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I've not shared anything with you folks before, simply because I haven't had anything to offer. I was not born with a passion for palms. We (my wife and I) fell into this peculiar and fascinating world quite by chance. Like anything, the more you learn, the more interesting things become. That said, all we have to offer you is our experience managing a legacy garden. Irene & I bought Casa de Las Palmas on Hawaii Island in 2017. The garden was the tropical fantasy world of the late San Diego nurseryman Jerry Hunter. Mr. Hunter was successful. He’d started his company in the 1950's, and was the 33rd licensed Landscape Architect in California. He'd been involved with the design of San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Balboa Botanical Gardens, among many others. He had the first tissue culture lab in Southern California. His parents had been the go-to people on the west coast for begonias. He was essentially American plant royalty. He figured out that if he grew his tropicals in Hawaii and shipped them to California, he'd be ahead of the competition. He built a nursery in Hilo and bought the land for Casa de Las Palmas. It would serve as his home away from home, and as a showroom for his wealthy clients. Construction of the garden began in 1981 on almost seven acres of upland pasture. The volcanic clay soil was not suitable for planting juvenile plants, so untold tons of cinder and rock were brought in, and the landscape shaped and molded into what we see today. Most of the planting was done into cinder mounds. For the design of Casa de Las Palmas he worked with the local landscape architect Brian Lievens, whom he would task with sourcing some of the rare plants from east Hawaii's growers. Brian was gracious enough to provide us with the original planting plans of the garden which are now laminated and framed on the lanai. These exquisite plans (like a cross between a complex wiring diagram and an artwork) were how we learned about the palms in the garden. We spent endless evenings cross referencing the botanic names with The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Being a nurseryman from San Diego, Mr. Hunter had a crew of extremely hard working and talented Mexican men build the garden for him. A swimming hole was hand-hewn under one of the waterfalls. A delicate stone foot bridge was created over the stream. We were told that the lava rock paths took three years to complete. And the scale of plantings were nothing short of colossal. The kind only a successful nurseryman like Mr. Hunter could even contemplate. We were lucky enough to apprentice under one of the original employees, Cristobal. Without his dedication and care we would never have got off the starting line, our ignorance would have been absolute, the garden would have fallen into chaos. I recall how early on we planted a dwarf papaya on a cinder mound next to a Metroxylon amicarum and Dypsis carlsmithii (now Chrysalidocarpus carlsmithii), much to Cristobal's unspoken, but obvious, distress. Shortly afterwards a large palm leaf fell and destroyed the papaya. We took this as a sign that the garden requires a certain amount of respect. Since then, staying true to the intentions of the garden has been something we work hard on. When we plant, we consider the design. Perhaps we plant a Alocasia zebrina underneath the Caryota zebrina to mimic its petioles. Perhaps the Pinanga distitcha should be planted near the Licuala mattanensis “Mapu” to mirror their mottled leaf forms. Constant working in the garden reveals new insights every day. Sometimes it's like garden archeology, discovering a long-overgrown path or a rare plant languishing under piles of fallen leaves. Sometimes it's a lesson in design - realizing that most of the plants in an area share undulating leaf forms or that the color scheme is quite deliberately rigid. Casa de Las Palmas has evolved from a carefully orchestrated young garden into a mature ecosystem. Plants have produced progeny and plants have died. The blueprint has gotten a little more fuzzy. Many of the palms are too big to groom now. Everything fights for light, air and nutrients. It has become naturalized. Pretty soon we realized that the nutrients the garden demands couldn't be met by chemical fertilizer. It was just too expensive. So, we looked into goats. We now have six gelded males rescued from the butcher's block and fenced on a neighboring paddock we own. They provide plenty of manure for the garden. Their poop doesn't smell much, is hard and breaks down slowly and can be flung from a shovel in showers through the dense plantings. The plants love it, but we do supplement weak or needy palms with a special palm fertilizer as needed. Legacy gardens are by their nature equal parts demanding and rewarding. They offer those of us new to gardening an incredible learning experience. We certainly don't have the kind of money, manpower or knowledge required to create something so remarkable from scratch. But like buying a beautiful, world-weary house, after a lot of work, you can enjoy something unique, grand and magical. Really for us it is the magical spell that Casa de las Palmas puts you under, one that removes us from the world and enchants us, that makes this legacy garden so very special. Lastly, I'll leave you with three things of note that we have learned: Map your garden. Don't make it too big. And don't go planting Clinostigma samoense down the driveway...or any heavy crownshaft palms for that matter! com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.kix.editors.clipboard?uuid=ecbeebc8-9124-4c8d-9ebd-e5cbdce7e26b

Say hello to my little friend, purchased from @Darold Petty just before Christmas. It was gorgeous today, I think all over California, so we did a little garden cleanup. This got me to thinking about where I intend to put this plant, probably in mid to late February. I have two spots, close together but quite different. Here’s the overall view. One location is where the Cycas is currently. It has never done well, I think due to scale, but is looking better lately. Still I would not hesitate to move or remove it. This location gets plenty of sun spring through fall, I’m concerned maybe too much. Eventually there will be more canopy but this will take years. It is very visible from our patio which is desirable. Darold recommends this location. The other option is a few feet away underneath the growing Sphaeropteris medullaris. Despite its own issues with sun, it will provide filtered shade for years and will gain height, allowing the Lepidorrhachis to become more visible. Honestly I am leaning towards this option but want to see what the group thinks. It’s possible that I get a bit more sun than Darold, and of course I don’t have anything like his mature canopy. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

And so a legacy garden is born, it takes time and a lot of work, it can be done on a budget but the work load is a lot heavier for just one gardener. It takes many years of research and searching for the plants so desired for that tropical look, only a true gardener knows the feeling of losing a special plant in a storm or succumbing to Mother Natures compost heap! Hopefully this garden legacy keeps on living and iam sure it will, as we get older our palms look better. Hooefully one day I too will have a garden that can be left for future generations! Richard

We crave here in the east for some of your local precipitation! After two heavy downpours even my Cherimoya has ripened a fruit.

First 2 pictures look like pinanga coronata!

I’d personally play it safe and ensure it’s shaded from the start. I don’t think there’s such a thing as too much shade for Lepis.

Happened across this lot in Zephyrhills today. There were a few coconuts that had mature leaves. They didn't look to be there all that long from what I could tell on Street View, but still commendable none the less. Zephyrhills - May 2025

For palms that size I like partial shade , mostly. It looks very healthy and I am not familiar with that species so I don’t know how much sun it likes. The second location seems to fit and it looks like it will have more room there. Just my humble opinion, Harry

At least 7.5, but irrigation water is even more alkaline 8.2, so it should be a constant struggle to keep soil pH low.

Oh wow, your soil is cr@p too 😁. I have regretted not making beds in my garden last year. If I started again now, I'd build beds for all plants that need acidic, richer soil. I'll do it for whatever I plant from now on. Praktiker sells those ready-made wooden fences, I'll use those and some stones. Trust me, you don't. It's been raining non stop for 4 days now. It's raining even when the sun is out, like right now! My bathtub is covered in mold. Plants don't like it either. My Acacia tortilis lost all its leaves because the roots are suffocating. I am trying to rescue it but it seems hard. If I get another one, I'll make a mount for it. Wow! Congrats! I have never eaten one.

Yes, I definitely lose most seedling to symmer heat. Some species I have lost even as juveniles in the extreme heat. One day, it hits them. You can see somthing is wrong but no amount of water will aloow then to recover. I had three veri healthy triangle palms. One died mid-August each year. I get the colored new spear on some of my Archontophoenix. It happens in the coldesr partest of the year and looks freat. I have a lot of the standard stuff grown in California. My garden could be described as "full". However, when I travel to tropical locations and see exceptional colored species. I just need to try them as well. I would't try Cyrtostachis renta as I know it would fail. Areca Vestiaria and less tropical Pinanga species may possibly work.

I have been eyeing these plants in the neighborhood for a while. They look vaguely like baby palms and have definite tropical vibes. I chatted up the owner and asked a few questions. Turns out they are irises! These are Iris confusa, aka the bamboo iris from sub-tropical southeast Asia. She bought them from a nursery in the Bay Area (California). Allegedly hardy to just zone 9, these have survived and grown from tiny starts through two brutal zone 7 type winters here. Love the leaf colors and shape.

We're expected to get our first winter weather over the next several or so days. As a precaution I've bundled the Cordyline leaves with temps at some point expected to bottom out in the low 20'sF / -6°C.

Thank you all for keeping the thread going in my absence. I’m glad to see tropical palms continuing to flourish in Central Florida. 👍

The same algo that won't let me make a Facebook account let me make an Instagram account? Ok whatever *""********", but it's SanchosGreenPaws

You mention leaving gaps where cold air can escape. I often think about this in regards to my yard. A brief explanation: My warmer (east-south-southwest facing) sideyard and backyard have a 6' privacy fence all the way around. My property slopes down towards the back corner where the elevation is the lowest. You can feel how much colder at times it is their than closer to the house where it's a tad higher in elevation. Having said all that, are cracks between pickets within a privacy fence enough for cold air to escape or should I remove a picket or two? Is it not enough to make a difference since my fence is only 6' tall. Thoughts anyone? Thanks.

Zephyrhills is identical to my area climate wise. Not surprised about these the last few years. New port richey has some huge mature fruiting coconuts now.

All I know is it’s from Japan I think. Thanks in advance!

Very nice palm, I'm jealous. I've sunburned a lot of palms by putting them in spots where they'll "eventually" have canopy, and at the speed most palms grow here it takes quite a while for them to look good again. I'd put something this rare and valuable in the spot with more reliable shade, or use shade cloth in the other spot until the canopy develops if the sunnier spot is more prominent and you want this to be a showpiece.

About the same here having so many I can only plant so many of them, but I will certainly try and plant them all. One problem I have is having so many varieties I want to plant them all in the good spots and I keep saving those spots every time I go plant something good there thinking I have a better plant for that spot! 🤣

I’m still waiting for my ghost to arrive in the mail, agfabric takes forever to arrive, I don’t know if I’m unlucky but I hope they arrive before the real cold starts.

They are a little rare Metallica seeds, available in certain places but somewhat rare. Next season i will see how I go if I can get some for you!🌱

If your wife can talk as much as my wife gysuppe, I could only imagine that she would look like an air traffic controller. Waving hand’s around constantly, my wife can talk underwater with a mouthful of marbles!

15° still nuked the hell out of the Houston metro area. 99% of the queens died and a lot of robsutas are no longer around it definitely is noticeable nowadays . Galveston and Tiki island got slightly spared of some loss . Plenty of bismakria and the odd queen still around there .

Bulbophyllum 'Wilbur Chang' is STILL blooming. It started in late summer and has had over 20 serial blooms

are you a singer now too?😄

Another nice understory palm that I saw at the Huntington. The windows of the Gracilis add to the unique “bow tie “ effect that is the description of this palm. If you see one in person , it captivates you …or at least it did me. Richard , I think you were the one that told me what it was . I found it off to the side with no tag . The habit is much like a dwarf Rhapis in that it stays small but makes a big statement , if you can grow it. It sure loves the glass house! Harry The windows get more prominent as they grow. This one was just about waist high to my 6’ body . Unfortunately the ID tag was for another plant . This palm remained a mystery until you posted a pic of one of yours . The bow tie fishtail shape is in full swing!

Definitely looking chilly, and it usually only goes down as time goes on.

Heads up

Winter will take the wind out the sails in the garden until then bring on summer. We missed those crazy storms but had the wind it was a terrible few days. Iam used to heat but I fear one day i would want to leave the heat behind and run to Port Macquarie that big retirement village on the coast. Glad your building a bird cage (make it snake proof those carpet snakes) iam sure the birds will enjoy there new home. I cut out a huge clump of black bamboo the other day, oh it never spreads out runners they said yer right 30 years later it wants to take over my garden.Renovation of the garden is fun and you sound like your having fun scratches and all. You should write a book on gardening does and donts. Iam sure we all could provide plenty of material for that book, a true gardener never stops renovating their garden. And whatever happened to a young bloke earning a few bucks on the weekend mowing lawns, oh that’s right there all on their computer games and phones. I dare to say in my day a job was job and a fair days work for a fair days pay was the order of the day, hard work never killed anyone. My first job was 5 days a week for 40 hours and a pay of $20 bucks a day after tax, $95 bucks was mine and straight out of school I was millionaire on that pay! Richard

In another thread I made the point that Chamaedorea elegans is actually a solitary palm that is often sold as many tiny seedlings artificially clustered and jammed into small pots or cloying flower arrangements. If you know this, you can purchase a slew of them in a 4" pot for a few $$, separate them and pot them up individually. When you let them grow as nature intended you discover this slow-growing little palm is quite beautiful. I have them scattered around my property in pots and in the ground - they take up little space. I was asked to post photos of some of my planted little Chams, so today I did so and included a couple of potted ones I keep on the front porch between adirondack chairs. I think this overlooked and underrated palm deserves a topic of its own. As it requires mostly shade, it makes a good houseplant. This is my oldest and largest Cham. elegans. I think I planted it next to the screen of our front lanai 7-8 years ago. Even after all those years it is only about 30" tall. It flowers but sets infertile seeds because there is no male nearby. Does this species require a specific pollinator? The following groups of Cham. elegans were planted in the back yard.

I’ve lost track of mine but suspect this bloke - do they split and tiller? It was planted in too much sun, in a too dry of a spot with zero supplemental water and has endured several, weeks long drought periods but still lives. Tall bamboo now providing shade so it’s looking better and now getting mossy.

Less is best with fertiliser. A little goes a long way, but consistency in small amounts works best, hence slow release fertiliser, once again soil temperature plays a big role for metabolic rate. Half a teaspoon for small seedlings working up to half a tablespoon rates for 200mm container palms that are established with slow release. Organic up to half a handful with established palms in 200 mm working down with container size in the amount given perhaps a quarter of a handful for 140 mm containers. And for liquid ratios always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations or use a EC meter to check for strength of mixed up liquids. Remember you can’t force feed a baby to grow, pjants are about the same a little goes a long way. But in my case at work we go through a lot in a big way this lot in the pics will last two weeks for about 70 acres of fruit growing on one big monoculture farm of blueberry’s, blackberries, raspberries and cucumbers. All grown hydroponically.

@juju95 here's my whole leaf version, just finally getting some frond size! For size reference, the fronds coming in from the left are from a 25' tall Beccariophoenix Alfredii, the palm on the right is a ~10' tall Arenga Engleri, and the foreground is a Ptychosperma Schefferi (I think). It's one of my favorite palms, and by far the most unique looking!

Before we move on, a note regarding Pinus coulteri i forgot to include last night.. While endemic to California, as you'll read in the included link from Conifers.org, the species is pretty tough and has been grown well outside it's " comfort zone " across the globe. That includes reasonably close to Central AZ, in southern New Mexico. While not listed on iNat observation data, Richard Felger, a well - known / respected, regional Botanist / researcher, documented the below pictured specimen near Silver City ( NM ) and ..as you can read.., noted new specimens growing nearby. Note how in this instance, the canopy form of this specimen is much more rounded than the often " stacked " look of many specimens you'd see in California. In the Taxonomy Notes section, you'll also note the thought that the species shares a Chloroplast Haplotype with Pinus arizonica, specifically from the Sierra Madre in N. Mexico.. Thus, While currently confined to CA ( and far northern Baja Norte ) it is likely it arose somewhere between N. Mexico and CA at some point long in the past ..when the region was much cooler / winters were more like what you see in CA now across this portion of the overall Southwest. Thus, it can be considered a " Southwestern U.S. Endemic " Regardless, for those folks in other zone 8 and up areas of the country, with a climate that isn't too hot / humid, this remarkable species is worth trialing. As mentioned, has to have space since ..at some point in the future, it will get massive ..and drop heavy, spikey bombs ( literally ) on anything under it. Conifers.org link ..for those interested.. : https://www.conifers.org/pi/Pinus_coulteri.php Quick link to an article about Richard Felger, who passed a few years ago.. Of all the people who have done exhaustive / extensive research in the Southwest / Mexico, his legacy is one of a kind, and left it's mark on generations of folks who study plants and other nature -related disciplines across the region ..and beyond.. https://tucson.com/news/local/article_46899d61-7229-5f75-82fa-73f9f8bd3219.html ......A hill? ..That is what you wanted to show us Nathan? ..Really? ..Cue the rolled eyes / face palms, ..its cool. ha ha.. It may seem mundane but, this look " into the past " is where many important lessons in my plant -y / nature -nut -centric journey would be gained.. Growing up in this area, i'd have a soft spot for this part of the Santa Clara valley.. Wayy back then, there wasn't much of anything out here.. Not that there is now, thankfully.. In High school, this area would be part of my longer weekly / bi - weekly bike rides. At some point in HS, it would become much more than a place to ride ...and eat rocks plenty of times, lol. As i will touch on later, destruction of another frequented spot nearby, diving headlong into photography, wisdom from my HS biology teacher, and that " always wanting to learn new things, the right way " drive would all come together and bring me here, quite often, both to expand upon my still greenish - eared native plant / local ecology knowledge, and play a part in making the area more accessible to others. Formally part of a ranch or two ( Stiles / Fortini ), which i'd lived not to far from in the past, county of Santa Clara bought the property sometime in the late 80s / early 90s to expand the footprint of Santa Teressa County Park, which straddles this section of this ridge / Santa Teressa Hills. As part of that, the county sponsored several " trail day " volunteer sessions. One was here. While it would be a flat out lie if i told you i did much heavy lifting, helped clear brush / move dirt and rock as the trail was carved out on the hillside. Returning to this spot after many years of further reflection and greatly expanded knowledge ..near ( and farther ) away, it's nice to see that things look as they should ..both on the trail, and nearby ...and that the county has added a few more trails ..and a boldly honest sign. In the time i've been out of state, the county bought up another treasured section of this area ( Rancho San Vincente OS ) on the other side of the valley in view to preserve it's legacy / connect that area to Calero CP, Rancho Canada Del Oro OS, and Quicksilver CP/ greater Sierra Azul OS further south and west. Had planned to stop in there, but ran out of time. Also hearing that another section of the ridge here, ..the recently shuttered IBM research station ( IBM's Almaden RS ), may be added to the park as the county's open space master plan for the area continues to grow. Eventually, from what i have heard / read, the plan is to link Santa Teressa CP to Lake Almaden, located in the much more populated northern end of the Almaden Valley, As well as making it possible to hike / bike from there, all the way south into Morgan Hill. Saw signs of that somewhere else, i'll get to later. On a side note, it was that research station that created the first Ink Jet Printer. Pretty neat.. Anyway.. Shots n' stuff from where a big part in this person's personal origin story began.. ..And an unexpected surprise, ..this time of the palmy kind. That boldly honest sign.. About time someone points out the obvious to the often oblivious.. Hopefully this is something done state - wide, vs just within Santa Clara County ...and that the oblivious get the point. Views as we head up hill.. Looking north toward the more populated end of the overall Almaden Valley. Distant mountain peaks in view include Mt Umunhum ( " Resting place of the Hummingbird " in the local, Ohlone language ) on the left, Mt. Thayer ..i believe.. on the right. Right shoulder of Loma Prieta is hidden in the haze on the far left.. Ft hills that make up the Quicksilver area of San Jose / Almaden = in front of the valley - facing slopes of the Santa Cruz mtns. The famous " Box " / " Sugar Cube ' atop Umunhum... Gonna be seeing lots of " Umunhum shots " from this trip.. " Box " represents the last hint of the mountain top's formal job as military station. Is now part of the Sierra Azul OS area up there.. I see you, Mex Fan lollypops, stickin up in the foreground.. Looking south into the greater, Calero - facing side of the Santa Teressa hills. Isolated Toyon ( Heteromeles arbutifolia ) specimen wayy up there... There's a hazed out Loma Prieta... Salvia mellifera ( Black Sage ) right, and Atemisia californica ( CA Sagebrush ) left, = Two very dominant plants on this hillside that represent part of a habitat you'd see much more extensively in SoCal.. ; " Soft " / Sage / Sagebrush - dominated " subtropical " Chaparral.. Subtropical in the sense that it only occurs on warmer / hot, less frost / freeze prone slopes, esp. this far north. As you edge closer to Los Angeles, and / or San Diego, Soft Chaparral starts adding stuff like Yucca, Agave, Ocotillo ( in the past ) Nolina and Dasylirion species, and various Cacti to the mix of species you'll encounter in this unique habitat. Drier / milder winters, hotter summers future up this way? perhaps you'll start seeing those kinds of plants taking root here. Another unique plant on these slopes, Arctostaphylos ( Manzanita ) .. Represents an isolated, near- northern limit population of Big Berry Manzanita ( A. glauca ) This stand is where i'd collected seed of that species from .. First Seed ...of -anything- challenging i had ever successfully germinated. Nice to see these old faces again. Missed being able to collect some seed though.. Lots of steep switchback curves / big ol' rocks stickin' up in other trail sections here = fun on two wheels ..and a few bumps along the way. " Soil " color is due to the geology type here.. Rising above the hill.. Note the houses below.. Rock wall ..that has been there ...forever.. Pretty sure it separated the two? ( ...or 3?? ) ranches that formally claimed the area.. Nice to see folks haven't ruined it.. enjoyed many lunches on the trail here.. Aside from the unique Chaparral - type here, this end of the greater Santa Teressa / Greystone Ridge exposes the viewer to another unique / well known, CA - centric habitat / geology type.. Serpentine soil / rock dominated grassland.. Exposed Serpentine bald on the left / Mixed matrix ..but Serpentine dominated... soil, on the right.. As a rock / mineral type, Serpentine / Serpentinite is quite toxic to many plants since it often contains very high levels of Nickel, Cadmium, Cobalt, ..and Asbestos... If you're able to grow on it, you likely spent a lot of time evolving to grow on it.. Where ever large outcrops of it are exposed, you're very likely to encounter some of the rarer CA. endemic plants that evolved to grow on such toxic soils.. This area / Overall park really is no exception. While it looks rather plain most of the year, in spring, ..if it rains enough.. areas here ...and further inside the park which are less over run by all the non native, mainly winter annual " forage " grasses from Europe, can explode in carpets of color. While some of that color grows in plenty of non- Serpentine dominated areas across the valley / state, if you roam the slopes / examine some of the rockier spots closely, you'll find some pretty interesting stuff that isn't so common, and helps teach ecology and the direct influence local geology plays in " what grows where ".. Nothing flowering this time of year, but did come across a couple Dudleya.. Not fully sure of the species, but could be specimens of the highly - local / fairly rare Santa Clara Valley Dudleya ..Dudleya abramsii ssp. setchellii. A treat to observe if so. A few parting views... Orange, Rock hugging Lichen on the rocks out here has always been fun to photograph.. ..The surprise for the day? Remember the " notice the houses " mention a few steps back? Well... Here's something i was quite surprised to spot growing in a yard way out here from along the trail. Surprised because, as i'm sure the viewer noted in various valley - included views, not a ton of homes out here / plenty of open space, thus, .. whatever you'd call this little finger valley, is a colder spot in the overall Almaden Valley / Southwestern end of San Jose yet, ..Here are some King Palms ( your standard A. cunninghamiana ofcourse ) that seem to be doing alright here.. Tough to say " how old " they might be / ..how long they've been planted but, ..don't look like they were recent additions to me.. A sign of changing times? ..perhaps?? Will have to keep a street view eye on them, ...until i return again, in person.. Interesting nod to the two dominant, ..yet different... ends of my plant related journey as well.. How's that for a trip down memory lane?.. ...On to the next stop... >>>>>> ....Btw, wanna house out here? ( ...who wouldn't ) ..It is gonna cost you a few bucks.. Noticed a listing ( 4bed / 2 bath ..2400sqft / on 1.87+ acres off Fortini Rd. ) for the cool price of 2.8M bucks.. So, ....how many 5 gal plants sold is that? 🙃

I would steer clear of this seller . I just sent a message to them doubting , actually insisting that their claim is untrue. They replied that they are growing very well in North Carolina in zone 8b. Hmmm. Harry

Being fortunate to have land with a good microclimate is very different than trying to create warm spots in your yard. I will focus on what can be changed. Canopy takes years, 10 years in my case though some oaks beyond the property to the south help keep it warm. My yard was a bare lot tree wise a few shrubs in front. Where do the coldest fronts come from what direction? For me that was mainly North, with a little NW or NE. This means the north part of the yard will have the cold hardy palms and the south will have the more tender palms, especially behind the house. Radiative (little wind) or advective(constant wind) events are different. Canopy or location near the house works nicely when there is no wind but wind makes any manipulation of a local warm spot much more difficult and in some cases you wont even get half a zone improvement with wind. The problem with wind is that it carries away the radiative(black heat the earth surrenders at the end of each day. You want to keep it around as long as possible. Wind velocity can be high enough to negate any heat trapping of radiated heat from the ground. So I set out to put in cold hardy palms to the north(front yard), wind block to the east and west and I did have a 7; solid fence and some oaks behind my yard in a common area that break wind and then I put in fast palms in the tender area to the south in back for canopy. In the overhead photo, its easy to see the palm nuts yard. N is to the street. The most tender palms in front take to 26F and are sun lovers that get a lot of summer sun, all day pretty much. Sunny areas are harder to keep wet in sandy soil so those in front have big deep root systems and are generally waxy of leaf( Bismarckia, copernicia, sabal uresana). In back are the more tender 10a palms and they are bunched to keep things warm, Serenoa repens and to a lesser extent dwarf bamboo help with windbreak to the east and west and are up to 12 foot tall and laugh at cold here. In back is the area for the zone 10a wet lovers which are bunched and watered efficiently by broadcast sprinklers with large Roystonea and C. Oliviformis and Beccariophoenix Alfredii overhead to trap down heat. Even with all that planning, an extended(8hr) 30 degree advective event 4-6 years back caused a fair amount of leaf burn on lower leaves of the 10a palms but they have survived it and grown back well. Zone pushing can work half a zone for a short radiational event, longer advective events will challenge even half a zone push. And remember a 9B palm survives 9B, it lives. That doesn't mean it doesnt get some serious unsightly damage that will take 1-2 years to grow out. If your yard is empty, make a plan to adapt it to be more zone push friendly. Start with palms that are not a zone push add the zone pushes later as it grows in.

Updated pictures of my Copernicia Fallensis and Tahina Spectabilis as of today….

While not considered as remarkable as when the thread was started, these Wodyetia bifurcata have been around for a long time - pre-2008.

27°F (-3°C) overnight, so not too bad really. I think these Cordyine are good to about 18°F before damage occurs.

The coconut tree is soaking up weather in the mid 40s inside its enclosure during a Houston snowstorm. Took a night in the upper 20s this year before I put up the greenhouse around it with only the lower half covered with no heat. No leaf burn! That really surprised me. But man this tree really is tough as nails. The enclosure I made is a 1.5” pvc frame that fits perfectly over t posts. Man it is solid, doesn’t even blow in the wind. I tried making the frame all together and it was such a disaster that I almost gave up. Ended up putting it up in sections and glued all the connections except the cross brace pieces(will store much easier). Put in a 40 gallon trash can full of water and a 600 watt aquarium heater keeping the water at 93 degrees. With this and an no lid, it kept it 15-18 degrees above the outside temp. But it caused a lot of condensation that I was worried would freeze the leaves touching the plastic (6mil greenhouse plastic from Amazon). So I put the lid on the bucket and added a 500 watt external heater. Still holding 15-18 degrees above the outside temperature but with no condensation. Suppose to get into the upper teens to low 20s tonight, but I’m confident it will come out okay!

I think the lowest has been 27 or so. Just to the North of where I am located is Lake Jessup. It is a very large lake that is actually part of the St. Johns river system. I believe this large body of water helps to moderate the cold winds that blow from the North. Also, I'm sure it helps that the growing point is now at least 40 feet above the ground level. And. let's not forget that there may be a genetic component in play here. I still get people who ring my doorbell and ask me what kind of tree is that?

Im hoping all these palms are tall and still here when im old, because that means most of my plants will be too! Just not the Verschaffeltias lol.

The soon-to-open Twin Peaks has some interesting choices for landscaping palms: This one is WAY over-trimmed:

Dypsis are nice, but the tall Livistona Chinensis are Awesome !!

Brand new medjool and Cuban royal. This Cuban royal is massive! It was only 300$. Hopefully it fares better than the small one I had before.

Post freeze, taken today. You can see the papaya tree, plumeria, and hummingbird trees are gone. Canary island date palms pushing new leaves, and the coco looks pretty good considering.