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Here it was when I first planted it! I really had no hopes it was surviving up here 😂 Crazy how much it filled out this corner in only 4 years with suckers lol

No one has suggested a foxtail... Wodyetia bifurcata... I'm fairly close to OCKev in La Mirada and these things grow like weeds for me... They are self cleaning but they do drop egg sized seeds that are easy to pick up and discard... Really no mess... Butch

All iam going to say is perfection in a palm the chamaedorea adscendens!

Rhopalostylis sapida peeking out in all its splendor. Vergara Palace Garden. City of Viña del Mar in Chile.

When I first moved to Florida, I planted a Bismarckia in mid2010 and a sabal uresana in summer 2011. Uresanas are often mentioned as alternatives to bismarckia in 9a. These palms have stood next to each other over the years making for an easy growth comparison. Bismarckias are generally regarded as fast growers and uresanas are said to be slow. First, Bismarckia several months after planting a 5 gallon bought at a big box store. Everything but the spear had heavy mold spots so I kind of treated it as a rescue. It seems to have that purplish hue after winter that is often associalted with a whiter leaf. It adapted fast to sun after being tortured inside the box store with palms stacked in a pile around it. It put 5-6 new leaves out the first year. late july 2010 bismarckia then about a year later I planted a sabal uresana "icy blue" I bought from tejas tropicals in texas. It was a strap leafer and I put it in a pot. About 6 months later it was ready to go into the ground as the pot was root bound. A little over 2 years later in sept 2013 both had grown well. IN this pic the uresana looks a bit bigger than it was (relatively) since it was closer to the observer. It had turned darker with less "icy blue" color but was clearly not just a green sabal. The uresana was about 6' overall and the Bismarckia was closer to 10' in this pic At this point the bismarckia was trunking and growth was accelerating and here is the pic from june 2015. The uresana not trunking was putting more leaves for a bigger crown About 4 years later the uresana had lengthened it leaves and had gone into trunking mode. It went skyward chasing the bismarckia but still 6-7 feet over all behind the biz in height Last week I took another pic and noticed about a 10' gap even though the uresana had sped up and grown to about 25' tall. compared with 35' for the bismarckia I thought it was interesting that the growth burst of each happened at trunking, as we are often told by the literature. Yes even sabal uresana grows well after trunking. I also though it is interesting to note that Sabal Uresana has a wider crown, that was a surprise. I had always thought Bismarckia would be wider as it throws more shade but its a couple fee less in width of the crown. The Uresana crown is more open though, and it took a lot less damage than the Bismarckia in hurricane Milton(oct2024). Part of the lesser damage suffered by uresana could be due to less wind damage as there are higher wind velocities at height, but also part might be the Uresana having an open crown with smaller leaves that have less wind drag. I do think Uresanas will have more blue than mine in a drier hot climate. Bismarckias are very versatile, they don't need much fertilizer and mostly they are self shedding. Just keep them happy and the weevils wont come to dinner(I had a sick one attacked by weevils and killed). I treated the Uresana same as Bismarckia, limited fertilizer compared with my other palms The Uresana has persistent leaf bases which are still strongly attached near the ground. Since I do the trimming, I am happy that Uresana is a slower grower, as the Bismarckia is now too tall for me to trim from the ground. And the Bismarckia(female) is a mess, dropping 150-200 lbs of seed a year. I just got done raking up half a trash can full of Bismarckia fruits, and there is at least that much still hanging on the tree. Uresana has not fruited yet at 15 yrs. Sabals are notorious for liking heat to grow fast and they both had plenty of Florida heat. For those thinking about Sabal Uresana, its not Bismarckia fast but its more of a medium grower for me after trunking.

Private growers PLEASE! I concur with Merlyn. There are other growers but may need to drive a bit . Rancho Soledad Nursery may have them . Maybe @DoomsDave can get you some , he is in La Habra and has nice stuff! Dave is a super cool guy , very knowledgeable about our area , and he may introduce you to Conan the cat. I’ve gotten some very nice palms from him. Harry

Some photos of the Summer Meeting in Melbourne are attached below. A special thank you to @Jdash for hosting! It was great to see @PalmJuan , @kinzyjr , @chuckg , @CodyM , @Fishinsteeg234 , @Maddox Gardening-youtube , @rick , @D. Morrowii , @Midnight Gardener and plenty of others today.

Putting palms in bunches helps with sunburn resistance, watering, and wind resistance(to drying). I would plan that spot with a multi of some crownshafted type. I would also be careful with how inland you are. If you are even in Irvine its hot and dry a lot and some of those palms will take a lot of attention to keep them looking good. WHen I see a chamby in a forest of trees, the sun exposure may be some directly overhead by not late day. My macrocarpas burn a little towards the western summer sun. Chambeyronia oliviformis doesnt have a red emerging leaf but they are more sun tough and wind dessication resistant due to a waxy leaf. And they are IMO more attractive than a macrocarpa aside the red leaf. They will grow taller than the macrocarpa for sure but not so fast as an King. Might be interesting to plant (2) oliviformis to the west and one macrocarpa to the east in a triple. The dark green of the oliviformis and the marcocarpa should have a striking appearance and witht he oliviformis protecting the macrocarpa from western sun. Here is oliviformis(center, dark green crownshaft) 13 years in the ground from a seedling.

All throughout the garden, when I look at my garden from the outside I think I know what’s growing in the understory little beautiful plants all over the place! Richard

Another one in the garden.

@OCKev not, I repeat, NOT Moon Valley. 🤣 I don't know any nurseries out there, but I have read enough horror stories about them. Jungle Music is highly regarded here, but I am not sure where they are compared to you.

Yes , especially during Fall when the Santa Ana winds blow . Our humidity drops and the temperature climbs , sometimes into triple digits . Archontophoenix can burn too but not as bad as a moderately sized Chambey . @DoomsDave has a Chambey forest down in La Habra and they look awesome . He has a few varieties that have survived years there . I’m pretty sure they would survive at that spot in the OP’s driveway but there isn’t a lot of cooling from other plants and palms ( none ) . We certainly don’t have the humidity that you guys have most of the time . Harry

Howdy all! I just joined and hope I'm posting this in the right spot... I live in Orange County, California (zone 10b). I've owned the house for 20+ years now, and the 2 giant palm trees in my front yard are just getting too tall and too much to handle so I've decided to remove them (hopefully the picture comes through!). They require trimming every year (about $300), and during the summer they drip a fine mist of sap on any cars parked in the driveway. I had quotes from $2200 to $3800 to remove them with stump grinding, and the $2200 bid has tons of outstanding Yelp reviews, so the existing palms will be removed next week. I'm thinking I might replace them with a smaller and lower maintenance palm tree. After doing a few hours of research, it seems like either the Cuban Royal Palm or more likely the King Palm might be a good fit. Sounds like the Queen Palm might require more maintenance that I'd like to avoid. So anyway, I'd love to tap into the expertise of this group for any advice I might be able to get. I'm looking for recommendations on types of palm trees (and whether planting 2 together might make sense) and how easy it is to plant them yourself. The small lawn is on an automatic sprinkler system so the area gets plenty of water. Thanks!

In my modestly arid climate, they will live in full sun, but always look anemic. Plant under canopy and they look wonderful.

A few seeds are setting on the lytocarum in garden. A fantastic palm that’s easy to grow. Super tough and very forgiving. I would say a bit slow growing to reach maturity in a subtropical climate. But once they get there they don’t look back. Very predictable and a great learning palm to grow, just put them in the shade as seedlings and away they grow.

Very nice growth on that one! They truly are cold hardy palms . Harry

Looks great! Good job man!

They look a bit like a king but have longer leaves by 1.5-2' or so and fatter leaflets, closer to C. macrocarpa. when we say "kings" we generally mean archontophoenix cunninghamiana but there are 6 different species of archontophoenix so a trade name cannot describe the available "kings". "kings" or "archies" available are cunninghamiana, alexandre, tuckeri, purpurea, myolensis, and maxima. The names can be a pain initially but its good to know what you are buying. Some archies are more sun tolerant than others, and some are more cold tolerant than others. A kentiopsis leaflet is thicker than archontophoenix, more of a leathery look. You will need to make sure you remove the roots of those monster washingtonias before planting and you will need to ammend to a rich soil as all the kings or "archies" and the chambeyronias are water lovers. If you want to avoid water loving palms there are many that are more adapted to hot and dry climates. I would talk to your local Socal palmtalkers(I second @DoomsDave) to get detailed advice on where to buy, and what to expect in terms of care(watering frequency, fertilizer) in your area.

Well done! Their reputation for being slow-growing is well known, but yours is flourishing. Years ago (pre-internet, so YEARS ago) bought a needle palm seedling over the phone for 6B Connecticut. I asked about its growth rate. The seller quipped, “It’s a good palm for your grandchildren to enjoy in their old age.”

Definitely clears the mind, I can find myself wandering all day in the garden doing things and just looking around tending to the plants, either planting, landscaping, watering, or in just a plain garden stupor having a great old Mother Nature memory melt away enjoying every minute of it! Nice garden Harry I can see the love and harmony that it gives oneself, what is it that they say om shanti! Richard

I pulled it out of the ground 27 years ago as baby seedling. And planted it as one of the original garden plants. I had a vision on that one and knew the look I was after! Richard

And even then very rarely!

Dypsis lantzeana loving the cold weather, along with the triangle palm keeping the tree fern company!

Beautiful palm🤩

Awesome and interesting comparison Thank you for sharing

The short answer is yes, you can and should cut off the female seed cone. The plant is using up stored energy to grow seeds. It might kill it, but probably not. I have a big female sago as well, and I cut off the seed pod every spring. I use a sharp pair of shears, but a sharp hand lopper works too. Snip the "hand" shaped fans above the red line. There's no need to cut them super low, just snip below the fan shape at the stem. I snip the horrendously stabby thorns as well. Cutting the cone is slightly risky for infection, because it's a lot of small cuts. You could sprinkle the top with a fungicide like sulfur powder, or squirt with Daconil or similar. Cycads have "coralloid roots" around the base, generally just below ground level. As long as the top or trunk hasn't rotted, it is still gaining new energy every day and should flush eventually. But it might not be for a month or so.

That's what I was wondering. I've grown Flamethrowers in full sun here in swampy FL, the only problem was exposure to frost and getting defoliated. But I've read a bunch of people having sunburn issues with them in full sun, both in Tampa and Miami, and also out in CA. One big connecting problem seemed to be planting near reflecting walls and lots of concrete, just amplifying the heat and torching them. But I've also seen some great photos in CA with literal forests of Chamberyonia, so it sure seems possible! @OCKev I'd also think about whether you want something that gets tall fast, or takes decades to get there, or stays somewhat short forever. For example, a common Bottle or Spindle might take 10-15 years to grow to roof height...but a King could get over-roof height in 3-5 years, depending on the size when you buy it. Likewise a Jubaea might take 20-30 years to get over roof height. Others like Parajubaea are quicker but the fronds might be too big for that area. A Butia (Pindo) would probably work in that spot too, and be quicker than a Jubaea. If you wanted a smaller palm the Pygmy Date (Phoenix Roebellini) or Chamaerops Humilis (European fan palm) are slow to gain height and pretty tough. If you want a BIG fan type palm that's slow to gain height, Copernicia Baileyana or Fallanesis or Gigas might work.

Chambeyronia are very nice palms though, depending how far inland you are. They tend to burn easily in full sun until they get large , and even then. Slower growing palm and would grow in that spot but not as vigorously , quite a bit more $$ than Archontophoenix. Harry

Three palms for the future of the garden caught my eye! Lanonia calciphila licuala sallehana var sallehana Areca laosensis

A late winter afternoon has the polyandrococus caudescens feeling fine about the cold.

The cascade palm, an old favourite that has been around for some time now. A fantastic ornamental palm, perfect for a small hedge or a nice fill in for a corner or anywhere in the understory. Makes a great patio container palm, has somewhat of a cool tolerance. A landscapers dream Paolo that’s as tough as nails. A great all round chamaedorea that’s ver forgiving to a growers blunder or two!

Consider Chambeyronia! Oliviformis macrocarpa….

A healthy looking specimen there @DTS I think mine, plant 4 or 5 years ago now, after losing it's main center trunk, has progressed nicely. The offsets are now producing it's first infloresnce.

Without the original photo, you might have thought it didn't grow at all. Looks great, especially with the short growing season.

I was given around two dozen howeas about 30 years ago from a friend. They were all in 250mm containers and quite strong looking palms. At the time I received them nothing special stood out in the gift as being unique. How wrong I was in that gift was two variegated fosteriana. Over the years I watched them get more variegation and stay true to form. It’s a beautiful palm. The only thing wrong is it’s planted out of the way where it hardly gets noticed. And iam not going to clear the garden in any time soon just get a daily look at it!

Richard, back in the seventies, I was in my twenties😎 and very much interested in (sub)tropical plants for my apartment. We were only used to houseplants like Howea forsteriana, always referred to as Kentia palms, the little Cocospalm and Chameadorea elegans. Because of the increasing prosperity after WWII, the planttrade tried to introduce new houseplants like the Chrysalidocarpus lutenscens. That elegant little palm with it's yellow leafstalks was not an instant success, precisely because of that yellow leafstalks; potential buyers thought that the plants were not healthy! Nowadays it is widely accepted as a houseplant.

Intresting bit of history for the lytocarum in the Netherlands. Thanks for sharing.

In the sixties and seventies a very popular houseplant here in The Netherlands, named Cocospalm. Unfortunately, we don't see them anymore!

A nice macrozami communis, and a nice little rhododendron!

Roscheria melanochaetes, growing into a solid seedling! And the dypsis manajarensis is not far behind!

I discovered that if I clicked up around my name, I can see it then so I have answered my own question I guess.

Wow, first thanks to you and everyone else for all of the fantastic advice! I'm learning more about palm trees than I ever thought I would. From the pictures, the Chambeyronia oliviformis looks very much like a king palm, but you're saying they don't grow as tall or as fast (but are taller than a flamethrower). My next mission will be to look up local nurseries here in Orange County (city of Orange to be specific) and see if they even carry some of these more exotic palms. Can anyone recommend a nursery that carries a variety of palms like the flamethrower?

We had a nice period today with only a few minor showers, so I went out and used my newly repaired lawn mover to clear some grasses and get some pictures of my dwarf "betelnuts". Backstory: I was given six seeds by Don Thornton in March 2014 and got two seedlings. Don gave me 19 more in October 2014, from which I got 3 more seedlings. As far as I can recall, all the seedlings grew to be dwarfs. I planted 4 of the seedlings along my driveway (totally full sun) in June 2017. One was never in good shape and died. The others have grown well and two are now flowering and maybe producing seeds (I can't tell for sure). This is illustrated in the second photo below. The first photo is the trio, about 10 feet tall, lawn chair and tractor for scale.

Such a pretty tree! Mine in Arizona is starting to flower again. It's never actually produced a fruit yet, but its teeny tiny flowers that smell like nutmeg are abundantly produced. Daily high temperatures are currently 105 - 110F so the pollen never has a chance. Just too hot - too dry...🤷‍♂️ aztropic Mesa, Arizona

This Encephalartos Longifolious x Horridus was buried behind other 15 gals. so I dug it out and trimmed the older leaves off to make room for the new flush. The new leaves are very fuzzy due to the Longifolious influence.

Archontophoenix would be decades before they hit 50’ but they do eventually I guess. The trimming of the inflorescence is up to you and are at the base of the crown shaft, so easy to get to with a pole saw for the first several years. Mine took 15 years before they flowered and not every year so not near the nuisance of the Queens. If you really like Royal Palms , the Oleracae that @JohnStraz suggested has a smaller presence and the fronds won’t smash a car to bits . They are a bit sensitive to cold and it would probably harder to locate one . They are beautiful palms though and I love mine. Depending on your particular climate could do very well . Harry A much smaller base on this 15+ year old Oleracae.

The “sap” you have is the dust and debris that collects on the fronds . When moist air cleanses the fronds that dripping mess ends up on you car . It washes off easily (unlike sap from conifers) but can still be annoying. All my large palms do this. I would recommend the Archontophoenix palms ( King or Alexandrae) . The thing with Cuban Royals ( Roystonia Regia ) is that fronds fall on their own , which is great but when the palm gets bigger can be harmful to cars and humans. Queen Palms ( Syagrus Romanzoffiana) are messy and require trimming unless you enjoy sweeping up after it flowers, and that happens a lot. There are others as well , depending if you want slow or fast growth . My first choice for ease of growth would be Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana ( King Palm) , a pair of them would look very nice in that spot. They just want lots of water . They will burn a bit when first planted and may look a bit tattered at first but will settle in and look great within a year . They can be root sensitive so care must be taken when planting them . Also , they too will flower and eventually drop pea sized fruit , but not near like the Queen palms . The fronds are self cleaning , like other crown shaft palms , but don’t weigh 40+ lbs like a Royal. Welcome to the forum . That’s my two cents opinion and worth about what you paid for it! 😂Harry

Sorry to hear about your pandanus, Thise are such cool plants I always wanted to try I handled the neotropical garden of a botanic garden in Jacksonville a few years ago and in full sun we had the following which didn’t spread and I thought looked good: Ceiba speciosa (flowered this year) bark alone is conversation starter of course had jacaranda (and it’s a very nice plant to grow other plants beneath) and dwarf red powderpuff extremely tough that goes with anything is Cordia boisseri, not nearly planted enough in full sun conditions in Florida. Should be evergreen for you If I had a yard in Florida it’d be a Myrtle oak (small species and has that nice furrowed bark perfect for epis) mounted with broms and orchids though

For $150 an hour I can do the job, plus tax’s!

December and January would be of great concern for Parajubaea with just the average temperatures but those record temperatures would turn any palm into frozen mush.