Leaderboard

Find that microclimate in the garden, shade and wet soil, but anywhere in the greenhouse will do!

One more time location! Even invasive spp in one location may act as sterile in another.

Still alive @happypalms

Little dypsis pinnatafrons!

The more water you give a marojejya darinii the better they look!

A couple of Ernie’s in the garden, one is 30 years old and the other is about 3 years old from @tim_brissy_13 growing quite well!

Still planting them though, safety in numbers plant enough of them and sooner or later I will have a good dozen of them growing! That’s a beauty, nothing wrong with your green thumb. Remember don’t fuss over them!

A Sobralia macrantha is the second species to open in my garden for the spring of 2026. Anyone else seeing their Sobralia open?

Cattleya mossiae is my favorite of all the orchids, and this C. mossiae yellow lip x coerulea 'Pablo' has become the favorite in my collection. I got this from ecuagenera several years ago and had to just imagine what this cross would look like going only by photos of the parents. Photos below under differing lighting conditions.

The old saying if there is a palm you have always wanted buy it. You may never see that palm for sale again.

I wish you lived here! I have a 15 gal. Cycas Revoluta I would give you!

From the photos, I honestly can’t see anything wrong with the palms. They look healthy. They might be field grown specimens however and may show some setback in the coming weeks. Make sure they are kept well watered before and after planting. No fertilizer necessary for about three months.

No news channels are talking about the next winter because its May. We just got out of the last one. Given El Nino conditions, it will likely be a much wetter winter. Hard to give any kind of info on temperatures as there's no way to tell how cold it may be more than a week out, let alone half a year. On average, usually cooler, but this could be a byproduct of increased cloud cover and rainfall, not necessarily bad freezes. Just enjoy the growing season ahead and make the most of it that you can before starting to worry about next winter.

The new skinneri in the garden coned but alas no seeds upon closer inspection.

To create the tropical look just use large bold leaf plants, exotic plants both rare and common, get as many colourful plants as possible, vibrant green plants and most of palms palms and you guessed it more palms!

Just a couple of joeys fairing up well in the cold temperatures. With the winter temperatures getting down to 3 degrees Celsius the joeys are doing fine in it. Sometimes they overreact with palms in cold weather saying they won’t grow it’s too cold, there to beautiful they won’t take the cold. Well for such a tropical looking palm joeys take a fair beating in the fridge department that’s for sure. Just because there rare doesn’t mean they won’t take the cold, just treat them like any other palm and they grow fine. Mind you though there not rocket ships in the grow department I will say that!

I will remember not to fuss over it. I will have to find a good protected spot for it, though. Thanks again for all your knowledge and cultural experience information! 😎

After trimming some tall fan palms day before yesterday I was greeted with a boom late last night as the rain came down. Its more like w whumpff! One of my mature royals decided to release a leaf with a wet crownshaft. The leaf stem and leaflets were completely dry, but the massive crownshaft was quite wet and heavy. Seeing it there on the ground I was grateful I didn't have to trim that sucker from below! So I went out to see it in the morning and took a pic with Adirondack chair for scale The palm is a fattie for a royal and is approaching full recovery from hurricane Milton in oct 2024. The older these royals get the more I appreciate the self shedding, saves me being on a ladder underneath. These royals cost me $160 each with delivery and 90 for planting (each) with a bobcat. They had 3-4' trunk in late 2011 as delivered. We are aware when a leaf dries out or even looks half dried out and avoid being under them at that time. Credit florida weather and a popup automatic irrigation system for its appearance, I don't really put too much care into them! Its nice to have something bullet proof and low maintenance. Most of the time they dont drop with a heavy wet crownshaft but when they do its like what I imagine a big dinosaur sound like with the heavy footfall. I have two large royals, this is the smaller of the two and they are enough for me. Warning! You should be able to see why you should not have these in a place where you walk (or sit) regularly like a front yard path to the front door. And if you park a car under one like this, expect a big body shop repair bill as it is about 50-60 lbs falling frm 25+ feet.

Well there you go, the refrigerator has a little something good!

But most of all love of plants and time!

Very common even down here in Melbourne. Also saw them in Hobart too. Here’s my little variegated one.

Oh and just add water!

It’s at least 30 years old, one day just one day it may flower and set seeds. Then it will be interesting if the seedlings will be variegated. Then the fun will begin. As you know I also worked in the Howea industry and yep I never saw one variegated plant. Truly one in a million this palm. I know if I ever get seeds what the demand will be them that’s for sure. The true home is lord Howe island, and the plants you see in Australia are some of the best in the world! Richard They would have to be one of the number one palms in Australia for coastal towns. The whole east coast from Brisbane to south of Sydney.

my butia capitata center leaves fell out and the palm is dead ! Upon investigating the center I found several cacoons. I’m pretty sure this is anlso what is decimating canariensis in so cal … Anyone experiencing issues with this ? What other palms are they killing?

A ya, ya apart from last one of the mentioned genera, the rest are solid zone 9 or lower. But the weevil can survive in easily in zone 9, meaning no more palns in such zones, unless growers are willing and able to take orecaution measures on a monthly basis.

Thank you for sharing your years of experience with me! I hope I can duplicate your good experience with my one plant here in San Diego. Here’s a pic of my very small Joey palm.

Most common victims are Phoenix canariensis, Butia species, Sabal species and Pritchardia species. There are others of course and I suppose the list will expand. Sorry about yours.

I'm not particularly a Phoenix expert, so I figured I'd ask about my supposed Phoenix sylvestris. I'm sure it's mostly sylvestris, but its trunk has grown quite large in circumference since I planted it back in 2021. I'm not sure if it's just natural variation among Phoenix sylvestris, but mine seems to have more arching, less-erect fronds and a larger trunk compared to what I've seen on other sylvestris. Anybody think it may have a bit of something else in it, or not? I was thinking Phoenix canariensis.

Agree with Scott no problem in Phoenix they are very dry when they fall!! The one reason I like them so much is because the fronds fall off!! You can see the crown shaft is pretty dry and still hasn’t released!!

There are a number of flushes working there way through my California garden right now. I wish I could spell the old abbreviation for California with the Encephalartos species names, but I am not growing any ferox so lack the "f". I detest the term some use as a substitute for the state, which is "Cali" but without the "f" that is what I'm stuck spelling: C = for Encephalartos caffer A = for Encephalartos arenarius L = for Encephalartos lehmanii or longifolius I = for Encephalartos ituriensis Back in the day, before the postal service implemented the two letter state abbreviations, we wrote "Calif." for the abbreviation on mail. Anyone remember using that abbreviation and how much a stamp cost in that day? On a slightly different note, I can't help thinking of the tragic outbreak of ebola virus currently happening in the Ituri region when I look at my two E. ituriensis.

I have 3 Microcycas calocoma that flush annually at the start of the rainy season. Unfortunately when the rains start here we get these nasty little red beetle like bugs that destroy the new flushes. This year one of my Microcycas calocoma flushed before the first rains so my hope is that they will harden off before the rains start.

Very nice !! Those fronds can be dangerous if they fall at the wrong time. They can also wipe out understory plants. Harry

Looking at those spines, a different variation altogether. The ones from the Seychelles have more abundant smaller, thinner spines even at the seedling stage. The armor on the small ones in your photo look to be even deadlier. Tim

Still planting them though, safety in numbers plant enough of them and sooner or later I will have a good dozen of them growing!

Usually about 6 to 8 weeks, but the spear itself can take a couple of month to develop and usually about 3 leaves a year which is pretty good, but it’s agony to watch, you just want that huge mega Joey. It’s more about the leaves getting bigger every new leaf. So with a time frame like that with months in between each new leaf in a subtropical climate no wonder they are slow to grow!

How long does it take to open a new frond, on average? I’m curious, because my little plant has a new frond emerging. How many fronds per year do you get, on average?

Wow! That is many years of experience. I have seen several pics of them growing in Singapore. They look excellent there! I have seen several in Hawaii (where I’m from originally) and they look terrific there, but are not very common, like in Malaysia where they are native. I’ll post a pic of of my single-leaf Johannesteijsmannia altifrons soon, which I paid $15.00 at Floribund Nursery in Hawaii about two weeks ago. I hope it will not be dead by fall! 😂

So the remotifolia still stands as a mystery, only now a touch of red in the new leaf, its getting even more complicated!

One reason I know joeys is after having them for 30 years in my collection. They survived lots of adverse conditions and still stood strong in the collection. I say they are easy after having grown them by the thousands, you soon learn about them, by making mistakes with them. The humidity rarely drops below 65 percent, even at times having 98 percent humidity but without the tropical heat feeling like Singapore where joeys are planted as street trees!

Thank you so much for all the detailed information! I really appreciate it. 😎 All your Joey palms look great! Of course, with the exception of the ones without water. You must receive a lot of humidity there, all year. Here in San Diego the humidity is relatively high for most of the year. However, in fall and winter we have the dreded hot, desiccating Santa Ana Winds! These winds can bring the humidity down into the single digits for several days, with temps from 90 to 110 degrees f ( 32 to 43 degrees c). Even very large trees can suffer from desiccation. I’m guessing Joey palms are as hardy as Carpoxylon macrospermum? I have Carpoxylon growing outside and it looks flawless!

I would like to grow this palm tree, but I'm far from having the seeds. I hope to get them from RPS or somewhere else. 🗿🌴

Reasons?

Joeys can tricky or can be very simple. Iam going with simple and easy. I have had them just up and die for no reason other then root fungus in containers. Iam backing of the water in containers now realising my mistake of overwatering them. So a little surface drying won’t hurt them. Drainage is the key to joeys. My ones in the ground can and will drink as much as I give them, I have black sandy soil so super good drainage, so much do it can be a problem in dry times. I have joeys sitting permanently in shallow trays of water and they love it. Tender roots yes so grow them on bench’s, I have successfully transplanted joeys from the ground. Two lived from four so doable but delicate. All in all dont fuss over them treat them like any other palm. The biggest mistake is fussing over them, they do like humidity. I fertilise my joeys with seasol liquid fertiliser, and use a soil fungicide called Agrifos but not continuously (phytotoxic). They detest drying out and dry low humidity. Last picture is one I just put in the ground without any irrigation or watering to see what would happen, well I know what happened in my climate!

Joeys can tricky or can be very simple. Iam going with simple and easy. I have had them just up and die for no reason other then root fungus in containers. Iam backing of the water in containers now realising my mistake of overwatering them. So a little surface drying won’t hurt them. Drainage is the key to joeys. My ones in the ground can and will drink as much as I give them, I have black sandy soil so super good drainage, so much do it can be a problem in dry times. I have joeys sitting permanently in shallow trays of water and they love it. Tender roots yes so grow them on bench’s, I have successfully transplanted joeys from the ground. Two lived from four so doable but delicate. All in all dont fuss over them treat them like any other palm. The biggest mistake is fussing over them, they do like humidity. I fertilise my joeys with seasol liquid fertiliser, and use a soil fungicide called Agrifos but not continuously (phytotoxic). They detest drying out and dry low humidity. Last picture is one I just put in the ground without any irrigation or watering to see what would happen, well I know what happened in my climate!

Your Joey palms look awesome! Do you fertilize your Joey palms? How many fronds a year? Do you keep them super wet all year or just constantly moist? Sorry for all the questions! 😎 I literally just received one from Floribunda palms yesterday. I’ve been wanting to try to grow this palm for more than 35 years, but that many years ago it wasn’t available for sale or it would’ve been thousands of dollars.

Hi All, I bought the D. remotiflora as remoltifolia. I does not seed this far south as it requires a warmer climate. When it still existed in Habit its temperature reqiluirement would be North of Brisbane It is not a Dypsis lanzeana which requires more heat than remoltiflora. Had mine for many years Hope this information and Pictures help Regards Colin 20260209_185807.mp4

On this part I can help - you should be able to change the email address used for your account in your Account Settings. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

This is what I have as Filifera

Not in the Joey department that’s for sure. Richard

Excellent , no shortage there! Harry