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An argentinian palm friend found this beatyfull variety of Syagrus romanzoffiana ( called "pindo" in Argentina and "pindó, pindoba or jerivá" in Brazil) with very dark collored petioles. VID-20260619-WA0001.mp4

I love the specific $14210.70 asking price 🤣. They could ask for $142 and still struggle to attract a buyer.

This is the last palm that caught my eye at my Palm Society friend who lives a few miles from me. It’s a nine year old Licuala ramsayi. It may be getting a little too much sun.

Forgot to post these RGV palm pics back in April:) photos range from McAllen over to south padre too lazy to add individual captions don’t hate me 😤😂- thoroughly impressed with the valley’s resilience 5 years post freeze :)

This species of Coccothrinax, native to a small beach in N. Cuba, is definitely one of my favorites. Similar in looks to the old man palm, (Coccothrinax crinita) but apparently much hardier. Great palm to grow in the desert, even in full blasting sun. Unfortunately, like many others in the genus, it is a rather slow grower. 5 gallon pot grown from seed in Arizona is already 10 years old! 🤯 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

I'm happy to report that I've got a very precocious and showy Heliconia blooming like crazy out here in Palm Springs. It's a Heliconia stricta cultivar called 'Sunrise' and it's available from Plant Group Hawai'i. This is apparently a seasonal bloomer as my two clumps, which are growing in slightly different sun/shade profiles and different areas of the yard, started throwing their inflorescences synchronously, within a week of each other this spring. I planted one around mid-2023 and the other in April, 2024. I think it's safe to assume this is a second-season bloomer due to its strong desire to flower in spring. The inflorescences are really quite large and showy, and I'm a little surprised to be seeing so many appearing in two separate clumps (three on one, two on another). Each bract measures about 4" long and the overall inflorescence height is about 7". One thing to note is that this, like a number of strictas, seems completely happy in quite a bit of shade, so it's a good sub-canopy subject to try, at least in hot interior areas. Cold-tolerance hasn't been tested in extreme conditions, but mine have survived low 30sF up to 124F so it seems quite strong to varying environmental conditions. We have 30-to-50-degree diurnal swings out here with most December/January mornings 40-45F with maybe a dozen or so in the 30s F, and highs pretty predictably somewhere 65-75 (average high 70F). The plant keeps quite a good appearance over winter with minimal damage here, and the overall height of 6-8' with rather long leaves makes it a really nice landscape element. Spring starts here the second half of February and warmth accelerates very quickly. I have no idea how this would do in the much cooler coastal plain or right at the coast in SoCal, but I think it's certainly worth attempting by any "Heliconia nut," particularly if you have a nice, protected area with dappled sun/shade. It would likely need more sun right in the fogbelt within a mile or two of the coast, and I would think you would need to carefully carve out a wind-protected area under canopy that gets some winter sun-warming. This one is very easy to root in a tub of warm water. Just put the rhizome in and let it sit in full sun so it will warm up (use an aquarium heater if necessary to keep it around 80-85F while sprouting). But water should be changed every day or two to prevent fouling and also for oxygenation, which is very important. Once it has a mass of roots you can put it straight into the ground (that's better than in a pot, where it may rot). Closer to the coast where there is winter rain, I'd strongly suggest planting on a raised mound composed of really chunky high-drainage materials (like a good homemade Philodendron potting mix). While these clumps were not planted on mounds, I have more recently found that treatment to really accelerate growth for many Heliconia. Out here in the desert I mix coco-coir chunks (not fines) as a spongy moisture-reservoir, combined with lava rock, pumice and coarse sand. I'd also recommend avoiding the north side of a building or other winter-shade area where it may "wet-chill" to death. H. stricta 'Sunrise': I also (finally) have a couple of H. rostrata throwing blooms, one H. rostrata 'Misahualli' and another that is probably either a '5-day'/'Peru' or '10-day.' Inflorescences are still pushing but I'm very happy to finally see this stunner blooming out here in the desert. This one will bloom in appreciable shade but requires propping up under these circumstances because the pseudostems will stretch to find light and fall over under their own weight. In sunnier conditions they will stay stronger and more compact. H. rostrata 'Misahualli.' This one is under the canopy of a rather large Cassia javanica and an adjacent Thevetia peruviana, so it doesn't get very much sun at all...just dappled for the most part, but seems quite happy in its spot. H. rostrata (probably '5-day' or '10-day'), just starting to push. This one is in a pot that has rooted into the ground, and in too much shade, which is why its long, thin pseudostems are lying almost horizontally, being propped up by some nearby plants.

Brahea Clara

Bismarkia and White Triangle

Just another day in the desert.

It’s always been one of favourite palms, knowing they grow so easy in my climate. I just had to order 1000 seeds from rps and ended up with about 700 of them. One of my number one selling palms. A palm as spectacular with black petioles, no thorns and a beautiful silver underside leaf. A perfect deep shade understory palm. They make great patio plants. They will always have place in my garden any day.

Once the newbies get up and growing then it’s time for the other ornamentals. About 5 years and a few more shrubs and trees on the outskirts of the garden should do the trick. Richard

Casa De Palmas, McAllen. It’s a banyan protected next to a parking garage it’s huge .

I appreciate the concern about it being planted too close, but a majesty would be toast if it were planted open yard here. When I recorded 27f by the house it was 20f open yard… The temp drops quick as you move away from a house.

Roaring humidity today...check out these peak heat index and dewpoints; mid 80s (SE Houston) is quite exceptional even for the Bayou City especially in June. Waaaay higher than anywhere in Florida today ! And many foreign visitors still think this area is something arid-ish a la western movie 😝 Even Hobby is holding an 80F dewpoint at 4pm

They grow pretty well here, at least between record cold fronts. A few of mine made it through. I've started seedlings in cups full of Hydroballs ( 1/4" expanded clay ).

A faster growing option with similar looks, is a hybrid with a borhidiana parent. Not quite as hairy, but way faster growing and just as hardy. This compact species fits in well with today's smaller gardens. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Some of my favorites that have no problem with desert extremes include Bismarckia, Brahea, Coccothrinax, Copernicia,, Hemithrinax, Pseudophoenix, and Sabals. Unfortunately, most are slow growers, and somewhat difficult to locate, especially in larger sizes, on the west coast. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

It's a blank slate!

SE Houston the past few days (Pasadena/Deer Park) These pygmies have survived the last few cold years, planted 2021/2022. The buds are quite hardy relative to the foliage. There's a reason they managed to stick around for 20+ years prior to the 2021 freeze. New royals to usher in the warm epoch

I think that the high number of pairs of leaves makes it a Vasquezii. I counted at least 15 pairs on one frond. Fischeri typically has 6 or so pairs, but almost never more than 12 pairs. Vasquezii can flush bronze or green, I have both colors in my collection. Vasquezii is supposed to have minute prickles on the petioles, but really it just feels like they are slightly rough. The bottom 3 photos here are a good example of Fischeri leaves. Most photos online are actually Vasquezii. They are oblong-lanceolate with smooth texture and mostly smooth sides with small spines near the end. https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=2927 The photos here are all true Vasquezii, with slightly ribbed and papery-thin leaves with significant toothiness all the way along the leaves: https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=2959 The Vasquezii leaves look very much like the fern Cyrtomium Falcatum. Here's another good description on Vasquezii: http://www.llifle.net/Encyclopedia/PALMS_AND_CYCADS/Family/Zamiaceae/31908/Zamia_vazquezii

Hello! I was just wondering if anyone had backyard nurseries in San Diego, Los Angeles, Palm Springs area and if they were selling any palms! I just bought a house in El Centro, CA, and would like to start collecting plants to plant out in the fall!

I’m seeing more upgrades as well today. The risk of us seeing 40C / 104F again is increasing for next week. The June record certainly looks like it is going to get smashed next week. Potentially 3-4 days of 100F+ here. ARPEGE high res has 39C / 102F on Tuesday for me here. UKV showing similar with 38/39C on Wednesday. So maybe 2 consecutive days of 100F there for us down south basically. Neither model goes beyond that period as they are short range models. GFS however has 100+ degrees F again on Friday too. For some of us in Western Europe, this will probably be the worst heatwave ever on record, especially in parts of France.

I just scored a fantastic deal on a bucket list palm for me. I got an Old Man Palm, Coccothrinax crinita, with 2 ft of hairy trunk for $72 !! So now I have to keep it alive. I am looking for advise on how to successfully grow this in zone 9a in a pot. North Florida Gulf Coast Panhandle region. Super hot and muggy now and got it in full all day sun. But winter is right around the corner and I know it might spend 3 months in my garage in Dec/Jan/Feb. Thanks!

You can aspire to this. No such thing as too close 😝. You can see its already trunking in 2008 and made it into 2021. Yes that is Chrysiladocarpus lutescens next to it in 2008 during Houston's great warm period. They can be quite hardy even out in the open...this one planted circa mid 2000s in colder west Houston (Westheimer) made it to 2018. A good number of Ravenea rivularis in warmer areas in the 610 Loop and southeastern Houston made it to 2021 even out in the open. There are still some in New Orleans.

Iam onto it for you Nico, dont panic!

The more upright leaves makes me think Fischeri. I have a lot of them in my garden, Vasquez leaves tends to hang a bit. But that’s in my garden and not all gardens are the same!

Nice picture, there a palm to me that needs to be keeped clean and thinned out. I have seen some beastly looking clumps. Still a nice palm if kept in check, let it get out of control and it’s not the same beautiful well tended one that has that cultivated look.

Heterospathe barfordi seedling.

Here in San Diego I’ve grown many Dypsis decaryi in the 26 years I’ve lived here and always have watered them very often. I’ve never had one die. I guess I’ve been very lucky. There’s several very large trees in my neighborhood and the only problem I’ve seen on a few is the baterial problem which affects the fronds and eventually kills the tree.

Another palm from my Palm Society friend who lives a few miles from me. He’s not sure what Pritchardia species it is, but the trunk looks typical of P. minor. R

This caught my eye at my friend’s house. He says it’s Coccothrinax barbadensis. It’s an 8 or 9 year old plant from a gallon. I remember when it was very small and it’s grown very fast.

With a touch of the new garden section!

Just got 3 inches here. I dunno that I'm complaining, but there's something about this spot where the clouds part. A couple hours aouth of us got 22"!

Thank you so much Kinzyjr for helping Austinpalm! Much appreciated.

Funny enough I found an excellent nursery about 80 miles away, they have a wide variety of somewhat rare palms. Im not necessarily interested in becoming a collector and obtaining the rarest palms in cultivation, but like many I prefer palms that aren’t the typical big box store palms. I would agree to research diligently if you want to be a collector. But there’s plenty of nurseries that carry common exotic palms like various Dypsis, chamadoreas, etc. I think the reason why these uber rare collectors palm nurseries go out of business is there’s simply not a huge demand. The hardcore collectors would rather collect seeds and exchange them with other hardcore collectors. But there are middle ground nurseries that are very successful.

That works. Thanks!!!

Some 23-24° F 2021 Horrible Texas freeze survivors here in South Texas I think this will give you guys some hope and see what’s possible. Peep the huge coconut unprotected that managed to survive absolutely crazy cold ! All these pics are from this April:)

Chamaedorea woodsoniana spathes opening. This palm has to be a contender for greatest crownshaft:trunk diameter ratio 🤣 Chamaedorea nubium first spathes. This could probably also go in the ‘Gettin’ the Ring’ thread. Sabal minor first lot of ripe fruit it’s produced.

A nice Ferox cone, in the far red spectrum of the afternoon sun.

My Encephalartos ituriensis is flushing but this is a very difficult one to photograph. In order to get the whole plant in the photo I have to stand pretty far back and lose detail while the tall leaves blend in with the canopy. Also, the existing leaves are erect and do a good job at hiding new flushes. Here’s a couple of photos from different angles trying to show the flush.

Jim, if you can find one, Ceroxylon peruvianum is a rocket. About 12 years from seed to 5 feet of trunk for me.

I think this is what they call a" doinker" From what I have read primarily on this forum it occurs when the main growth point is damaged whether it be from physical damage or cold,heat etc. so the plant pushes through a new growth point and starts a new path for growth. The old leaves should hang on until they naturally age but all new fronds will come from the new route. Never had this happen personally

What got me into palms, I was 16 years old fixing my mates Yamaha YZ 125 motor cross bike, jumped on to test her out. Took of down the road in nothing but a pair of shorts and a t shirt. Tapping her out down the tar bitumen road hitting about 65ks. I fixed her I thought, turn around tapping back down the bitumen road, and yes you guessed it right the neighbours dogs thought let’s chase this young victim for the hospital down the bitumen road. Yes sir two dogs either side trying to eat rubber tyres, ok let’s accelerate we can out run these flea bags, so I gunned it with the two dogs,who at that moment decided to meet each other in the front wheel. Yep straight over the handlebars at about 70ks an hour. No helmet, T-shirt and shorts hurtling for that bitumen road. So now iam breaking my collar bone, skin off every part of my body, hit my head millimetres away from my temple and dam lucky only to get 10 stitches. I lived but my mother was not impressed with her so son’s behaviour, so I had to apologise to the lady up the road who’s dogs I run over. Through her saying she had to pay vet bills and her job was working in a palm nursery, I asked her to see if there was a job there to help pay the vet bills. And that was it I started working in a palm nursery at 16. Found the love of palms and they joy they bring me in my life to this very day, some 40 years ago! And yes the dogs lived and iam glad the hippie lady Diane came into my life, and showed me the world of palms!

Different light gives different results, a nice chamaedorea klotzshciana certainly looks good in a bit of different lighting.

A nice Chambeyronia and the Geonoma atrovirens seems to ok in cold wet conditions (for now) still not freezing conditions to kill palms yet, but they will come sooner than later those 2 degrees celcius mornings.

How tall and old is this tree? I have at least a 24 year old Chambeyronia macrocarpa. My friend gave it to me when I moved into my house 23 years ago. I purposely kept it in a tiny pot to keep it small, but now I’m letting it grow big in a pot. I’m guessing it would be 12 to possibly 15 ft tall if it had been planted into the ground? Here’s what it looks like now. Photo taken September 13, 2025

I noticed that my B. yatay actually has 4 blooms developing!! The most since I planted it years ago.

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

Visiting a friend north of Hilo and was admiring this little grove of A. catechu ‘dwarf’ palms. Such chunky little guys and look great in a grouping. There is absolutely no petiole on the leaves. Fairly small when planted, these are good growers. Tim

I had one but my lipstick palms choked it out.