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I have finally been able to bring the three main species of Beccariophoenix together in my Oakland CA garden. B. Alfredii has been growing well from 1 gallon and has really picked up speed this past year (prob close to 4 ft or so of frond length. B. fenestralis has been slow but solid from a 1 gallon as well for the past 3 years (hard to see this palm as its protected and covered by other plants). B. madagascariensis has proven to be very hard for me to track down until this past week in San Clemente! I was able to get a masterfully grown 15 gallon and drove it back to Oakland in my car with palm fronds slapping my son in the face in the passenger seat! B. fenestralis with nice windows! 3 years in the ground. B. madagascariensis with Acanthophoenix rubra in the ground for 2 days lol. Looking good with the recent rains! B. alfredii with beautiful purple petioles and fast growth.

Beautiful sunset at Mission Bay Park during San Diego’s hottest March weather on record.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWprkBLDd1d/?igsh=MTBoc2JrZWY4dDQ3NQ== Alocasia Polly split. Got 12 corms out of it before my dumb ass threw the old soil in the yard. Guess who went digging with a flashlight? I found 10, I figured that's enough. I'll find the others in the morning. Or I'll have alocasia growing in the yard, whatever.

I live in Southern California about 20 miles from the ocean . With our soil , I have never found the need to fertilize Phoenix Roebelini. They do like a lot of water , especially when it is hot out . As @Kim said , it was a very warm , extended heat pattern early this year. That could’ve had something to do with what is going on with yours. I would continue with regular watering and it should grow out of it . Harry

@dimitris most probably can give an explanation on the existence of this odd palm in Katakolo lol!

Thought I'd share a few pics from my yard after a rather chilly winter - the Central Valley of California had a record-breaking fog event from late November through about the end of 2025. Temps stayed in the 40s for 360+ consecutive hours - no freezing, no frosts, just consistently cold and wet with next to no sunshine for nearly a month. Most palms grew right through it, but a few of the more tropical species really hated this - I rehomed a few to warmer (drier/sunnier) climates down south. Here are a few shots from today - everything in growth mode as we're getting 80s and 90s consistently - racing toward the 100s too! In just a matter of weeks winter will be a far memory as we bake in the 100s until we cool again in October. Archontophoenix tuckeri - grown from seed from @DoomsDave. I'm pretty sure you threw a handful of seeds at me during one of my visits to your place. Trunking archontophoenix cunninghamia in the back. Seed-grown howea forsteriana & allagoptera peeking in behind tuckeri. Syagrus rommanzoffiana - nothing special, but I recently did clean up the trunk, which makes it look 10x nicer. A shot of my front yard - the pink Handroanthus is just about done blooming. Below it I have Brahea Super Silver, Brahea Pimo, and closest to the bottom is a Jubaeopsis affra, recoving from an irrigation mishap in summer of 2024. The irrigation timer went offline mid June while we were out of the country traveling, and this whole area went without water for 2 weeks. Jubaeopsis took that personally. It's been slowly recovering from that 'drought' event. Handroanthus umbellatus was in bloom just a few weeks ago. This is Livistona speciosa. I grew this from seed, and gave the rest to folks in Southern California. Does anyone have any still growing? I think some of them may have gone at palm society auctions. Chamaedorea hooperiana - The ficus roxburghii looks so pretttyyyyy in the back with all that new growth Sabal uresana - looking stretched. This thing is slowwwwwwww This is the view out our back door. Arcontophoenix tuckeri on the left. The red amaryllis is an heirloom passed down from a neighbor before she passed. Phoenix rupicola. You can spot the Brahea Super Silver in the background. The silver-ish palm below it is Chamaerops humilis var. argentea. There's a Cycas deboaensis on the bottom right that will need to find a permanent spot. I have a habit of putting plants in temporary spots, then moving them when I decide on a permanent spot. I feel like plants develop much better in the ground than in pots. They also benefit from regular irrigation being in the ground, and I don't have to worry about forgetting to water them in pots. This little corner area is filling in so nicely, and will become very thick with vegetation as plants keep growing. Beccariophoenix alfredii is in the far back. Ravenea glauca is center toward the left. Sabal mauritiformis is off to the right. Cycas revoluta x deboaensis is front and center. Lastly, a shot of a Clytostoma callistegioides flower, and a Dendrobium chrysotoxum which I have in bloom. The Dendrobium is grown inside a greenhouse. The last photo is of my plumerias waking up after a chilly nap. I had lots of rot to deal with this winter. BONUS - see if you can spot the Chrysalidocarps prestonianus... It went into the ground directly as a 4-inch plant from Floribunda some 5 or 6 years ago. Almost forgot the Chrysalidocarpus decaryi as well. Decaryi doesn't like the prolonged cold/wet conditions, but it grows out of damage fairly quickly - and we don't always get those particularly cold/wet winters. Some years we are dry and sunny like the rest of Southern CA.

That Butia is nice. It does have some tattered older fronds, but I really like that large crown. I wish it was possible to know which Butias would get that large when buying smaller potted plants.

Some Vandas I got to take care of recently while I was in Florida.

Friendswood/SE Pearland today The pre-2021 Bismarckia start appearing here The queens around here are more green than not. Fat Butia

In an area full of Copernicia's:

That's interesting. The Archontophoenix teracarpa (not an official species, and who knows what it might actually be) at Hollis Garden are in full sun as well, and don't seem to mind. Archontophoenix alexandrae are also at Hollis in full sun.

Bringing back this older thread since I was able to join the “Malcomberi hybrid” club. 😎 Was in Josh’s greenhouse (he just had this one), and I’m loving the brilliant white color of the trunk (top covering has some minor marks, but I’m being careful not to touch the base). I set it down to take this photo, but am now debating its final placement. I assume I shouldn’t give it full (California) sun, but can it handle a “mostly sunny” spot? Or should I give it one of my few “mostly shade” spots? I’m pretty nervous about this palm, due to the low success rate by growers near me that are much more experienced than I am. FYI, mine is a single trunk at the moment. Josh showed me two in his garden… one is still single, and one has split. Both were stunning. Thank you for any care info you can offer, esp in regards to light levels. ☀️ Oh, and the white doesn’t wash off in heavy rain, right? I know it comes off if you touch or scratch it, but i don’t need to shelter it from rain, right? (not that San Diego gets much). 🌨️ Really hoping this one thrives. 🤞

@Palms1984 Now that’s “postcard” perfect , right there! One of the many reasons I’m still in Southern California . It was a very warm month for March , following a very wet year . What’s not to be grateful for , warm weather , plenty of rain and happy palm trees. Harry

Greigia sphacelata, a big Chilean bromeliad with edible fruit. I grew these from seed several years ago, easy and tough.

I worry that's because the big box stores take the new zoning seriously for plants and much of Texas has been upgraded (apparently I am in planting zone 9... lol)

Super cool for you to assemble the avengers. I have always wanted to plant fenestralis but have been wary of it being "less hardy". Not sure how it would do with occasional frost/prolonged cool/wet. Alfredii just grows right through our winter in Fresno, seems to be the easiest to grow maybe?

@Fishinsteeg234 How did your Archontophoenix survive the freeze this last February of 2026? Do you still have any for sale? I'm in Mount Dora and would like to plant some Cunninghamiana and Maxima under our extensive Live Oak canopy. Hope to hear from you.

Last night I realized the boots of my seed-grown Roystonea violacea were ready to fall off. I peeled them away and discovered about 18" of pink/purple trunk. It's the real deal! It is the sole germination success of 20 seeds I bought from RPS 6-7 years ago before customs cracked down on plant material from overseas. See link below for more info on this rare, endangered palm from the eastern tip of Cuba. https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Roystonea_violacea It survived Hurricane Ian last year with only windburn and a 60-degree lean to the south. It has since straightened to almost vertical and replaced damaged fronds so only the boots remained to hide its trunk. In the photos below you can see scars on its crown shaft from hurricane debris. Eventually, it will grow out of that damage. It will be smaller (up to 50') and more gracile than behemoth Roystonea regia. Still a juvenile, however, but I hope I live long enough to see it flower. Roystonea violacea, Cape Coral, FL, October 2023

How probable is it, that by cutting out competitive roots, one creates entrances for root pathogens? Could such a side effect be prevented or the risk be reduced with adding special trichoderma strains in to the new hole?

Selling 2 Archontophoenix Myolensis I have that are outgrowing some 5gal pots and would love to be planted in the ground. These are the last of a group that I started from seed of the mature specimens that I have in my yard. Asking $30 ea. Local pick up in Huntington Beach, Ca. only. Direct message me if you are interested in purchasing either one of them.

Thanks! I've had them about 2 years. They've been through 2 winters each one bottoming out at 27°F unprotected with no damage. They started flowering last year but only got two fruits. Looks like this year will be more productive!

Me too, Alfredii

I don't think so...the leaf plane is all wrong...agree with B. Alfredii.

Nice find! I agree with Beccariophoenix, I would specifically say it looks like B. alfredii to me.

Not sure what this is. Located at ANSG without a tag!

Thanks for the photos Mike and for starting this thread Kim. It's really striking to me how similar the size of my palms in California are to the ones in Hawaii for both rubra and rousselii. And I know of others with both rubra and rousselii from similar time frames that have plants similar size to mine, so it's not just me getting lucky. When comparing my palms to Hawaii grown palms, it's most common that I have palms still looking like seedlings while the Hawaii growers have palms from the same batch setting seed. Growth rate difference is often 3-5X per year and this compounds over time. For some reason these Acanthophoenix seems to grow nearly as fast (and look about as good) in Hawaii and California. The descriptions do not indicate them growing at particularly high altidudes, and as far as I know La Reunion is quite tropical. No idea why this is the case, not complaining. These are pretty high on the list of tropical palms that have surprising cold-hardiness and ability to grow well in cooler/dryer climates (Heterospathe barfodii is maybe top of the list for me). Matt

Hi Bret, I gave up on trying to clean the seeds, it's just too hard. They germinate anyways. Disclaimer that I have never waited it out to see if I actually get a good overall germination rate. I got ~10 germinated seeds from several hundred, and then gave the rest to Len, then he got several and I think tossed them. I thought it was maybe because our climate is not ideal that the seeds were not great, but Jeff Marcus said he has had the same experience, super slow and then very sporadic germination. The seedlings seem pretty easy despite the starting so small. This all applies to A rousselii. My A rubra haven't flowered yet, but I germinated from three different years off of Dennis' plant. One batch gave very high germination rates and the seedlings were very robust - I literally did not lose a single seedling after germination out of maybe 50-60. I just could not kill those plants. The other batches I got either no germination, or low germination and all the seedlings died within a couple months after germinating. I'm generally convinced that conditions during seed development can impact not just germination rate/seed quality, but also the health and robstness of seedlings for at least the early stages of development. Matt

I met Walt briefly at a Fairchild Gardens palm sale over twenty-five years ago. Shortly thereafter, he began posting on the Forum. I always greatly enjoyed his posts. They were deep and thorough, especially after a cold event. The Lake Placid area is beautiful. It is atypical of Florida in. it's rolling hills and numerous lakes. Walt identified with clinical precision the nature of his climate together with microclimates located nearby. At the Fairchild Gardens sale, Walt was not just looking around, but was actively purchasing many many palms. while I am certain that he experienced many disappointments, he was always willing to test the edges. I can remember one time after a freeze in Lake Placid, he could only ponder how is neighbor only miles away, but on the lease side of the lake, did not lose that voluptuous Coco nucifera. Well, he learned and planted under the large oak canopy and tamed the beast. I loved his YouTube presentations. So laid-back, articulate and cool. My heart goes out to his wife, Cathy. I am certain that she is a very special person. God bless her and Walt.

Beautiful Gyuseppe 🤗

some of my ALSTROEMERIA in bloom, called lily of the Andes of Peru

I believe it is a C. ekamani:

Well just adding to my blog here. I had my first in person customer today. Sweet lady, home health care nurse. She and her daughter showed up looking for the elephant ears I have on FB marketplace, and they were just kind of in awe of all the stuff I've got growing _out here_. She told me she keeps killing her houseplants, I showed her how to mix coco coir and perlite and stop using potting soil, her daughter was fascinated with the kittens. Sancho didn't make an appearance, and she killed a bee that flew in after I told her I was allergic so I basically gave her the plants for half price and gave her a philodendron. I think she'll be back once more stuff sprouts up. I've got dozens more bulbs to sprout. And then there was a bunch of "ohhhh yeah that's not for sale" 😂

I guess it was time to update my Inkbird thermostat. Now the left side is named Colocasia Cooker and the right is Bulb and Palm cooker (character limited...blah) Anyway that's all I did today. That and chop up the colocasia stems I planted today. I mean, with all of those weeds my soil clearly needs more nitrogen, right? 😑

I love how nothing I've posted here in months is palm related. I had a yard thread somewhere but whatevs. This is my journey.

https://www.instagram.com/stories/sanchosgreenpaws/3855775357870401742?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=d3Z1ejc1cWtnMHA2 Welp. 2 of my colocasia bulbs went mushy. But I found a white Monstera at Wally World. I dunno when it got delivered, but it's literally never been watered since they put it in that stupid self watering pot, it apparently took a ride in a storm since half the dirt was gone, a few snapped stems, and it'll absolutely piss you off to hear how much I paid for it. You ready to get pissed? Lol yes. I just bought a White Monstera for less than a box of Pop Tarts. It's already in a 1g pot.....

I guess in theory I can throw the clip on grow lights where they belong - in the damn trash. The PPFD on those is an absolute joke. But it was 2020 and I didn't know any better and quality LEDs cost hundreds of dollars back then. If anybody cares, this is a a 30w 2 foot Freelicht tube and it absolutely kills the Barrina lights that flood Amazon with their ads as measured with Photone. I'm gonna throw more alocasias and philos in here, I've got so many big colocasia bulbs sprouting (SOOOO STOKED FOR THE REDEMPTION! The hot pink is gonna look so sick next to the hot pink crape myrtles and I got them literally the day before they went back to full price) and caladiums (spicy lizard, blaze, John something [the white 3 leaf ones] and candidum), thai giant colocasia (5! Bulbs), a shit ton of Black Magic, Hawaiian Punch, White Lava. One of the Thai giant bulbs was rotten - bought from Greenhouse PCA on Amazon, Phillip the Owner sent me 3 more (one is the size of my damn forearm), some of the caladium bulbs from Walmart went squish so I got a refund, and I ordered another 50 pack of 5 gallon pots off Amazon. FedEx put them someplace they've NEVER set a package before and yeah, we had some storms. I actually found the box in the woods. I don't know why people say it's hard to get a human rep with Amazon, it isn't. I know at least a couple of the pots got smashed. You think I'm gonna go through all 50? No. $35 courtesy credit. I'm sure the pots are fine but when they offered me an apology my inner Karen came out. And then they offered me $20? Dog these were $55 and cost $60 now. Anyway Buy stuff. Buy my Marge Simpson Playboy. Buy my Mr. T in your pocket. Buy this 2 foot philodendron. I wanna upgrade to big boy grow lights for this fall. I wanna buy insulation and paint. Maybe I wanna build a greenhouse. Maybe I wanna buy glucose monitors.

I think I've figured the I.D. of the remaining two original post broms. The grey bloke flushed pink in the sun and is I believe Aechmea pineliana. The red spotted one looks a lot like a cultivar of Neoregelia marmorata. They perform a suitable explosion out of the gelignite box!

Fascicularia bicolor looking fancy today. Growing next to its fellow Chilean, a young Jubaea. Pup for scale!

Have no idea what any of these are, I just like the variety of shape, texture, and color they give the garden. If it’s not a palm, a memory deficit disorder kicks in. Anyway, the lighting was perfect this afternoon and my phone was in hand. Tim

Same crew plus a few friends, one growing season later. Have coloured up nicely. Still no idea of the identity of the grey strap leafed bloke in the third pic.

Driving around for work back in January 2023, just a few weeks after the Christmas freeze, I came across a full-sun grown Archontophoenix in a Clermont golf course community that looked pretty good. Another example that these can be grown in full sun. Clermont is also close to 9a in some parts I believe. This find surprised me.

@Fishinsteeg234 Looks great and i believe you have the right strategy for Archontophoenix in FL. I have a similar grove started here, all from 1-3 gal pots as well. My A. alexandrae are in nearly full sun, as I'm not too worried about cold here and they don't seem to mind the sun from a small size. They are rockets if you give them a good start, let the roots get established as seedlings. Most archontos you see around here are transplanted into landscapes as adults and languish or die.

I live about 1 mile south of Wekiwa Springs, in Longwood FL still in zone 9b and have a group of 5 Archontophoenix (2 cunninghamiana, 1 alexandrae, 1 myolensis, and 1 mystery Leu gardens seed) by my pool that seem to be doing well in this particular spot under the edge of a heavy shaded live oak tree. The palms are positioned on the north side of the oak, resulting in mostly shade all day. Also, I keep this mulch bed heavily mulched (about 8” deep, also contacting the low trunks) throughout the year with extra wood chips and oak leaves. I hand water a little extra on dry days in between the 2x week irrigation schedule. As for fertilizer, I am also throwing small handfuls of palmgain or other granular palm fertilizers in the mulch bed throughout the year for micro feedings between the normal 2-3x year fert schedule. This first cunninghamiana was planted here in July 2021 as a small 3gal, and now it reaches close to 15’ tall with several feet of trunk. The elongated trunk-ring spacing also tells me they are happy here. I did protect these with wrapping the leaves up during the few 27-29 degree nights in 2021 and again in 2022 just as an attempt to get them to trunking stage for long term hardiness (hopefully). Now trunking, I think I will let them ride out future winters without protection. One day they will poke up above the oak canopy and they will be all on their own during frost events. For now, they will stay huddled up in the oak canopy and I will prune as needed to allow for future tall growth. I also believe that the best size for planting Archontophoenix is either from 1 or 3 gallon sizes, allowing the roots to establish before trunking size. Over the last year and half I’ve added about a dozen more different Archies around my yard in different sunlight and moisture positions to see how well they grow. Pics show first one planted in 2021, and the other pics from today. I definitely think these should be planted more in shaded gardens around central florida. If anyone is interested, I am selling a few dozen 1-3 gallon A. maxima, A. tuckeri, and A. Cunninghamiana for local pickup. PM me if interested.

Here are some pics of my Archonto's in Holly Hill , Volusia County . Canopy does make the difference . These are now all gone , not due to cold weather , but to necessity . I may procure another soon . If you have sufficient moisture , and good wind / canopy protection , go for it in Deltona . Location , location , location .

Here, it has to be directly overhead. You can literally map the canopy of the oak in the front yard when we have frost on the ground.

With Foxtails, similar situation - they can handle chill better than frost. Since Foxtails are easy to sprout from seed, look for some around your area that survived 2010 and try to grow from their seeds. That will give you a shot at getting one that is just a bit stronger. Definitely grow both under canopy to take frost out of the equation. They'll grow slower, but you'll also have a shot at them hitting maturity at some point. The portion of Sanford directly south of Lake Monroe is a pretty decent microclimate, so it's a case-by-case basis. Orlando and Lakeland are similar in that what is able to grow inside of the urban portion is different than just a few miles outside of town. The January 2022 freeze was primarily radiational, and you can see a very stark difference in the amount of damage in town vs. outside of the city limits: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/72092-january-2022-florida-freeze-report/

In my yard, I have both. There are a lot of Archontophoenix species here, and a bunch of Archontophoenix cunninghamiana in front of City Hall in Orlando. @Merlyn's observations are much more salient for growing them in Deltona though. My recommendation is a yes under canopy so you can moderate the light levels and frost exposure.

Geia sou kosta , If you want we could arrange to come over here when you are in Pirgos and take a closer look to my garden ! So you can check closely my Archontophoenix and the other plants in my garden . The big cycad is Cycas circinalis , in its pot are some neoregelias , in front of it the most palms are Beccariophoenix alfredii , one Syagrus sancona , Dypsis leptocheilos , Allagoptera caudata and Arenga englerii .