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Oenocarpus distichus is getting big. Rocky 2 and Suubi stayed still long enough to provide some scale.

Pinanga coronata “Kuhlii” Kerriodoxa elegans. I use these to block the view of our power transformer. Some type of Rhapis but I don’t remember which one. Another unknown. Ptychosperma Something? Here’a a Pinanga dicksonii. I got knocked over in a summer storm but seems to be recovering well. Here is another one that hard to capture in photos. Hydriastele microcarpa

I really enjoyed reading all the replies and the survey is interesting too. Thanks BayAndroid for getting this going. At 68 I continue to start all kinds of plants from seed knowing some are more for the next owner of my farm to see mature. The journey is what matters. Lots of interesting people on this forum! Thanks to all who frequent PalmTalk but especially those who post!

Parajubaea torallyi underneath a Japanese Maple.

On this weeks show we have some show stoppers that’s for sure. As usual packaging is impeccable, you couldnt get them any better in great condition as if you just purchased them at the local jungle nursery. A nice Hapeline Benthamianum a very unusual aroid. And next is a anthurium velvet magnificum x complex black that has a look all to its own that is well suited to greenhouse growing. And another cute little dypsis forcifolia straight out of Madagascar the land of limas. Then of to the jungles of Asia with a healthy little licuala mirrinensis in such a tiny tube. Then it’s of to the philodendron cutting room for good old El Choco Red Rubijuvium a nice crawling philo. And finally we finish up in the jungles of Costa Rica with a brilliant Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana a beautiful bifid form, that will be a challenge to get seeds from in the years to come. So that about it until next weeks show, like I say if you got em post em and post as many as you like they love it in palm land!

So are these species growing like weeds and invading hill sides and filling fields with millions of out of control volunteers messing up farms and the ecology??????? That is the most ridiculous load of garbage I’ve ever seen. What is the reason they want to ban these palms. Without a reason how do they justify imposing a ban. Is it just a situation of, “Well it’s not native - ban it”. That means all the botanic gardens will just have to shut down, or become grassy areas that just sell coffee and cake. It’s not like NZ is some sort of untouched by humans pristine ecological area. Don’t get me wrong NZ is a beautiful place that I really want to visit and see it’s natural beauty but the reality is it has already been massively modified and degraded by human activity. So NZ is essentially into making arbitrary rules that have no scientific basis or basis on reason. You should have freedom to grow what you want unless it of course has a strong reason not to be grown.

They seem to be pretty popular with the cool climate growers and just about everyone who grows palms would have one or two around their house. So easy to grow and propagate there fast becoming the modern day chamaedorea elegans. Very tough dry tolerant cool tolerant and fast to grow, is one reason they are popular, from medium amounts of sun to deep shade there a palm that fits into any garden or container!

I planted a little one in full sun earlier this year and it is really doing well. Mine is the trunking variety as the trunkless ones just take too much space on the ground.

How thick can be the stem of a trunking specimen? I understand there must be some variation but I am interested in the potential of the sp. I have one specimen, that it has an exceptionally robust stem compared to other three specimens in the same group. It is the one in foreground.

These quickly populated my garden after bringing home a squat pot of 8 mature , seeding specimens over 25 years ago. I now have several seeding Radicalis in my gardens around the house . All of mine are trunking type that get very tall in time . Little red berries everywhere, even on very young ones ! Some of them growing in full SoCal inland sun. Harry

Just checking in on the hand pollinated Chuniophoenix nana, and it looks like we have lift off! 🌱

I feel sure the real reason for the bans is a view that native = good, non-native = bad. But even native trees like Pohutakawa are considered weeds by some if they stray out of their natural distribution of the past few thousand years. I'm just grateful to have a fascination for plants which has brought me lifelong pleasure and try to ignore the joyless extremists.

It’s been a busy day here and I haven’t had time to post any new photos until now. The first one is a 3 trunk C madagascariensis var. Mahajanga I have a few of these Brassiophoenix schumannii around the garden but they are hard to photograph. These 2 are in a planter against our garage and are a bit more accessible. Here’s a Licuala grandis and another hookeriana that’s a bit more protected Another favorite of mine Coccotrinax boschiana I have a few of these Chambeyronia macrocarpa “Hookeri” all about this size. These are easy growers here.

One of my favorite palms after seeing it at Fairchild Gardens and then on an IPS trip in 2015. Not easy to find in Puerto Rico but due to the generosity of Mike Harris (Caribbean Palms) he parted with two seedlings a few years back. My experience with my own seed started C. baileyanas led me to get the C. fallaensis in the ground right away, full sun. Sorry about the weeds! Too much on my plate to clean up this one today.

Why on earth would something like Trachycarpus geminisectus be banned? I assume their logic goes something like T fortunei grows like a weed so therefore let’s ban all Trachycarpus.

No, this palm is in a private garden in south Florida. It's quite rare in cultivation.

Apparently according to the seller of this plant it comes from the backyard of a Florida aroid legend for which the VB plant is named. Bob could not recall the parentage of this plant so it will probably forever be a mystery, he was a generous grower which is how the seller came to obtain it on a visit to stay with him in Voral gables many years ago. So it’s nice to see a plant with a bit of personal history and a story behind it the grower lives on in his plant, and the story for this plant will be told in my garden honouring the grower!

@musaflorida you could check with @Fishinsteeg234 for Archontophoenix in the Orlando area. He sells them in the Longwood area, this is his May thread:

There perfect for your climate, one chamaedorea that is a champion grower great bang for your buck. I prefer the trunkless varieties but when I see some of my ones in group with trunks of varying heights there just ad beautiful. Richard

I'll say that at my age, I have had the privilege to see most of our palms go from 1-2 ft to full maturity. Also, the perspective that much of what I plant from today onward, will not provide me shade before I leave this rock. However, there is serenity in knowing what I leave behind may be enjoyed by others.

Pirostegia ígnea (Bignonia venusta) in full bloom , planted in the ground at my garden. Someone else's Pirostegia, not too far away from me. Enjoy.

Giuseppe, seedlings from my seeds are initially rather slow growers but after a couple years or sooner in better conditions set off! Here is a group of seedlings (seeds from my plant) grown in a community pot and then planted as a group in a botanical garden in Athens. The curator had been initially worried that red color was a sign of stress, until I explained.

I’m just speechless at the stupidity of these decisions. I wonder exactly what plants they consider suitable for NZ. Also are they considering planting large areas of native NZ plants like NZ Kauri to replace what has been removed over the years of human habitation.

Unfortunately, the red in mine only lasted through the seedling stage. I planted it out in 2011. It exploded in growth, and is now over 30’ tall, and flowering. Very nice palms, although wickedly armored!

They're a pack of morons. The Auckland council needs to be thrown into the ban list instead.

Beautiful fuzzy crownshaft palm 100 for $10 1000 for $20 US only...$9 shipping....includes mandatory USDA inspection out of Honolulu HI

New Plymouth is outside the ban area. The last bans were for sale and distribution but owners didn't have top get plants removed. I'm assuming it will be the same this time. Hundreds of other garden plants are in the firing line too.

I got my weddelliana from JM today. I got permission from the boss to splurge on a 15g since they are so slow 😁 Here it is in its approximate eventual location next spring. I have another tiny one from Jeff Marcus which I’ll plant alongside it…hopefully neither one croaks.

This is one of those must have species that I got going almost as soon as I bought my first farm in PR. I know I have an unfair advantage as it never gets colder than 65 degrees F or above 90 F and plenty of rain and shade. A couple of mine are seeding and after sowing in pots, sprouts are popping up. Takes 9-15 months. I plant all Licualas out when just a few leaves and just wait while nature cares for them. I never fertilize or water them. I have scattered the larger ones about, but the babies are going to be grouped together in the ground eventually. The markings stay beautiful no matter whether in full or part shade. I hope everyone on PT ends up with at least one of these!

Daylight robbery. Even considering that $AUS are rather less than USD. A stealth tax dressed up as environmentalism. I'm interested to hear how you do with the C. parvifrons as they are on my shopping list (stunning palm). I tried I. palmuncula seeds a year or two back but had no success.

It depends what time of day or what day they answer, There is a call centre they answer not a problem, it’s the departments of fisheries and agriculture that are particularly fussy about when they answer. It depends on the office there all different in each state, but the ladies in the office are great to deal with, but I will say politeness goes a long way there human like us all and a lot of people abuse them it’s not there fault a packet of seeds goes mouldy!

I was gifted one seedling and it is amazingly still growing, albeit slowly and still in a pot. The rainy mountains of Puerto Rico is about as different as can be from its usual desert location. I am still contemplating the best location to plant it out so will follow this topic with interest.

There seems to be a myth about how joeys have a reputation for just up and dying for no reason. I have a few and from observation, it seems the weakest in the batches after potting up have the middle new leaf die. It’s not root disturbance, it’s possibly a soil fungus. I call it flagging as you can see basically a flag signal with the new dead leaf. I have broken roots of new seedlings and they will die. But that’s a grower mistake. So I use a foliar soil fungicide once every 3 weeks. So hopefully this gives a reason for joeys just up and dying. Eventually in the potted up batch’s the weakest have been eliminated and you dont get them dropping off dead, with just the strongest surviving.

What about the Howea palms planted as street trees in New Plymouth ? https://tropicaltreasures.nz/30-palm-trees-for-your-new-zealand-garden/

They won't have the resources to trawl the entire country checking which species people have tucked away in their garden, so just ignore it. I've recently seen the feral Archontophoenix alexandrae in Hawaii and it's definitely a problem but given how long a lot of the species on your list have been in NZ, surely any invasive tendencies would be obvious by now.

Follow the link to donate: https://members.palms.org/2025-save-the-species/

Thanks to my friend Konstantinos, I have Livistona Mariae again! They are not red because in the summer I kept them in the shade, otherwise they would burn and not root well.

They are not that slow here either. The one I posted above is about 20 years old from seed I germinated.

OK I’ll play along . These don’t fall on their own like Dave’s Chambey frond or Jim’s super long frond , but last time I cut an overhanging Obtusa frond ( hanging over a neighbor’s driveway) , it took almost an hour to cut it up in order to dispose of it! I had to drag the frond out into the street to cut it up . Harry

also love p. sargentii (called buccaneer or cherry palm in florida). they say extremely slow growing, but here is four years' growth on mine.years' growth on mine.

Three new leaves on our little onilahensis

Two beautiful dypsis saintlucei caught my eye today.

I couldn’t live in suburbia, they wouldn’t want me anyway, I play my music loud and not enough room to garden. And also I don’t need to hear people abusing each other life is to shirt to ague with people. It takes more of a man to walk away from a fight than it does to have a fight. Let them have there rat race, town is not for me give me the freedom of living in peace in the Australian bush!

Yes, Konstantinos, thanks again. You sent me 5 seedlings. The journey lasted a few days. I don't understand why 3 arrived dead. This one is beautiful. Seeing the red color, she was worried. This shows how ignorant gardeners are. It reminds me of when I was in the hospital and my wife called a gardener, and I had two beautiful, large Parajubaea Sunkha plants, and this ignorant man cut them down! He said it was shading the other plants, which were Chamaedorea, which, as you know, need shade. Double the damage. But God is great! I've already found a friend on this forum (he told me not to use his name) who will soon send me some seeds.

Absolutely. I love the origin stories. I know I've said this in lots of other people's threads, but I get discouraged a lot when I look at where I'm at compared to so many of the established gardens on here and then read that some of y'all have been working at this for as long as I've been alive - and it sounds like most of y'all are in better health than me and I hope to keep learning from y'all and my own mistakes. I also love reading the younger generation getting involved. Y'all might not get my pop culture references or have any idea how slow dial up Internet was, or understand how Limp Bizkit got to be so popular, but I'm glad some of y'all are growing stuff.

I was supposed to have a freeze this morning. However, a deck of stratus clouds stuck below warmer and drier air aloft has kept the temperature from falling overnight to amount to much. On top of that, winds were gusty all night, making horrid conditions for any kind of radiational cooling. With all that, what was originally supposed to be 32F ended up being 37F. I'm not complaining too much, keeps my freeze count at 1 for the season so far. Now I just need the clouds to break up because its still 37F at 8:30 AM which is kind of ridiculous haha

I bought a 3 to 5 gallon sized mule from tytyga.com. They don't have a stellar reputation on some online forums, so I was hesitant. I caught them when there was a sale that brought the price into a range at which I was willing to roll the dice. The palm arrived safe and healthy. I still have it in a pot until the spring. I am happy with the purchase so far.

Should be My High Desert Palms because I don't really have other plants in my garden besides some Cycads anyway here's an update of a few things. Sabal Riverside Took a little winter damage but finally starting to grow well since I planted it 3 years ago? Sabal Louisiana Sabal Guatemalensis Grown from seed Sabal Tamaulipas Sabal Causiarum Grown from seed

Advice- find a couple slow growing species that you like and start them now. Having something to look forward to is great for our longevity. I wish i started some species in my 30’s , but next best time is today 😎

Four years after the last post, I thought I’d give an update of this ‘getting large’ palm’. The trunk reminds me of an Arenga with the dark fibers and it has yet to reveal any leaf scars. There is the shovel for scale. Tim