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Brad, I don't have any beautiful lichens covering the roots. I do have abundant moss on the trunks concealing the spines. The roots are brown, but seem to take on a slight violet cast at twilight. The crowns are about 20' up (6 m). It is hard to get a good exposure of the fruit with the glare of the sky interspersed with the shaded undersides of the fronds. The cool roots are a consolation prize when the wonderful entire fronds disappear into the canopy. Growing in about a foot (30 cm) of black cinder, plenty of mulch and slow release 22-7-14 three times a year. Many palms suffered with the miserable dry weather this past year, but I didn't notice any distress with these. I wonder if a phalanx of these roots around the perimeter of the property could actually deter pigs. For some mysterious reason, I have not had a pig attack in over six months. Gotta be a record. I see them on the roads near my house frequently, but so far they have held their fire.

I prefer the synonym "Pritchardia robusta" myself - it'd be one Pritchardia that I could grow here!

I get similar damage on my Cocothrinax , rust spots on the fronds . It has occurred since it was planted many years ago . It is so slow growing that it is year round . The fronds that open in late summer seem to be better but it is so long between new growth , it doesn’t completely disappear between winters. Harry ‘This was over a year ago . The spots can be seen on the older frond to the lower right of the palm. One of the slowest palms in my collection and is clearly not adapted to my climate but grows steadily. One of the few palms that gets organic fertilizer and that seems to help.

I hadn't realized Verschaffeltia were so difficult outside the tropics. These were some of the first palms I put in the ground about a dozen years ago. Very strong growers for me. Straight stilt roots are totally different from the twisty ones of Socratea. They have been producing buckets of seed for years, so a few months ago I decided to try germinating a few. Looks like about 100% sprouted. No idea what I'll do with so many. I can unload 3-5 on visitors, but 50 (I set up several community pots)? The spines develop before the first leaves open.

Nothing better than a day in the bush, checking out the native palms, even a couple of Livistona Australis in the steep sandstone rocky country!

This is what The Huntington in Pasadena has to say about stilt roots . The glass house has a lovely example of this palm. Harry I liked how they highlighted this feature.

As you say the new VB leaf is fine I wouldn’t worry too much about much about it, after all you’re in the middle of winter, most likely a bit of cold trauma, soil temperatures are down with the metabolic rate so you’re palm most likely picked up a cold just like us in winter!

Bismarckia around here survived worse (knock on wood?) ice storms in 2011, 2014, and 2018. So I'm betting mine will survive. The crown is too big to cover now and I'd rather focus my efforts on the zone 10 plants. Might not be pretty though

Or it could last another 10-15 years. Wrap the growth point in a heater cable. That will probably be enough for this storm

Cerotazamia and Zamia looking good!

I will get some pictures soon of both types that I am growing in my garden. I have posted many Lafazamanga pictures in other threads over the years from my Hilo garden. The Lafazamanga I am growing here in my Pepeekeo garden are offspring from my Hilo garden. So third generation, originally acquired from Floribunda from seed he got from Jerry Andersen. The two Andersenii that I was gifted by @realarch are slower growing and more colorful so I have hope that they are true to the parent. Tim is very generous with his plants so I know there are others around on the Big Island that received them from him too.

This post is not meant to alarm, only to demonstrate something. Yesterday there was some panic on X because the AIGFS model was showing an epic freeze for peninsular FL. While this was by far the coldest, other models did and still show the possibility of freezes down to Central FL. But if you look closely, this illustrates perfectly what has to happen to get a 1980's type freeze in FL. What needs to occur is the bowl of low pressure that comes down from the north has to dig in and amplify just to the northeast of around Jacksonville, FL so the winds flowing around it inject the cold air directly into the peninsula from the north. The lines around that dark blue area of low pressure are the direction the wind is driven (generally west to east). This is seen in the 500mb map attached below. Now compare to the 12z run of the AIGFS model today. The bowl of low pressure is way up in the northeast and clearly doesn't pull that arctic air down into the peninsula. It's not whether there's enough cold air coming south into the lower 48, It's a question of whether these high and low pressures will orient in a way to transport the cold air at the right angle down into the peninsula. If the bowl of low pressure sits on Alabama or Georgia the cold air blasts the FL Panhandle and then moves over the Gulf before going into the peninsula, and thus it gets moderated over the Gulf. That has been the pattern in recent years. However, lately these troughs of low pressure have oriented a little farther east lately and that is what's causing this recent cold weather in peninsular FL. Still need to watch though, because it's still far enough in time we don't know and on the same token some of the models leave room for the possibility of a digging trough to occur. This potential has been recognized by NOAA and the Climate Prediction Center as seen with the graphics I posted further up in this thread.

Definitely, never again! It is an enormous job, which I can not accomplish alone, let aside that I would have to butcher much of the crown.

Νο, Pritchardia

I have found out, that Royals in our imperfect climate become relatively cool hardy, after their their petioles have attained a diameter of one and half to two hand fingers.

A welcome bit of summer rain never goes astray. The garden certainly appreciated it.

Great photos, Richard!

NWS lowered the temperature to 19f for Monday. That's 8b right there . We're going to get hit . Not the worst I've seen but it will definitely cause a lot of palms to defoliate this time including my Robusta.

they are now 21 in Houston... they just change and change and change. Total mess

If we are lucky it can flood in summer here. Any amount of rain is welcome in my summer!

Geonoma atrovirens!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTwlgCpjV6p/?igsh=d3pxemxhZDQ0bGc2 Choppin and proppin with UGK

Intrigued by the stilt roots of this palm attracting airborne Tillandsia and a home for a benign orange lichen. It’s a beautiful palm with the roots, spiny trunk, and entire leaves. Here are a few photos starting with the roots. Tim

Lol

The latest updates on the ECM (Euro) don't look anywhere near as bad. Maybe 24-25F for Houston and 15F for Dallas. So tentative signs that Texas will be spared somewhat this time around. I don't see the proper cold air getting in, or lasting long either. Can't say the same for the mid-west and east coast. That William guy with the big Robusta/Filibusta in North Carolina will need to wrap it well as he's got 7-10 consecutive days/nights below freezing starting on Friday and probably 2-3 nights of 0-5F coming too.

yeah I feel really bad for Dallas! and San Antonio. A friend of mine just bought property in San Antonio and planted a bunch of tropicals with the hopes that at least THIS winter wouldnt be as a bad. I'm over here crossing my fingers in Houston. I have already replaced so many palms. I'm stubborn. I replanted two queens this year that rotted last year winter. Two other ones who survived are now what someone here called "zombies". They made it through 18 F degrees in 2025 but didnt really grow.

It is a complete mess on how low the temperatures will get, AS USUAL. I don't understand why the models have such a hard time forecasting lows. One of the models has us at 8 degrees F in Houston on Monday morning. Other models at 43 F. It's crazy! Very stressful to have palms in Houston.

@ZPalms, they look great, all things considered. 😊 F.Y.I. name change coming...

Considering how weather generally moves west to east across the country, you need one ..or a combo.. of 3 things on a map to bring us " record " cold spells.. = Deep trough that is parked off the west coast, and oriented in a way where it can move a deep layer of arctic air right down the west coast from Alaska.. By deep.. i mean the base of it has to be draped across roughly the same latitude as Mazatlan ..or Puerto Vallarta... Simply put, WAYYY to or south.. = Similar, but the base of it is oriented so that a similarly deep layer of artic air is able to move west south west, over the Rockies, from the high plains just east of the mountains up there.. Layer of air, combined with the depth of the trough allows it to get up and over the Rockies. FYI: AA = Deep, Arctic Air pool.. Yellow = location of the base of such a trough.. Overall WX pattern has to be " slow " or stuck long enough that such a trough hangs out over the west long enough that that cold pool ..being shoved west south west from the far N. Plains, or Alaska.. can sit and build over our region ..or just isn't scoured away quickly ..As is usually the case... ( Because the flat as a board terrain east of the Rockies = less resistance to large air mass movements, compared to all the walls cold air has to get past to reach our area.. ) Yes, the Pacific is flat, ..but, even arctic air masses that might move towards us is modified as it moves over it before reaching the west coast, esp. at our latitude. It's only in those rare setups where deep, arctic air can dive right down ..or just east of.. the west coast.. that really cold air can reach us. Both of these patterns are what can bring record cold to CA ..and deep into the Pacific slope of N.W. Mexico ( Sonora proper, Sinaloa, etc ) These two scenarios are the main 2 that can usher in record cold While uncommon, the 3rd setup scenario below can happen ...to a deg. that brings really cold air into our area. To some extent, there are a few such " spill over " events each winter but they're usually shallow, and usually moderate quickly. Simply, large, deep arctic air mass being shoved due south, down the high plains, just east of the Rockies, is deep enough / lingers long enough that it pours over the higher ..but lower than the mountains just to the north.. terrain barrier between Tucson and El Paso. If such a set up lasts long enough, enough cold air can linger and build after reaching our area = cold mornings ..until it is scoured out by westerly / southwesterly ( ..and generally milder ) air. Daniel Swain ( Weather West ) did a pretty depth-y dive into how these setups can occur awhile back, and just how rare they are, thankfully, lol..

Scenes like this from Tim's garden had a big influence on me moving to the Big Island almost 9 years ago. And I've never regretted that decision. My family met Tim and visited him during our first 1 week trip to the Big Island. We left his garden and bought a house a few blocks away!

26,25 and 23 lows from Saturday to Monday but daytime temperatures in the mid 30s to low 40s here on the NE side of SA. Too early to get accurate numbers. We will see if the needle goes further down or up. Something to worry about here in San Antonio. So on my way to work I normally drive down this street with a nice row of Sabal Palmetto (?) . Now within a couple of weeks I see the crowns collapsing and trees are dying at a fast pace. If they don't cut down the infected palm trees as soon as possible it's going to spread out even more. What is it ? Rot , fungus? What worries me the most is there's a very old Brahea Armata planted in between ( first picture). Hopefully they can save it. I see also lethal bronzing on a Sabal Mexicana at a different location. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it. That particular palm's fronds just turned brown . What I'm really worried about is

Cold damages!!!

The flowers are all now open - surprisingly, all at the same time.😄 Plant photos are in the same order as above. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Hechtia sp ( ...H. pretiosa ..or very similar.. perhaps? ) ...or a wider - leaved Dyckia would be my first guess Genus -wise. Agree, from what pictures i can see when pulling up the in question Puya, leaves / way the marginal spines look doesn't match, to my eye at least..

Winter update on how they are doing. pretty much how they always look around this time of year. I’m not worried about the cold and ice that’s been blasting through, but I am tired of going outside and covering, uncovering, covering, uncovering. but it is what it is and worth it when it’s spring. Bragg Blvd Washie Seeds from Texas Grown.

All the Apps are showing different things. Yours is the worst of what I have been looking at. This is from KHOU and it literally updated when I opened it. I expect as usual its going to be all over the place the next few days and they'll get it wrong anyway. You ever notice how if they miss its always worse and not better?

Really watch out yall, id say if your anywhere in alabama really prepare. Models can be extremly wrong especially this far out. dont take what i say literal and what will happen. but models are calling for -10F in Huntsville AL.. and 10F in Columbus OH. This weather system is very weird. now Icing is the main threat with this winter system. Like i said far out i will not give you a number becaus ei dont wanna cause panic but this could very well be a catastrophic event with Icing especially in Texas. Watch your Local NWS office forecast this is gonna be one heck of a test for your palms. P.S. This is a blend ofmodels so its a bit more accurate but do not take anything with numbers seriously. the icing part though is what people should be worried about.

I've seen this on eBay for a while now. Always thought it was a heck of a deal. I purchased a small 4' one several years ago and it has done well for me, mine is roughly as blue as my cerifera.Don't know if you want to drive to Tallahassee or not but

Phoenicophorium borsigianum, a Seychelles palm. Tim

A few cones around the yard, Z. Stevensonii male cone start to shed pollen. Maturing Z. inermis cones that were pollinated about a year ago. Z. Fairchildiana male cones close to opening. Z. variegata disintegrating cone. Male Z. Splendens cones starting to shed pollen which is nice because the female cones are probably going to start to open in a few weeks. And last is an unknown cycas cone opening up.

I just harvested seed on this complex hybrid of C. Debaoensis (not true) x (C. tropophylla x C. mitcholitzii). As expected this hybrid can be extremely variable so it will be interesting to watch the seedlings grow. I’m hoping a few will carry the mothers trait, shiny metallic leaf that glows a bluish hue when the sun hits the leaf.

They are definitely not happy. I hope they come back , if any palm can survive shock it would be these. They are very hardy palms . I have dug them up at that size , or even when they are much larger , and never lost them . They do need good drainage and the right conditions . In my climate , they are naturalized . Southern California they grow wild , popping up in fields , gardens , even in drainage ditches. Harry

Beautiful! Where abouts were you?

This is great info so thank you for taking the time to explain it all. It does seem like a lot needs to happen to get some real cold air over the southwest (which is great haha). Generally I'm more concerned with vegetation getting baked by the heat as opposed to freezing temps. I learned the hard way early on that having anything in a pot with no canopy overhead is a big no-no during the summer. I have family in the northeastern part of Florida so it's always interesting comparing the weather between there and Phoenix Metro. On average it seems like NE Florida would have a slight edge in warmth but that arctic air from Canada is just brutal.

Thanks Jason! That’s quite the revelation of this palm and the journey taken to become present in our gardens. I was fortunate to get a specimen years ago and it grew like gangbusters into a beautiful plant. Unfortunately, it was removed for various reasons, one being located in the wrong spot and being plagued with scale and sooty mold. It did regularly produce viable seed, as alluded to above, and the off spring are ready for planting. I know now what to expect in terms of overall habit and have a few locations in mind for new homes. Tim

"Small drainage holes" don't cut it. You need to provide them decent drainage. If you keep them in trays never let them sit in drain water. Also be sure you are not watering too much/too often. Soggy soil can lead to fatal root rot. Seedlings look like they are damping off. No full sun. How cold is your house, how dark, how dry? Midwinter in IL is a terrible time to buy and try palm seedlings. I suggest you wait until spring and start with seeds. You can grow them outdoors in partial shade and they will go gangbusters in the heat.

I noticed today several of my normal strain Arenarius are flushing. I think its due to this nice weather we have been experiencing here in So Cal after all the rain. Early spring🤔

Holy 💩 Bump for an absolutely ridiculously bonkers deal The pots by themselves cost almost that much.

I hope not! I plan to remove both of my backyard ones when they are showing signs of flowering, although I plan to replace the one near the fence (away from the houses) with another one at that point. Great palms other than the monocarpic thing. 💀 Here's a recent shot of mine. That row got a ton of wind in the recent Santa Anas, with the Kentia whipping around... but the Gigas looked fine. 👀 Only other anecdotal info I have is the fact that two at "Jungle Jacks" have been dead a LONG time and are still standing... A neighbor near me also had a post-flowering one in their yard for a couple years without incident. I wouldn't trust a Urens though!