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I hope you're right! Another year for Theo! I'd say, it's been a reasonably good year. I had a low of 14F in the winter and that is the highest its been in several years. Its almost like I was actually in a zone 8b (I am ignoring the new laughable 9a classification for my area). No severe drought or really insane temperatures in the summer for extended periods. The fall was exceptionally dry though, with no rain for over 2 months (but luckily temps were not hitting 100s like the previous 2 years). The drought did kill some plants but many boar, attracted by the more moisture/life-retaining conditions in my garden, destroyed several beds (never seen it this bad!!). Theo was untouched, though. I guess the spikes helped!! As you can see by the stats, Theo appears to have benefitted from these relatively good conditions (or at least wasn't held back). Both trunk diameter and height have increased rapidly. I note that Theo receives no care other than some weeding around the trunk. I added a pic with from a different angle with some counter-light (looks great in real life). I have been experimenting with vining and waterwise roses that can climb up on it, however, this year was not a success. Probably because they do need water to get established the first year (and I have ignored that spot most of the year). I may get once of the exceptionally drought tolerant climbing rose this year from the rose emporium (these are NOT your typical roses). ~ S

Planted 3 L weddellianum together about 4 years ago and they caught my eye today.

Hey yall, I happened to be biking through part of my neighborhood in Anacortes with kids just after the New Year. My kids, being familiar with my willingness to stop everything to admire palm trees, shouted out: "Look, baba! Palm trees!" Sure enough, there was one Trachycarpus fortunei standing tall as a flagpole. Then I noticed the fronds of some cocoid looking palms (or rather, should I say: Attaleanid) tucked along the driveway. I'm going to go back up there and see of I can chat to the folks living there and get any intel!

First thing, checked the pig trap that was set up yesterday afternoon. Then yanked several dead fronds out of the Neoveitchia storckii palms and the Chambeyronia grove, plus lots of Chrysalidocarpus lutescens fronds that had fallen on my side of the fence from the neighbor's hedge. Piled up Cyrtostachys renda fronds along the path, then a bunch of Pinanga philipinensis fronds and a few Clinostigma and Satakentia fronds, hauling them all to the back compost heap, pile by pile. Just got back to the island a few days ago and everything a mess, but a few sweeps like this and it no longer looks abandoned. This is how I have fun. Off to a good start. The pigs have wreaked havoc while I was absent, rototilling huge sections of grass, but mostly leaving the palms alone. Missing several ornamentals, however. 😡

I'm far and away no expert on Phoenix palms...but one of the things that I think is working for you now is time. It seems that the longer a plam is in the ground and growing, it handles cold snaps (esp the typical brief ones in the southern USA) better and better. The experts say that most palms get better and better at shrugging off cold the older and BIGGER they get. I don't know if that is true, but in my travels around far northern Florida, and coastal South Carolina (similar zone 8b/9a)...you see many huge Phoenix palms that most definitely have seen low 20's F in their life and they are fine:

Likewise man! I’ve gained some great knowledge from a lot of your posts.

Somewhere in here, buried amongst the rubble, there used to be a "What did you do today?" thread that was friendly, all-inclusive, nothing but hugs and high fives all around. In that spirit, here's what I did this morning. Some "craft beads" from @happypalms sprouted somewhere along the way. One didn't make it and there's 6 more in the baggie. Chamaedorea Adescendens. And don't be hating on my labels. That's Dollar General PROFESSIONAL masking tape. Grocery store papayas. I haven't seen them in stores here in a while, so I hope these make it. (The ones in the cups) I'm gonna have to ask my friend what these are again. They're some kinda philodendrons and/or pothos she grows from tissue culture. They've been in tiny cups and shot glasses and she grows in moss, so they were super soggy and super rootbound. Hope they adapt well.

Plain ol Foxtails

Well , I worked! The other day I trimmed some of my palms that were ravaged by all the wind lately . Pritchardia , Caryota , Howea , and one Syagrus. Also trimmed some dead fronds off a potted C. Microspadix and Tepejelote. Just another day in the jungle! Harry BEWARE THE MONKEY!

Ouch too hot Tim. Hope everything pulls through OK. Was a lovely 25 here yesterday.

Posting a few photos of my Parajubaea torallyi. I planted this palm about 15 years ago from a 5-gallon pot. It currently has about six feet of clean trunk and it’s about 25+ feet tall. This time of year, I tug on the old leaf sheaths to see if any of them are ready to come off. If they're ready, they pull off easily. However, if they aren't, no amount of pulling will remove them. It’s not unusual to find Arboreal Salamanders (Aneides lugubris) under the old leaf sheaths as shown in the photo below. I'm in the San Francisco bay area.

A nice summer swim and a walk along a beach, with absolutely no body on the beach for miles, except for a few seeds!

Some happy plants in winter after a few freezes, just some chlorosis from sun or chill. The current project is a greenhouse, so no photos of other stuff yet till it's done in the next few weeks. After the summer slaughter things calmed down and the potted plants are mostly happy, so once they are organized into a good look I'll get more photos of them too. In order: cyphophoenix (I think Alba), chrysalidocarpus lanceolata, leptocheilos, basilongus, carlsmithii, B. alfredii, and chrysalidocarpus titan and Prestonianus to finish. All in ground two seasons and starting to get going a bit faster than the start. Losses were all due to heat and wet after the January freeze deaths, so learned to give more shade in summer planting spots, and less water with the high humidity even if they drain super sharp. Not pictured are a bunch of others, cold damaged and recovering from the cold last year, like hyophorbe and chambeyronia. Chrysalidocarpus lastellianus is not a good 10A palm for looks, it chill spots in the low 30s, but could survive a warm 9b event most likely under good cover (like a Christmas palm would do I think). Hoping the two cold events this November and new years are the two this year (average is 1 or so) and we are done but that's a stretch being January 7th.

Lacospadix, kerriodoxa and a nice little dypsis lantzeana all seem to get my attention!

Archontophoenix alexandrae

This is awesome. This is what brings me here. Keep up with it. Looking great!

@RiverCityRichard nice to meet you! I see a helluva garden already!

I acquired this lithograph at the Paris flea market, L'Illustration Horticole, circa 1880, It is not labeled but almost certainly is Howea belmoreana.

I got this shoppingbag from my daughter in law from the Philippines and the other one is about my Citrus trees, a complete crockery.😎

I shall see your purchases and raise them with my three scores, right down to my house number ten to the cupboard handle and the antique tea pot stand!

Update #2: Several more Serenoa repens seeds from @Boca Palms germinated. They’re in their own cups now. Update #3: Currently soaking the Buccaneer Palm seeds that @Johnny Palmseed sent my way. Thank you again for the seeds! I need springtime to hurry up. 😂

Christmas Palm seeds update. Received these seeds in late November & nearly every seed germinated by the middle of December, so these seedlings are around 3 weeks old now. Thank you again! @kinzyjr

2 pics from yesterday and 2 from today. I love this dypsis Mt. something or other

Merry Christmas from Pearland Livistona nitida, Copernicia alba, ButiaLivistona decoraQueen w/bananasButia sp.Sold as Livistona australisRavenea rivularis-Majesty palmQueen on left, King on right w/ Majesty Palm behind

looks like opuntia lindheimeri. its a common species for fruit in the east. phaecantha is another one common for fruit in colder places. but its 100% lindheimeri.

If you're looking to get more into these, Cold Hardy Cactus is a great source / resource for the really tough species.. See a couple i might need to add myself, lol.

We ended up hitting a low of 16F for several hours last week. Other days, Theo saw the low 20s. Protected only by a single frost cloth which is the lowest I ever used. I unpacked Theo today and it looked OK-ish. We'll really know in weeks/months to come. Its hard to say from the pic but there's definitely some bronzing and other discoloring happening. Not a good winter! I sprayed some fungicide and will keep monitoring the spear.