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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

Royals as the sun goes down:

Chamaerops humilis Vulcano Brahea moorei @Jonathan Haycock Chrysalidocarpus pilulifer x madagascariensis F1 Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus hybrid (possibly x pembanus or x cabadae F1). Love the colours on this beast especially when it gets wet. One palm that just doesn’t look like it belongs down here on the freezer, just looks so tropical.

A nice young dictyosperma conjugatum.

Chrysalidocarpus lutescens Chrysalidocarpus decipiens Brahea dulcis Sabal minor in fruit Chrysalidocarpus madagascariensis Archontophoenix myolensis Jubaeopsis afra Trithrinax (brasiliensis var) acanthocoma Chamaerops humilis var argentea

West facing front yard - not a huge amount of space out front but I’ve packed a fair bit in. Most of this garden gets hot afternoon sun in summer. Positions up against the house seem to retain warmth as well as anywhere so it’s suitable for marginal species. There’s a heavy bias towards Madagascan species here, only somewhat intentionally. Chrysalidocarpus cabadae x madagascariensis F1 (L) and C pembanus x madagascariensis F1 (R) Chrysalidocarpus malcomberi Schippia concolor behind one of my favourite bromeliads, Vriesea hieroglyphica Brahea Super Silver Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae Chrysalidocarpus baronii Bismarckia nobilis Chrysalidocarpus decaryi x leptocheilos F1

Now for my South facing garden on the blind side of my house. Not much space or sun here, so Chamaedorea sp are well suited. Chamaedorea oblongata Chuniophoenix nana Chamaedorea arenbergiana x nationsiana F1 Chamaedorea ernesti-augustii Chamaedorea anemophila. Chamaedorea liebmannii Chamaedorea metallica Chamaedorea brachypoda Chamaedorea elatior fronds recently served as a nice rodent snack. Thankfully they left the growth points and it’s making a recovery.

West facing backyard garden now. This garden isn’t protected by the retained warmth of the house and cops fairly intense afternoon sun. About half the length of this garden is tricky to keep moist due to a neighbour’s massive P canariensis sucking up the moisture. I mainly plant quite hardy species here. Future plans include some of the rare Trachycarpus and Chamaedorea sp once there’s a bit more canopy. Arenga micrantha @Jonathan Chamaedorea alternans Ceroxylon echinulatum Chamaedorea radicalis tree form. Gets tall fast! Chamaedorea plumosa Laccospadix australasica Arenga disticha A pair of Trachycarpus sp Nova behind the bromeliad Cyphophoenix elegans

Car shot on Phoenix canariensis:

Clinostigma samoense is no slouch. That's it for now folks. I'll update this thread with more palms in due course.

I'm told this is Calyptrocalyx hollrungii. Such a pretty palm.

One of my favourites, Dypsis scottiana. Shame to see some have been vandalised, but this one is doing well.

I’m just lucky with my T princeps. Don’t really give it any special attention and it’s not in a particularly protected spot but it just keeps looking better. It must just like the climate here with an extended cool season. It doesn’t mind the occasionally extreme heat so I’d say you’re right; probably long periods of heat and humidity they wouldn’t love. Yes - the T nanus x princeps was yours Jonathan. I probably planted it at a smaller size than ideal, but it’s finally starting to look like something now. Growth habit has been cheeping in that typical T nanus way so far. The S bermudana pictured was also from you, and there’ll be a couple more of yours to come in updates of other areas of the garden.

Don't think I've created a thread on this garden before so I'll start documenting its palms, commencing with a some that stood out over the weekend. Can’t help but admire this island of Adonidia merrillii each time we walk past.

Great pics , thank you. Harry

Both these Pigafetta elata looked terrible after planting last year, but are really starting to come good now.

Chamaerops humilis 'Vulcano'.

My son loves peeling spent leaf bases, as do we all. Carpoxylon macrospermum

The Cyphophoenis nucele will grow to be a beautiful specimen Harry. Mine has several years of growth ahead of yours so is a nice preview of what to expect. Separately, what caught my eye in the garden this morning were some flowers in different states of development. First on a Burretiokentia koghiensis, then some blue and red orchids growing adjacent to each other. Cleisocentrum gokusingii (merrillianum) are the blue flowers and fragrant Maxillaria tenufolia is the red flower.

My little Cyphophoenix Nucele has been in the ground 11 months and it is opening its second frond. This one takes a while for the frond to fully open . Harry On the right side is the frond that opened about 5 months ago , much larger than the other fronds . The lower , yellowing frond will be trimmed off after the new frond fully opens. this view clearly shows how each frond is getting noticeably larger with wider leaves. I guess it’s happy in a spot that only sees a couple of hours of morning sun . This is a palm I had never heard of , so a bit of a gamble . I am expecting similar growth habits to Chambeyronia .

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.

Moving on to the North facing little nook outside my back door. I use this space for some of my marginal species as it gets reflected heat off the North facing brick but is still somewhat protected to the West from the deck and pergola. Chrysalidocarpus lanceolatus Gaussia maya Dypsis rosea. This frond has been red for months. Chambeyronia oliviformis Chrysalidocarpus arenarum Chrysalidocarpus arenarum crownshaft and petiole detail. Love these colours.

Growing season pretty much over now in Melbourne, so time for some updates. Starting with the South facing backyard garden. Generally cooler climate stuff growing in here: Archontophoenix myolensis getting very large now. Howea belmoreana to the left, Chamaedorea hooperiana to the right. Hedyscepe canterburyana Lepidorrhachis mooreana pair. Pleasantly surprised with how they coped with multiple 40C+ days and a couple around 44C/111F. Didn’t stop growing over summer. Chuniophoenix hainanensis. Slow here, but happy enough. Oraniopsis appendiculata getting (too?) large A couple of Chambeyronia divaricata settling in nicely. Linospadix apetiolatus (left) and L microcaryus (right). I like the contrast of the entire fronds and finely divided leaflets of these two. Caryota monostachya Ceroxylon alpinum Archontophoenix purpurea. Possibly the nicest colour a palm can produce in my climate.

Cyphophoenix elegans and nucele do well in the coastal zone as does Clinostigma savoryanum. Maybe my neighbor a couple of blocks away, Billy or Dale in HB, can share their experience growing Bentinckia condapanna in the region impacted by the marine layer. I think they will be positive comments.

Beautifull. Will this palm handles the direct sun with the heat in the 40s during summer?

🌴🌴🦜🦜🗿

Thank you, it was pretty late at night when I was messaging with them and then this morning I was more awake and realized it was fishy lol

Joeys can tricky or can be very simple. Iam going with simple and easy. I have had them just up and die for no reason other then root fungus in containers. Iam backing of the water in containers now realising my mistake of overwatering them. So a little surface drying won’t hurt them. Drainage is the key to joeys. My ones in the ground can and will drink as much as I give them, I have black sandy soil so super good drainage, so much do it can be a problem in dry times. I have joeys sitting permanently in shallow trays of water and they love it. Tender roots yes so grow them on bench’s, I have successfully transplanted joeys from the ground. Two lived from four so doable but delicate. All in all dont fuss over them treat them like any other palm. The biggest mistake is fussing over them, they do like humidity. I fertilise my joeys with seasol liquid fertiliser, and use a soil fungicide called Agrifos but not continuously (phytotoxic). They detest drying out and dry low humidity. Last picture is one I just put in the ground without any irrigation or watering to see what would happen, well I know what happened in my climate!

Yeah it looks like we are flipping into summer mode later next week. AIFS (Euro AI) has modelled 31C / 88F in London, in May, although that is further down the line… This has been such a weird spring. Pretty warm and dry, but with a 10 day period in mid-May with below average temps and late radiation frosts for me here. If it wasn’t for that, it would have been pretty good for me. Anyway the Canadian GEM is the first model I have personally seen 35C / 95F modelled on for the UK this year, again in May. Almost certainly won’t happen. But one to watch…

Very small. The fruit is described as 9x11mm. I haven’t seen a description of the seed, but typically for Chamaedorea the seed is much smaller than the fruit.

🌴🌴🌴🦜🦜🗿

Calyptrocalyx elegans

North facing backyard garden away from the house. These palms need to cope with hot sun and frost. Not much protection from anything here. Jubaea chilensis Brahea calcarea Beccariophoenix alfredii (left) and a Syagrus sp from S sancona seed many years ago which isn’t. I think I’ve narrowed down to S orinocensis, S picrophylla or S oleracea. Arenga engleri. Slow grow here. Sabal bermudana Chrysalidocarpus sp bef. Never been completely happy this one, possibly too exposed and planted too small. Pritchardia maideniana looking great now. This is a tough palm. Phoenix rupicola. My only Phoenix in my collection (mostly by choice due to size constraints)

Syagrus weddeliana Trachycarpus princeps Liospadix monostachya Ceroxylon vogelianum Trachycarpus nanus x princeps F1. Slow but finally putting out divided fronds. Ceroxylon quindiuense Pritchardia minor Chrysalidocarpus baronii ‘Black Petiole/Vokona Lodge’ Group of 4 Chamaedorea tepejilote ‘Yellow Inflorescence’ Parajubaea tvt getting monstrous. Size 11 for scale Parajubaea sunkha Rhopalostylis sapida ‘East Cape/Fine Leaf’ Chamaedorea benziei Chamaedorea nubium Ceroxylon amazonicum

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Gaussia princeps and any of the Hyophorbe will grow in the coastal zone. Give Hyophorbe lagenicaulis reflected heat from a wall for best results. Pseudophoenix sargentii is another Cthat will be slow enough to not cause problems for closer to 3 decades in a height constricted position. If you have headroom for something bigger in a spot, Chrysalidocarpus decipiens does well along the coast from Ventura to Point Loma at a minimum.

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.

Three great palms getting my attention roscheria melanochaetes chamaedorea adscendens, linospadix monostachya and kerriodoxa elegans carpoxylon macrospermum

Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana, not to worried about the cool wet conditions.

A lot of red, with 5 hokoeri in a row!

Dave, I am a little suspicious as to which palms that you can grow that they can't grow in Huntington Beach. You have been to my garden in Leucadia and seen what I am growing. Huntington Beach is very similar if not a little warmer and windier than her due to both local topography and the large flart plane inland from Huntington Beach. Look at Dale's plantings in Huntington Beach and some of the other members both there and in Seal Beach. So there are two parts to your question, first the palms that grow well in the coastal zone of Southern California, and second the ones that are smaller for small lots with lots of power lines impacting the overhead heights. On the coastal zone issues Chambeyronia of all variety will grow, several of the Burretiokentia species, Howea's of both variety, Rhopalostylis of all variations. Chrysalidocarpus of many species will all grow here, ambositrae, affinis, basilongus, cabadae, pembanus, rufescens, prestonianus, robustus, lanceolatus, lutescens, saintelucei and the list goes on. I could continue, but the focus isn't on what will grow in the coastal zone of Southern California, but what will grow that is appropriately sized. So I'm now going to focus on the smaller palms that will grow well in Huntington Beach, here in Leucadia, down in OB, Cardiff by the Sea, or Venice where the next SoCal Palm Society will be. Someone mentioned above the various Chamaedorea, which are good choices. Ravenea glauca is a good choice, but Ravenea xerophilla is a bit of a challenge unless there is a good southerly exposure, perhaps with a good wall behind it for reflected heat. Some of the smaller growing Pritchardia won't interfere with power/comm lines overhead. Burretiokentia kogihensis is a slower growing species that won't be a problem overhead for a long time compared to hapala. Cryosophilia stauracanthia is an uncommon small palm that will meet the criteria. Several Coccothrinax do well here in California's coastal zone. On a slightly different note, there are a bunch of Cycads that give a tropical feel. I don't think is a species in the Encephalartos genus that can't be grown here (Dale in Huntington Beach will verify that). Ceratozamia, Cycas, Lepidiozamia, Macrozamia and several Zamia thrive her for a tropical, palmy feel. Complementary plants like Anthuriums, Bromeliads and Orchids will all thrive. I know I'm missing a bunch of good recommendations but this is just a first swing.

They absolutely can survive planted in the ground, in Phoenix, if sited correctly. (Think microclimate) Here's one I had grown from seed that was in that spot for several years. Also had a bottle palm in the ground for about 20 years before our brutal summer of 2020 took out both of them...🤷‍♂️ aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Tim, I was shocked to find this unlabeled older specimen at Mounts in the back! There are actually two side by side:

A bit of special attention for the basselina glabrata getting planted,

Pinanga maroon crownshaft.

Tall skinny Thrinax radiata in the bright:

Growing season in Melbourne has started now, so it’s a good time for an update on some winners and losers from winter and some new plantings. I got down to around -1C/30F a couple of times and had around 15 frosts which is around average. Day time temperatures were slightly above average which helped. Chambeyronia divaricata pair - first winter in ground, no issues at all but slow. Euterpe edulis Orange Crownshaft and Bentinckia condapanna. A bit of spotting on the B condapanna but otherwise ok. Hyphaene petersiana first winter in ground has survived - just. Let’s see if a bit of warmth can kick start it back into growth. Linospadix apetiolatus and L microcaryus enjoyed winter and even kept growing. Lepidorrhachis pair loved winter as expected. Such a bright green. Oraniopsis in the background never has any issues with winter. Geonoma stricta was the only loss in ground due to cold this year. It didn’t even make it through June. If you’re thinking about planting one of these in Melbourne or a similarly cool climate…don’t 🤣. Some new plantings: Chamaedorea benziei. The one I kept in a pot grew faster than the 3 already in ground. It joins the triple to make a quadruple planting Chamaedorea alternans double planted Chamaedorea oblongata ‘Loran Whitlock Bubble Leaf’ form. Apparently there’s some history to this form and may be distinct from oblongata. I’ve planted all 4 of mine here in the hope of maximising chance of seed. Jubaeopsis afra Pritchardia minor. Particularly excited about this one. Seed from @richnorm a few years ago. A massive Chamaedorea cataractarum taking up a very large space was removed to make way for this.