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This isn't entirely palm related, but I wouldn't be here without the love and knowledge I've learned from this community so I'm posting it here. I live in a small town, downtown is like old skool buildings, think Mayberry. A lady bought out an old storefront on the main street downtown, and plans to turn it into a plant boutique. Her mom, her aunt, her baby - they showed up with a squad to buy some colocasias from me. She's seen my social media feed and seen my whole operation now. Welp, it's gonna be early next year, but it looks like Sancho's Green Paws plants will be available for purchase in her store. I'm both stoked and terrified at the same time. On one hand, I'm trying to set up a Palmstreet store so I can pay some bills and on the other hand, it's like now I need to hang on to stuff to grow it out, and- I mean, I'd also kinda like to keep some stuff for myself. Y'all, anxiety is not cool.

Two very unique palm species. One the Calyptrogyne allenii @realarch (I know you like Calyptrogyne) that has been proven to be cool tolerant. And the other is a lovely little Geonoma and if they grow as beautiful as the atrovirens then iam sure they will take place in a prime spot in the garden. Iam looking forward to seeing both in the garden one day!

I use pelletised chicken manure all the time even in the planting hole with soil I remove from my chicken pen and have never had an adverse reaction. I use Rooster Booster from that nationwide chain of stores that starts with B then a U. You get it. I very much doubt the problem is fertiliser burn. Only roundup destroys that quickly (2 weeks) Anyway I think it is a soil pathogen that has killed it stone dead. I’ve had similar things happen here in wetter areas and sort of randomly. Normally the main spear stalls, rots out, then falls over leaving the older leaves intact but the palm is essentially dead then. For all the leaves to give up at once though kind of says a root disease/pathogen.

Cool to see commercial property owners using palms other than syargus, phoenix etc. Have any of you carried your hobby into properties other than your home? Here’s my attempt at identifying these near me in the San Gabriel foothills jubaeopsis caffra bismarckia/ roystoneas ravenala madagascariensis Struggling dypsis sp? With caryota mitis in background some sort of cycas?

I just love gardening, even I get amazed at what I have created. Yep the good old eat sleep repeat work pattern, I get to drive tractor all day and do irrigation, it’s a fun job that I love to do, oh and yes the tractor has Bluetooth so it’s music all day for me. And then after work I get to come home to my garden and palms, and yes you guessed it plant more plants! Richard

I saw this a bit when I visited NZ on some Hedyscepe at Landsendt and up at Kerikeri. It also happened to the Hedyscepe at the botanic gardens here years ago but I put that down to too much sun and heat eventually wearing it down. Not sure that’s the issue for you. Howea are prone to leaning crown syndrome here but I can’t say I can remember seeing this kind of problem with them here.

The differences between it and L. dasyantha are provided here: https://palms.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PALMSv70n1p005-011-Qin-New-palm-from-Yunnan.pdf Recently, I have collected many samples of L. dasyantha and L. yunnanensis from more locations, and we're working on their relationships in pollens, and evolution using better sequencing methods.

Not a bad idea, unfortunately I would get run out town in the palm world, not a good business plan!🤣

Yes it’s not going to win any awards in a hurry, it was the original dypsis ambositrae. Pity it wasnt I would be sitting on right old seed bank. And the Cham plumosa I have seedlings in the greenhouse, iam now doing group plantings for future seed production. But I do get them settling seeds in the garden!

Not a bad idea I might just go and do a Johnny Appleseed with them in some of the hardest growing areas. Everything to gain and nothing to lose. Richard

Dypsis prestonia, they just bigger each new leaf, a fast growing palm!

Here is a better shot of the whole palm

Some of the many Brahea brandegeei blooming in old palm canyon in the western edition of Balboa Park. I believe this old palm canyon is over 100 years old.

Everytime this palm loses a leaf sheath is quite the event. Who needs sun on a rainy day with this in the front yard, It’s really quite the chunk. Tim

Is the soil quite sandy Jonathan? It kind of looks a bit like nematode damage - it tends to cause very quick decline in all fronds leaving a bit of green in the spear. I quick way to check is to rip out the palm and check for nodules on the roots. Really just a bit of a wild stab in the dark and I’m not really experienced at all with soil pathogens. I would say though that I’d almost certainly rule out fertiliser burn. As Tyrone says, no way it’s going to do that much damage that quickly. Co incidentally my L fulva declined this summer. But much more slowly. I dug it out a couple of months ago and put it in a pot. I suspect in was in too deep shade and possibly drainage issue, but honestly the soil seemed ok when I dug it. Perhaps as a species they are a bit sensitive to various issues at this size (mine is a similar size to yours above).

Iicualas are easy to grow, some climates they do better in containers then in the ground. There are so many licualas available in Australia. Bracteata, triphylla, ramsayi, spinosa, fordiana just a few tough ones for a cool climate. Oh I wish i could order from florabunda! Richard

Physokentia denisiimaurietiella aculeata A couple of good ones.

Here we go again the last lot before winter, it’s just not worth the risk getting plants from a tropical climate, the plants just go into shock to much. So a couple of good ones this week. iguanura species broad leafgeonoma atrovirens gardenia resiniferaareca rabaulcalyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana and another Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana

We have several allelopathic trees in this area and kauri can form a nasty podzol layer which may be present in some parts of the garden as it was all forest not so long ago. Many palms thrive so it's a bit of a mystery.

No I don’t have that one, it’s surprisingly rare, either that or it doesn’t grow in the cool climate.

It really is...I think I hugged the chunky monster for a photo opp, and maybe a couple more times when you weren't looking!

Yep, I suspect that's the case, weirdly it's not in a wet spot but on a pretty steep, well drained slope. Rooster Booster is my go-to fertiliser too...that's what the analysis table above is from. Good stuff!

I have tried fertiliser with trace elements, Hydrogen Peroxide, topical fungicide and a heavy dose of Epsom salts (which is a good cure for similar problems in Parajubaea coccoides) but alas nothing works. The first photo is a plant that was in perfect condition six months ago but I knew it was just a matter of time before the misfiring spears would come. The second photo is where it is heading and likely remain between life and death for many years!

That’s great news for you, nothing better than a retail outlet, I supply a local hardware store and a couple of local nurseries and it’s a great feeling seeing your plants in a retail outlet. Good luck and happy gardening!

We might catch up to Illinois tonight. Jesus. It doesn't get this humid in my shower, and my favorite weather page on Facebook has told us to not sleep naked and keep our phones charged instead of our vapes and keep the shoes by the bed. I might take a gamble there because there's a couple paramedics that I really don't care for. I moved most of the potted plants back to the carport, I figure the bananas are heavy enough that if they go airborne that's the least of my concerns.

Such a lovely palm, another 5 years and I should have a conversation piece!

A nice little find a grafted wilkinsoni grevillia. Always a favourite in any native garden.

Organic xtra you havent heard of that one because we keep all the good stuff for ourselves up here. Perhaps I used a bit too much on my marojejya darinii in the container at the time and I almost lost it, so iam scared of it now. But for in the ground it should be fine. Your fulva to pack up and die the way it did just suddenly it may have been a fungus. I take it Phytophera is in Tassie. Perhaps just to cold and wet, was your soil amended if so that could e the source of the problem. The one I got from you is doing fine in the ground in my garden!

Wow, those palm trees you have are real survivors! And I'm sure you take very good care of them. I brought some small Cunninghams back by car and I could already see how much they suffered on a short trip.

Not the most fascinating Dypsis I guess. If it was Chamaedorea plumosa I'd ask you to sent them all to me!

Great palm. But what makes this Lanonia different from L.dasyantha? Location for sure but what about leaf shape and infloresence? Could it be Lanonia dasyantha var. Yunanensis?

Two different palms have come in over the years as Dypsis (now Chrysalidocarpus) Sp. Ambanja. The first was a multi trunk palm somewhat like Baronii. The second was a larger solitary palm. Mine has just revealed its first ring of trunk and is a really nice looking palm. Has similar characteristics as Leucomalla (white spear and coloring) and Sp. Dark Mealy Bug with the black flecking. But has a unique look of its own. Anyone else growing this?

Up the back yard near the propagating hothouse is the sancona, it endures many a tough time and is in need of a good feed. But finally after 26 years we have a trunk forming. Some palms in my climate just want water, this one is in a dry spot without irrigation donuts done quite well considering the circumstances it grows under, basically in the bush!

Hi there. Please be careful when repotting it. My one looked the same as yours and I transplanted it into another pot being as careful as possible. I don't know what happened but the color faded soon and then it was over within two weeks... That was a real loss, I can tell. However, thank you for posting! Lars

Once they get a couple of feet of trunk they start producing munted growth and micro-spears. Seems to be a thing with both Howeas in my garden. I have had some Hedyscepe do this too.

Mine has been a great grower for me. The colors on the crownshaft and petioles are great. I just recently took a close up photo of the trunk showing the coloration:

This girl is pushing out a flush now on the main caudex as well as 3 more flushes on her pups. I'm actually glad the main caudex took a break from coning this year and is focused on a new set of leaves. Here is the main caudex flush just getting started.

Another difficulty with those Schinus is a real issue with allelopathy. There was one on our property when we bought the house here and just had it removed a couple of months ago. Couldn't get anything to grow well beneath or near it and so I looked up the issue...sure enough, it's known to be highly allelopathic to many plants. The other one we've had immense problems with in that department is the African sumac..Neighbors have it overhanging a wall similar to the photo above...has killed out everything I planted in that area. (Also that sumac stinks like pesticide when it blooms each year.) It's a real problem with many dry-climate trees that, not only are they aggressive with their root systems harvesting all water and nutrients to the complete exasperation of any nearby establishing plants, but they tend to produce lots of nasty oils full of phenolic compounds that get rid of "the competition"...other obvious offenders being most Eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Sometimes landscaping and gardening can be a real minefield...

Sorry that I have no idea about providing phytosanitry certification.

H rheophytica and Bismarkia today

Since you're in a hot, dry interior area of SoCal, your options for fast-growing palm screens are probably quite limited in a full-sun situation (what it looks like you have there). Where I am in the Palm Springs area, we primarily rely on Ficus microcarpa/retusa hedges (and who doesn't out here) for privacy but you may be reticent to use those right next to your wall, plus their general negatives in maintenance to keep them as a hedge and the possible proximity issues with roots next to your pool. I think if I were in your shoes I would use a few quick-growing trees for fast-acting screening, preferably something like Bauhinia x Blakeana (I use this, also Thevetia peruviana). You can leg-up the Bauhinia so the crown starts just above the wall and it will get up there fast in your summer heat. Then plant something like Chrysalidocarpus lutescens or C. cabadae between (and under the developing canopy of) the Bauhinia trees. As the palms grow, you can continue to leg up the Bauhinia specimens to give you a combination of quick screen from your neighbors' prying cameras/eyes, plus a protective canopy for not only frost protection but to avoid sunburn for the Chrysalidocarpus. There are quite a number of other choices but the principle is the same: A pattern of attractive dicot trees with palms planted under/between them. This will give you an attractive overall look and functionally fulfill your needs faster than any species of palm alone would ever give you in your location. After a few years the palms will finally be up to the top of your wall and can add to the density of the screen, and you can continue to leg-up the trees as necessary. If you're dead-set on using all palms, I guess you could use something like queens as the canopy with the denser clustering palms under/between them, but I think you're not going to have anywhere near the screening benefit given by a lush crown of large leaves like you will find on the Bauhinia.

6 year in ground , Sabal palmetto “Lisa” is putting out 6 bloom spikes in Dallas zone 8 A nearby, 10 year in ground Lisa has never bloomed.

Anyone else think this Sabal looks weird...but attractive? Huge crown, long petioles, but thin trunk ....has the coloring, big seeds, and leaf shape of mexicana ??? Spotted in southeast Houston

🙂

I lost two small palms, and had a Needle palm spear pull, along with a a bunch of cosmetic damage to the newly growing spear on a number of mostly Butia and butia hybrids. That spear damage usually result in 2-3 blemished or broken off fronds, but with all the heat, everything has moved on to 100% blemish free fronds. The needle that spear pulled fortunately is pushing all new growth now.. So I'm hoping that now many will after this summer be established and less likely to take damage. Sabals, Filiferas , Trachys and Chamaedoreas all didn't seem to care about the cold. Weirdly I lost all nine of my Plumbagos even though they are hardy to zone 8. I finally gave up on them this weekend and started replacing them.

Greetings do you provide phytosanitry certification?

Here’s one from the Willoghby garden I took at the last meeting. Planted in a pretty shaded area. That dark trunk is amazing! -dale