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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!

A few trays full of them should be enough for the domestic market, with a couple left over for the garden!

Syagrus Schizophylla, they even look manic as a juvenile palm!

I know how you feel, black sandy soil I have that drains faster than the kitchen sink, mulch mulch mulch!

The kitty Kat was 19 and had a life of a princess, pets give so much love and ask for nothing in return only our companionship. Good stuff you got a few sales going it helps pay gor the collection and is a great hobby that’s good for the mind. Palmtalk is my only social media I use, theres still the ovals on here, plus now I see a lot of newcomers or old timers coming back for a look. And why does a certain site need my drivers license to join them, it’s not like iam driving around the corner to use that site, to me they are just data collection sites to sell your information and make money from your information. Keep the faith and look after sancho!

I knew it was inevitable, but for how long will it last. The first winter losers. The verschaffeltia was a no brainer I knew they were doomed, a gift of some seeds out the window. The raubul is not to happy, although it’s tropical growth that’s burning its already not looking good. And the humilis that’s all three dead and I was surprised at that lose. You just don’t know until you try, but no more verschaffeltia for me 🤣Verschaffeltia Areca raubul Chuniophoenix humillis

I have a little batch of what is labeled dypsis faneva, and assuming it’s labeled as such it must be. However all pictures I find dont look like a match. And to add more confusion the new leaf petiole is showing white. So what is it I ask!

That’s the one, grow tip from me kick it as go past, they grow faster, super tough palm. 🤣 Richard

A few trays full of them should be enough for the domestic market, with a couple left over for the garden! It’s quite surprising, New Caledonia palms how cool tolerant they are, New Caledonia and Madagascar palms in my climate perfection plus they love it, that sweet spot for those palms! The white plastic grow bag gave it away!

Another classic brom n the collection for you. I purchased a few broms the other week! Forgot their names already, saving the memory bank for more palms!!!

After many years in the ground from a strap leaf seedling, my Copernicia rigida is finally starting to impress. Still no trunk, but at least the fronds look good. Closely related to both Copernicia cowellii and macroglossa, all 3 do very well growing up in the Arizona desert. As a side note, be very careful while near all 3 of these as they are lined with saw teeth on the edges of every frond. Yes, they will grab you and cut you. Ask me how I know...🤦 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Red latania

Hybrid latania new frond with (V) shape

The cardboard is a great idea, many a gardener uses it as a no dig garden method. It’s cheap and usually free as well and eco friendly. Another way is just use a line trimmer but that’s ongoing work which we are all trying to avoid, cardboard mulch has another benefit as well retaining moisture and in winter a nice blanket for the palms. Sounds like you solved your problem. You could also plant some fast growing trees and remove them later on utilising them as a canopy.

I use palmgain! I'm still in the early days of my palms creating a canopy, that's my goal when they are grown up but what I think what I'm gonna do since I don't have mulch is fertilize then lay the cardboard and weigh it down with bricks around the palms. Which I hope should work and the grass should die under and also provide something. I do think about when my palms are taller and I can finally walk under them and be able to try some part sun plants since everything I plant now needs to be full sun south facing plantings. excuse how wild it is, I can only do so much

Chamaedoreas once the bite you you’re hooked on them, even the good old elegans has a place. Frondosa a real classic chamaedorea, if Colin has his way and he will with palm nuts like us, Australia will soon be the chamaedorea paradise we dream about. I hear your after a rhizomatosa a little birdie told me. 🐥

Bifid like your favourite Ernie does of course. One for you to try and get. Richard

My two R hildebrandtii suffered for years from no overstory, but now the bamboo and palms have come to the rescue. Plus, one guy whose name I always forget has apparently a red leaf that I didn’t recall….and T parviflora (supposedly)

A nice young Joey palm and a socratea rostrata, they only need another ten years of growing and a lot of water to be the main conversation focal point in the garden!

Dypsis rosea coming along nicely for winter.

I cleared a patch of asiatic jasmine near my Chamaedorea radicalis a couple of weeks back and found these self-sown seedlings today. They definitely weren't there at the time and look freshly germinated. The seeds must have been sitting there all through the winter. I have plans for this area but I'll try to leave them in place.

Another thread resurrected from years back. Here’s my Kentiopsis Piersoniorum doing well. Planted out as a 1G plant given to me by @shepcs a few years back. Doing really good in the garden. Let’s see some updates -dale IMG_8247.mov

Copernicia cowellii and macroglossa also appearing , just to document their growth progression in a desert environment...🌴 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

I just read that they extended the drought(1x irrigation a week) to oct 1st in my area. It has been very dry and 90-93F day time highs and 77-79F lows. No its not the desert I used to live in, more recently dew points are 73-77F, but sandy soil is a big problem compared with clauy here as it dries out fast. And that wouldn't be a problem so much if we hadn't been in this pattern since last october(80-90% less rain). The palms are adapted to being irrigated 2-3x a week depending on season and the system get shut off when it rains consistently every 3-4 days as it does in mid to late summer. I think we got more than the 0.88" totals reported from sarasota bradenton, possibly we are far enough north to get a little more. We have had about 1.5-2" in june based on my homemade gage. WE got most of it in 2 "downpours" so runoff was high. I am really glad that I put all my wet loves in back of the house on the south side protected from the hottest summer sun. Premature brown tipping on older leaves is very common but the buds are ok. Out front in the blazing sun the waxy drought resistant palms have sustained a little of that same dry tip. Having come from arizona, I already had a bit of palmcare PTSD but my garden now has more to lose, it has 3x the palms. Palm winners in the drought, no particular order: 1) bismarckia nobillis(mature): very drought tolerant in full all day hot sun and looks unfazed. Th eonce a week irrigation might be needed as some in unirrigated public plantings don't look so good. 2) Copernicial Fallaensis:(mature) coming back from hurricane damage so the crown isnt full size but it is not losing any leaves and keeps growing. This one has a huge 15 year old root system from a 9' tall palm as planted with a 150 gallon size rootball. So I expect the big root system can supply the recovering smaller crown with water from deep down. My smaller juvenile in the ground for 2 years in august is a bit less resistant, some brown tipping on (3) older leaves. 3) Copernicia baileyana(mature): yes these are drought resistant and perhaps the best of the green(non blue) palms. If you want a vibrant green in dry florida conditions this one looks great. People need to plant these palms more in florida. 3) Sabal uresana: it dropped some leaves that were still hanging on from oct 2024 hurricane milton, but it looks unfazed. It also in an area where it doesnt get directly irrigated, the sprinklers are blocked. 4) serenoa repens silver(mature): these dont seem to be affected, they have the normal amount of dried out leaves the past three months. These are 15 years in the ground and monsters that grow laterally and shade their own roots which may be important to moisture persistence. I am going to look at partially shutting down irrigation for them, getting rid of a few sprinkler heads. Every couple years I use up a bunch of sawzall blades trimming back trunks that run along the ground. 5) Phoenix rupicola: perhaps the weakest of the drought resistant palms in this category, rupicolas dry dip in the drought on older leaves. This one is totally exposed to full sun and the hottest late day sun exposure. This is the first time I see any notable dry tipping in 15 years, but it is also a triple which is a big advantage in root shading. I love this triple, its spreading out and going to stay under 25' to provide a nice wide umbrella. I highly recommend these in florida. Yeah they are slow but they are still pretty close to the eye and a vibrant green color. Some of the prettiest leaves in my yard. Most sensitive, losers that need shade/protection and brown tip anyway 1) chambeyronias((4) 2-15 year in the ground) hate this weather/soil, sun burn spots occur after water loss in transpiration which is an attempt by the palm to shed heat. 2) Satakentia luikiuensis(mature) hate this weather, they are dropping leaves faster than they are adding them and they are up over the house to the east but the roots are in full late day shade. Tie between chambys and satakentia, but dont put chambeyronia oliviformis in there, they are moderately drought resistant 3) archontophoenix sp(alexandre, maxima, myolensis, purpurea) These are bunched get little sun on roots and they are mostly in a raised bed with many pop ups, and not much sand. Still, they let me know they are not favoring the climate 4) Chrysalidocarpus Leptocheilos: Teddys really like water especially in hot late day sun. Not as thirsty as satakentia or chambys but the dry tip sets in fast. In the middle: 1) chambeyronia oliviformis: planted near the archies and not in a raised bed show they are more drought resistant, might be the relatively waxy leaf(to archontophoenix). 2) Roystonea Regia(mature 40-45' with huge root systems)): a little bit of brown tipping on older leaves but it is pushing out new leaves faster than they are dropping. And they are growing fairly quickly still. But these are not juveniles and have some massive roots and pretty thick trunks. 3) Copernicia Alba blue(mature): This one is borderline, not quite as drought resistant as the cuban copernicias but better than the C. oliviformis for sure. The skinny trunk probably doesnt hold much water as compared with the thicker cubans. This one appears to be browning leaves a little faster than growing them. 4) livistona saribus(Mature) in the middle 5) livistona decipiens(mature) int he middle 6) livistona chinensis(mature quadriple): seemingly less drought resistant than the other livistonas but it has more of the hottest sun, thought he quad protects the roots. There is some notably brown hanging around and not self shedding. I will not trim till it cools off a bit and I can cut them up and put them at the curb. 7) my juvenile copernicia hospitas(3 in a triple): These are still 2-6' tall and have small root systems. 3 years in the ground and started off slow, got a little hurricane damage a good grow year and then this drought year. Jury is out as to whether are going to be in the first group or this one due them not being established. I am hoping that as mature palms they will be in the most drought resistant group. Brown tipping on older leaves is there. These have the hottest western summer sun and not shade from it. Anybody else have interesting drought or moisture sensitivities that you notice in your climate? My observations are for a cool 10a west coast florida with sandy soil and a drought year since last oct. I have grown palms in arizona but there are others who have much more experience with different species that are possible to obtain these days in arizona so I leave it to those more knowledgeable than I. I was thinking we each have a climate and soil type and that new growers can use this kind of information to select and locate palms in their yard. After 25 years of growing palms, 10 in the arizona desert and 15+ here in mid west coast florida I have learned to select the right palm for the right spot looking at sun movements and soil in the area. And perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned is to bunch palms for watering efficiency but also for cold tolerance, and I try to select at least half the palms that you know will weather the climate once established without ER help. You don't want too much long term ER duty. We all lose a few palms int he extremes but it really hurts to lose 3/4ths of your palms in one season. Recommendations for different regions of austrailia, southern europe asia etc can help future palm talkers limit the cost of learning and same some time in establishing the garden. To make your observations mose useful to others describe your soil, palm placement/sun exposure, sloped ground if present, etc.,

@happypalms Chuniopphoenix humilis is a synonym of C nana which is tough as you know. I really doubt the cold did it in given they fly through my winters.

I had a Kentia do this earlier this year . We had a very strong storm and a very wet winter. I have quite a few Kentia as well as other palms . Never had it happen in over 36 years of raising palms . One large Kentia just collapsed! I figured a cold windy storm somehow let too much moisture deep in the growth point and caused rot . We did have lightening one night and right after , the palm started browning from the lower fronds . Then the whole top just fell over. Harry

I have had losses mainly during the hot , dry Santa Ana winds we get . Back in about 2018 we had an extreme hot spell and I was away . I was unable to water or soak the palms and I lost a Howea F. which normally grow well here . I have a few in my garden and the others burned a bit but the large one out front got cooked . I tried to revive it but , no go. Same with a Rhopalostylus Sapida in the courtyard . That was hard as both palms had been with me for over 20 years . I have good draining soil here that is amended yearly . Both palms were in full sun , about 20 miles from the beach . Harry

Winter is not over yet, iam expecting more casualties, that’s zone pushing for you, iam used to it by now. But what’s more disappointing is you kill rare palms and that’s the bit that hurts!

Sorry to see this but losses happen when we push beyond our known comfort zone. There are also pleasant successes , that’s how we learn. Vershafeltia is one I would never attempt in my climate , more temperate than yours. Harry

Agree , a bit unkept . Mine is just coming out of strap leaf stage. Harry

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🤣

Sure is. Approaching 24 months down here. Has only been through 1 full winter and I do keep it protected, but it doesn’t even flinch. I can just tell it won’t have a problem in the ground. Going to plonk it into a north east facing spot against the house with some filtered light through a bit of canopy.

A true gardener is always renovating there garden, a few short living trees would do the trick for that canopy. I have even seen botanical gardens use them in that manner to be removed later on. If you can get your mulch for free even better, just a bit of labour to collect it never hurt anyone!

That one looks like a kk special from up this way?

I had to have someone else make an account for me but it let me join instagram on my own. Me and mom have been talking a lot about getting Sancho a little buddy. Not a replacement. Just a buddy.

My contribution from windward Hawaii Island. Hilo rainfall so far this year is about 80 inches, there's been more at my upland location. Seeds from Ortanique in May 2007, this one was planted out (full sun) in Sept. 2014. I had a problem keeping seedlings alive, this one has been doing well as far as I can tell.

Even goes ok down here in the fridge 🙂. This one is going in the ground in October I’ve decided. Got an ideal spot for it. I feel like it’s worth noting that this is now Chambeyronia piersoniorum. I grew up with Kentiopsis and Actinokentia, but they’ve been out for years now.

I got nothing. Huge storm last night with copper colored skies and thunder and lightning everywhere. It was up in Kingwood, maybe Atascocita and on the East side of Lake Houston. I got the big push of air preceding a front and then zip. The video I have from last night of it was crazy but nothing for me. Today a healthy storm rolled just to the west of me, I had thunder for hours. I've been watering a lot this last week. I sure hope next week produces something as it is looking promising. I see and hear the storms and I'm watching them on radar but they seem to get within a couple miles of me and veer in one direction or the other or split around me. I planted a Chamaerops the other day and the garden bed was dry sand, I was actually shocked. I did get a ton of rain in May and the first half of June but those are distant memories at this point. According to the rain gauge at the Lake Houston spillway which is about 2 miles from me it picked up nothing yesterday or today but got 0.4" in the last week. All I've seen is near 100F temps this week. Definitely overperforming versus the forecasts by about 4-5 degrees.

Small but cute: Aechmea recurvata pink form.

Not much to look at but I think this is the first movement since planting out last year+. Got it as a two leafer from Jeff @ Aloes and it was unmarked. I don’t honestly know what it is but I’ve done a little research and my best guess is Arewood. New leaf petiole is way larger than the last so that kinda indicates it has some “large” genes in the mix. Who knows -dale

Daily storms. Two palms next to each other. No herbicides lately. Sounds like a probable lighting strike; especially in Florida - lightning capital of the world.🌩️⚡⛈️ aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Thank you!! 👍🏻 Here’s my backup plan. Got a single leaf sprout from FB last year. Happy it’s still alive. -dale

Bismarkia

I have a rare variegated Heliconia rhizome for sale. The plant is only moderately sized, 5 to 6 feet tall at maturity. The variegation is strong. It is not a cold-tolerant plant, but should be fine in South FL. $60. Plus shipping.

Landa, New Braunfels. They're actually going out of their way to prune these Robustas. Hopefully that means they're gonna let them grow tall.

Thanks for the feedback! I think I will give it a small stake for stability and let it lean as is.

If it is not close to a pathway where it would be a problem , I think it would be kind of cool with a curve. I’ve seen this done , as Jim says , to give interest and effect . Most times the palm will start growing straight up from the lean , creating a curve near the base. Harry

I’d leave it just add it is. It will have a nice gentle curve in its trunk similar to how many coconut palms grow. I’ve purposely planted some palms this way to get that effect.

So an update on mine. I thought it was starting to flush about a week ago. I trimmed the smaller leaves to clean up a bit. Today I noticed it looks like there's a cone instead of a flush.