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I wax walking up the front entrance to my home and noticed the boot was ready to drop off my Chrysalidocarpus decipiens. Here it is after removing the old boot.

@Meangreen94z the Pearland palms are nuts, great work. Amazed by the majesty palm, very jealous of the A. totai. My yard is neglected and much less palmy these days, but a few things are chugging along: Sabal uresana from Barton Springs Nursery. Not as silvery as the John Fairey palms but still pretty nice. I am not sure what this one is. Also bought from Barton Springs Nursery in a 1 gallon pot years ago. I remember the pots and signage had different labels, some said Sabal bermudana, others Sabal domingensis. It has grown nearly as fast as my Sabal causiarum and looks very similar. The causarium is unfortunately dead... a transplant casualty during our yard remodel.

Here is my fiji currently after 100% defoliation.

They're holding 5-6 apiece. The Atlantic Tall is slightly more recovered than the Maypan, but both have a long road ahead of them assuming they survive next winter. Atlantic Tall: Maypan:

Let me introduce you to the Tau Kiani Botanical Garden on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile. I think I’ll have to contribute some exotic palm trees; they have something interesting going on there on the island.

Paschalococos disperta.

Beautiful garden! Going from memory here: was this the island that was largely defoliated by the native people a few hundred years ago? If so, was the “indigenous” palm Jubea, or something similar?

Latania

Brahea new frond

Dry and cool conditions.

I ended up planting the E. munchii and the E. Horridus x Arenarus.

Did anyone pursue this idea further? I have been a member of the Southeastern Palm Society for more than 30 years, and while we have always tried to be mindful of our Carolina members, it’s not always easy to accommodate everyone. We certainly have the largest geographical area of any Palm Society! I think it’s a great idea.

It appears to have been a palm tree native to the island, though *Cocos nucifera* was also present. The Rapa Nui people are of pure Polynesian ethnicity; it is important to understand that they possessed palm trees brought by their Polynesian kin as well as a native palm species that is now extinct. On Rapa Nui (Easter Island), they speak a Polynesian language, yet it is the only island in all of Polynesia where Spanish is spoken (Chilean Spanish)

That’s what they say, water religiously. I doubt you can kill a Sabal mexicana that way, they grow in standing water and marsh in certain areas.

Hello I already have one ! I agree. I have a lot of different palms and hybrid palms. IMO the best representation of a hybrid or mix of 2 palms is the Jubaea x syagrus, I have seen a few and they are stunning.

They look a little nutrient deficient, but I have never heard of a Washingtonia being affected negatively by alkaline soil. Their native soil is alkaline.

I have a seed bank at the house and some of the seeds have been here a while in some cases ten years or close. Including Nanorrhops among others that include Braheas, Jubaea. Gonna plant some and see how it goes! Anyone have experiences to share? Give ‘em to me bay bay as Rick James would have said….

What’s “stored well”?

Just added a few Parajubaea sunkha and Syagrus glaucescens seed packs.

Hello, My 2nd generation Inga Hoffman cunninghamia has produced a new crop of seeds. My last crop was in late 2024 and '25 was a dud year. This year was gangbusters so I have lots of seeds. Inga Hoffman lived in San Leandro, CA and ran the IPS seed bank for many years. she sourced seed from and had (still there as far as I know) a beautiful cunninghamia at her property. The parent seed was sought out and collected by her when she was on a trip to Australia, collecting seed, and she saw a cunninghamia growing up high, higher- and more importantly colder- than where a cunninghamia should be growing. They ventured up to the location and collected seeds. The resulting offspring is the tree that she grew at her home in San Leandro, and its cold hardiness was tested and proven in the '89 freeze. It survived. I'm not sure of the damage but I do remember scarring down low- only a few feet up-on the trunk from that year. I don't know how cold it got in Castro valley but it was definitely the low twenties. I was 1 hour east and I can say that it got into the teens. It was a very cold winter. Anyways, these seeds are from an offspring of that tree at Inga's place. I'd like to get like 5-10 cents per seed. I'd prefer US only but I am willing to do international. I've had an experience where the guy that bought seeds never got them and they showed up at my house 6 months later after travelling all over the world, apparently; and I had to make several calls to the customs office in that city to answer a bunch of questions to no avail. Hours of time wasted to try to help a guy out.. Very disappointing for both parties. The biggest thing is I'd like to be covered for shipping. I have 5x7" padded envelopes and shipping is going to be like $10 in the US so I'd like at least that. I'll give the seeds away within in reason; I'd like to be able to distribute these seeds around a little bit. Seeds have been cleaned and soaked in hydrogen peroxide. I have probably 700 seeds so PM me, I'll get back to you and first come first served. Thanks for your consideration! I can do Paypal or Zelle or if you want to mail me cash or check that works to, but that's like 14 seeds for the cost of a stamp!

Howdy, I recently acquired a fairly large S. uresana. I am pretty confident it was owned by a member of this forum at some point in time. I can’t find much info on growing uresana in 8b wet winter environments other than it grows slow. The one I have is green. It’s hard to know if it will get some blue coloration in full sun (it looks nursery or green house grown.. really long upright petioles). I’ve also read about experiences where people have seen their uresana lose the blue coloration, only for it to come back several years later when the plant was much more mature. Time will tell if this is truly a green form or not. The newest leaf is more blue but not dramatically so. it’s about 9 to 10 feet tall to the tip of the tallest fronds and I’ve planted it on a mound with steep sides in a full sun location in the middle of my yard. I’m wanting to give it the best chance to shrub off winter rains here in 8b Oregon. Either way this will be an interesting experiment. The fact that it’s so large gives me hope that it might grow at a reasonable pace once it’s fully established after a few years in the ground but we will see. I imagine the new leaves will be smaller and on much shorter petioles while it focuses on root development over the next couple years. I planted the root ball about 90% intact without much disturbance or damage to the roots. Anyone have any insights to share on this sabal or how it handles cold/wet winters? I’ll post updates along the way, wish me me luck!

Here’s one in Pearland, Texas. Seed from a South Texas palm . The wet humid climate bleaches the blue a bit.

Update from Pearland Livistona decora, Ravenea rivularis(Majesty) Archontophoenix tuckeri #1(4 feet of trunk) Hyphaene petersiana: Bismarckia nobilis#1 Livistona australis: Acrocomia totai: Archontophoenix tuckeri #2: Butia sp.: Beccariophoenix alfredii : Bismarckia nobilis#2: Sabal uresana: Medemia argun: Livistona nitida, Copernicia alba(8 feet of trunk), Butia sp.: Copernicia alba#1(more sun, 8 feet of trunk): Copernicia alba #2(more shade, 2 feet of trunk ) Queen palm:Mule Palm (Butia x Syagrus): Butia x Parajubaea torallyi: Phoenix theophrastii “Golkoy”:Phoenix sylvestris: Ravenea rivularis(Majesty):

That little bit less precipitation actually makes a difference especially in winter. South Salem had more Washingtonia in the ground than the Portland area. During those polar incursions you are right about Portland getting that terrible east wind through the gorge. Fortunately I was more protected than NE Portland, but it still could affect me. Portland would get snow and I would get rain or mixing. What I can say is that even when you go down to Salem the average winter temps are colder which gives it that half zone rating lower. It would be frosty and frozen in Salem and further south and it wasn’t at my place. Hopefully your palm is able to tolerate the climate. I don’t think you will have to worry so much about winter damage but more so it having a growth rate equal to or greater than the aging out of older fronds. Keep us updated.

Tracy, I just went outside and photographed both the F. abutilifolia and the F. glumosa. Both have grown quite a lot over the nearly 11 months since the above photos, although the F. abutilifolia sure seems to be looking around for some rocks to snake through. I suppose at some point it might decide to be an upright tree? Maybe not. But it has beautiful foliage, a nice lemon-yellow tinge to the bark, and loves the extreme heat out here. The same toughness of character can be attributed to F. glumosa, although that one would be a model student in any teacher's class, neatly confined to their seat with a sense of great propriety! I'm fascinated by the woolly and yet glossy-green foliage. F. abutilifolia: F. glumosa:

Hmmm Sometimes desert situations really get bad nutrient deficiencies too; I don’t know a lot about that.

Looks like a lot of dry climate species. You should have some luck if they were stored well. I ended up with a Brahea 'Super Silver' coming up in some potting mix that looked like it had gotten too wet and rotted all of the contents, so there is always hope.

Ouch! Sorry to hear and see the pictures! Give a tug on the browned leaves; if they pull out, get some hydrogen peroxide and dump it straight into the hole, repeat and pray. It looks like you might have a fungus in the growing point.

Bizmarkia= gopher candy! Ask me how I know . They are the roots to mine right to the trunk. Harry

What kind of soil is in the raised bed and under it? Did you amend the soil with organics or perlite? The area appears sloped and raised so it should drain away, but if its not penetrating deep it will just runoff. A bar that goes through mucky surface soil will come out with muck on it, the last soil it touches on the way out, even if the depth is dry. Drainage tests are highly recommended in heavy clay to determine if extensive site preparation is needed. Could be you have low drainage soil and the water is wetting the top 4-5 inches but leaving underneath dry, sloped ground can be tricky with low drainage clay soil. I would dig the garden area near the rootball, closest to the wall facing the street(downhill from the palm) and see if it really is wet at depth, say 15"). The crisping of the leaf tips doesnt look like overwatering to me. Yellowing without crinkled leaf tips would be more the expected overwatering issue. I am thinking its clay soil because its sloped int he general area. This would have to be heavily amended with perlite and some organics to ensure fast drainage. Half an hour is not going to penetrate deeply int he soil if it has a good amount of clay. I grew palms in clay desert for 10 years. 1) must determine soil drainage by digging a hole and adding water to the hole to 18" by at least a foot wide and seeing how long it takes to drain after filling it up. 2) drip irrigation is really a big advantage in drier climates in clay soil if you don't want to constantly be attending to your palm 3) Never water during daytime heat, evaporative losses are potentially massive in a dry climate 4) Small gravel is a loser in drier climates as it allows more evaporation, larger size 3/4" granite or other stone rock does much better at retaining moisture.

This view

Recently had a chance to drive past the old place and check it out. Fortunately the new owner was standing out the front and recognized me, so invited me for a quick walkaround (I only had 15 mins free) Mid winter here, and everything was looking pretty good. The new owner is doing a good job! Looking over towards the Beccariophoenix alfredii and Ptychosperma lauterbachii Veitchia joannis was looking good Pritchardia hillebrandii (rescued from Wal's place ) was doing well Dypsis 215 was still there but owner told me had struggled with dryness and lost some stems. Dictyosperma were growing well, although one has succumbed (or is about to) to a health condition...v. conjugatum on right Ptychosperma lauterbachii was covered in inflorescences and was looking awesome...IMO a better palm in that climate thn P.macarthurii Beccariophonxis alfredii...8.5 years from a 200mm pot...doing well! Full size Alcantarea in front of it for scale Satakentia were looking awesome...should be more widely grown in SE QLD those crownshafts were fat! And the Neoveitchia rescue palm is still alive! Satakentia crowns

Get a pure *Jubaea chilensis*; they are more majestic. They are unique gems for a botanical garden or a collector.

The only hybrid palm in my garden got my attention today, and you can’t beat a Chuniophoenix nana for understory glam!

Mid winter in Melbourne and it’s the Ceroxylon sp. opening new fronds catching my eye. C echinulatum C alpinum C quindiuense C amazonicum C vogelianum

Clinostigma after a night of heavy rainfall. Tim

Plenty of seed coming on this one...

Hedyscepe canterburyana dropped an old frond and the freshly exposed crownshaft is looking great!

Borassus flabellifer were looking good at sunup this morning...

First flowers on our indoor Rhapis multifida

I saw either a Veitchia flower or a tree…or both…

Metroxylon amicarum gaining size while the feral hogs mine the adjacent landscape.

Dypsis louvelli, Geonoma atrovirens.

Update May 2026..

I added my winter protection this afternoon. Overall...I think it grew about 4 leaves over the summer. Here it is in ground ~ 1.5 years.

Starting to trunk.

The ones outside Hempstead, Texas at what is now called “John Fairey Gardens” have seen a wet 15*F several times with no damage.

This is a beast. Aidan is just short of 5 feet.