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Yeah, a Royal Palm would have a long bright green crown shaft on its trunk beneath its canopy of fronds. $500 sounds reasonable for a Majesty that big but starting out with a vigorous younger one would probably make more sense.

Just picked up a 7 gallon, 8 foot tall (seedling😄) Colvillea racemosa tree to plant as a commemorative birthday gift. (makes it easier to remember when planted) We already have 2 Royal Poinciana trees that flower every year, so this Madagascar cousin should also be a winner in time, in the Arizona desert... Don't know of any others planted in Arizona, although they are known to grow well in our neighboring California, (but with sporadic flowering) which is the whole point of growing this species. The fall flowers literally will stop people and hummingbirds in their tracks; they are so bright orange! 🤯 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Encephalartos “Cleopatra” pushing 7 leaves. This is a cross between Arenarius x Horridus has about an 4-5” caudex and is a really good grower for me. Very blue, fast grower and no fuss….whats not to like. -dale

I germinated these from seed that I collected and brought from Yucatán. Now growing in Monterrey zone 10. Notice the little hairs.

Given the cold snap and freezing rain there are many palms in the area that suffered damage. Lots of bruised fronds in larger California or California Fan dominant hybrids while many very young Calis spear pulled with a few dying. My Mexican Fans are making a comeback but they did suffer spear rot and are pushing out dwarfed fronds now. I’ve said it before but Washingtonia DESPISE frozen precipitation and freezing rain probably the most. So worth saying again! Happy Summer!

This is photo of one taken in February, when it is briefly deciduous. Looking forward to it's blooms this fall:

Chamaedorea liebmannii is a girl (I think)!

I'm afraid the terrible appearance of your palm is likely wind-burn and cold damage. Areca catechu is a heat-loving palm from southeast Asia that will suffer and fade away if exposed to cold and wind such as you describe. It is most at home in full, hot tropical sun with low temperatures in the 80sF (say, 27-30C) and high temperatures around 90F (about 32C), year-round. While it certainly appears not to have died yet (which would happen quickly due to a sharp frost or freeze), it is being slowly killed because its metabolism just can't function properly in such a chilled atmosphere. From the point of view of a warmth-dependent tropical palm, this is a sentence to a near-frozen misery...very much like planting a coconut at the beach in California, which, despite being above 0C, is pelted by cold ocean winds and under chilly overcast for most of spring and often in summer, with cold nights year-round and cool days (very comfortable to many people!) except during heat-waves. Except that Areca catechu is probably more chill-sensitive than a coconut. To these very tropical palms, the temperatures we may not consider too bad are really a death sentence. By the way, USDA zone ratings indicate the average minimum annual temperature over a period of 30 years (but if you have the extended data, many prefer to calculate it over their maximum data-set). So you would not be a zone 9a or 9b...because this would indicate you have average annual minimum temperatures of -1 to -6C or so, which i believe is not the case in your location in the Azores.

Love this forum, that’s why I paused. At first I thought not bad for a mature specimen. But perhaps better to buy smaller and I don’t really want a majesty.

Thanks Kiwan. I’m fortunate to be in a very mild (for NorCal) microclimate here. Pacific influence, SF Bay buffering, and just enough inland for some good warmth. I just ordered more palms from FB. tonight. I got a suggestion to try Pinanga ‘Maroon Crown Shaft so I ordered a few as well as Chrysalidocarpus ‘Baby Red Stems, Chamaedorea arenbergiana, and Pritchardia aylmer robinsonii. It’s going to be a challenge selecting places for them all! I’ve planted all of the first batch.

E. Lehmannii throwing a good one. Looks like 20 leaves give or take.

An easy palm to grow for that cool subtropical to warm subtropical climate. I have dozens of chamaedoreas throughout my garden, they are just that good for the understory.

Pinanga sarawakensis looking good!

California prices are 2x to 3x Florida prices. Between commercial taxes and regulations, everything is expensive.

https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2025-03/Chrysalidocarpus blackii PalmArbor FINAL.pdf C blackii was described from cultivation. It is very similar to C lanceolatus. When I tried to key out my palm bought as C lanceolatus (well actually D lanceolata back in the day), it came out to be about halfway between C lanceolatus and C blackii based on the article🤣. In fact some fronds key out to be C lanceolatus while others on the same stem keyed out to be C lanceolatus!

That’s where you’re decipiens seeds come from, good old California Harry!

Rhapis is the second palm that I fell in love with, first was Howea then rhapis and finally Chambeyronia. Now there are so many to fall in love with there are no favourites anymore!

And a few chamaedorea seeds on a nice tenella!

And a couple of Geonoma atrovirens seedlings!

This is what you get for $600 in Australia a stunning Geonoma atrovirens. Worth every cent. Consider if you want that $500 palm, look at what it has taken in years and water to grow it, I don’t hesitate to buy a palm I want if you want that palm buy it!

An easy seller rhapis, indoors, patio and even the office, shopping centres. It has a well earned reputation for good reason. Just not in my garden anymore, especially in a landscape setting near a house. I much prefer the variegated varieties near the house garden, the green one can take a back of the garden situation. Where it can get out of control and do no harm in taking over small understory palms. But that said a few small individual canes work a treat when thinned out and even a single stem can fool many a palm nut as to what licuala variety is that in the understory!

The funny paradox with Rhapis being that, considering the number of complaints bandied about in re its multiplication...it probably fetches one of the highest prices in the palm-market. So maybe the thing is to look at it as a nice money machine! Bamboo certainly wouldn't qualify in that department...

I was pretty happy to get my hands on Butia x Jubaea this last week: It was shipped from Oregon, so I was happy for a cool rainy week when it was in transit. Looks like it made it in good shape. My Butia (purchased locally) that spear pulled and started to die, is doing a bit better now, though it will be a long time before it looks normal: Trunk cutting sets them back badly, but it has sure helped me rescue the plant just about every time I have done it. Another example is my Sabal mexicana that performed so poorly last winter: Its twin spear pulled also, but had a new spear growing pretty quickly. So, it didn't need surgery:

I learned that from you . 100% agree.

I posted on another thread how I did a walk about the garden after watering . Then I ventured down “the hill” where I don’t go very often because it is steep and sometimes I slip and end up on my butt. I had planted a Rhapis Excelsia that was divided from one of my large Rhapis clumps and growing nicely in a pot …..until a huge frond fell and smashed it . Bummer , I stuck it under a Butia Oderata in almost full shade . Looks like it survived! Harry

A few imported chamaedorea seeds from rps, a couple of germinated ones so a couple of good ones coming up in the collection. And a few local gifted linospadix minor seeds a very interesting Australian species of palm

Yes , like pony tail palm , nick name only . They are cool though! Harry

Now for the hillside crew. Harry Solitary Chamerops Humilus , never suckered Next to the Mediterranean is the first Cycad to show new growth. Cycas Revoluta This Rhapidophylum Hystix has survived two gopher attacks and numerous wind events. Livistona Australis ‘Brahea Edulis. I call it the elephant! Brahea Armata needs a bit of a trim? This Sabal is a mystery . It was a very small seedling when I planted it . It’s either a Palmetto or Riverside . It was a gift and the grower lost some tags . Livistona Chinensis is a monster….with teeth! One last look up through the Mediterranean Fan palm before heading up to the deck. Believe it or not I have recently cut over 50 fronds off this thing. No suckers ever produced from it but , man , tons of fronds. Harry

OK , you showed us yours , I’ll show you mine!😂 After watering , I took a walk about the garden . I even wandered down the hill. Our rainfall this year has really helped a lot of our plants. An early warm spell , minus the wind , was a bonus. Harry CYPHOPHOENIX Nucele getting ready to open a new frond Chrysalidiocarpus Lanceolata enjoying some morning sun Pritchardia H. Not shy at all! Chamaedorea Radicalis Tree Form a volunteer that popped up in just the right spot. Howea Foresteriana needs no introduction. It seems like the Rhopalostylus Bauri Cheesemania just opened a frond and the new spear is already shooting up Caryota Mitis has opened a few fronds already . This thing has had a few trunks cut out of it over the years and just keeps on trucking.

Thanks, Harry. I don't have that many palm trees, but they're already taking up space. But more than quantity, I have more variety. I'm accumulating a lot of palm trees. I'll be like Richard Moy in Australia, Jim in the Highlands, and Floribunda in Hawaii, and like you, Harry, in a good way. And how could I forget Grand Master and friend Dave?

Those look very nice! Keep up the good work. Harry

Cut away , that is a very hardy palm that will soon replace the growth. Some palms , especially slow growing ones with fewer fronds can suffer a bit . Phoenix is not one of them. That said , I really hate to see over trimming like what @aztropic posted. I mean it’s their palm but….. Harry

Gotta love this forum. Sometimes we get caught up in the hunt for a new acquisition and overlook obvious details . The advice you have gotten is good , nothing to add. Harry

Lanonia dasyantha, never a dull moment with dasyanthas!

In regards to planting small palms, from little things big things grow!

Dave, I’ve always been a “plant them even when they’re tiny” kind of guy. Many of my big honking palms were planted as 2 or 3 inch seedlings directly to the ground. Here are just a few of them…

Took some pics of the LARGER F2s. What’s crazy is i planted some out immediately and some remained in pots until last year. I think i have 1 left in a pot which essentially is just being stunted/bonsai’d. The growth on these things are completely insane! Some of the newer leafs are 5-6’ long

So I didn’t bother covering it . Actually ended up with a nasty cold the last few days . But came out to check it out now that we are getting back up to overnight lows in the high 40s and low 50s with some rain on the way . And it looks great . Definetly seems fairly hardy . Seen as low as 37

What many of us learned from our big cold event in So Cal ( geez, was that 15+ years ago?), was to try to not have your sheet or blanket TOUCHING the leaf/ palm. I and and know others were shocked when we saw that parts that had covered the frond via touching it were burnt, yet exposed parts of the same frond were fine. Conductive exposure?

The first part... truely spoken like someone where the temperature reaches over 80F MANY days a year. 😀 That bit I think is true. The last bit has taken me many years to realize that one of the biggest factors in decent growth rate for most palms is heat. At my coastal location, I have very little here to spare. I have killed, or watched people in similar locations kill, many small slow growers by planting early. The new cal palms don't really seem to grow much faster with heat, thus I have a lot of those.. But still not for sale.. 😉

I had this on the mental list to do. So this morning I went out to weed and take some pics. I had also been thinking about replanting it as it had grown to one side. Took it from where it sets, placed it up on a 2x4 ledge above to weed it. Weeded it and it was looking decent. I stepped to get my camera and "PLOP" it tumbled off the ledge about 30" to hit some empty pots below. I guess the universe was saying "The time is now!" .. like I had a choice. Well, at least I got to see the roots.. less than I would like, but they looked healthy... so freshly repotted.. here you go! 3 gal pot for reference.

Finally got this Sabinaria in the ground back in January. Not much of a setback and it’s starting to show faster growth. The petioles are getting a bit longer as well. It’s in a humid shady spot which gets bright afternoon light. Tim

Here is my Sabinaria. It's been in the ground for a little over 2 years. This plant is growing faster than I had expected.

2 of my big Eugene’s just flushed. They usually dont flush for me until about Aug. or Sept.

Welp I think I've got 4 or 5 sprouts right now. They're all pushing their 2nd or 3rd tiny blade of grass fronds and I know I don't have anything deep enough for what they're gonna need. Well, I do have buckets but my bananas are in those. I for real do not know what a fair price for these is, I've found one record of a sale of these in the last year and it was on here - so shoot me an offer and your zip code. I use UPS through Pirateship so they're not gonna get rerouted through Wisconsin or New Jersey or anything stupid like that.

The more I look at the website though the more convinced I am but they don't have the options I want 😭

February 5,2026 was 71°F

Here for Delonix, if you give them no irrigation (after initial establishment) you get a very nice, intense bloom display for about 6 weeks in mid summer. If they are in an irrigated landscape the will bloom sporadically from April to November. Never a huge display at any one time but spread out over several months. I have never seen Colvillea bloom any other time than the fall though. No matter if it is in an irrigated landscape or not. BUT, there are about 1000 Delonix for every Colvillea, so we really do not have as much experience or diversity of conditions and genetics to make too many generalized statements about Colvillea.