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Imagine an attractive palm from the tropics that can take quite a bit of cold, down to 0c, very fast growing, very tough, can handle full sun from very age and tolerate a bit of neglect. I am talking about the gorgeous Carpentaria palm. With such impressive looks and fast growth, my big question is why aren't they a popular garden palm in cool sub tropical areas. They are easily propagated but it took me many years to find one. We have a lot of over looked native palms in Australia. Admittedly some are touchy or very slow growing but these do not go under that category. What does everyone think about Carpies and why don't they have one ? Peachy

Mice are plentiful this year after so much heavy rain so old Radames, my Oriental cat, catches one or two every day. Not bad for a 16 year old. If only he wouldn't bring them inside to show me. Peachy

One of my Latania caught my eye

I was growing these as a great substitute for Sago palm in Florida landscapes as a design/build contractor. Now that they are finally a beautiful size I am no longer in the design/build job and i would like to find homes for these. A couple have recently coned so they are very mature and about 12 years from seed. My folk have one in Panama City that was subjected to 17 degrees and didn’t defoliate. They do not get Asian cycad scale either. They are perfect if you like the form and ZERO troubles. Great for containers too. I can bring some with me to Winter CFPACS meeting if i get some commitments, otherwise DM for pickup only in SE Hillsborough county. $60 each this month only for members here. Happy Holidays . Sorry I don’t want to ship these but I’m open to delivery at a charge if that is best for you

A beautiful almost white silver colour on the elegans flower at the moment, the ground is covered in tiny star dust looking particles. It’s just a shame it’s 7 metres up in in the sub canopy. The iPhone pic just quit can’t capture what the naked eye can see.

The one I have up the back part of the garden has the dark flowers. Not sure what’s going on with this one! Richard

They are tougher than McArthur palms, I grow a few McArthur in my garden not a B problem, I don’t think they like a lot of chill hours. They do take the cool just not hundreds of hours of it. Richard

You’re a game grower, saying to @peachy I prefer clumping palms, you’re in for it now 🤣🤣🤣

Well you got me on that one my dear possum, I don’t have any of them, and if anyone was going to have them you would think I would have them. I assumed they don’t like the cold and never really have come across any seeds or plants, iam sure there out there just not in my nursery, but I will say question of the week goes to peachy🌱 Richard

Last year I used a framed insulated enclosure. No wrapping, just mini lights and C7's laid out on the ground at the base of the trunk. It worked perfectly. Top down view looking inside the enclosure.

Lovely palm. But just don’t seem to handle a Mediterranean climate. Lord knows I’ve tried. And I’m not aware of anyone in SoCal growing them..

I would have one but it would easily die in my area. I prefer clumping tropical species because of that.

The good old clumping palm that always has the last laugh. Richard

I very much enjoyed the video posted on the IPS Facebook page. Well, at least until it came to the heartbreaking bananas and felled trees. Everyone agrees to protecting rare palms until they get hungry. Sad, but true. Here's hoping the fresh conservation efforts will find support within the Comoros communities. I wouldn't know if they are "for real" or not, but several California gardens have reported growing Ravenea moorei -- this would have been many years in the past. You may have to pay a visit to California and take a few tours.

Bentinkia seedlings thriving under a plastic baggy.

Beccariophoenix Alfredii. Backdrop to a lot of horseplay. This was yesterday, it witnesses a lot

I’ve never seen one for sale in Australia. They may exist in some collections over here, but they’re never for sale. If I ever managed to get seed I’d plant a dozen of them in close proximity for future seed production. That’s the best way to grow any Ravenea in my opinion provided you have space. I’ve done that with Ravenea rivularis and Ravenea glauca var Andiginitra.

I can't believe I got this thing for $5.

Photos of Dypsis scottiana, sourced from Floribunda. Very slender palm, trunk no larger in diameter than a fat crayon. Intrafoliar inflorescence held out to the horizontal or more erect, a very delicate look. I'm not familiar with the affinis v. scottiana (nor the reverse). Whatever you have, it's a nice palm.

Ok, guys which is it , stable to parent or not ? Last Monday I purchased one from Jungle Music, labeled as 'suckering', but the palm has no suckers. The very reliable plant supplier to JM said the seed parent was suckering. Is is possible that the palm is slow to develop suckers ? I grow three plants of the suckering form, and it is one of my favorite palms. Two have a faint red flush to the new frond. I once had one as red as a Chambeyronia, but it died after I looked at it without proper reverence. Here is the bitter evidence !

My Chrysalidocarpus Decipiens. It survived me digging it up and transplanting it when I moved back in April. It did really well! I attribute it to me digging as much of the root ball as I could. I actually broke my shovel in the heavy clay soil, trying to get it out.

After a miserable drought for most of 2025, rain finally returned to East Hawaii in mid October. All my wilted tropical plants are gradually recovering. No matter how much it rains, I'm always thankful for more. Months of cloudless blue skies is a disaster when you live on a small island, or even a Big Island. Always thankful for my monster Metroxylon amicarum planted 12 years ago from a waist high 5 gallon. Fingers crossed the coconut rhinoceros beetle never attacks.

Also here last September. And early this month with a different one.

I collected this palm seed 25 years ago at my mate’s wedding from a suckering variety but this one never suckered I do get seeds of it easy to germinate bottom heat 30 degrees Celsius there almost a small kentia in appearance and flower but seeds much smaller and a nice liver colour new leaf one tough palm

Hi Steve in 2010 pogo sent me seeds from his biggest Hedyscepe Today I proudly show the results of those seeds as Hedyscepe grow like escapees in the ground in my coastal Tasmania garden. I also have a smaller one from San clemente garden

They are die hard plants pineapples. I have so many of them that when I cut the tops of they all just sit in a tray waiting to be planted and they have been in that tray for six months still alive and growing. The odds of you getting fruit are pretty good you just have to wait a long time.

Send in those pooches to get him my dear possum, fancy a clumping palm lover mentioning that in your post he’s a brave man. 🤣🤣🤣 Richard

Having @idontknowhatnametuse as a handle is going to make it so difficult for people to send flowers to the funeral. No need to train any poochies either as here is one I prepared earlier.

That's my boy, you got my point quickly!

Bumping this ad for a great deal. Florida peeps need to get on these. 1000x better than Revoluta -dale

Elegans?

Thanks Steve! Tim

You insist to believe that my climate is that of Kalamata. It's unfortunate far from it. Even within my village, the locals call the point where my house is "Siberia" 🤣 Anyway, short psalm hallelujah. Winter is ahead. I'll record my temperatures every day and night.

A nice little order from RPS. After somewhat of customs debacle arriving a bit later than normal. The details of the holdup are to long to put in words but let’s say phone calls and emails many of which later where the order of the 6 week delay. Not good customs Australia! With the Australian government boosting funding for our bio security control they need to get there money back from the importers and the new paperwork (emails) logistics and changes in protocol are taking there toll on importers. Many are not bothering anymore to import with importers taking big hits in there bank accounts thanks to the government.

That’s kind of a tough question being that I appreciate all the palms in the garden. My Chrysalidocarpus decipiens would at the top of the list being that it’s taken nearly twenty years to get to where it is today. The other species that is special to me is not because it’s rare. It’s because the groves of them I gave created massive canopy in just a few years and remain an integral part of the garden. That would be Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and ‘Illawara.’

I am very, very thankful that my Tahina #1 is still alive. This photo is how it looked 12/29/2022. All those leaves browned seemingly overnight. They were cut off and the palm was treated with an anti-fungal. For a long time it sat with a single leaf slowly decaying, and I was sure it was dead. That left a small hole in my heart. But experience has taught me to be patient. I refused to cut down the palm. Perhaps 18 months later, the tip of a spear appeared emerging from the center of the palm! By June of 2024 there was a strong, fat spear undeniably gaining height, but reluctant to open. I marked the spear and occasionally measured the progress. Slow at first, then gaining speed during rainy periods. Even as recently as March 2025, the new spear was only partially open, but now at last, the new leaf has spread, gathering sunlight, feeding the palm. It is still a sad sight, but it's alive! Well worth celebrating, and I am very thankful.

From Dr. Baker (Kew): ”Thanks to the generosity of supporters of the IPS Save the Species campaign, a team from Kew and Comoros was able to complete important work on the endemic palms of the Comoro Islands. We have now completed our final report, which I’m delighted to share with you today - you can download it (in English and French!) at this link: https://zenodo.org/records/15924392 We were able to carefully survey all three islands in the independent Union of the Comores. We found Ravenea hildebrandtii and Chrysalidocarpus lanceolatus on all islands, but Ravenea moorei and Chrysalidocarpus cabadae only on Grande Comore (although the last is also reported from Mayotte). Palms are highly threatened on all islands, but the last two especially so. Chrysalidocarpus cabadae in particular is found only in coastal forests, which are highly degraded. Thankfully, our missions have inspired a new wave of palm enthusiasts and action to protect these species is already underway – please read the report to find out! This work could only happen because of the passion and motivation of IPS members – we cannot thank you enough! Please continue to support the society – in its fundraising, by subscribing to its publications and by participating in its travel opportunities (look out for the Vietnam Biennial – it will be phenomenal!!!). With your support, we can do so much more!” Example plate from the report:

Acrocomia crispa

Happy to report that this little guy has had a good last few years. Has grown more since the last photo here than in the 20 years previous. I think in the past I’ve tried to search for more heat to get it moving along. But in a dry temperate climate A caudescens seems to hate hot sun and low humidity when we get our 40 degree days. I think the key has been that now it gets some canopy. To anyone else in temperature and Mediterranean climates I’d say they are possible but be patient and keep them moist and in filtered light.

My Bactris major. It has grown a lot in less than a year.

I’m really not sure why they lost popularity. Here , in Southern California , they were in every nursery . I got one on clearance for a very good price and planted it down near the bottom of my hill . It was in a 10” pot , that was 28 years ago and it barely has 4’ of trunk but it is huge! I’m glad I didn’t plant it in my garden , the palm is way too large for my garden but looks awesome down on the hill. It has never been fussed over or bothered by my gopher problem . The only negative , other than its size , is the teeth . Mine has not produced any inflorescence to date so I don’t know about seeds , my guess is they are slow to germinate. Harry I think the size and armed petiole kept some folks from enjoying this species . They are care free , but grow very slowly which may also be why they aren’t readily available any more. Sad , because they are beautiful palms , in my humble opinion. Harry

steve .. thanks for posting yours with the top of the fronds. I imagine you had to really get on top of that palm. I took a pic of mine today below. I think it is finally starting to turn silver on top. hope it looks like yours in another 5 years or so. it is starting to rocket for sure tin

I've had this Super Silver growing for well over 10 years. Super slow growing for me in sandy soil on a steep slope in a hot environment. Always looks good, loves as much summer water as you want to give it, just has been incredibly slow

Just received my L yannanensis seeds from Charway. Well shipped/packed, no floaters, very happy. Great communication and quick shipping as well. Will update here about germination... Matt

Both planted 2015 as small palms..not even close to Stevetoad brahea..probably climate, shade and to much competition...

It only has like 1.3 strap leaves.

Another Chambeyronia hookeri in flower, and a few seeds on the lytocarum weddlianum.

My Latania from the top

some picture of Phoenix canariensis In situ to Ténérife Photos taken in the Masca plain in Tenerife