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Thought I’d bump this thread and post an updated photo. So far so good, still going strong. Tim

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.

That is a very nice looking palm . Just a bit of experience with my Chambeyronia, the first few years of flowering usually don’t produce seed. Mine has been flowering for a few years and has beautiful flowers but that’s it. The first two years the spathe never even opened , it just fell off. Mine has over 6’ of smooth trunk below the crown shaft. My friend a couple blocks away whose palm is much older just got his first batch of seeds. Harry This Chambey infrutescens is about 10’ up in the palm.

The cascade palm, an old favourite that has been around for some time now. A fantastic ornamental palm, perfect for a small hedge or a nice fill in for a corner or anywhere in the understory. Makes a great patio container palm, has somewhat of a cool tolerance. A landscapers dream Paolo that’s as tough as nails. A great all round chamaedorea that’s ver forgiving to a growers blunder or two!

Hanging leaf base leftover from a hurricane snapped frond. Also growing out of a little frost/freeze damage from this winter. Probably one of my favorite palms for sure. Photo taken this evening.

I’d say that’s a pembana, @Cape Garrett ! They kinda sit awhile then EXPLODE in height. Here’s some of mine after about 10-15 years in the ground.

This one is a native Floridian orchid growing on one of my Christmas palms. It always sends out a huge display mid May through June. Mixed in is a bromeliad compacta which self attached to the tree from the ground. It's all at eye level so maybe 5 feet from the soil. I always look forward to the display. Gets bigger every year.

This was in December of last year . A spathe finally opened and the flowers were beautiful , but no fruit. Harry

I photographed this beautiful Jubaea chilensis palm tonight. I hope that when it grows up it will be the only beauty in the place.

Think I planted 3 in 2005 not realizing they were clumping. One clump died some years ago. Growing NICELY here and even some seedlings popping up. Pictures are from 2009 and 2022

Greetings a Cuban royal will not be the smallest palm in a number of years that’s for sure. A very easy and beautiful palm to maintain is the Chambeyronia macrocarpa. Another great palm the Howea fosteriana tough and obtainable. Or if you’re in the market for something super exotic and rare there are quite a few options. But that’s another topic. A Chambeyronia would be statement in that spot you have there.

The “sap” you have is the dust and debris that collects on the fronds . When moist air cleanses the fronds that dripping mess ends up on you car . It washes off easily (unlike sap from conifers) but can still be annoying. All my large palms do this. I would recommend the Archontophoenix palms ( King or Alexandrae) . The thing with Cuban Royals ( Roystonia Regia ) is that fronds fall on their own , which is great but when the palm gets bigger can be harmful to cars and humans. Queen Palms ( Syagrus Romanzoffiana) are messy and require trimming unless you enjoy sweeping up after it flowers, and that happens a lot. There are others as well , depending if you want slow or fast growth . My first choice for ease of growth would be Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana ( King Palm) , a pair of them would look very nice in that spot. They just want lots of water . They will burn a bit when first planted and may look a bit tattered at first but will settle in and look great within a year . They can be root sensitive so care must be taken when planting them . Also , they too will flower and eventually drop pea sized fruit , but not near like the Queen palms . The fronds are self cleaning , like other crown shaft palms , but don’t weigh 40+ lbs like a Royal. Welcome to the forum . That’s my two cents opinion and worth about what you paid for it! 😂Harry

Here’s that coconut today. Slight bit of green showing in the center, so there is a chance.

Some exciting news I’m moving to Florida this Fall - Port Orange to be exact it’s Z10A so I have the chance to grow some cool palms much easier than Texas weather permits 😅😅😅. I’ve been busy selling some palms and digging up a few I want to bring along. Seed grown Alexandre dwarf and tall form Radicalis Purpurea

One of my Sabal uresana in October 2025 and then again June 2026, both pictures at dusk. Last winter it saw lows of 17°F two nights in a row with 26°F as the high in between and took no damage. West of Austin.

Variegated lanonia dasyantha still growing true!

I've been collecting palms for 23 years and have never had a flowering Chambeyronia. Looks like this C. hookeri in my yard could be my first! 🤞Can't wait to get seed from my favorite palm species!

After trimming some tall fan palms day before yesterday I was greeted with a boom late last night as the rain came down. Its more like w whumpff! One of my mature royals decided to release a leaf with a wet crownshaft. The leaf stem and leaflets were completely dry, but the massive crownshaft was quite wet and heavy. Seeing it there on the ground I was grateful I didn't have to trim that sucker from below! So I went out to see it in the morning and took a pic with Adirondack chair for scale The palm is a fattie for a royal and is approaching full recovery from hurricane Milton in oct 2024. The older these royals get the more I appreciate the self shedding, saves me being on a ladder underneath. These royals cost me $160 each with delivery and 90 for planting (each) with a bobcat. They had 3-4' trunk in late 2011 as delivered. We are aware when a leaf dries out or even looks half dried out and avoid being under them at that time. Credit florida weather and a popup automatic irrigation system for its appearance, I don't really put too much care into them! Its nice to have something bullet proof and low maintenance. Most of the time they dont drop with a heavy wet crownshaft but when they do its like what I imagine a big dinosaur sound like with the heavy footfall. I have two large royals, this is the smaller of the two and they are enough for me. Warning! You should be able to see why you should not have these in a place where you walk (or sit) regularly like a front yard path to the front door. And if you park a car under one like this, expect a big body shop repair bill as it is about 50-60 lbs falling frm 25+ feet.

Pritchardia pacifica opening a new frond

Pure Enc. Longifolius working. -dale

Burretikentia hapala peeking in...

Pembanas get big. These were planted about 15 years ago from 1 or 2 gallon pots.

Tip of the iceberg…

Yeah. Never go back to your old property I reckon. It’s torture. On a brighter note by Beccariophoenix alfredii are doing well. They’re a great species for down here. I’ve got plans to plant more. I’ve got some bursting out of 45L pots waiting for me to get the soil levels right in new areas. I hope I can get my Roystonea regia to take. Maybe I’ll put rocks around the base to soak up the summer heat and radiate back at night to try and keep soil temps high.

With a bit of homework but mostly luck, throw in a bit of gardening skills and there a few easy to grow varieties out there. Just add water, that’s about the only thing really needed. They don’t get much easier than this lot. Dypsis lantzeana Arenga hookeriana chamaedorea Ernest augustii dypsis baby red stem licuala triphylia Kerriodoxa elegans polyandrococus caudescens

Nifty little palms, although they eventually can get some size to them. The crown has dense, tightly packed leaves, and they exhibit virtually no petiole. Coming true from seeding specimens can be really hit and miss. Tim

Soaking up the morning light…

Another large frond!

And finally sari the cat who used up all of her nine lives a week ago passing away in the wifes arms.

Always time for a few more pics!

Encephalartos whitelockii × sclavoi flush took off during my absence too. The wall is 6' tall and the flush is about a foot above it now as it continues to push.

Harvest season and progress on a flush after I returned from a short vacation.

This is such a cool tree! So glad I was finally able to get one in the ground. It has performed flawlessly for me, so far, even with temperatures up to 110F. I really enjoy watching it go through its calisthenics routine everyday. Every morning, all the leaf stalks are oriented towards the east, and track the full sun all day to the west, where they finally start to fold up each evening, and close when darkness approaches. Looks to be a fast growing winner for Arizona. 👍 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Purchased this as pembana years ago as a one gallon. Probably in ground for 10 years. Trunk height about 7 to 8 feet to bottom of tallest crownshaft. OA maybe 12 feet. Almost a teal color trunk. Flared base. Size 11 shoe for scale. Tristichous growth pattern to leaves. Small red fruits when ripe. Which is it? Cabadae or pembana? I heard that pembana is larger in all aspects and faster growing with less trunks. Just want to be sure. I don't have a cabadae to compare it to. Just doesn't seem as overly large to me being pembana as I would assume. Thanks for any help. Garrett

I started a batch of pembana from seed a few years back, here , in Arizona. Some are just beginning to clump. Not a full sun palm in my area, but makes a great unusual patio palm or even an in ground planting on an eastern exposure. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

They are such a beautiful palm, dry tolerant and will drink as much water you give them. Tolerant of shade and cool conditions. One of my garden favourites!

@SCVpalmenthusiast they wont take our full blazing sun in Phoenix I love the palm I have 3 but have killed 5 trying to grow 1 in full sun!!!

I might have to drag @DoomsDave in on this one and see if he has an idea as to if my one is similar to the one he has and gave you seeds from his palm.

If it’s blackie I wonder if it will look like the one I have.

What about an alfredii? I was deciding a few months ago, and im glad I chose the alfredii. Its an elegant palm with beautiful pinnate fronds.

I know those signs, my ones started flowering after about 23 years as well, now five years later after the first one flowered, I have five that flower and no seed set yet.

You can see why they call the cabadae the blue cane palm, very distinctive colour.

Patience Grasshopper! Soon enough you’ll be up to your eye teeth in seeds. I concur with @Harry’s Palms .

One thing I can promise: they won’t be ugly! I’d never send anyone ugly palm seeds, or seeds to ugly palms.

@sonoranfans About the same story around here , in SoCal. We had a few small , independent nurseries that were so cool . I would visit them regularly and they knew that I liked palms . They would sell me old stock , that needed to be planted out or potted up , at reduced prices . The big box used to have many varieties of palms for reasonable prices . The whole nursery business has changed so now I go to private growers that I met here on Palm Talk. We still have one nursery that sells some interesting palm species but they are not cheap , reasonable , but no deals. I did buy a neglected Livistona Australis there for $100 in a large pot , marked down from $140 . That being said , I just last week bought a couple of Ravenea Rivularis in 10” pots that were on the clearance rack for $3 each . They were healthy , just needed to be potted up. Reminded me of years gone by. Harry This was from the nursery that sells unique palms …..for a price! A Syagrus Schizophylla for $45 . Not a killer deal but given how slow these grow , fair.

Equatorialis. Sorry for the bad pic but it was buried amongst many 15 gals. Last leaf was a 5 footer so hopefully these 2 are even longer.

True Blue Arenarius

Socratea rostrata always gets my attention! Both in the container and in the ground. Iam buying a Time Machine just to fast forward and live 40 years from now. Just to see the palms in full glory!

I got one too. This one is 2 years from germination. I planted it last fall. I collected the seed in Phoenix, AZ in Jan 2024.

I have some pictures that I took a few days ago. I'm growing 3 Filiferas. The two in the backyard seem to finally grow faster after being in the ground for three years. The one in front, I grew from seed, grows way faster and has been in the ground only for two years.