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This Gaussia Gomez Pompae caught my eye. So much so , I had to adopt it from @DoomsDave jungle . I really like the shape of this guy! Looking forward to watching it grow. Harry

Kurt and I made a clean getaway with a great heist! A few new ones for the collection . A couple of Gaussia Gomez Pompae , a nice Ptychosperma Sanderianum , Dypsis Cabadae , a few more Ernie’s , and a cute little Arenga Engleri . Kurt was able to grab a few others as well! A great day , as always , at @DoomsDave jungle . Wonderful company , a beautiful day , and luvin all the palms. Harry A few of our “ pix of the crop” This Gaussia has an interesting base. Kinda reminds me of a certain Hyophorbe.

My house has changed after 5 years on this forum…. It’s a jungle out there. (After many holes dug, a truckload of fertilizer and mulch, and a zillion gallons of water) Thanks for all the assistance.

Trithrinax brasilensis growing in my Jax FL garden

Dug put some more horrible grass and made another garden bed, planted two multi Archontophoenix “albang” hybrids and a foxtail. As a few have suggested, these will make the canopy one day, also block out my ugly workshop. Unfortunately they were only from 300mm pots so not yet trunking.

The work you’ve done looks amazing . It must be hard to see the damage but encouraging to see new growth . Harry

The attack kitties were taking a nap so no cats were encountered. Harry

Nothing a little cat nip wont fix, drug em up to the eyeballs on that stuff and all they will do is sleep and dream of saucer’s of milk, mice and more cat nip, makes all that cat training look like a pre school lunch nap instead of a masters degree in cat psychology training to be ninja attack cats! 🤣 Richard

Only liquid seaweed at the same rate as every other palm in the greenhouse has been used, plus I have hundreds of nana seedlings that receive the same amount. It beats me what killed them, in this situation it helps if the grower was keeping records of what they do for back reference to diagnose with, instead of relying on memory, so definitely grower mistake for not keeping records. No records I can’t cross reference to find out my mistakes so I can’t learn from my mistake in this case!

And the last big bamboo project was rearranging the SW pathway that goes to the side yard. After taking down the Foxtail triple and big single, I could directly see from my backyard straight into my neighbor's backyard. And on top of that, it was the only semi-open spot with LOTS of highway noise coming through. Initially I expected to only be able to split my three Bambusa Textilis "Ladyfinger" aka "Richard Waldron" into a few clumps, but I managed to split them into a whopping 33 plantings! I did a complete row on each side of the pathway, with 11 on the SW (left) side and 12 on the NW (right) side: And with spacing of only about 1 foot between clumps, hopefully by the end of the summer it'll start filling in pretty solid: From the other end of the pathway:

I replaced the Gigantochloa with an Encephalartos Whitelockii from the NW bed, and subsequently replaced THAT with some Zebrina bananas from the SE corner: My next big project was even MORE bamboo rearrangement. In the South center bamboo hedgeline I'd planted a Bambusa Boniopsis. This lost the tops of all culms in the 22.5F freeze, had tiny leaves, and the clump was getting a lot bigger for this area with limited access. It was already about 3' diameter with 20-25' culms 1.5" diameter. So I chopped the tops and dug this one out too.: I had an open spot in my SW bamboo hedge. So I moved a Bambusa Glaucophylla/Heterostachya non-variegated from the middle of the fenceline to the empty spot. It's the clump to the upper right in the above Boniopsis photo. I just chopped all the culms at ~4' tall and dug out the whole clump at once: In the same row I'd originally planted a bunch of Bambusa Textilis "Albostriata" in 4 spots. Albo is bigger than Gracilis and has a broader footprint and spread, so I decided to trash these before they became unmanageable. Here it is partway through the 3rd clump. These only took about a half hour each because they hadn't completely filled in yet: I still have one big clump of Albo, but it's in a spot with easier access.

Oops upside down well since I don’t know how to edit a post I can’t flip them so anyway here’s some upside down labels.

First new palms for me in two or three years.

They hate palms, is all I can think of!

Here are most of the palms I own

Caryota obtusa opening up a frond mid winter. Almost looks variegated.

Here's mine in Pepeekeo.

A few pics from a foggy morning. I love all plants. But at some point, the silhouette of a Sabal palm hooked me for life. It was the first plant I added to the garden, and hands down my favorite.

Along the front porch was (and still is) a mess. But it's somewhat less messy than this: I yanked the dead clumps of Cat palm and Elegans here and distributed some of the taller green/purple gingers. The two Peace Lily clumps are very slowly growing back. The dead stumps of Philodendron "Xanadu" seem to be regrowing too. Unfortunately the weeds are growing back faster...again. I desperately need to mulch this area and the other side of the walkway. Maybe by the end of the year this will grow out and not look so bad: Speaking of looking bad and weeds...this agave bed was completely clean of weeds on 5/12. It took a full day of hand weeding to go from this: To this: And the other rear agave bed took a whole day to go from this: To this: Most likely this agave bed will get demolished, as the freeze killed about 2/3 of the plants in this bed. I'm probably going to consolidate the agaves into the left arc and plant palms and cycads in front of the Bismarck.

Oh, no... 😱 Why do some 'landscapers' think they are giving you better value by taking off way more during a trim than is necessary? aztropic Mesa, Arizona

mine produces lots of fertile seeds

The final touches has been completed for the new palm garden, now the big decision what gets planted, I have a nice big itaya amoricorum that will go in there. But after that small dypsis varieties perhaps, I really don’t know I have that many varieties all wanting that special place, whatever goes in they will the top of the collection range. But it’s amazing what you can do with the right machine!

Nice one, just make a the video on your phone, and post it just like a picture!

Livistona decora

I recently visited South Padre Island and the RGV, and as a former Floridian I thought I’d share a few impressions. Driving south on US-59 through the brush country, I was greeted in Harlingen by a mature queen palm. Living in Houston, where there are virtually none, and having not seen any on the drive down, it immediately caught my attention. About a mile later I spotted a royal poinciana, and another mile after that a mature royal palm. I was surprised by how abruptly the landscape transitioned into something that felt tropical. Along the east coast, that change is much more gradual. Before long I was seeing Australian pines, ficus, and many of the plants I regularly saw in Central Florida that are absent around Houston. Overall, South Padre Island and the RGV really impressed me. South Padre, in particular, felt genuinely tropical, with a warm, humid sea breeze very reminiscent of South Florida. In terms of vegetation, I’d say it felt slightly more tropical than coastal Volusia County but a bit less so than Brevard County. On Florida’s Gulf Coast, the closest comparison that came to mind was Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, or perhaps South Tampa—if you mentally removed the coconuts, Veitchia, and other tropicals that were largely wiped out in Texas by the 2021 freeze. The palm scene was better than I expected. I would’ve loved to see a few coconut palms, but I didn’t come across any. Hopefully they’ll make a comeback as the climate allows. More generally, we really enjoyed the area and will definitely be back. It was a pleasant surprise to find a corner of Texas that, in many ways, felt so much like Florida.

I find am sun to be best, plants look better in shade to half day sun. The plants with double split leaves are really nice.

Time for a few of the best, or at least some eye candy time!

I knew it was inevitable, but for how long will it last. The first winter losers. The verschaffeltia was a no brainer I knew they were doomed, a gift of some seeds out the window. The raubul is not to happy, although it’s tropical growth that’s burning its already not looking good. And the humilis that’s all three dead and I was surprised at that lose. You just don’t know until you try, but no more verschaffeltia for me 🤣Verschaffeltia Areca raubul Chuniophoenix humillis

And I posted some more bamboo destruction over in the Bamboo Thread. I took out my big clump of Bambusa "Nana" aka xThrysocalamus Liang aka Quail large leaf clone near the garage. It was another "too big too fast" type that was also not too cold hardy. 100% of the culms died at 22.5F and left me with HEAVY solid culms to clean up. I planted it in April 2023 and it had grown to a 5' diameter clump over 2' deep with huge underground culms starting. The existing dead ones were 2-3" diameter and 28-35' tall, so it was likely going to get even bigger this summer. At that height it was too close to the house. I had a clump of Dendrocalamus Hamiltonii flop over in a hurricane in the same spot, so I was not about to repeat it! In the same spot I planted a Schizostachyum "Murray Island." This was a suggestion from @Brad52 and is supposed to be around 15' tall and 0.75" diameter. Hardiness reports vary, but it might be ok to either 28F or 35F...we'll see! On the other side of the van I had a Gigantochloa "Malaysian Black" that I took out in mid-June. I originally planted it in July 2022 next to my East pathway, and then discovered it had a very spreading top. I moved it in 2024 to a spot that I hoped would work, but all the new culms just started growing out at a 45 degree angle. It was a continuous hassle to cut back, and then all the culms died in the February freeze. The leaves are huge and have a neat ripply look: But the culms start shooting out at about a 30 degree angle, and then bend further. The clump ended up being (almost) wider than it was tall. In some yards that might work great, but not for me! They also never really turned black like Lako, and just stayed kind of a dark brown.

@kinzyjr my biggest foe right now is the heat. It's pretty common to see a heat index of 110-120F in the afternoon, so I can really only work for 30 minutes at a time. I'll drink over a gallon of water during the day and still get dehydrated. I'll work for 30, sit inside in the A/C in front of the fan for 30, rinse and repeat. So this week I consolidated my agave beds due to all the deaths from February. I lost a whopping 77 agaves, aloes and cacti and only 51 survivors in the rear two beds. With a 60% mortality rate I'm just not going to bother replacing the non-hardy ones. Here's a partial list of deaths: Aloe Betsileensis, Ovatispina "Blue Rapture", Montana "Blue Ocean", Mangave "Pineapple Punch", Aloe Swordfish, Montana, Dragon Toes, Ovatifolia "Vanzie", Attenuata "Raea's Gold", Mangave "Blue Dart", Attenuata Boutin Blue, Attenuata Ray of Light, Mangave "Frosted Elegance", Potatorum unknown, Celsii Multicolor, Aloe "Hercules", Montana "Blue Sky", Mangave "Tooth Fairy", Bracteosa "Daddy Longlegs", Parryi Huachucensis Excelsior, Lophantha "La Bufa Baby", Cereus Cristata, Xylonacantha "Frostbite", Lophantha green, Lophantha Quadricolor, Sun Glow, Americana Variegata, "Stairway to Heaven", Aloe "Marsha Layhew", "Mad Cow", Mangave "Blazing Saddles", Mangave "Praying Hands", Bracteosa "Mateo", Americana Lemon Lime, Agave Obscura "Red Skyline", Seemanniana x Potatorum, Dragon Toes, Weberi, Salmiana "Crassispina", Guiengola "Moto Sierra", Mangave "Lavender Lady", Horrida, Seemanniana x Isthmensis, Potatorum "Snowfall", Aloe "Wildfire", Vilmoriniana "Stained Glass", Potatorum "Cameron Blue", Impressa, "Devil's Tongue" Ferocactus Latispinus, "x Leo", Wercklei, Valenciana, Mangave "Macho Mocha", Aloe Vaombe, "Blue Ember", "Pokey Ghost", Opuntia Violacea "Santa Rita", Titanota "White Ice", "Mad Cow", "Royal Spine", Salmiana "Beast", Salmiani, Marmorata, Weberi blue, Manfreda Maculosa. In the SE side I kept the area around the "Bluebell Giants" and moved about 8 agaves into that area. Surviving moves are Crazy Horse, a couple of Ripple Effect, Mr. Ripple, three Salmiana, a questionable Blue Glow: And in the center rear bed I moved another 5 survivors into this center rear bed, Montana "Baccarat," Ovaticata, Snow Leopard, Dragon Toes/Magnifica, and Filifera x Isthmensis: And in the front yard over the septic drainfield 5 more survivors: a Bluebell Giants, Mr. Ripple, and Ripple Effect offsets, a Franzosinii and Salmiana "Logan Calhoun":

Salak seed germinate using only tissue and water. Growing from 9 june until 3 july (24 days)

Some color…

Pelagodoxa mesocarpa - $6 each - (only about 90 available)Chambeyronia macrocarpa - .50 each- (only 80 available)Pinanga ‘blue seed’- small amount- .25 eachBentinckia condapanna- small amount . 25 eachAllagoptera arenaria - .25 eachBeachpalms@cfl.rr.comPelagodoxa are easy to germinate. What I do, is put seeds inside the house, in the AC, for about a week. Then I try cracking outer shell using light pressure with a nut cracker. If they don’t crack easily, leave a few more days. Soon, you will hear the crack, then you can gently remove outer shell carefully with a knife. This speeds up germination. If you decide to sow them with the ‘shell on’ I have heard they sprout fine this way too. It just takes longer.

This is one of those palms that keeps on giving. Tim

At that point they might as well just have them cut down entirely. Wild how anybody could do this to a palm and think this looks good in any way. If someone ever did this to one of my palms i would probably end up in jail 😂

This forum can have that effect on folks! Good job, looks terrific. Harry

In Ventura , by my shop , there were a couple of Brahea Edulis that I love to see every time I pass. Someone just trimmed the poor things just like that. The other day , when I passed by one crown was bent over and looked like it was hanging by a thread. I was upset and they weren’t even my palms! I believe the saw cut into the crown😕. They are very old palms and it was sad to see. The other one looks pathetic. Harry

Mine is doing okay in So Cal but has a bit of recent leaf burn. The one that I have in a pot is younger but somehow much bigger and happier which seems to be the opposite growth habit of all my New Cals that are in the ground.

I don’t think those will need to be trimmed for at least a couple of weeks!!!

mine have been in the garden for over 30 years

I agree about palmetto. Way underrated for creating a vibe.

Let’s see what’s cooking in the greenhouse!

They are a nice palm, I have seen a few in a couple of gardens, one garden they were in a creek bed and had access to unlimited water and would have been submerged in floods for sure. The other garden they were in a gully and they were impressive in size, a group planting of 3 monsters. Either way they are beautiful palms. Still somewhat rare, and the ones I have offered for sale went quite fast. As palm conservationist or palm nuts we should prioritise getting them into as many botanical gardens we can, asap for preservation of the genus!

Making up for lost time. Caladiums, bananas, and an Aegelsomething "Really Red"..

A lot has changed, even the colour of your car has changed! I can see the love you have for gardening!

I have a rare variegated Heliconia rhizome for sale. The plant is only moderately sized, 5 to 6 feet tall at maturity. The variegation is strong. It is not a cold-tolerant plant, but should be fine in South FL. $60. Plus shipping.

I decided to make an updated list of my previous list. I was originally going to keep some plants for myself to take and donate some, but I decided to sadly get rid of all of them, since I really need the funds, and taking them/donating them would be too much of a hassle... I wont include any pictures here since it will clutter up the post. Feel free to ask for pictures in DMs though! Zamia furfuracea x spartea $5 ea Zamia standleyi (medium sized) $25 Zamia Purpurea (larger seedling) $50-$60 (depending on which one) Zamia pygmaea (medium sized) $90 Zamia pygmaea (small seedling) $40 Zamia vasquezii $70 Zamia splendens $70 Zamia stevensonii $150 Encephalartos altensteinii (large seedling) $60 Encephalartos altensteinii (dwarf/runt 4 year old seedling) $15 Encephalartos horrida large $200 Stangeria medium $90 lepidozamia peroffskyana $100 Dioon edule x angustifolium $15 Dioon merolae (medium sized) $180 ceratozamia miqueliana (leaf has burn damage)$25 Begonia chloroneura $7 Shipping priority $10-15 DM to inquire further or if you'd like to see any more pictures!

That is the old leaf base dying off . Discoloration is normal as they get ready to fall off . Eventually it will be more and more of a brown color until it just peels off . It is self cleaning but sometimes after they get really brown they can be removed with just a tug where the frond was cut off. Harry Last year on a Roystonia Oleracae . Most crown shaft palms are self cleaning and the old leaf base looks very brown before falling off.

So an update on mine. I thought it was starting to flush about a week ago. I trimmed the smaller leaves to clean up a bit. Today I noticed it looks like there's a cone instead of a flush.