Leaderboard

Little update on the bondaria and she is doing well.

A top little miniature palm, easy to grow they flower pretty well much after a couple years of growing. Cool tolerant growing as far south as Sydney. Somewhat dry tolerant, perfect shade understory palm, patio, greenhouse and mist likely indoors. Very predictable growth pattern and they will fit into pretty well much any space available. The perfect miniature palm. And yes @gyuseppe I shall be thinking of you for a few seeds. And @tim_brissy_13 have tried this little beauty in your backyard refrigerator.

I have 4 planted around the yard. These two put out after years in pots back in 2021 when Covid was giving me plenty of time to clear and build terraces. On that single behind them is my Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. 'hookeri' planted out about the same time. Any way after clearing grass that blocked the path for the past month and a half I discovered that some how the soil must have softened w/all the rain in March n April and something caused the to lean toward each other. LOL Can't wait till the get taller and cross. LOL

These are cool palms. The swollen base is really cool looking; they just don’t seem to reach their potential in my climate. I suspect you’ll have way better luck!

They are a nice palm with that chamaedorea look, I planted one in the ground the other day.

Yep I’ve got C tenella going well here Richard. Similar size to yours shown. Like yours, they flowered after only a couple of years from seed, both females though unfortunately so no viable seed. Just checked today and they’re sending out new inflorescences again for the next season. No issues down here in the fridge. Photo from a year ago. They’re a bit larger now.

Finally got around to cutting the 3-4 foot high grass around this palm and the trail leading to it. Not the best lighting but it's HEALTHY. Bought a 1 gallon plant from FB back in 2020. Here is is 6 years later. First two show the grass that grew WILD after 21" of rain in March and 5 more in April. Cleaned it up yesterday.

This has become a handsome medium sized palm with a nice colored crown shaft after leaf sheath drop. It was acquired as C. malcomberi in a 1 gal. container in late 2011 and still not convinced of the ID. Anyway, here are a few photos from last week. Tim

My Encephalartos longifolius is growing both in longitude and latitude with these two flushes.

Big sister or brother is further into the flush so it's leaflets will begin to darken to a deep green as they harden. Which of the two do you prefer? This one or it's sibling across the driveway?

There’s a lot I can’t grow and there’s a lot I have killed trying, iam quite happy to black sandy soil, and a lot of sandstone rocks in my soil. Plus the ocean influence, my elevation is around 130 meters. So quite a unique microclimate, a palm growers paradise close to halfway in between Sydney and Brisbane.

If ever there was a little cute palm to fall in love with then this is the princess for me in the Palm kingdom omg it’s so cute I purchased 5 seeds from rps and got one but what a winner it is.

They are a nice duo you got there, if I collect any pollen will send it down to you, keep it in the refrigerator if the girls are not ready. The three I have in my greenhouse come from eBay, so I know they are the real deal, and requested a male plant in the last eBay purchase. I got lucky!

Livistona Australis, a pslm I can’t fault for ease of growing with them being native to my backyard.

Hers a nice little batch I germinated from RPS seeds,

Yes I am. One of the few in So Cal still doing it. I have tons of nice stuff. About 30 species of Chamaedoreas.....

Couple favorites: Encephalartos Longifolius x Latifrons Encephalartos Arenarius x Latifrons -dale

Getting ready to pot up the next generation of Buccaneer palms! Somebody has to grow them, right? 😄 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Dendrobium gracilicaule ssp howeana bloomed a few weeks back. Now it is loaded with seed pods. I haven't taken the time to learn how to germinate these properly so will probably just try spreading some seeds on the bases of where I grow other epiphytes and let nature work or not.

Here’s mine growing in Phoenix!! So if you treat them right they are tough palms!!

Both of these have needles on the trunks . The rest of the photos most probably are Needle Palms ( Rhapidophylum Hystix)

Pinanga sarawakensis for a splash of colour!

The color of Arenga Engleri inflorescence. Harry

More red! Dypsis rosea opening a new leaf.

You're in luck... I put a dozen Bucanneer palms up for sale this February in 5 gallon pots. Still have 6 left currently. Definitely a viable, (albeit slow growing), palm for the desert.🌴 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Great looking palm , but they just have that “tricky to grow” look. I don’t know what it is , just has that look. Harry

Yes

@chgrim Welcome to Palmtalk ! Joe always has great palms at reasonable prices. Also, you are welcome to visit my tiny, 43 year old palm garden.

Hi Harry how’s it growing. I might actually try and measure the tallest one it could even be 8 meters. And they are fast growing, super sun tolerant and quite a nice palm. I have planted two clusters of them do they look like a crazy bamboo clump and they will set seeds more easily this way. Richard

That whole genus is cool!

Iam a zone pusher so I feel different about the cold when it comes to palms. Yes certain palms I won’t try for obvious reasons, but I would say I have discovered more palms suitable to cool climate than I have lost to cool weather. I guess that there is a big difference in the word cool tolerant than there is in cold tolerant. And your climate is a cold one not a cool climate. Also knowing your microclimate and garden is one key to success, and you know your garden and microclimate better than me, but I would still try one myself!

Thats what I call smart planting. Good choice .

I'm surprised they actually look decent. This winter took a toll on the palms but most of them recovered fast as always. My opinion , Palmettos and Butias are the best looking in SA. Evergreen !!!

Areca dwarf loas

Metroxylon seedling looking robust.

Dave, I ditto a lot of the same recommendations as @Tracy. I do think Hedyscepe and Ambositrae are fantastic growers in my area. Do they get “too big”….maybe. But you b will get many years of beauty before you need to worry about the power lines. They are an average grower, not like Archontophoenix that grow feet per year. I’d say plant away but know your previous Hedy or Ambo may require removal in 20yrs. Pritchardia Minor, Bentinkia Condapanna, Pinanga Javana, and Hyophorbe Indica are all winners as well. You could also get away with planting a clumping Dypsis like Heteromorpha or Lanceolata as well. They don’t get massively tall (less than 20’) and are fantastic looking. Subsidizing palms for Encephalartos is a winning combination. Some big Encephalartos like Whitelockii, Ituriensis, or Kisambo get very tall if kept upright. You’re talking decades before those would be a concern. HB is prime location for growing Encephalartos. All of mine seem very happy. Cordyline, Plumeria, Heliconia etc all excel as companion plants. My lot is fairly small @ 6500sqft so my gardens are cramped. I know without a doubt I will have to dig plants out as they mature but that’s ok. I knew the job when I took it. If I can get 20yrs out of a plant, I will be very happy. I completely understand I’m the outlier and not the rule though. HB is prime palm tree, cycad and tropical plant growing conditions. So many possibilities. -dale Bentinkia Condapanna Pinanga Javana Dypsis Ambositrae Hyophorbe Indica

Here's some rare Dactyliferas that survived 2021 in SA.

Four dypsis louvelli about to show off what they are known for.

East facing backyard garden. This is really my prime location. Gets the morning sun, warms up relatively quickly but then protected from afternoon sun. New Caledonian and Oceanic species seem to love it. Some things it here which aren’t known to grow in Melbourne elsewhere doing well. Cyphophoenix nucele Bentinckia condapanna Chambeyronia divaricata Euterpe edulis ‘Orange Crownshaft’ Chambeyronia oliviformis Pritchardia napaliensis Hyophorbe indica ‘Red / Southern Form’. Only 4 years from seed, getting too large to capture well in photos. Chambeyronia macrocarpa var hookeri Pritchardia martii settling in after a rough start in ground. Chamaedorea woodsoniana big male getting ready for its Spring pollen spreading. The crownshaft of this one always bulges heavily this time of year. Chrysalidocarpus baronii Black Petiole/Vokona Lodge Chambeyronia macrocarpa var flavopicta Cyphophoenix elegans. One of my favourites in my garden. Very large and great colours.

Not under the powerlines though. My guess is about 14 to 15 years before a 1 gallon will hit the powerlines. My sun exposure Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae is about 10 or 11 years in the ground from a 1 gallon and it will hit that height in another 4 to 5 years, so give it head room. Cocothrinax do well here but won't be a height problem. Arenga engleri cap out on height so are well suited for positioning under those powerlines. You get the added bonus of their fragrant flowers this time of year.

A touch of colour in paradise!

Apparently there are two varieties as others have said, but I like the look of the Vietnam variety, but I will be happy with my Thai variety! They seem easy and very compact palm for a specific spot in the landscape. I like them. Richard

This is a Mountain Pear

After one night of 1⁰C and another one of 0⁰C for some hours.

Very cute palm, Richard. It should do well for you. I have just one too. Very slow grower here in my area but it produces very pretty red fronds a few time per year. I planted it in the ground when it was two years old.

Very nice Richard. I got 100 seeds from RPS and have only had about 6 or 7 sprout, and a few of those were eaten by rodents. I’ll be treating my remaining few very carefully. G bondariana is now formally G pohliana subsp. pohliana.

Bo, Congratulations on an almost single handed effort to conserve this species. I took these phots in Fiji at the Raymond Burr garden, where they have something like 10-20 and also have a program to preserve them. The mother tree:

The individual above, BTW, is in the group that's protected from wind and it is also in mostly shade. The other group is completely exposed, and here's a group shot of some of them. There are more but they are not visible in this photo. A total of 9 Pelagodoxas are visible, even though one of them is tough to see; only the trunk is (barely) visible, to the right of the Pelagodoxa that's just to the left of the Metroxylon warburgii (all the way on the right)!