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An update at the end of July, 2026.

A species that probably doesn’t get much attention on here - Gaussia maya. It’s been bulletproof for me on a north facing brick wall which probably helps with additional heat retention. Love the chunky base, will look great when the leaf bases start to fall off.

Arenga micrantha and Engleri, two species that grow very well here and are also resistant to light frost

Veitchia

Kerriodoxa elegans, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Geonoma atrovirens, iguanura wallichiana var major, Areca vestria red form, sabinara magnifica, reinhardtia gracilis, chamaedoreas are must have, variegated rhapis. Then there are Zamias, Cerotazamias they all compliment palms and there are many of them to collect. Good luck once the palm bug bites you it’s a whole new world of plants!

I originally bought this copernicia alba from Ken Johnson. It had 3'+ of trunk in mid august 2011, with a tiny crown due to sitting in 90 gal pot for years. Ken said nobody wanted it and he recommended it to me. It was delivered with a few other specimen palms(C oliviformis). Over the years I notice that each year a bunch of spears(~10 or more) at the same height rose up and pushed the previous years leaves down towards the horizontal. The new leaves open pretty quickly when the palm is ready. They can be seen separated against the sky fromt he old ones in a cluster. It reminds me of a new flush of flowers. SO I use the term "flush" when a good number of leaves open is quick succession( a couple weeks). A couple days ago against a story sky but some sun peeking through at my back I took a pic to show the "flush". The only other palm I have that does this is P, rupicola. The rest take a week or more between the opening of spears. This palm was hit by Hurricane Milton and lost some was as leaflets were bent. It was one of the better performers of the well exposed palms in my yard. Here it is with the dead leaves from Milton still hanging on. You can see this years flush is separated from last years by angle to the horizontal. As you can see its in sandy soil and has a little clay underneath at 2'. Its not in a wet spot irrigation or soil wise, and it did suffer in this drought but looks ready to go after the recent rains. The leaves are now self shedding to a smooth trunk the latest 3' of trunk(out of view here). Does anyone else out there have an alba story or a newly planted alba?

Chamaerops humilis cerifera

Dioon mejiae seems to always flush later into summer for me. Perhaps it needs more heat than some other cycads I am growing?

Chrysalidocarpus saintlucei gets thicker in full sun and thinner trunk in shade here. Full sun specimen front and center in this photo.

I finally got a palm planted this afternoon. I’ve been waiting for cooler weather but it ain’t happening so impatience won. I came home with this palm after visiting @DoomsDave a few weeks ago. It is one of about 5 or 6 palms I adopted. This one is just a bit of a push for my climate but I’m pretty confident it will be fine. I chose a nice spot that only gets sun after about 1:30pm and only for about 3 hours this time of year. As it grows , it will see just a bit more . Palmpedia says these like a warm tropical to sub tropical climate and like a rather sunny location. Digging holes in rocky soil with many mature palms sending out feeder roots is a chore , especially in 89f temperature! I dug out three fist sized rocks and chopped through a bunch of roots . There will be enough room in this spot for a few stems if it decides to clump( very likely). Harry It doesn’t look like much right now but in a few years, it will be looking great! If you are growing this species , post pics so I can dream!😂

This VERY fast growing Kentiopsis oliviformis (now classified as Chambeyronia) showing its first ring as of last month. This is one of three of this species in my garden and the other two are WAY behind in growth despite being the same age and growing in the same conditions. This one in the pictures was planted as a one gallon plant just five and a half years ago.

That "Jungle Music argentata" is certainly not argentata. I used to live in a forest of them on Big Pine Key and we had large specimens on our property. C. argentata doesn't have those beautiful, neat, light-colored mummy-wrappings you show here, Tracy, and what fiber argentata does have doesn't extend down that far below the crown; and the leaves have a different form, they have a bit of a wave and the tips droop, it's not one of the "stiff" Coccothrinax. Also, I think you'd never see C. argentata attain the sizes you have here, when grown in coastal SoCal, in any reasonable time-span. It is slow even in a tropical climate. But these also don't look at all like the C. barbadensis/C. alta I know, which, as Bret notes above, doesn't have a blade fully encircling the hastula (mine here only cover a little over a half-circle). Though it's the species I always expect to see growing near the coast, since it may be the fastest-growing. This is why it's the one you really find in the trade in Florida on any sort of scale (often sold there as C. alta), it's maybe the only profitable one to grow. I have quite a few of them here in Palm Springs and have acquired them both from Phil and from Florida sources...and they match, so I think what Phil has sold (at least recently) as that species, does seem to be accurately labeled. I remember several decades ago, it seemed the most common one you'd see in SoCal was C. miraguama, and I have a feeling that may be what this is. The mummy-wrappings in particular on your beautiful specimen. I planted a miraguama at my old apartment-building in West Hollywood in the mid-90s (probably bought from Phil), and this looks somewhat similar in my memory, I remember how beautiful the wrappings were...unfortunately that one was removed at some point in the intervening years so I am relying on old memories. Some of the photos of miraguama on Palmpedia really resemble yours, though of course you have to assume that their pictures are accurate as well. But you might want to try to key it out in that direction (and note there are three subspecies with differences in the fibers...see Paul Craft's book on the Palms of Cuba). Phil has also carried C. montana in the past...I bought a "Coccothrinax sp." from him a year or so ago and spoke to Ricardo at the nursery about it, he said in his recollection they had carried C. montana in the fairly recent past, and I am inclined to believe what I bought there as "sp." may be that one, but it's very stiff, definitely looks different to me from what you're all showing here. Hopefully someone with some good Cocco-chops from Florida will chime in here with a more authoritative idea. This genus is a really underused one, in my opinion, just the right size for home gardens, especially courtyards, and I wish there wasn't so much confusion with all the species (and that more species were readily available)...also I wish they grew a little faster, but at least there are a couple of them that grow well in a variety of climates. The nice thing is that they're very ornamental from youth, so there's no reason to decide against planting them and enjoying them, at any size.

Dypsis Plumosa

Update on transplant 6 months ago. Going well, almost unaffected

I guess this could be considered a ring! @tim_brissy_13 here’s another Gaussia , sharing the spot light here in Southern California. One of my recent acquisitions. Harry Gaussia Gomez Pompae . I peeled the leaf base off when I got it home. So far , I believe wifey , who loves my palms but not like me , has claimed this one . Probably end up in a sunny spot later this year. I think somewhere out front , they are so cool , they deserve attention for sure.

my yard images

While definitely not its first ring, I’ve always loved how defined the growth rings are on Hyophorbe Indica. -dale

Here on the west coast of Oz only cunninghamiana and alexandrae are common. The other 4 are completely missing from the mix as they are purely collectors palms. I suspect that many of the Archontophoenix getting around are not pure and are various combinations of cunninghamiana and alexandrae. I reckon I have quite a few Alabangs growing here. A pure cunninghamiana will have the ramenta underneath the leaf. I’ve grown some seed thinking they are cunninghamiana and they don’t have the ramenta. Over time they get a faint amount of silver under the leaf. So probably a cunninghamiana mother and pollen from an alexandrae. I’m growing all the 6 species here but I need to try and seperate them to try and create straight up species in the future.

Fronds steadily increasing in size, thats what you want. Five foot hoe standing next to palm for scale. Keep the core health and away from freezing this winter and it will continue to grow. In 35 years it will look like this:

The plumosa are flowering again, and I have finally worked out the boys and girls and where they are in the garden. No flowers opening up yet. But some daily observations will be the order for the day. I will try and hand pollinate them this year. I managed to get 4 seeds pollinated last season only to have the rats get them, right on harvest there clever little sods. In the 25 years they have been in the garden only twice I have had good seed set naturally where Mother Nature lined it all up. A nice landscaping palm that’s tolerant of a lot of hard conditions.

A nice sallaca, variegated lanonia dasyantha, dypsis Pembana all looking good in the garden.

Yellow Latania

Here are some detail shots I took today.

Hi Tim, here are couple shots of mine Purpurea hybrids. You’ll see purplish crown shafts with silver undersides of leaves but missing ramenta. I have 3 with varying degrees of purple. And I’ve noticed during summer months when a new leaf base falls off it’s not as vibrant as in spring when it’s cooler.

Wide leaflet Zamia splendens

A nice garden in Kaikoura, about 2 hours north of Christchurch, taken on holiday recently. Is the second pic a standard Butia odorata, looked a but different to me?

Red Latania

Hi there, I had already the impression that there was something going with one of my seed grown Bismarckia's but couldn't make it out from the accessible side. So, I approached it from the backside - I had to work myself through a couple of weeds grown already men-high close to the fence but got finally rewarded... First pic,... Back in September 2020 after being planted out. Here it is now... ...and here approaching it from a different angle: Well, still not really clean but I think we have got some 'evidence'.... 🧐 Lars

Way back when the Remarkable Palms of Tampa Bay thread was started, many of these palms graced the thread. The palms on this thread come from City Hall, the parking garage areas, and the surrounding landscapes that do not include Hollis Gardens or Lake Wire since they have their own threads. This thread picks up after the municipal gardens were exposed to 25F during the February 2026 Freeze. With perhaps the best microclimate in the metropolitan area, there are palms that survive here that are difficult as little as 6 miles east or west of City Hall. When we give tours of the palms collections, this area is one that raises the most eyebrows. Carpoxylon macrospermum - City Hall South Entrance Pseudophoenix sargentii - City Hall South Entrance - Damaged, but recovering well Chambeyronia oliviformis (Kentiopsis oliviforms)- City Hall East Entrance - Damaged, but recovering. This palm had strikes against it before the freeze due to overtrimming. Satakentia liukiuensis - Parking Garage West Entrance - Damaged, but recovering well Pseudophoenix sargentii - Parking Garage - Damaged, but recovering well. It should set seeds this year. Pseudophoenix sargentii - Parking Garage - Damaged, but recovery is slower. One may end up dying. For now, this is enough to get the thread started. It gives @SubTropicRay a glimpse at a few species he asked about in the Lake Hollingsworth thread. There is a Pseudophoenix that survived near the midpoint of the walking trail, but that photo and post will have to wait for now.

Iam impressed with them that much I got 110 seeds to get a few more around the garden!

Generally speaking, are the blue joeys (Johannesteijsmannia magnifica) known to be more stout in form as seedlings/immature plants than the green joeys (Johannesteijsmannia altifrons ) ? I’ve only been growing this one seedling magnifica (from 1st seedling leaf stage) and noticed it doesn’t develop those long-strap like immature leaves like the altifrons I have raised. I grow indoors. Because the magnifica is much smaller than my altifrons, I have grown it along with my higher light orchids. The altifrons are well over 3’ so I can’t get them under the orchid lights. I noticed from photos that the mature magnificas look like the altifrons in form, possibly broader; the blue underside of the magnificas being the obvious difference. Although, perhaps any of these form differences in photos can be due to stretching in lower light vs more stout in stressful high light levels. I just want to be aware if I’m possibly light-stressing my magnifica. Pictured below, magnifica on left is younger than the altifrons on right.

After 2 relatively mild winter in a row the jubaea seems much happier. No visible winter damage last year and strong healthy growth with the frond size steadily increasing. After the January ‘24 freeze that years fronds were smaller than the previous year. Luckily it’s on its way to out growing that years damage and stunted growth. 🙏

I have both cunninghamiana and alexandrae shooting new bronze fronds but seems to only happen in winter.

Dypsis decaryi soaking up the afternoon sun. And a nice bunch of Arenga engleri seeds!

It’s looking quite good so far, if these varieties haven’t been cooked by the cold temperatures by now, then they are standing a fair chance of making it through winter. This is there first winter and a lot of the larger varieties have been purchased from the tropics. So there foliage is taking it quite well, considering it’s tropical growth. One thing I can’t work out is why the mattenensis havent been cooked by the cold yet. They are just sitting outside with the rest of the seedlings, no hothouse. Temperatures down to 2 degrees celcius not to bad for a zone push! Licuala poonsakii Calyptrocalyx flabellatusAreca tinomPonapae hentyi Arenga nana Geonoma pycnostachys Licuala mattenensis

I’ve seen A cunninghamiana, A alexandrae, A tuckeri and A maxima all throw coloured new fronds at times. Have heard reports of A myolensis doing the same but haven’t seen it myself. Never heard of A purpurea doing it. I don’t think it’s a reliable trait to distinguish between Archontophoenix sp.

Definitely. The city government orders these from Jungle Music. The employees working at Hollis have told me this variety is the most resilient to cold out of all of the various species that they've ordered. We have Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, alexandrae, and I think a few maxima sprinkled into some spots. My thought was that it would generate enough interest for genetic testing amongst the scientific community, but to my knowledge, that hasn't happened. It would be really interesting to have genetic testing done to verify or refute some of our theories as to the origins.

A nice young carpoxylon macrospermum! She’s a slow mover that one!

Has taken all year, but a frond on my Chambeyronia macrocarpa has finally opened up.

As juveniles they appear to be a little more robust looking. But as germinated seedlings they are pretty hard to tell apart, perakensis are a little more skinneri looking as seedlings. But if you were to mix them up they would just look like a bunch of joeys to the untrained eye. I haven’t seen many advanced magnifica but from what I have seen there appears to be slight differences, more robust looking. There is a the silver metallic blue colour about them, and the ones in Singapore gardens are some of the finest I’ve seen. All in all yes there is a slight difference in magnifica to all the other varieties. I have only seen one lanceolata Johannesteijsmannia and advanced one that was a true specimen to see. Definitely a lot thinner leaves on them. Hers a few Altifrons plants in the collection and garden about 5 years old the ones in the ground, and the seedlings about 12 months old. And they love water!

This is the product I am using.

The seed market is very volatile in the fact that you are dealing with a living cell, this makes it difficult for the sellers to guarantee viability and germination rates. As we know some seeds germinate a long time after we have said they are no good. The big difference is when we get fresh seeds the difference is amazing in germinating rates.

Wallichia densifolia git my attention today.

This Encephalartos Arenarius x Horridus had… you guessed it yellow leaves. Hit it with the chelated iron and almost overnight they greened up and a couple weeks later it started to flush! If you guys have any problem yellow plants give it a try and it should work for you. And thanks again Gene at Az!!!!🤙

This is the only Chamaedorea in my garden that is growing faster than my Tree Form Radicalis. I got one from @DoomsDave a couple years ago. It had one frond and was nice and green . It is now almost 6’ tall! I wish I had more . Harry Adoption day about two years ago , soaking my new palms after a long trip home! This afternoon , the tip of the last frond almost even with a 6’ fence with a few “rings”. I could easily squeeze on or two more next to it . I will if I run across any small ones.

Cleaned up this Roystonea regia a few days ago and the rings are looking good

18 months post cold event

It’s the beginning of soil making on lava in the background of this Metroxylon is a pile of trash tree. It will take 2 to 3 years with the pigs help to get turned into soil so I’m just gonna keep throwing debris behind this bloke. We are building the soil up for a nearby rainbow eucalyptus, but the palm will benefit as well..

Pinanga sp.’Thai mottled dwarf’, or at least sold as such.

Rhopalastylis Baueri getting the ring. Planted out as a small 15G in the winter of 2020 it’s grown way more than my other Rhopalastylis. This one is happy. -dale