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This species of Coccothrinax, native to a small beach in N. Cuba, is definitely one of my favorites. Similar in looks to the old man palm, (Coccothrinax crinita) but apparently much hardier. Great palm to grow in the desert, even in full blasting sun. Unfortunately, like many others in the genus, it is a rather slow grower. 5 gallon pot grown from seed in Arizona is already 10 years old! 🤯 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

I’ve had this Syagrus Schizophylla sitting by my front door for a while now . It is pushing a new spear and roots out the drain holes of a very deep nursery pot . What does a “ palm dad “ want to do for Father’s Day? PLANT A PALM. Perfect weather and you know it’s gonna be a great day when you can dig a deep hole in good soil without hitting a rock. When I picked out the spot , I chose a place with full morning sun and afternoon shade . There were a couple of seedlings sprouting ( I have a habit of pushing seeds in the ground in random places about the yard.) I easily dug them up to place in pots , the soil was very easy to dig so I didn’t disturb them too much. One of the seedlings is a C. Radicalis , they are everywhere. The other looked like a Chamaedorea until I got the dirt away from the plant ….attached was a C. Decipiens seed! Yay. So I guess one of the many seeds I had planted , germinated , a very special surprise. The planting of the S. Schizophylla went well and I was done in about an hour . This after a lovely ride to Ventura on my bicycle. I hope the rest of you are having a great day. Harry My special surprise! Chrysalidiocarpus Decipiens It sprouted right next to this C. Radicalis on the right. A very deep pot means a very deep hole! The “birth certificate was buried in the container . Nice info to have I know….my Sketchers are no match for @DoomsDave red Converse!😂 The new spear is just recent , since I acquired the palm. I think it will be happy here , sharing space with a young Archontophoenix C. that is growing rapidly. Harry

Some of my favorites that have no problem with desert extremes include Bismarckia, Brahea, Coccothrinax, Copernicia,, Hemithrinax, Pseudophoenix, and Sabals. Unfortunately, most are slow growers, and somewhat difficult to locate, especially in larger sizes, on the west coast. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

An argentinian palm friend found this beatyfull variety of Syagrus romanzoffiana ( called "pindo" in Argentina and "pindó, pindoba or jerivá" in Brazil) with very dark collored petioles. VID-20260619-WA0001.mp4

A faster growing option with similar looks, is a hybrid with a borhidiana parent. Not quite as hairy, but way faster growing and just as hardy. This compact species fits in well with today's smaller gardens. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

It's a blank slate!

The longest day of the year and gloriously gorgeous. Maybe share thoughts or pictures or both.

It’s always been one of favourite palms, knowing they grow so easy in my climate. I just had to order 1000 seeds from rps and ended up with about 700 of them. One of my number one selling palms. A palm as spectacular with black petioles, no thorns and a beautiful silver underside leaf. A perfect deep shade understory palm. They make great patio plants. They will always have place in my garden any day.

My friend Tuki from Rapa Nui shared some photos of his island and its palm trees with me. He explained that the Cocos nucifera palm trees were brought to the island from French Polynesia (Tahiti).

Forgot to post these RGV palm pics back in April:) photos range from McAllen over to south padre too lazy to add individual captions don’t hate me 😤😂- thoroughly impressed with the valley’s resilience 5 years post freeze :)

Agree , I planted a couple of small ones many years ago and just to the base of the palm. They have done very well . I was warned by a fellow palm enthusiast . Harry Hard to see this guy with the Caryota in the way . It was planted here as a very young plant . The base of the palm is in a fast draining section of the garden. It is now over 6’ to the crown. Good air flow around the crown . I think these must come from an arid climate like we have here. I planted two of these , both have done quite well in our 10a climate.

Chamaedorea woodsoniana spathes opening. This palm has to be a contender for greatest crownshaft:trunk diameter ratio 🤣 Chamaedorea nubium first spathes. This could probably also go in the ‘Gettin’ the Ring’ thread. Sabal minor first lot of ripe fruit it’s produced.

I have half a dozen amazonicum grown from seed. I think I got 100% germination and never lost a plant. They seem hard to kill but will sit looking happy and healthy but do almost nothing if their requirements are not met. I think maybe deep soil is a must and might be the missing ingredient in some Hawaiian gardens that seem to grow out of rock! My largest is about 5 metres but the smallest under 1 metre. Nowhere near trunking yet after about 15 years from seed.

Here are most of the palms I own

I planted these Veitchia joannis as small 4" pots last year and they are rockets in our cool montane tropical conditions growing next to our coast redwood trees.

Dypsis louvelli, Geonoma atrovirens.

Bismarkia and White Triangle

My Encephalartos ituriensis is flushing but this is a very difficult one to photograph. In order to get the whole plant in the photo I have to stand pretty far back and lose detail while the tall leaves blend in with the canopy. Also, the existing leaves are erect and do a good job at hiding new flushes. Here’s a couple of photos from different angles trying to show the flush.

One could say that the coronata is a lot of bang for a little buck! Super easy to grow and germinate. A good old landscaper’s favourite palm. It may be common and not as great looking as some other Pinanga palms , but its good enough to stand next to them in the garden and look just as spectacular!

I only have two in the garden. Both are 30 years old, one is raging along while its cousin is still doesn’t even have a trunk, planted about 3 meters apart. They are tough palms and have done the job that I wanted when planted with a vision. I see them planted around the place in my home town in full sun situations but to me they look better in shade I think. A wonderful tough palms and worth growing!

Two palms that have surprisingly taken the cool weather quiet. The Calyptrocalyx was the biggest surprise as they are quite fussy, and the dypsis was a surprise as well for such a tropical looking palm. Either way both have lived through my winters in the ground with temperatures dropping down to 2 degrees celcius.

We've crossed the midpoint of the year. The daylight hours for us in the northern hemisphere are counting backwards now. As everything in the garden that didn't die or get removed begins recovery mode, a photo of the Livistona decora and a small Copernicia alba and then @palmfriend's Okinawa Garden featuring Livistona chinensis and Arenga engleri. Happy Summer!

Who is growing or at least germinating seeds of this spectacular "cold hardy " palm? Who has more info about the botanic aspects of this apparently new species? I am fortunate to have some seeds germinating. Rarepalmseeds describes it as follow: "A spectacular new Lanonia found at high elevation on limestone hills in northern Vietnam. It is related to Lanonia dasyantha but differs in its larger, very heavily mottled glossy leaf and significantly larger seeds. Like Lanonia dasyantha, it is tolerant of prolonged cool conditions and temperatures that can occasionally go down almost to freezing even in habitat. This is despite its very tropical apperarance, and very much unlike similar palms such as Licuala mattanensis 'Mapu', Licuala sp. 'Kalimantan Mottled' or Licuala maculata, which are very demanding and only grow well in hot humid tropical climates. Lanonia sp. 'Large Mottled' will actually grow successfully not only in tropical but also in warm temperate climates, where it appreciates a protected spot in filtered light. Our seeds were collected only from a very remote, high elevation population where every single plant shows a heavily mottled leaf. Lower elevation populations, also in northern Vietnam show a less intensely mottled leaf even though their seeds are a similar size, see Lanonia sp. 'Less Mottled'" ( pics from the RPS site)

They are monoecious, having both male and female flowers. So your one lonely palm will set seeds. To help with cross pollination a single tree in a stand, will tend be either male or female, choosing this characteristic to help with cross pollination. But both male and female flowers are present on the same tree. Like a lot of plants if there are no boys hanging around they have a way of setting seeds. I guess the good old hermaphrodite works in wonderful ways.

I was out walking my dog and the monoculture of this home I walk by frequently caught my eye. Someone once got a deal on them or they had a favorite. They used to have some Livistonia chilensis mixed in but removed them a few years back. They do have an ocean and beautiful horizon view, so I understand the preference for low growing palms.

From Madagascar to Chile. A magnificent collector's palm tree. For anyone who wants to be tempted.

If anything the angle used for the pair of leaves on the ground underestimates the actual difference between the two. The larger of my pair of Encephalartos ituriensis is flushing now but I am waiting for it to get further along in the process before sharing photos. Mine hasn't attained the caudex height of yours yet. I will have to count flush leaves on both of mine now, as the theory you posed is interesting. My male Encephalartos turneri is mid flush right now. Old cones from last year are still partially hanging on. It is another species that starts it's flush quite furry.

Brahea Clara

This is the last palm that caught my eye at my Palm Society friend who lives a few miles from me. It’s a nine year old Licuala ramsayi. It may be getting a little too much sun.

Chrysalidocarpus decaryi x leptocheilos F1. Have heard them also referred to as Red Triangle Palms but I also think that’s used for the reverse hybrid. Probably just another reason to avoid common names. Photo from today in balmy Melbourne. The relatively sickly pure C decaryi to the right of it.

I'm happy to report that I've got a very precocious and showy Heliconia blooming like crazy out here in Palm Springs. It's a Heliconia stricta cultivar called 'Sunrise' and it's available from Plant Group Hawai'i. This is apparently a seasonal bloomer as my two clumps, which are growing in slightly different sun/shade profiles and different areas of the yard, started throwing their inflorescences synchronously, within a week of each other this spring. I planted one around mid-2023 and the other in April, 2024. I think it's safe to assume this is a second-season bloomer due to its strong desire to flower in spring. The inflorescences are really quite large and showy, and I'm a little surprised to be seeing so many appearing in two separate clumps (three on one, two on another). Each bract measures about 4" long and the overall inflorescence height is about 7". One thing to note is that this, like a number of strictas, seems completely happy in quite a bit of shade, so it's a good sub-canopy subject to try, at least in hot interior areas. Cold-tolerance hasn't been tested in extreme conditions, but mine have survived low 30sF up to 124F so it seems quite strong to varying environmental conditions. We have 30-to-50-degree diurnal swings out here with most December/January mornings 40-45F with maybe a dozen or so in the 30s F, and highs pretty predictably somewhere 65-75 (average high 70F). The plant keeps quite a good appearance over winter with minimal damage here, and the overall height of 6-8' with rather long leaves makes it a really nice landscape element. Spring starts here the second half of February and warmth accelerates very quickly. I have no idea how this would do in the much cooler coastal plain or right at the coast in SoCal, but I think it's certainly worth attempting by any "Heliconia nut," particularly if you have a nice, protected area with dappled sun/shade. It would likely need more sun right in the fogbelt within a mile or two of the coast, and I would think you would need to carefully carve out a wind-protected area under canopy that gets some winter sun-warming. This one is very easy to root in a tub of warm water. Just put the rhizome in and let it sit in full sun so it will warm up (use an aquarium heater if necessary to keep it around 80-85F while sprouting). But water should be changed every day or two to prevent fouling and also for oxygenation, which is very important. Once it has a mass of roots you can put it straight into the ground (that's better than in a pot, where it may rot). Closer to the coast where there is winter rain, I'd strongly suggest planting on a raised mound composed of really chunky high-drainage materials (like a good homemade Philodendron potting mix). While these clumps were not planted on mounds, I have more recently found that treatment to really accelerate growth for many Heliconia. Out here in the desert I mix coco-coir chunks (not fines) as a spongy moisture-reservoir, combined with lava rock, pumice and coarse sand. I'd also recommend avoiding the north side of a building or other winter-shade area where it may "wet-chill" to death. H. stricta 'Sunrise': I also (finally) have a couple of H. rostrata throwing blooms, one H. rostrata 'Misahualli' and another that is probably either a '5-day'/'Peru' or '10-day.' Inflorescences are still pushing but I'm very happy to finally see this stunner blooming out here in the desert. This one will bloom in appreciable shade but requires propping up under these circumstances because the pseudostems will stretch to find light and fall over under their own weight. In sunnier conditions they will stay stronger and more compact. H. rostrata 'Misahualli.' This one is under the canopy of a rather large Cassia javanica and an adjacent Thevetia peruviana, so it doesn't get very much sun at all...just dappled for the most part, but seems quite happy in its spot. H. rostrata (probably '5-day' or '10-day'), just starting to push. This one is in a pot that has rooted into the ground, and in too much shade, which is why its long, thin pseudostems are lying almost horizontally, being propped up by some nearby plants.

Might be planted a tad deep. This species is particularly sensitive to rotting. I’d say it might be safest to dig away a bit of the soil around the stem until you reach the root initiation zone.

I got mine as an established palm at a non specialist nursery sold as D decaryi. Not cheap, but a bargain for what it is. It’s done relatively well considering my climate is far from ideal for them; C leptocheilos doesn’t grow reliably long term and there are only a handful of mature C decaryi around and they seem to need very well drained soil or they rot in winter. Even my pure C decaryi gets bad brown tipping and the trunk gets a bit wobbly each spring from what I assume is root rot. My Tribear doesn’t have that problem. A bit of brown tipping but that’s hard to avoid in my climate for most species.

The flush is almost complete on this smal Encephalartos caffer.

Hi all, It’s been a pretty good season germinating and growing on seedlings, so I can offer my largest range ever with 63 species (including hybrids and variants) available. Unfortunately these are only available within Australia, and unless labelled ‘Germinated seed’, I also cannot send to quarantine states and territories WA, TAS or NT. Seedlings have been grown either completely unprotected outside in Melbourne or in some cases in an unheated greenhouse, so there may be imperfections in seedlings, but expect them to be relatively hardened. Express Postage available at buyers expense. For further details, growing requirement questions or pictures send me a PM.

With a touch of the new garden section!

A nice Ferox cone, in the far red spectrum of the afternoon sun.

I have to say it was beyond disappointing when I worked and prepared 14 years towards finally moving to Hilo, HI, and had everything set up to establish myself there, only to be met with a housing crisis, living out of my car/hotel, and subsequently having to emergently find a new job, which just happened to be in El Centro, CA. If I had moved to Hilo, HI only 6 months earlier, none of this would have happened 😔 Now I have my eyes on Mexico in 5 years to finally have my permanent garden, as it looks like Hawaii and coastal southern California are no longer realistic options for a large palm garden. Either way, though, it's been fun experimenting with palms in the desert and seeing which ones can take the heat. Many palm trees have pleasantly surprised me!

Lol this is the easiest Sabal sp to be identified.

I knew they were in there somewhere but I couldn’t find them, having thousands of seedlings, you soon lose them in amongst the rest of them. But glad I did find them now they are a great chamaedorea for the garden. It can be a problem having so many palms, you really have to know where they all are for watering them and light requirements, different sized containers mixed in with each other has its drawbacks. Monitoring for water you can easily overwater small tubes next to thirsty licualas. Then there is the overcrowding affect blocking light out and once they are shaded out watering becomes difficult to get it to small tubes. Oh the woes of growing to many palms. It certainly tests the grower out!

The only thing I know about Sabals is Sabal mauritiformis! Apart from that I know nothing about them.

Chamaedorea adscendens flowering after five years. So it takes about 5 years from seed for them to flower!

Jim, if you can find one, Ceroxylon peruvianum is a rocket. About 12 years from seed to 5 feet of trunk for me.

Fishtail

Here are a couple more: first up is one of two krocianas that came from Floribunda about 12 years ago, about the size of my pinkie at the time. So I’m very proud that they are all of waist high now. Might even look like a palm in a few years. The 2nd one is just unknown to me, but another very upright and pretty stiff leaves. Possibly robustior maybe?

Dypsis poiveana

I planted 4 "sp. giants". After getting my camera battery charged, I went out this evening this evening to take the following 3 pictures. They are much bigger now, having grown well. I use the lawn chair for scale. The first shows two female trees. They have been flowering and producing seeds that ripen red, unfortunately non-viable because I don't have male pollen to fertilize them. The second shows another one that has grown well, has a crown even larger than the first two, but has a much shorter stem at this stage. It has never flowered. The third pic is one that has never been as healthy and easy growing as the first 3, included just to show that there are some that lag behind. Raveneas have done well for me here. I guess they like the climate without strong highs and lows, and the heavy rainfall. Besides sp. giant, I have dransfieldii, glauca, krociana, lakatra, madagascariensis, sambiranensis, and xerophylla. I have never grown rivularis, which looks fine to me, but I saw so many when I lived in Florida that I decided to focus on other varieties. I especially like lakatra because it is an exceptionally beautiful palm. I have 4 of them in my front yard reaching heights of maybe 12 feet. I lost my one julietae, and two other krocianas (the remaining one is fine and has got quite large). Seeds of sp. giant were from Ortanique and sown in summer 2006. One was planted in summer of 2009 (I don't remember which one). The other 3 were planted in February and March 2011.

What got me into palms, I was 16 years old fixing my mates Yamaha YZ 125 motor cross bike, jumped on to test her out. Took of down the road in nothing but a pair of shorts and a t shirt. Tapping her out down the tar bitumen road hitting about 65ks. I fixed her I thought, turn around tapping back down the bitumen road, and yes you guessed it right the neighbours dogs thought let’s chase this young victim for the hospital down the bitumen road. Yes sir two dogs either side trying to eat rubber tyres, ok let’s accelerate we can out run these flea bags, so I gunned it with the two dogs,who at that moment decided to meet each other in the front wheel. Yep straight over the handlebars at about 70ks an hour. No helmet, T-shirt and shorts hurtling for that bitumen road. So now iam breaking my collar bone, skin off every part of my body, hit my head millimetres away from my temple and dam lucky only to get 10 stitches. I lived but my mother was not impressed with her so son’s behaviour, so I had to apologise to the lady up the road who’s dogs I run over. Through her saying she had to pay vet bills and her job was working in a palm nursery, I asked her to see if there was a job there to help pay the vet bills. And that was it I started working in a palm nursery at 16. Found the love of palms and they joy they bring me in my life to this very day, some 40 years ago! And yes the dogs lived and iam glad the hippie lady Diane came into my life, and showed me the world of palms!

We come in peace!

My fastest is C. alpinum. This one being approximately fifteen years old from seed. Still no trunk though.