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Been awhile since I’ve posted photos of the Dictyocaryum in the garden. Over the years it’s evident that they are a bit out of their element in my garden, but are still beautiful nonetheless. Out of the original four, two faded away, the remaining two are powering on, although one took a hit from the months long drought last year. It seems to be rebounding as of late.The difference is apparent in the photos. Finicky at this lower elevation tropical climate. Always keeps me guessing. Tim

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?

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

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.

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!

Best contribution I can make to this thread. Got a few sprouts growing nicely but I’m aware this is the easy part. Time will tell whether I can keep them happy long term here but I’ve been inspired by some success in cool climates. Not sure whether to fear my frosts or occasional extreme heat for this species. Probably both!

They are almost prehistoric looking ! I have two that I planted a few years apart . They aren’t super fast growing here , but steady . Mine were about the size of your little potted specimen in the photo. I’ve watched them grow over the years and they are so different from the other palms . The fronds maintain the triangular shape by repeatedly opening on the same plane as previous ones . The purple tomentum and silvery color , plus the “strings” that hang down give the palm a very exotic appearance. Harry A perfect spot for a nap . The wee folk of the garden have claimed this one! This one is not near as lush as the one I planted in the front where there is a bit more shade. I found that the shade has benefitted this one . I also figured out , last year , in between rain events is the best time to pull leaf bases off! This area , out front , has a very diverse leaf type of palms planted close together . Roystonia O. , Chambeyronia M. , Caryota M. , Syagrus R. , and Archontophoenix A. . Throw in a few Howea for good measure! 😊 I do find it interesting that high humidity ( Hawaii ) , tropical is not their preferred environment. They seem to prefer a more temperate or sub tropical home.

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

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:

Chamaerops humilis cerifera

There’s always something to look at in and around the garden!

Bonjour, je vous partage mon expérience de pollinisation puis semis de mon cycas panzhihuaensis. J'ai récupéré deux fleurs mâle dans d'un cycas panzhihuaensis, j'ai eu de la chance. Comme vous pourrez le contacter sur les photos, tapoter puis déposer 15 jours sur la fleur femelle. Récolté le 24 novembre 2025. Conservé dans un carton sur un lit de riz. Semé le 17 janvier 2026. Elles ont toutes commencées à craquer en mars 2026. Première racine le 19 avril 2026. Puis elles ce sont suivies. 29 sur 107 pour le moment. 14 jeté. La 28 ème à germer 67 jours après la première et la 29 ème à germer 88 jours après la première. Je suis dans l'attente pour la soixantaine qui reste. Semé en frigo chauffant, sur pierre ponce 2/4, température constante 25/30 degrés.

Here’s one tough palm the decaryi. While not the most of cold tolerant palms it will take a fair few degrees of low temperatures. Give this palm plenty of room to grow as they can get quite big. Dry tolerant, I have some in between sandstone rocks on a steep site that is rather dry at times with a lot of sun and heat in summer. A popular palm, they may be common but the colour of the leaf bases in sunlight is one feature that keeps them coming back into gardens. The triangle shape is another great characteristic that makes them likeable. I like them and even planted a couple more in the garden today. I may like my understory Uber super tropicals but for a palm that takes a beating in all sorts of climates, it’s a winner in my garden!

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!😂

One of the contenders for slowest seedling is Chrysalidocarpus titan. Long known only by informal names like Dypsis sp bejouf(a), folks in Hawaii fell in love with this species largely because of the grove of two dozen trees planted at Bo Lundkvist’s Malama garden. Those trees are now huge and producing baskets of seeds. The only demerit I’d give it is for the exceptionally heavy fallen fronds. They must weigh around 40 pounds (20 kg), maybe more. You can only have grass under these. Any companion understory planting would be crushed. I started mine from seeds. Big mistake. Pay whatever a 10-gallon plant costs. Germination took 18 months. After they went in the ground, glacial growth rate the first five years. Finally, they got serious about growing. After ten years in the ground, still no trunk, but they open a perfectly respectably 3-4 new fronds a year. After seeing mature specimens in so many Hawaii gardens, I have very high hopes for these. Construction site 2016 2017 babies went in the ground and promptly burned. Today 1. titan 2. lastelliana 3. carlsmithii 4. cabadae. 5. Clinostigma samoense Another competitor for slowest ‘Dypsis’ goes to Chrysalidocarpys decipiens. Habitat photos on line suggest this palm grows in arid parts of Madagascar. Maybe the reason mine are growing so slowly is that they are in shade and typically get 140” of rain a year. SLOOOOW. After 13 years, they have only now started to trunk. Most individuals I’ve seen in local gardens have two trunks, but I have seen one example with six. Both of mine have twin trunks. 2014 Not obvious, but both trees have two trunks even at this stage. Today The same slow growth rate is seen in this mysterious palm that might be related to Chrysalidocarpus sp. blue decipiens. Who knows? I don’t think taxonomists have tackled this one. After a painfully slow childhood, this finally began to trunk last year. I really don’t see any resemblance to Chrysalidocarpus decipiens. This one has a single trunk. Leaflet arrangement not that similar. Different coloration. 2016 Today At the opposite end of the growth rate spectrum, this mystery palm went in the ground from a small one-gallon pot 13 years ago. Now it might be around 50-60 ft tall (15-18m) tall giving my Pigafetta some competition. This was obtained at a nursery liquidation sale with a very faint ‘Dypsis’ label written on the pot with white grease pencil. No species name was visible. It has a strong tristichous frond arrangement, but the crown has disappeared into the clouds, so that feature is not especially noticeable now. The base of the trunk is very swollen. Some Big Island growers seek out unusual ‘Dypsis’ variants or hybrids of unknown paternity. I suspect the explosive growth rate I’m getting might be due to hybrid vigor. Great if you are after instant canopy, but be prepared for telephone pole syndrome down the road. 2013 I have both Chrysalidocarpus saintelucei and Chrysalidocarpus basilongus in the garden. The white crownshafts are pretty consistent, except I’ve occasionally seen some red in saintelucei. These similar palms are easy to distinguish when growing near each other. C. basilongus is a bit more slender and has a very faint hint of blue. C. saintelucei has a more striking green trunk with white rings. Both produce abundant seeds that easily germinate, although saintelucei has a thoroughly discussed habit of breaking off its heavy infructescence before they mature. saintelucei 2013 today Crownshafts are usually mostly white, but occasionally I'm treated to a bit of color. basilongus Turning to clumpers, C. cabadae, C. lanceolata, and C. sp. Mayotte Island’ closely resemble each other after ten years or less in the ground. Maybe each will become more distinctive after they start blooming. C. lanceolata seems more distantly related judging by the slender base of trunks in contrast to the swollen bases of cabadae and Mayotte Island. cabadae Mayotte Island lanceolata Chrysalidocarpus baronii and C. psammophilus look about the same in my garden. Oddly, DNA sequence suggests they are not all that close. C. baronii is supposed to be closest to C. decipiens. I don't see it. Ignoring the taxonomy, each is an attractive, slender clumper, but no fireworks yet. Photos of baronii 'Black Stem' are very eye catching, but mine was only recently planted so can't say if it will live up to the hype. baronii psammophilus I only include Chrysalidocarpus lutenscens for completeness. The common ‘areca’ palm is vastly over planted in Hawaii, usually as a hedge to screen out unpleasant neighbors. There are so many more interesting clumping palms that could step in if only the public knew about them. I inherited two clumps from the previous owner. If only these were rare or a recent discovery, everyone would want it. And finally, the award for THE WORST Chrysalidocarpus in wet east Hawaii- drum roll: Chrysalidocarpus decaryi, the triangle palm. For some mysterious reason, this desert species is widely planted in east Hawaii. They look like crap for years until the crown inevitably snaps off leaving a dead trunk, which is a modest improvement. Why do people still plant this one? Photo from a neighbor's property. Hope this update gives you some ideas of what might be good additions for your garden depending on your climate. If you haven’t been following this thread, I’m at 700 ft growing in black volcanic cinder generously amended with compost. Rain varies a lot, but averages around 140” (3.5 m) annually. Fertilizer twice a year is slow release 22-7-14 with trace elements. Never gets hot or cold, 60-83 degrees F almost every day of the year.

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.

Dypsis mirabilis with strings of pop beads. Tim

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

Great choice! Although a very slow grower, it's well worth the wait..A very durable, compact palm, that fits right into today's smaller yards. Here's one of mine, flourishing in the Arizona desert. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

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.

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.

Doing a bit of cleaning up the dead fallen Australis leaves, with two growing near each other a mature one and a juvenile one, and the difference in the thorns on the young palm in comparison to the mature one is incredible. You most certainly wouldn’t mess around with a young palm when doing a bit of cleaning up. Whereas the mature one they are not so deadly. It’s obviously a defence mechanism but against what I don’t know, perhaps kangaroos munching on young palms, or is it a Gondwana time defence mechanism, back when there where some rather large marsupials roaming around eating them. But there is certainly a difference in the thorns!

A pandanus that is all over the coast line of northern New South Wales. Growing right down to edge of coast just out of the tidal zone, that was s exposed to the elements of the ocean. They will grow further inland and I have them in my garden. You see them a lot in coastal towns. And they can get quite large taking up a lot of space. Seeds are easy to collect, to propagate you just leave them on top of the soil, preferably sandy soil with a little mulch on top of them. A nice pandanus that is worthy of any garden!

This Cocothrinax was labeled as argentea or argentata, but when I posted it in past years I was advised it didn't key to either. I am still waiting for its first flowers. It does have some silver color on the leaf underside but it is modest. It has been a good grower. I thought it was time to solicit thoughts on a species id again. Here it is...

I agree with @happypalms . The best time to plant a palm was 20 years ago, but the second best time is today. Looking forward to watching it grow up @idontknowhatnametuse !

mine is Dioon mejaie flushing today

@JLM Haven’t posted in a while, so thought I’d give you a little yard update after the last few of not so good back-to-back winters. The only thing that’s been protected with just blankets (no heat) is my Pygmy Date. Still growing out half of it’s defoliated fronds but is otherwise doing good. The coastal areas have stayed within 9A throughout all these past few bad freezes, including the snow event, so no real palm losses here fortunately. Sorry to hear about your Queen! It looked beautiful and had good size to it.

Here you go, updated photos. This flush is going through senescence. No sign of the next flush yet but this plant can do that. My female one went bare between its last flushes too. I included a photo of a leaf on the female plant too.

This flush is almost hard now. The leaves will get darker green than they are now but I don't think this flush's leaves will get any bigger.

Shouldn’t be a problem for you I don’t think Richard. Mine is a different kind of heat, but mine breezed through 44C a few times this summer in filtered afternoon sun. Seedlings don’t mind either. I haven’t heard that they are too sensitive to humid heat either. Northland NZ would be right at the top of my list of places on earth to grow palms. Of all the places I’ve visited, it’s where every palm is just so perfectly green and lush. And where else can you grow Juania, Lepidorrachis, Hedyscepe, Ceroxylon, highland Geonoma and Parajubaea side by side with Pinanga javana, phillipinensis, all New Cal sp, most Dypsis and Chrysalidocarpus and even some Areca species? I’ve never visited Hawaii but I’d imagine it’s one of the closest places but just cooler all year round allowing those heat sensitive species to thrive (while limiting the true equatorial species). Here’s a few pics from a nursery up that way that I took in 2018. Really should’ve taken more photos but was caught up staring at everything 🤣 Hedyscepe canterburyana. Still can’t get my head around being able to go to a nursery and buy one of these! Pinanga javana and a nice little palm at the front left (maybe Geonoma orbigyana @richnorm ?) Geonoma undata grove and friends Prestoea acuminata var Montana Arenga micrantha just to stay slightly on topic with what might be Allagoptera caudescens front right

Here’s a front yard near my house with a couple of Archontophoenix that I’ve long suspected to be A cunninghamiana x alexandrae or the reverse. Similar traits to ‘Teracarpa’ above; very large and thick trunk (can see a smaller A alexandrae behind the one of the left if you look closely, even the S romanzoffiana are smaller overall), speckled olive green and brown crownshaft, growth rings all brown with some scales on the upper ones, abaxial surface of leaflets with some silver and no noticeable ramenta that I could see. Interestingly they have the A alexandrae cream coloured flowers. These hybrids tend to lean towards A alexandrae from what I’ve seen.

Licuala sp would all be out of the question if you’ve got Beccariophoenix alfredii getting damaged. Lanonia dasyantha in a very protected spot under canopy up against a house or something…maybe but marginal at best I’d say. Chamaedorea radicalis and C microspadix should work well under some protection. Butia sp. Trachycarpus sp although summer heat might be a struggle for some of them. Maybe give Guihaia argyrata a go if you can find one. Chamaedorea humilis shouldn’t have a problem and some varieties like var argentea and ‘Vulcano’ are quite attractive. Rhapidophyllum, Sabal sp, Nannorrhops and some Brahea species should do well too.

Variegated Rhapis excelsa ; 4 inch pot. $85. plus shipping. No sales to CA or TX.

If you have no joy with the seed, sing out and I can send you some seedlings or seed. cheers Richard

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

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. 🙏

It should be noted that those are not all suited to Miami's climate, but all great palms.

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.