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Mine has grown really well throughout our summer despite multiple days of extreme heat. Mine gets filtered light for most of the day; it’s on the south edge of a south facing garden (southern hemisphere) so larger palms in the garden give it a degree of protection but definitely does see at least brief periods of direct sun throughout the day.

I just found one in my neighborhood and knocked on the door to ask permission to take a picture. I ended up leaving with a huge cutting.

Thanks to all! The deed is done. It was still rocking around on those roots a little more than I'd like so I staked it at the base. It gets pretty windy around here in spring. Let the burn begin!

My graminofolia seed came from south America originally twice. The person i got them from has sinced passed away. I was aware of the papers above and the crosses. Many years ago i was sent a Chamaedorea schippi, it has been the slowest chamaedorea i have grown. The C graminifolia in Australia came from the seed i brought in. They do not have rhizomes like rhizomotosa, ,brachypoda or stolonifera. I will take some pictures to show the difference Regards Colin

Dale, thanks for the kind comments. This particular plant is well over 10 years old, a one gallon plant via Floribunda. I planted it on a hillside and like many plants, it just wasn’t getting enough water for many years. These plants had a tendency to increase in diameter a little bit without going vertical very much. About a year and a half ago I finally got the drip irrigation and fertilizer regimen all dialed in and most everything on the hillside started looking much better, super green, with really developed root systems. Plus, there’s just a lot of partial canopy going on in the backyard now. This seems to always help from having plants bleach out too much, especially in our low humidity environment. You mentioned the brown crown shaft, I’ve noticed that on mine as well!

This little Ceroxylon amazonicum endured a lot of stress to get to California eventually! I ordered it in 2025 directly from an Ecuadorian nursery. It ended up in Florida quarantine for weeks, then arrived in California bare-root, half-dead and bone-dry! I tented it in plastic and kept it in standing water for weeks. It's now putting out its second leaf. I've not had much success with this species in the past, but I'm trying again. This palm hates heat waves, so I'll probably keep it indoors in a pot for the future. Eventually it may end up at a Bay Area botanical garden like the C. sasaimae seedlings I grew in the past.

Allogoptera caudescens opening a new leaf is such an attractive sight.

I planted something. This means it's gonna snow next week. My bad! And yeah I made sure to dig deep, amended the hole with my bokashi compost and some gravel mixed with the clay and dug a few drainage trenches that'll eventually tie into the French drains where my Thai Giant colocasias are gonna go. An hour of work and I'm ready to die. Anyway don't put your flannel sheets away and this is all my fault. Also those are not weeds, those are native plants 😂

Here is our latest acquisition, a C. macrocarpa brought from SoCal through the efforts of @Darold Petty and Keith Jaeger (thanks to you both!), in roughly its eventual planting location, full sun much of the day. It's our biggest $75 palm ever and I'm super happy with it. Of course I'm eager to plant it, but normally I would acclimate it in part shade for a month or so. But I'm considering planting it out sooner, for these reasons: It's generally healthy, but it looks like a plant that just endured a 400 mile trip in the back of a U-Haul during our hottest March heat wave in history. It's way overgrown for its 5 gallon pot. During transport, a lot of soil spilled out and the top 3" or so of bare root was exposed. I topped it off and have been watering heavily, but as you can see, there is still a lot of exposed root. Absent a heat wave, the sun isn't that scorching here. It's sunny and 65° today, and it's supposed to stay that way for a while. What does the group think? Plant out now or not? Or, perhaps, transfer it to a bigger container? TIA for all advice.

Recently I visited the Botanical garden of Rome and could observe the Nannorhops ritchiana. I thought it would deserve a video (actually two to get the single whole plant). Enjoy

Not as scary as @peachy rampaging down your driveway with a shovel to dig them out! Lucky escape I say!

As you may have heard the islands have been pounded by one tropical low after another for about a week now. Seems to be finally over today. Here at the house we got about 20" in the past 10 days. That's a record. I've been tracking rain at the house for a long time and have records going back to 2004. Highest MONTHLY total before this month was 18" in March of '06. The average for March the past 21 years has been 3.33". Here is a long video of a walk I took between down pours. My usually DRY stream was flowing for days. Not to bad during the video but you can see from the silitng it was a LOT STRONGER during the down pours. Palms seem to be VERY HAPPY and so am I as I'm saving over $150 this month on my water bill. 20260320_084819.mp4

Oh, I survived ok... But I did have to get a new dog to guard my Hedy and Lepidorrachis. This breed is probably not as scary as a Pekinese though!

Gibraltar range one trust me!

Whack it in the ground, they take all sorts of conditions just add water. I just planted a group of three in very harsh conditions, I didn’t even water them no soil amendment just heeled them in. Give them 3 years and they’ll be looking good. But I assume you will tending your newly acquired Chambeyronia, so give it all the love it will take, amend the soil, water it in and locate it in 50/50 sun shade. There easy to grow up there with Bangalow palms but most of all dont fuss over it treat it like any other palm you have.

A nice Joey, followed by a iguanura sanderianum, and a iguanura broad leaf. All three got my attention in the greenhouse.

Paul I see what appears to be a giant bird of paradise in the background. They provide shade but can get messy. Instead, I used banana plants for quick growing shade west of my juvenile palms when planting my garden. They can be removed easier than the bird of paradise when the time comes but still provides some shade and wind break. I don't know how they will perform up there but thought it worthwhile for you to evaluate. Good luck with the Chambeyronia.

And all along you thought the wife had instructed you to clean up that part of the garden, not so it was the garden itself saying you need to clean up this mess I can’t grow like this with all this untidy clutter! But all in all a dam pretty good job done, very rewarding when you walk back through there now I bet! But I do see room for a row of chamaedorea adscendens in there alongside that pebble river ? Richard

Only like 9 more to go lol. I'm gonna keep 2 in the buckets to bring back in when it gets cold to see if I can get them to fruit. I know I've said this 8 times already but they seem so much smaller when there's not a ceiling for them to hit.

Dioon spinulosum cone

@Fusca I'm sorry I killed your washies. But I still need to figure out which crape myrtle is the white one and get some seedlings for you when they start to bloom again.

@Phoenikakias, here’s my Rubrum in SoCal. It was planted out 4yrs ago as a 20G from Bluebell and had 4 lines of trunk. Maybe 5ft total height. It’s grown substantially and rings are getting nice and wide. Always produces a super unique brown crown. It’s very hard to photo due to the Triangle behind it so I took a few. Pritchardia is growing out of a shock phase. -dale Bret, I think you’ve got the best looking one in SoCal. Hardly ever see these in gardens. Impossible to capture the beauty of the Florida grown plants here but yours looks how it’s supposed to look. 👍🏻

Indeed he did.

😂😂😂 Fixing to go throw a couple of your Giants where the dead washies are. It's also funny how plants look so much smaller when there isn't a ceiling for them to butt up against.

Closer up on that thing!

Can anyone advise what this is?

Phoenicophorium flowers must be somewhat appealing to the bees… IMG_4722.mov

This should be a good time to plant one . I don’t have the experience with them like Jim does but mine grows year round down here. They do burn a bit in full sun but lots of water helps . Mine is in full sun and it can get very warm here , about 20 miles inland . Since being on this forum and learning from the folks who grow them , mine doesn’t burn near as bad as it used to. Harry

Paul, I’d get it in the ground right away. These palms grow continuously here during the coolest part of winter so should do well for you there. Of my twelve flamethrower palms, six of them produced new red fronds between December and February. If your new one has been in sun or partial sun since before your purchase, it should be fine in the spot you’ve chosen. If you want to play it safe, you can drape some shade cloth over the palm while it’s settling in.

Thanks Kim. I tried searching on line and going through my books but couldn't find anything about corneri anywhere. I think I will wait and see which one grows faster and keep the other for an emergency gift when I am caught without one. As for cages, I had to bring 5 more of them out of storage as last spring's batch of baby budgies were all too gorgeous to sell. As for my nighties, I am sure you have one or two stashed away for those long cold lonely winter nights.

So after that last post, as we all know, mother nature went haywire and sent us the smackdown reminder of what an impact freeze would be like. My yard saw 28.9 in the open on the advective night with winds gusting to 40 mph or more (inland st Leo was a windy 21 or 22) with 24.6 the second night radiational freeze (the local airport in Brooksville was 17 in the cold hole). This was after a "pre event" advective 29 and light freeze after that did some damage some few days prior. A total this winter of 12 freezes spaced out from November to late February, with only 1 radiational below 29 and two others below 30 advective. The others were all radiational and above 29, with multiple frost events. No active heating for me, just sheets and blankets (thick comforters are great by the way). The wind was the worst case we could get with a baroclinic low and cold front, so I tried a weedmat windbreak and cover for the larger bed (it worked well in a decent amount of the garden). Everyone was covered for the radiational night in some form except the already pretty dead foxtail and all non palm plants. Damage is considerable, with all taking a hit but one: Surviving heavily damaged foxtail from last year unsurprisingly is dead, seedling in back fine (covered) Pseudophoenix sargentii defoliated except the center growth, with some leaf drop and crownshaft damage. New growth looks good so far. Took frost multiple times and did not care for it at all. Spindles, 2 Alive, one likely dead, all at high risk of death now Bottle defoliated under cover, new spear is good. Chrysalidocarpus lutescens mostly defoliated, some spear pulls Chambeyronia mostly defoliated but spears and new leaves ok Chrysalidocarpus lastellianus under cover did fine until I didn't cover it one frosty night that fried the exposed leaf Chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos is defoliated but should recover. advective wimp, defoliated at 29 and wind Chrysalidocarpus lanceolata did ok, lost two fronds and the rest are almost untouched. Carefully wrapped though. Impressive performance these last two years Cyphopheonix alba/nucele (I lost one to rot, and the tag on this one got kidnapped) fried except the spear, opened nicely since. Adonidia merellii defoliated with only weedmat to cover it, new spears open and fine. Surprised with this outcome. Chrysalidocarpus basilongus survived heavily damaged and even grew, then spear pulled after being watered (big mistake that's killed a few these two years, I'll keep them dry until the heat arrives next time) Potted Bismark I left out spear pulled but seems to be pushing something out, I'm leaving it to see. Chrysalidocarpus carlsmithii did fantastic under brush and a sweater, cold spotting but no big damage at 6 inches tall with many small fronds. Chrysalidocarpus titan: HUGE success, partly covered with a dead sabal frond, and the exposed spear and newest leaf (not on purpose) are untouched by the cold and deep green still. Spear opened like nothing happened a few weeks later. Big surprise and very excited to see that. Chrysalidocarpus Prestonianus moderate damage covered in brush and a bucket (bucket may be the mistake there) newest frond is fine the others are mostly brown. Beccariopheonix alfredii has light damage to an exposed spear but has done well, 2 feet tall still. All my other garden plants also took a hit, even some that I expected only defoliating died to the ground. Jamaican caper was the one good surprise there, aost untouched by the freeze. A seedling delonix regia also survived in the back. I feel mostly lucky with the results, considering what I see in spring hill and on others' posts here, I just can't look at Holiday and points south lol. You go inland the everything is damaged or killed, including queens and pygmy dates in the coldest spots. After the learning experience I will plant in a different way and add some plants in strategic spots for blocking the cold. The first windbreak is in, and the sabal wall goes in next behind it on either side of the septic drain field to create a second layer. With that area filled in the worst wind will be stopped, then the oak/sabal forest takes over and wind drops significantly. And canopy needs to be heavy and thick and well past the edge of fronds to stop frost damage. The front yard will be desert zone 9 stuff, and some special things like some newly planted Medemia argun seedlings. I have also ordered more cold tolerant seeds for palms, as well as some tropicals for the new greenhouse (the greenhouse plants saw 43 the coldest night). That will have the sensitive stuff until it can't stay there anymore and by then I hope to have a secret palm garden for them made somewhere in the forest.

hmmm. "Community."

Richard 2 is the way things are, either he wants to be in charge or he thinks cutting leaves is good for the plants.

This small Ceroxylon amazonicum was planted out as a 4” liner up here in Northern CA a few years ago. Seems happy enough but so slow. Who else is growing this species and please post photos. My fastest growing Ceroxylon is C. alpinum and looks close to showing some real trunk soon. C. amazonicum C. amazonicum

More general update of what things are looking like. C. macrocarpa is looking rough but is alive. Will cut its crispy fronds once it opens a spear.

First blooms on my Greyia sutherlandii. It was purchased a few year ago from a Bay Area nursery. Tends to drop all its leaves each winter where I live. Hope it will attract hummingbirds.

For the collectors here that are interested in hybrid palm trees, I have an online mail-order store with a few of my rare crosses. I'm certified to ship in-container to all lower 48 states and also internationally with phyto (extra fee). https://seabreezenurseries.com

Hello everyone, I received some spores a month ago from @quaman58 and @realarch. This is my process of sowing these spores. First, I put one frond on a piece of paper with the spore side down. I continued this with the other fronds. I left it in a cool, dark place until the spores release from the fronds. Second, I separated the spore casings from the spores with a folded piece of paper. I gently tap the paper until the casing fall off. The spores should have a dust-like appearance. Third, I used a microwaveable food container and filled it with pure peat. I didn’t add drainage holes or ventilation holes to prevent contamination. I moistened the peat with distilled water and microwaved for 5 minutes or whenever it steams to sterilize the media. The peat should be moist to the touch and not sopping. Let the peat cool overnight with the lid on. Fourth, I sprinkled the spores evenly on the surface making sure to not to sow too much or too little. You should be able to barely see a faint of orange on surface. I then placed the containers in a shaded location with temps ranging from 70f to 80f. Around a month later every container started showing signs of mossy growth. These are the gametophytes, which is the first stage of growth. That’s all for now, will update until more happens.

Those Nor Cal boys cleaned up! It was an honor and pleasure meeting a couple Palmtalk legends and thanks for your business👍🙏. I am down to just 2-3 gal. “True blue” Arenarius and just liners of Horridus. Still have good quantities of 15 gal. “True blue” Arenarius and most other plants listed. Lots of Nubis, Ferox, Hybrids etc.

40F this morning. I was concerned it would drop lower than the forecasted 39F/40F considering it was already 42F by 10 PM, but the temperature hit 40F and maintained thru sunrise. Highs in the 80s expected this weekend into next week. We will have highs in the 90s and heat index values well over 100F before we know it. Gonna try to use these low 80s days to get as much labor intensive projects done that I can before heat settles in within the next couple of months. Happy planting if you haven't already!

Though this Feb freeze was the coldest around Orlando since the 12/89 freeze it was no where near as bad. For those who weren't here or forgot, some examples of what happened to "hardy" palms in 12/89...(2 nights at 19-20F, the hi in between barely reaching 32F so duration was extreme and 1-2 nights after in the upper 20s) Acrocomia aculeata- killed Acrocomia totai- severe burn Arenga engleri (a few around)- severe foliage damage, some stems killed back X Butyagrus nabonnandii- varied from no damage to severe burn Chamaedorea microspadix- some leaf burn Livistona chinensis- had burned foliage Livistona australis- some foliage burn Livistona decora ( a few were around)- severe foliage burn Phoenix canariensis- some foliage burn on some specimens Phoenix sylvestris- some burned leaves Phoenix reclinata (non hybrid)- dead or killed to the roots Phoenix roebelenii- almost were killed (many had perished in 83 and 85) Phoenix rupicola- most had died in 83 or 85, if not 89 killed them (one survived in Epcot , planted in 1984 and some by Pirates of the Caribbean planted back in the 70s, but very protected microclimates, the Epcot specimen is still there with a constriction in the trunk marking 89) Rhapis excelsa- most killed to the roots Syagrus romanzoffiana- most were killed if they had survived 83 and 85, the robust/southern Brazil forms survived Washingtonia robusta- burned foliage tropical palms like Chrysalidocarpus lutescens and Caryota urens killed back to the roots, many died outright, a few surprisingly came up in 1990 after being knocked back in 83,85 and 89 Everything else tender, Archontophoenix, Howea, Cocos, Adonidia, Ptychosperma, Roystonea, Hyophorbe, Latania, Licuala, Coccothrinax, Thrinax, all killed A few surprises around; Attalea rostrata and Arenga pinnata at Leu Gardens survived all 3 80s freezes (defoliated in all 3), both planted in 1973 A juvenile Copernicia macroglossa defoliated but survived in Maitland and the collector had Livistona australis die, he recorded 17F on the north side of Lake Maitland A mature Roystonea regia at an appx 15 story building downtown growing in a U shaped courtyard facing south survived 83 and 85, it had major burn but grew out but died around 1987(unknown reason), also Syagrus romanzoffiana and Phoenix reclinata survived the same freezes there with only moderate burn and mature Heptapleurum actinophyllum (Schefflera) only had partial dieback

Dallas palms

That’s awesome Stacy! Right after I moved to this house in 1997 someone walking by noticed all the palms I was planting from our old house . He said he had some “prickly” type palms on the side of his house that he was gonna cut down but if I wanted them I could take them . They had about 2’ of trunk , two together. I literally had to get on my butt and dig as the slope was so steep . Lost a lot of the roots but managed to get them home . They didn’t even flinch , started growing almost immediately. Those will make someone happy in their new home. Harry Here they are now , greeting me as I come through my gate on the side of our house. I think of that day , 29 years ago , digging them up and dragging them UPHILL to my little Toyota pick up. When they get tall , no “prickly “ , it’s all overhead! Harry

I actually found a taker!!! A legit Palm reseller here in San Diego wants them. He took a look at them last week, and is coming Thursday to haul ‘em away! I shouldn’t be so sentimental, but it feels great to know they’ll be saved. 🥹 Better yet, the root ball will be removed, so adding their (more exotic) replacements will be a little easier. Yay! 🎉

Not a stupid question. Spore germination is quite an intricate process involving many steps. To put into simple terms each individual spore will produce what’s known as a gametophyte. A gametophyte is basically a heart shaped leaf containing male organs on the top and female organs on its underside. Once the gametophyte has matured, the male organs will start releasing sperm which will swim to the underside of the leaf where the female organs are, or on other gametophytes. Once fertilized, it will reach the sporophyte stage. This is when the first true frond will emerge. Some examples: So what you’re seeing right now are the early stages of gametophyte development. There are thousands of individual plant crowded together and will compete with each other for light and space. This carpet of moss will eventually thin themselves out leaving the strongest to survive.

Update:

Well you’re gunna need a bigger boat! That’s a lot of seeds and a lot of time and space involved in such a project, you’re little science project has taken on a new level from a small laboratory to full on Dr Frankenstein set up (insert Mel brooks movie here) Time to hit up the old happypalms vault and do a bit of research on a few back issue posts. Dont get overwhelmed by so many seeds it’s easy, community pots or box’s, baggie method your decision. That many seeds myself styrofoam box’s with lids (etoliation method) if no bottom heating plastic bags will help you out for a bit of extra heat. Good luck keep us all posted!

thank you very much for your explinations and Informations. also a wonderful type of palm. 🤗😀

They are not fast growing palms but I would not call them very slow either. Mine were all bought in 13 cm pots with an over all height of 20 - 25 cm. 4 years later I have them in 40cm pots and they are between 1.2 metres and 1.4. I am able to grow them outdoors so they probably are slower growing indoors. Peachy