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When I first moved to Florida, I planted a Bismarckia in mid2010 and a sabal uresana in summer 2011. Uresanas are often mentioned as alternatives to bismarckia in 9a. These palms have stood next to each other over the years making for an easy growth comparison. Bismarckias are generally regarded as fast growers and uresanas are said to be slow. First, Bismarckia several months after planting a 5 gallon bought at a big box store. Everything but the spear had heavy mold spots so I kind of treated it as a rescue. It seems to have that purplish hue after winter that is often associalted with a whiter leaf. It adapted fast to sun after being tortured inside the box store with palms stacked in a pile around it. It put 5-6 new leaves out the first year. late july 2010 bismarckia then about a year later I planted a sabal uresana "icy blue" I bought from tejas tropicals in texas. It was a strap leafer and I put it in a pot. About 6 months later it was ready to go into the ground as the pot was root bound. A little over 2 years later in sept 2013 both had grown well. IN this pic the uresana looks a bit bigger than it was (relatively) since it was closer to the observer. It had turned darker with less "icy blue" color but was clearly not just a green sabal. The uresana was about 6' overall and the Bismarckia was closer to 10' in this pic At this point the bismarckia was trunking and growth was accelerating and here is the pic from june 2015. The uresana not trunking was putting more leaves for a bigger crown About 4 years later the uresana had lengthened it leaves and had gone into trunking mode. It went skyward chasing the bismarckia but still 6-7 feet over all behind the biz in height Last week I took another pic and noticed about a 10' gap even though the uresana had sped up and grown to about 25' tall. compared with 35' for the bismarckia I thought it was interesting that the growth burst of each happened at trunking, as we are often told by the literature. Yes even sabal uresana grows well after trunking. I also though it is interesting to note that Sabal Uresana has a wider crown, that was a surprise. I had always thought Bismarckia would be wider as it throws more shade but its a couple fee less in width of the crown. The Uresana crown is more open though, and it took a lot less damage than the Bismarckia in hurricane Milton(oct2024). Part of the lesser damage suffered by uresana could be due to less wind damage as there are higher wind velocities at height, but also part might be the Uresana having an open crown with smaller leaves that have less wind drag. I do think Uresanas will have more blue than mine in a drier hot climate. Bismarckias are very versatile, they don't need much fertilizer and mostly they are self shedding. Just keep them happy and the weevils wont come to dinner(I had a sick one attacked by weevils and killed). I treated the Uresana same as Bismarckia, limited fertilizer compared with my other palms The Uresana has persistent leaf bases which are still strongly attached near the ground. Since I do the trimming, I am happy that Uresana is a slower grower, as the Bismarckia is now too tall for me to trim from the ground. And the Bismarckia(female) is a mess, dropping 150-200 lbs of seed a year. I just got done raking up half a trash can full of Bismarckia fruits, and there is at least that much still hanging on the tree. Uresana has not fruited yet at 15 yrs. Sabals are notorious for liking heat to grow fast and they both had plenty of Florida heat. For those thinking about Sabal Uresana, its not Bismarckia fast but its more of a medium grower for me after trunking.

With all the rain we’ve had and the long summer days, this palm dropped another leaf and is now showing another ring of trunk.

This week has been a real trial for my little Ceroxylon amazonicum! Today at 3 PM the temperature... in the shade... was 106 °Fahrenheit (41.11 °Celsius). It's putting out its second leaf since it arrived at my place from Ecuador (via Florida). I'm keeping it in shade and in a deep saucer of water. Hopefully it'll put out a pinnate leaf before year's end?

Did you ever pull the trigger and grow one? They get big over time. I am in a different climate zone but do have experience growing a couple of Caryota species including gigas now lumped in as obtusa. I would not underestimate the project it will be to remove it someday. The one I acquired as gigas is well over 20 years old. The trunk is massive in diameter but it hasn't gained the height of some around town in Encinitas and adjacent communities.

Cyphophoenix elegans doing its best flamethrower impersonation.

Extraterrestrial? Please come home ET. Any ETS landing in your garden. This is from planet Encyclia of the cochleata species.

Local Sabal uresana. Some or all of mine came from these trees.

A few of the palms this June. Sabal uresana, Sabal palmetto "Lisa" and Butia odorata to the right. Neighbors's CIDPs behind. Washingtonia robusta CIDP Butia yatay x Jubaea chilensis Phoenix sylvestris Bismarckia nobilis Trachycarpus latisectus

First new leaf since planting out our Lepidorrachis mooreana, obtained from @Darold Petty last autumn.

Or towering teddy bears (Chysalidocarpus leptocheilos) - at left - aflame in the setting sun.

Some new additions hit the ground this weekend. Rhapis excelsa 'Super Dwarf' and Rhapis excelsa 'Koban'. The tropicals are Bouvardia ternifolia (left) and Hamelia patens var. patens 'Lowrey Fuzzy Leaf' (right) which both survived our winter freeze just fine with mulch. Chuniophoenix nana. The roots were pretty stunted on these and it looked like they had been in the seedling tubes for a long time. This was the best looking one. Group of seven C. nana. Rhapis laosensis, planted a few weeks ago. I was surprised how fragile and brittle the roots were on this plant and was worried the offset that was just starting to develop would abort, but it has pushed up through the soil fine. I believe this clone is female and would love to track down a confirmed male if anyone has one. Licuala spinosa. Definitely a zone push in Houston and I was trying to balance how much sun they get versus how much canopy. Group of L. spinosa planted among an unknown Hamelia patens cultivar (maybe Lowrey). Mystery Rhapis seedlings at the back and Lobelia laxiflora at the end. Arenga spp. in next raised bed. Mystery Rhapis. Supposedly R. multifida. Not a new plant, but one of my Arenga spp. produced its first offset. Note, the two larger ones were seedlings I didn't bother to separate. This was the first year I didn't cover these (only mulch) and they lost pretty much all of their leaves and one didn't make it.

Bit of an unusual trait for a flower to have fasciation. Somewhat of a different flower trait, not uncommon, but a bit rare. Definitely makes for an interesting bit of a conversation piece.

Great to see this post revived . I knew nothing about these until I saw one in Ventura at Terry and Sevin Sullivan’s place . It towers over the garden with a dominance like royalty . I didn’t know it was heat sensitive but it seems to like the coastal Ventura climate. Harry

A couple more pembana floating around the garden!

Another group in Houston.

Mine puts on a bit of a show too.

@OCKev and @sonoranfans my Archontophoenix tuckeri in the westering light of late afternoon….

An old favourite that’s been around for a while. A real classic chamaedorea, perfect for container production, a true landscaping palm that’s very predictable in growth. A great indoor plant, patio or a bright shaded spot in the garden. And best of all super easy to grow!

A big pair on this one. The boys get some additional extension when they unscrew like this.

Two views of one of my Phoenicophoriums. Such a pretty species.

They are true water lovers!

This is my first leaf that shows color. Every one is perfectly edged and the center w greenish yellow. It is Spectacular! It does looke like trunk is speckled. Cecile

Same palms different angle.

After seeing everyone’s palms, as well the ones in my yard, I think this is the best palm to come into cultivation in years. B. alfredii is a close 2nd, but can’t think of anything else that comes close..,

2023 - 2026, extremely fast. Never affected by freezes but appears to have a phytoplasma disease from which it seems to be healing. There's 2 new spears coming up fast.

I grew this one from seed and finally got it in the ground last year. It just put out this new flush. Encephalartos bubalinus This one I also grew from seed however it’s been in the ground for about 10 years now. Cycas megacarpa

Looks just like the C. Radicalis I have growing around my garden. Some have very relaxed leaflets , others vary a bit . All of mine end up as tree form. Harry This is more upright This pair has more of a relaxed leaflets habit Growing up through a neighboring Pritchardia These are all on the shady section of the garden . I also have some in full sun. Very cool hardy and sun tolerant .

Harry I think the consensus is that this one is Ceroxylon ventricosum which is a little different to C amazonicum with its plumose fronds rather than arranged in a single plane. I will say I’ve always thought the Sullivan Ventura Ceroxylon could be C quindiuense - it just seems to have that slightly plumose look rather than very obviously plumose like C ventricosum I’ve seen.

Two lovely ramsayi with a stack of seeds, I think they are about 35 years old.

Any updates? We're putting more palms in the ground this week (especially the "big boys"), and I kept going back and forth on the placement of my julietiae (from the Sparkman group). Despite trying it in several "prime" spots, it never looked quite right in any of the placements I was considering. Here was the original placement I was leaning towards (but am no longer doing)... Today I tried moving it to an equally prominent place next to the palapa. And I like this placement a lot better! It looks like a feather on a fancy lady's hat to me, and all but one of the fronds are already clearing the palapa top (ignore the lean... I'll fix that during planting)... Sadly, the updated placement does mean the poor palm will need to stay in its pot just a *little* longer... as we're making a rock "planter" on the left side of the palapa . At least I know what will go in that planter now! That spot has an ideal balance of sun/shade, and relatively good wind protection. So I'm ready to declare this the plant's new home (unless anyone sees an issue with it). Curious how are everyone else's R. julietiae are doing.

Side by side, one of my Encephalartos ituriensis which is not hardening it's flush while the Encephalartos whitelockii x sclavoi is still pushing it's soft flush. The wall is 6' high from the base.

Why not a palm seed thread, we all love our palm seeds, and with so many of us harvesting our seeds from our gardens, or purchasing them. It’s a great way to get seed identification for those who may have there doubts about did I get the real deal. Chamaedorea tenella Mother plant And the rats had been stealing them so harvest time!

New frond on A. vestiaria a few days ago. It needs more sun i think to get better color.

It can be done, but you will want to start with a large container or be prepared to transplant to a larger container before the roots become bound. Here are a couple that I started from seed.

Close but no cigar, it’s light bleaching. I have it on my Johannesteijsmannia. When I first seen it I was not thinking variegated, and if it was variegated well the bank account would be a lot larger having variegated joeys that is for sure!

Red and white pagoda lovely to look at, but my goodness they spread.

Just so everyone can play along Richard: This is now Arenga oblongifolia. Previously Wallichia oblongifolia. Before that Wallichia densiflora. I think you e mashed up the previous name a bit with the name before that 🙂 Great palm by the way. I love anything weirdly unique.

Chambeyronia, Areca vestria and kerriodoxa elegans getting my attention!

After about 2 years i waited, finally its getting pinnate😄

Ravenea Rivularis are water lovers but , crucial to ant potted plants is good drainage . You can water them as soon as the top 1-2” starts to dry out but if the water doesn’t drain well and the soil gets mushy at the bottom of the pot it can cause problems or , eventually , kill the plant. Also , any direct , hot sun on a non hardened off palm can cause burning. Welcome to the forum and good luck with them . I know they are very common palms and if you lived in a more favorable climate , I would recommend planting them in the ground . They like being out doors rather than indoors . I have two potted ones and they are in mostly shade under other palms . I also have one in the ground and it got huge. Harry

The flush on my Chunky Monkey Encephalartos longifolius has stretched out and is beginning to harden. It looked stunning in the low summer setting sunlight.

Love the glossy leaves on these

Just planted this lipstick queen hybrid palm In zone 10b Whittier California ( So Cal ) Los Angeles County It has two suckers growing on it Filtered sun Wish me luck 6/9/26

L rupicola and friends…

I got a few floating around my garden, such a nice palm. Nothing beats driving up the driveway and seeing the red flame in amongst the green forest.

I think it was around 1900. They were immigrant families who created gardens and brought exotic species. There's a nursery that has or imports Rhopalostilis to Chile. I hope they start giving out seeds soon. It only blooms. The photos below are from the nursery where the Rhopalostilis is located. They import, sell, and propagate them there, but with some seed viability issues.

Most elegant palms…here are 3 planted together.

Chelyocarpus species, kerriodoxa elegans and Johannesteijsmannia altifrons all three super easy to grow.

I’ve got a showroom of mature specimens so you can see what the various species look like when they big.

Consider Chambeyronia! Oliviformis macrocarpa….