I suggest planting them at the bottom of steep slopes this way in the years to come you have a nice crown of leaves at least in sight. Richard

The server was being silly and I couldn’t post the male and female, which one is male and female. Male inflorescence female inflorescence

An update at the end of July, 2026.

Has any research or testing ever been done to figure out what an Archontophoenix teracarpa actually is? A hybrid? A new species? A variation of a known species? The city has a bunch of these planted around town and could probably part with a frond or two for genetic testing. Emails to any of the research bodies in the state hasn't generated a response.

Some other images of the recently transplanted dates, meds and some established canaries I’ve had. The big canaries age

Generally speaking, are the blue joeys (Johannesteijsmannia magnifica) known to be more stout in form as seedlings/immature plants than the green joeys (Johannesteijsmannia altifrons ) ? I’ve only been growing this one seedling magnifica (from 1st seedling leaf stage) and noticed it doesn’t develop those long-strap like immature leaves like the altifrons I have raised. I grow indoors. Because the magnifica is much smaller than my altifrons, I have grown it along with my higher light orchids. The altifrons are well over 3’ so I can’t get them under the orchid lights. I noticed from photos that the mature magnificas look like the altifrons in form, possibly broader; the blue underside of the magnificas being the obvious difference. Although, perhaps any of these form differences in photos can be due to stretching in lower light vs more stout in stressful high light levels. I just want to be aware if I’m possibly light-stressing my magnifica. Pictured below, magnifica on left is younger than the altifrons on right.

I have a male and female of glaucifolia,My chamaedorea glaucifolia female is producing seeds for the first time. Before giving them to my friends in Italy, I want to see if the seeds will be fertile. I'll sow 5 to see if they germinate.

Wide leaflet Zamia splendens

Growths going to explode from now on it looks.

Big difference in sun tolerance between C. Glaucifolia and C. Plumosa . I had a beautiful trio of C. Glaucifolia in my courtyard , when it grew tall( 7’) it hit full sun and died. If it had been C. Plumosa it would have handled the afternoon sun , no problem. Harry

A couple of nice varieties of palms for the garden in the future, the merriillii are a surprise growing pretty good for seedlings in winter, I thought for sure cold damage. And the lytocarum are as tough as nails so always happy with them. Some good ones for the tropical look in the garden in a few years time.

A nice young carpoxylon macrospermum! She’s a slow mover that one!

A very neat palm that will fit into a nice tight fitting place in the garden, with a stem that is straight as an arrow! Richard

As juveniles they appear to be a little more robust looking. But as germinated seedlings they are pretty hard to tell apart, perakensis are a little more skinneri looking as seedlings. But if you were to mix them up they would just look like a bunch of joeys to the untrained eye. I haven’t seen many advanced magnifica but from what I have seen there appears to be slight differences, more robust looking. There is a the silver metallic blue colour about them, and the ones in Singapore gardens are some of the finest I’ve seen. All in all yes there is a slight difference in magnifica to all the other varieties. I have only seen one lanceolata Johannesteijsmannia and advanced one that was a true specimen to see. Definitely a lot thinner leaves on them. Hers a few Altifrons plants in the collection and garden about 5 years old the ones in the ground, and the seedlings about 12 months old. And they love water!

Thanks one can only try. I have found far more palms tolerant of the cool conditions, just by giving it a try. Research I guess into cool tolerant new varieties available now. With unknown varieties of palms, being tested for cool tolerant conditions. The odds for giving it a try are pretty good and in the growers favour. Finding new varieties for the garden pushing boundaries. Doing my bit for palm conservation!

That’s the best approach, well maintained, you’re one is a great example of it could go wrong. Except it’s in the hands of a skilled gardener who is fully aware of the monster within, taming the beast with his skills as a gardener! Richard

It can all go wrong easily, and also turn out to be costly if you have to remove a palm that becomes a nuisance, through planting in the wrong situation. Thinking it was something else.

It can be also costlier than just the price of the mislabeled plant, if one has selected a species based on certain properties like shade or sun, wind, cold, drought tolerance etc, which unfortunately are not present in purchased specimen.

That can be quite frustrating, generally it is a honest grower mistake. Even I have 4 varieties of of chamaedoreas in about 6 trays and yes due to moving them and relying on memory, there is one tag in a nevpot of each varietie but now they been mixed up I can’t sell them to a collector. Perhaps at the markets i could saying that they are a Chameadorea if they just want a chamaedorea for patio or something in there garden. Not labeling is a big rookie mistake a lot of experienced growers make! Never rely on memory. When they mature a bit more I will or should be able to identify them.

You little match maker you, call you Cupid 💘Cold weather and light conditions (photoperiod day length) will produce more males!

A nice garden in Kaikoura, about 2 hours north of Christchurch, taken on holiday recently. Is the second pic a standard Butia odorata, looked a but different to me?

Besides even purchased seedlings frequently do not turn out the real McCoy. Like this one plant bought as plumosa but it has turned out a beautiful and seemingly quite pure glaucifolia.

Red Latania

I would want a place for the water to drain , not stay in the pot . Harry

This species should be available at the next 2027 Pacsoa show and some online sellers for Australian collectors over the next few years. Much seed has been sent out to Aussie palmtalkers plus a few others. It is a great palm to have in your collection Regards Colin

Oh yeah, for sure those needed some iron! I've had palm seedlings do that on me, usually with overwatering or soil that got too dense or mucky in the pot. I have some Ptychosperma Salomonense seedlings planted out front that desperately need iron. They were in a pot too long and do great in the soil. It's good that you reminded me, I completely forgot about spraying them with iron. I have used Palm Nutritional Spray before. What are you using?

Welcome to Palm Talk! You definitely need drainage holes in a pot that is to be used for your palm. Good drainage is crucial for plant health/ survival. I’ve seen pots with a grill at the bottom and the ones I’ve seen have a tray that is attached with scuppers for the water to drain. I use pots with clear holes in the bottom , sometimes I even drill more . I usually put medium sized pebbles in the bottom and add perlite to the potting soil. Some palms are root sensitive while others are tough as nails . It would help to know what type of palm it is ….even better , pictures. Harry

And here is a pic of it today! While not as green as my others yet it is getting greener by the day!

That is a beauty , @Tracy . Seeing it in that narrow strip makes me feel good about how I plant palms along the side of my house. It is a strip of great growing location for medium or smaller palms. I planted a couple of Dypsis varieties there and may add one or two more! Harry

Chrysalidocarpus saintlucei gets thicker in full sun and thinner trunk in shade here. Full sun specimen front and center in this photo.

Hi there, I had already the impression that there was something going with one of my seed grown Bismarckia's but couldn't make it out from the accessible side. So, I approached it from the backside - I had to work myself through a couple of weeds grown already men-high close to the fence but got finally rewarded... First pic,... Back in September 2020 after being planted out. Here it is now... ...and here approaching it from a different angle: Well, still not really clean but I think we have got some 'evidence'.... 🧐 Lars

18 months post cold event

Way back when the Remarkable Palms of Tampa Bay thread was started, many of these palms graced the thread. The palms on this thread come from City Hall, the parking garage areas, and the surrounding landscapes that do not include Hollis Gardens or Lake Wire since they have their own threads. This thread picks up after the municipal gardens were exposed to 25F during the February 2026 Freeze. With perhaps the best microclimate in the metropolitan area, there are palms that survive here that are difficult as little as 6 miles east or west of City Hall. When we give tours of the palms collections, this area is one that raises the most eyebrows. Carpoxylon macrospermum - City Hall South Entrance Pseudophoenix sargentii - City Hall South Entrance - Damaged, but recovering well Chambeyronia oliviformis (Kentiopsis oliviforms)- City Hall East Entrance - Damaged, but recovering. This palm had strikes against it before the freeze due to overtrimming. Satakentia liukiuensis - Parking Garage West Entrance - Damaged, but recovering well Pseudophoenix sargentii - Parking Garage - Damaged, but recovering well. It should set seeds this year. Pseudophoenix sargentii - Parking Garage - Damaged, but recovery is slower. One may end up dying. For now, this is enough to get the thread started. It gives @SubTropicRay a glimpse at a few species he asked about in the Lake Hollingsworth thread. There is a Pseudophoenix that survived near the midpoint of the walking trail, but that photo and post will have to wait for now.

YES!!!! First if all I have to thank Gene at Az.! I had a handfull of Cycads that had yellowed out and I threw everything and the kitchen sink at them to no avail. I posted a pick of one of my favorite plants an Encephalartos “trappes valley” Latifrons that was stubbornly yellow and looking worse by the day! As I said I had tried every fertilizer chemical and organic you could think of except chelated iron. When Gene recommended I try it I was thinking what do I have to lose so I picked some up and gave it a try. WOW😳This stuff is unreal! Here is a pic of said E. Latifrons before chelated iron. It had looked like this for a couple years.

Transplant as into the ground or repot them into larger containers? Into the ground easy just plant them. Repotting even easier, palms like the next size container up ie 200mm container into a 240mm container. A small 70mm tube into a 100mm or 140mm and so on. They also require a good root system before transplanting, if you can lift the palm up by the stem and they don’t pull out of the container then generally they are good to repot. As for drainage holes or lack of just use a pair of secautears or whatever you have to cut some drainage holes or drill some new holes. If you can’t repot them drill some holes in the bottom of the container. It’s all about roots for transplant or repotting, and soil medium, get it right and palm growing is easy, get it wrong and you start to have trouble growing them. Repotting germinated seedlings is a little different you generally go by the type of palm you have to the container that suits it. May I suggest my posts, On the potting bench, it’s got a lot of repotting pictures and information. Good luck

Borassodendron borneense not to happy in the cold weather, another strike for old man winter, he won this push. Cold and wet I suspect! And my Calyptrocalyx micholitzii is not happy either in the cold weather.

This Dwarf Horridus was a wreck! While the leaves are still trying to turn blue it flushed almost immediantly main caudex and pup. While only one leaf flushes you can see from the pic how blue they are! I forgot to mention that the chelated iron will stain the surface of the soil nothing to worry about. I just sprinkle a little around and I believe it leaches down to the root zone each time I water.

Encephalartos Trispinosus was looking bad! It has since greened up and getting hints of its former blue self again. It also has sterted to flush. The exciting thing us for several years the flushes have came out yellow or orange. This flush is coming out normal so should turn blue again.

It’s been crazy hot and sunny here, but the atmosphere has finally gotten unstable enough, with late afternoon clouding up, hyperlocal showers. A few miles being the difference between a sprinkle, or brief torrential downpour, depending on where you are. Been lucky at the house the past week. Kind of a classic wet-season pattern finally emerging the last week in July. The lawn and palms perked up right away. The next two months are the wettest of the year normally. June is always a disappointment and July is oddly dry most years. Typical afternoon rains, plus the arriving tropical systems, normally drive up the precipitation totals. At least buckets o’ bromeliads are easy to keep happy.

This Horwood x Arewood “bride of frankenstein” was starting to yellow out so I dosed it with the chelated iron and not only did it green up but it is flushing for the 3rd time this year!

So I had a handfull of other yellow Cycads to experiment with and even faster results! As an added bonus most if these Cycads flushed again even if they had already flushed this year. I wish I had taken before and after picks of these Cycads but you will just have to take my word for it. This Lehmannii was very yellow and looked like it might not make it. The yellow leaves turned blue and I noticed today when I was watering its starting to flush!

Its pouring now, I wouldnt drive in it as visibility is pretty low. I love rain, but my palms love it more. These "hard rain periods" are often short but we also got a few tenths(0.2?) this morning between 1 and 4. After being in this drought and seeing all the dry tipping on my palms, it seems things have shifted. Water restrictions last to oct1st. The rain falling on the roof is music to my ears!

Rhopalastylis Baueri getting the ring. Planted out as a small 15G in the winter of 2020 it’s grown way more than my other Rhopalastylis. This one is happy. -dale