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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.

I got this problem with a 40' tall coconut palm leaning into a pool. A standard bucket truck will not reach it from outside the fence. So it has to be climbed with a ladder while it sways in the wind. Here is a bit of splash into the pool, and I collected 45 coconuts.

Here they are thatch palm and Lisa

I would like to see Richard’s house if he brings all of his 100,000 palms inside for the winter 🤣

I'll add that P. pacifica and P. thurstonii do grow fine out here in the desert around Palm Springs. I have a couple of P. pacifica (purchased from a nursery in Florida) in the ground and a P. thurstonii that I sprouted from seed I collected from the tree at our former house on Big Pine Key, and after four years it's still strap-leaf and still in a container. Both grow fine here, though I purposely keep P. pacifica under canopy to avoid the leaf-damage that occurs under open sky on cold nights. It has been documented both in Florida and SoCal to be relatively bud-hardy but leaf-damage occurs under open sky somewhere in the low 40s. Out here in the desert it throws new leaves so fast in spring and summer that by June-July it has a nice head of new leaves, although I haven't seen any real damage growing mine under canopy despite temps into the low 30s F. Also Matt Bradford I believe did grow one at his house in San Diego but winter damage to the leaves and slow recovery in the cool spring and summer meant a result of diminishing returns for him, so he removed it, and documented this in a post on the forum here. While I haven't seen any results about P. thurstonii in the coastal plain or fogbelt (zone 24), it is definitely a slower grower than P. pacifica for me here. I noticed this in the Florida Keys as well. It is certainly correct that at least P. pacifica is not recommended for the coast and coastal/interior valley areas. The great thing about the Hawai'ian Pritchardia species is that there are so many of them and they occupy such different niches, elevations and windward/leeward locations, sun, cloud, rain, dry, etc., that there are species for many different climate zones in California. When I lived in Los Feliz (eastern Hollywood, Los Angeles), I grew a Pritchardia beccariana that thrived, and it got quite tall after we moved across town, though it is gone today. I'm sure this was due to purposeful removal and not cold damage. It went through the 1990 freeze with no real problem at all, while young Royal palms and other plants around it were killed.

Some colours from the garden, wish the bottle and triangles retained that red as they mature. Also bronze new leaf on the Archontophoenix sp.

Good job, that Pseudophoenix is the bomb. Tim

Another great Australian palm. Slow to grow and germinate. Very sporadic germination rates, anywhere from 12 months to 3 years with them germinating in sporadic bursts. And with the added bonus of being cool tolerant!

Thanks Michael, that's good to know. The only Pritchardia to grow for me in my always cold, humid microclimate is P. minor.

Listen, my friend Richard: buy more seeds from RPS in Germany. Buy the seeds and germinate them yourself. Once they sprout, keep them in your house during the winter—don't keep them in the greenhouse; you need to acclimate them indoors. I keep mine inside the house, and not a single one has died. My area is colder than yours, yet none of my tropical palms have died; they just stop growing in the winter. Hugo

I remember my first trip to Kuaii, the coconuts stacked up around mail boxes in residential neighborhoods with a “free” sign . How much coconut can a family eat? I will say , like most fruits and veggies, home grown / fresh coconut is awesome! Harry

Joeys I don’t mind and if they ever get to be weed even better, but the cursed tree fern is a problem in my container plants, such a problem, I guess the old saying one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. I reckon you water your one a lot especially in your sunroom?

I went to the nearest shelter today to drop off a case of prescription food that Sancho won't eat anymore. She said the small dogs go as soon as they come in. I've got a customer who had a stray dumped in her yard and that might work if it's not too big. I wanted a puppy from the shelter so bad but I'm in no shape for puppy and potty training and I don't want to have to feed a giant beast either. I think 20 pounds is about my weight limit. And it's gotta get along with Sancho and the 2 million cats.

I blame you for getting me hooked on broms, I only like the colours and the humidity affect they give. Not into names and all that stuff with broms, Ive already destroyed enough brain cells over the years, what storage space left is for palms and my wife’s name and remembering to say I love you to her, can’t have broms getting in the way now can I.

I don’t an excuse to buy seeds I know that much, the only excuse I do need though is explaining to the wife why I purchase so many seeds. No shes not dry they died about 4 weeks ago. And the amount of rain we been getting no chance. I haven’t fertilised or sprayed to cause any issues but obviously I did something wrong. All good it’s not like they are super rare and being a synonym of nana no great lose. I purchased them at the recent pacsoa meeting so I blame the prior grower 🤣

I just spent the last few days driving around Southern California and photographed the Newport Beach Hyatt Regency palms, the South Coast Plaza Mall palms, and the LA Arboretum up in Arcadia, CA! Click here for the complete album with labels Clinostigma savoryanum - Newport Beach Veitchia arecina - Newport Beach Coconut in Long Beach, CA Coconut in Santa Ana, CA Chrysalidocarpus lutescens - they are common, but I love them Flawless Roystonea regia Coccothrinax crinita - LA Arboretum Thrinax radiata LA Arboretum allegedly has some of the tallest Washingtonia robusta in the world Ravenea xerophila Livistona lanuginosa Calamus caryotoides

Sean, the common wisdom is that only the Hawaiian species will grow in California, so... no P. pacifica or P. thurstonii.

That’s what I thought, but there all dead, perhaps a grower mistake but on all three?

That’s the one Harry, giving it a go you just never know. Verschaffeltia where a gift, I even told the gifter no they won’t grow, I only attempted them as he said they are a different looking form of seed, black form. Richard

My winter low is 2 degrees celcius. Never any frost.

My pindo palm has been developing black spots on its older fronds that eventually spread and the frond dies. My research led me to believe the cause is a potassium deficiency which pindos are prone to and I have been providing it with supplemental potassium and palm specific fertilizer monthly but that has not slowed down the black spots. I had the same problem last year and the black spots mostly stopped developing after the palm received additional potassium but that the case this year. I have been removing the affected fronds out of concern this may be a fungus. The pindo is producing new growth like crazy so I’m not sure how concerned I should be.

These guys continue upward. Waist to chest high trunks after 5 years in the ground. The tips get a little beat up in all day sun and fairly open conditions, but they are winners in S Florida with a lot of water and fertilizer and extra potassium.

Santa anas are devastating in causing water loss. Its one thing to be hot and dry but add strong wind and plants are desiccated even more rapidly. Wind is often underestimated as a drying force. I remember some santa ana winds from my time in orange county CA, my patio plants looked nice then the winds came and they just crisped up. Coastal humidity kept them happy till the desert winds came, then dead in a few days. That was my first exposure to santa anas. You really cant address santa anas with windbreak, they bring the desert with them.

You can have that in your own! Iam already looking at Siamese cat books, never been without a pet in my life before, just some freedom gor a little time, but iam sure the first time I see a kitten I know what will happen🤣

Still managing to dodge it. Min of 2.4C last night then fog and drizzle rolled in again pushing temperatures to 4-5C before sunrise. Just checked and we’re actually back down to 3.5C at 8:30am. A bit unusual for here when clear skies were initially forecasted to have these temperatures rises throughout the night. Still haven’t had a single frost settle on grass or leaves which is a pretty good result for this time of year. Looks like tonight is our last immediate risk of frost. If we get light frost and temps stay above freezing I’d be pretty happy, I thought for sure this stretch would give us multiple frosts and a night or 2 below freezing. Day time temps warming slightly too now.

Those are impressive specimens Alberto and the growth equally so. Not having to irrigate pretty sweet eh? Tim

I don’t know what it is but to me, Decipiens looks fantastic as a double planting. It’s already quite the statement palm but two really makes it look great! That is a perfect set with awesome growth. Funny to me no irrigation is required. Must be nice! 👍🏻 -dale

Another beauty in the garden!

Survivor stories: IT'S ALIVE! I was able to cover up my pandanus utilis pretty good during the hard freeze. All the leafs got fried but the center held a green hue giving me hope it would live. I pampered it and over time noticed the crown had green, but no growth for months. One day i took the top between my finger and thumb, gave a gentle tug and the whole top pulled out with a mushy rotten bottom. I thought "well, that's dead and i just didn't know it yet." So i stopped watering/fert, let the weeds grow around. And had been planning to dig it out and put something else there. But through the combined powers of indecision and procrastination that never happened. Months later i spotted a little green shooting out of the middle and was surprised to find the crown growing back. Now it's getting pampered again and looks like recovery is possible, which is a big chance from a few weeks ago when i considered it a dead body in the front yard i needed to get rid of.

Fun pic