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The first ring on my California grown Chrysalidocarpus robustus. I don't recall seeing any other big specimens here in California. Thanks to visiting the Big Island I have seen some tall specimens which put my juvenile plant in perspective.

Pinanga caesia may suffer from overexposure on PT, but mine only recently started blooming so the novelty hasn't worn off yet. I still get startled when I walk by when a new inflorescence is about to open. The entire tree is Technicolor, but the blooms dial it up to 11.The deep red covering (bract?) only stays on for a few hours. After it falls away, the soft pink flower buds are exposed for less than a day. First thing the next morning the flowers open to a cloud of bees. After only a few hours all the flowers have fallen to the ground leaving just the bare violet rachilia that might go on to make fruit, if I'm lucky. I wonder what role the intense colors play. I assume the bees are attracted to some fragrance, not the color, but I really don't know. I could believe brightly colored fruit attracts birds for seed dispersal, but that is months down the road. No matter, it is an impressive, albeit brief, show. Palmpedia says this species is difficult in California. I hope people on the mainland are able to find a protected spot in their garden that can provide the right microclimate for this beautiful palm. If you are going to try zone pushing, might as well swing for the fences. I hear that this is one of the taller Pinangas,. I'll need to keep adding another baby every few years so I always have eye level blooms.

A nifty diminutive palm from New Guinea, Hydriastele rheophytica. Loves water hence, the name, and sparsely clumping. I remember Brad posting a photo of one in his garden not too long ago. Tim

Planted in 2015 as a 5 gallon

Young Nepenthes ‘briggsiana’ a cross between Nepenthes lowii and ventricosa.

That’s awesome Tracy. I think my winters are too cold for it here so I’ll be sticking with Prestonianus and Dacaryi as my big boy Chrysalidocarpus in my garden.

Welcome to PalmTalk! If those two palms were transplanted without big root balls, then they easily could show this much transplant stress. Right now, I think watering at least briefly once a day is not too much. I think those two palms may look rough for months, but then they may start to grow vigorously. Washingtonia are tough, and they transplant well. Do you have other Washingtonia in your neighborhood, understanding that Houston suffered a severe freeze in Feb. 2021? Good for you for renting a home and caring this much about your landlord's palms!

I have a lot of affection for this elegant palm. And the seeds are so pretty, too!

How big is it now? Mines about this size right now.

Looking so nice recently. Tim

Turns out nobody had a 15 or even a 5g so we got this little guy from Flora Grubb, at a typically dear FG price. But it’s in the ground! Hopefully it’s as fast growing as they say.

Juvenile Latania lontaroides. They do not stay red in humid Florida long:

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated:

Recently purchased this 7g “weepy form” of C. Onihalensis from Chip Jones Nursery. I’ve read a few posts from people having a hard time growing these in Florida, albeit, in areas a bit warmer than north Orlando. The specimen at Leu Gardens looks great. I also have a smaller “upright form” I’d like to plant out as well. Anyone have any successes with these in ground in Florida? And if so what soil/sun exposure has been the trick?

I will have to do a check of old photos, but it was shortly after we added the outdoor shower in 2015. I can't recall if I ever potted it up after I bought it from George Sparkman as either a 3 or squat 5 gallon.

Thank you Merlyn. I agree about the questionable Macaw. I took pictures of the trunk, which is without spines. The leaf structure is also an issue per Palmpedia. The other palm in the front above the Cocothrinax is a mystery!

Agree with Ryan. Fruit has a delicious sweet sour taste and 2 seeds per fruit. Skin is thicker than a grapes, and rubbery to chew on, so just spit it out. Wish my tree produced bigger crops, but the fruits I get are still a treat nonetheless. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

I bought a lot of Sabal seeds they all grew and have the typical heel but this one has not and looks different!! Any ideas?

Have met his nephew and wife who are in Bochum in his apartment right now ... his last words were for his Lytos and me ... And now? Have loaded 3 larger and one really large L. weddelianum + 2 L. itapebiense (one mid-sized, 1 seedling) and a L. hoehnei into my car ... this was the last promise I gave him; to take care on his "babies", as long as I am alive. Heaven was crying on my way back, much of rain came down ... 😪

Happy Easter everyone! Jesus has risen! I hope everyone has a great day spending time with family and worshiping God!.

Happy Easter... Butch

Hey @Fal! My group of Archontophoenix by my pool is doing OK since the freeze, but I did intervene by using a burn barrel during our coldest night at 23degrees. All are pushing new spears luckily. I have a few other smaller Archontophoenix around the yard that were not protected, and they’re not looking as great right now with a few spear pulls. The cunninghamiana’s held more green in the leaflets competed to the other species I have including alexandrae, maxima, myolensis, tuckeri, and Purperea. There is a palm sale coming up at SJBGNP on May 2nd. I will be there with 1-3 gallon Archontophoenix for sale. With 4 awesome palm vendors in attendance, there may be over 100 different species available for purchase. I highly recommend checking it out. -Alex Steeg

That is a large specimen ! How long has that been in the ground there? Harry

Some form of Cocothrinax in front of a cluster of MacArthur palms. Please help me with ID's and corrections.

My friend claims this is an Areca catechu dwarf. I believe it is a simple Areca catechu:

Satakentia liukiuensis:

Florida Thatch Palm:

Bottle Palm that DoomsDave may recall:

Shot of the same palm from another direction:

A nice white cat opened just in time for easter! Lightly scented. This one is a reliable spring bloomer that has bloomed 4 years in a row for me. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Dendrobium anosum popped yesterday, and Bulbophyllum falcatum has 3 spikes in bloom

Raging waters in the valley I hike in. Following are some pictures of an old "swimming" spot just below a small dam build over 100 years ago to divert water into a pipe for the sugar cane growing lower in the valley. The water during the storm must have been 15 feet or higher. Not shown there was an area where people camped, cooked on a wood fire and relaxed. That area is now a field of small boulders. I'll get a picture next time I'm up there. I dug back in my files and found a photo from 2023 that shows the area back then. People use to jump off that big rock into a pool about 7' deep. Now there are two HUGE boulders where the pool use to be and perhaps a new pool below them.

Yummy. Flavor varies. It tastes like a sweet grape to me. You plop the whole thing in your mouth, eat the fruit then spit out the seed or seeds. The skin is edible but can be tough to chew. Also makes an incredible jam or jelly if you are into preserving and get a lot of fruit you can't eat. Some new and interesting varieties are appearing. Ryan

Late march 2026. Goodbye winter!!!

Some nice colour on this Butia odorata inflorescence.

yep when well watered and fed these get thick trunks. My largest is 14 years int he ground from a 3 gallon.

Here's a spring 2024 update, in the same photo order as the 11/3/2019 post. These are about 5.5 years from ~5' tall big 3 gallon plantings. The front yard one is still the smallest, but is around 15 feet tall: The East side of the house has the biggest, and at about 20' tall is very close to trunking. The backyard SE pair is towering over everything nearby, here is one of them crowding a 5' tall Chamaerops Humilis: And the SW center of the bed is my favorite placement out of the big ones:

Sad news. Condolences to the family

What in the world is this:

Interesting looking plant! How fruit taste?

Outstanding assortment of palms! So many real cool Copernicia's, Tahina and Medemia. Personal favorite is the large Cocothrinax borhidiana! Much bigger than the specimen at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens!

2026 update...and yep, still thriving! The overall width on the last several sets of fronds has widened substantially, with them starting to encroach on my Syagrus campylospatha. Also, comparing the trunk height, the new growth appears to me to be emerging several inches taller; last years shows about at eye height on the statue, this year eyebrow height.

I met Walt briefly at a Fairchild Gardens palm sale over twenty-five years ago. Shortly thereafter, he began posting on the Forum. I always greatly enjoyed his posts. They were deep and thorough, especially after a cold event. The Lake Placid area is beautiful. It is atypical of Florida in. it's rolling hills and numerous lakes. Walt identified with clinical precision the nature of his climate together with microclimates located nearby. At the Fairchild Gardens sale, Walt was not just looking around, but was actively purchasing many many palms. while I am certain that he experienced many disappointments, he was always willing to test the edges. I can remember one time after a freeze in Lake Placid, he could only ponder how is neighbor only miles away, but on the lease side of the lake, did not lose that voluptuous Coco nucifera. Well, he learned and planted under the large oak canopy and tamed the beast. I loved his YouTube presentations. So laid-back, articulate and cool. My heart goes out to his wife, Cathy. I am certain that she is a very special person. God bless her and Walt.

Snow covered trachycarpus fortunei

Rio Rancho, NM z7b

I haven't been down there for 25 years would you believe ? I have a lot of relatives there, yet another reason to keep away. My grandparents built and operated the first motel on the Gold Coast, the Pink Poodle for many years. I used to visit Nana in her high rise at Main Beach until she croaked about 15 years ago. Guilt motivated as I never really liked her. I think the plane fare to Gaza would be cheaper than the toll roads to Surfers these days Peachy

Santa Clarita has a wonky interior climate with a bit of everything, including some really strong occasional cold, and that will limit your choices, but the canopy will save you a lot of winter damage, probably in all but the really bad years. You don't state how much vertical clearance you have, but I assume it's under average-size trees. I'd strongly recommend the various Lytocaryum (especially L. hoehnei and L. weddelianum). They are extremely beautiful, stay to a perfect small size, under even quite low canopy, and in fact really need shade in interior climates, at least they do here in the Palm Springs area. L. hoehnei seems the strongest in my hot-summer area, so I'm sure it would do well for you. As everyone has noted above, you have a lot of choices (you could probably fill acres with all the species of Chamaedorea alone). I would particularly recommend Rhapis multifida and Chamaedorea brachypoda, also Chuniophoenix (both species), all of which are aesthetically choice plants with unique foliage-shapes, multi-use for design purposes, and do well here for me in the sizzling low desert, and can even take a bit of sun in a hot interior climate. I'd also recommend for strong visual character: - Arenga engleri (can be used as a specimen, or background en masse) - Livistona saribus (cold-hardier green-thorn type; excellent as a specimen in youth, requiring space around its spreading crown) - Caryota monostachya (useful for modest-sized massing with its unusual foliage, or as a texture-break) All of the above are capable of surviving significant freezing weather under canopy (to mid-20s, anyway) with minimal damage. Keeping a lot of clustering species can hedge a wipeout in a bad year (a la 1990) because they can return from the roots. And you will probably want a lot of Chamaedorea radicalis, the hardiest of the genus, and which will look lovely in shade as a sort of ground-cover en masse, and also can take a surprising amount of sun. And don't neglect consideration of tough cycads like Ceratozamia latifolia or C. mexicana, or Dioon edule, which are super cold-hardy and love shade.

Hello RRP have been told there is 2 forms, one is much taller than the other. Mine are about 1.8 to 2m tall. some people may get them mixed up with younger C.Hooperiana that grows to 4m and can seem similar, when they flower they are very different. If you see them at the nursery, counting the leaflets before referring to Don Hodels book may help regards colin