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Hello ! Was lucky enough to explore the forests of Costa Rica : from altitude cloudy forest to dry savanes. They have it all, with amazing species. A special thanks to Jeff who gave me great advices and IDs. Some of you might know him.

One beautiful palm from New Guinea. Clumping, colorful, well behaved, and attractive entire leaves. Copious amount of indument on the rachis and leaf veins. Been in ground for around twelve years. I’ll add photos of the colorful inflorescence and seed if and when that happens. Tim

A few more photos. Tim

Palermo was a bit of mixed bag. Still pockets of stunning ancient heritage, but unfortunately the city in general does appear to have lost its way. The botanical garden on the other hand was a pleasant surprise, with a fantastic variety of palm species. Also the most comprehensive collection of citrus trees I've ever seen, the majority of which were full of ripe fruit. Well worth a visit. Washingtonia robusta Church of St. Dionisio 14th century ruins Phoenix sylvestris Washingtonia robusta Not 100%, but I think this is Trachycarpus takil. Labelled Trachycarpus fortunei. Brahea armata Butia sp. Brahea edulis Trachycarpus martianus Jubaea chilensis Trithrinax campestris Rhopalostylis sapida Chamaedorea metallica Archontophoenix maxima Roystonea regia Chrysalidocarpus baronii Brahea decumbens Brahea brandegeei Brahea armata Chrysalidocarpus decaryi Trithrinax campestris Brahea aculeata Nannorrhops ritchiana Parajubaea torallyi Sabal maritima Dioon spinulosum Encephalartos lehmanni Chamaerops humilis var. argentea Howea forsteriana

I noticed a spadix beginning to push out of my Pseudophoenix sargentii a couple of months back with anticipation. It is the first one this palm. Today I checked it's status and saw that it never fully opened. We'll, at least it has hit this milestone and may flower someday in the future.

As the sun fell lower in the sky, something red was lit up toward the east. What could it be? Grabbed the phone and went to see. A sight I have never witnessed before, the unveiling of a fresh inflorescence of Loxococcus rupicola -- and wow, was it ever RED! Below you can see what caught my eye. Closer -- evidently I was disturbing a pair of Madagascar geckos -- can you find them? Below you can see the formed seeds on another Loxococcus rupicola. I sometimes have trouble remembering the name of this palm. My trick is to start with Coca-cola and then it falls into place.

Here's one growing in the water at Presa La Boca, Nuevo León, México. However, this is freshwater, not salt water.

Got my grubby hands on these two hybrids from Floribunda. Anyone else trying them? Or growing them already? This first one is a prestoniana hybrid of unknown pollen parent. And these are the decipiens F2 hybrids. Jeff says these are from a clustering, smaller palm and that it is fast growing. Lastly, one of my decipiens nearby looking good with a new spear not far from opening

It’s been a long road to get to this point, but we’ve finally achieved it, we own acreage in Australia 🥳. The acre parcel is located 3 km from the township of Malanda, 15 minutes to Atherton (main hub on the Atherton Tablelands), and just over an hour down the stunning Gillies Range highway to Cairns. 740 metres above sea level and typically 6-7C cooler than Cairns in summer (29 Vs. 36C this Saturday), with minimums rarely dropping below 12C in winter. Also humidity tends to be lower. I’m hoping the climate is a suitable candidate for Juania australis, Ceroxylon, and Hedyscepe. The land is red volcanic soil, which is very fertile with good drainage and moisture retention. Ultimately I would like to build a house on it and retire up there over the next 10-15 years, but that all depends on if I can convince my wife to leave the Gold Coast. If not, we’ll use it as a holiday home and split our time between the two locations accordingly. For now, it’s my playground to plant sun loving palms that will provide future canopy. As each species goes in, I’ll update this thread. The YouTube video shows the land as it is now. Over the next few months all the infrastructure will go in (town water, underground power, sealed roads, concrete access driveway etc).

Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum (supposedly) new leaf.

Hey y'all I thought this would be a cool post to make this is what my 2025 garden season was like. I'll post favorite pictures average temperature for each month etc. OK I'll start off with what our coldest temperature was and our hottest temperature was and average temperature for each month of the growing season (March-November) March. March for us was generally a mild month our warmest temperature was 81 And our coldest temperature was 19. our average daytime 57. night time 38 April. April was a lot like March it was more mild not as hot as I have seen but it wasn't too bad. our warmest temperature for the month was 90 (Very warm for April) Our coldest was 18 (Very cold for April lol) our average daytime 66. night time 47 May. May Was a pretty average month. Typically our may's are a little warmer but it was pretty normal. our warmest temperature recorded was 85 Our coldest temperature was 30 (Very cold for May for us But can happen probably due to us being in the Appalachian) The average high was 73. Our average low 56 June. June was a pretty hot month. Many days we had were 90 plus degrees outside It was more like July weather for us. our warmest day recorded was 100 (Very warm for June) Our coldest temperature was 49. our average daytime 86. night time 67 July. July was a very hot month there was very little days That were Below 88f We also had very little rain Our warmest day was 100f And our coldest day was 66f. our average daytime 90. night time 72. Otherwise it was a nice and warm month just very dry August. August on the other hand was below average. Not a lot of action in the garden it was a very dry month Only one day of rain and that did pretty much nothing. Our warmest day was 93 and our coldest day was in the mid 30s (That is very cold for us in August but it was recorded towards the end of the month) our average daytime 82. night time 64 September. September was also a below average month For temperature and rain, we had no rain in September the garden really suffered. Our warmest day was 90 And our coldest day was in the mid 30s (Also cold for September in our area) our average daytime 79. night time 59 October. October was also a below average month for rain and temperatures. The garden didn't really grow that much. Our warmest temperature was 85 And our coldest temperature was 30. our average daytime 67. night time 47 November. November we had our first Killing frost within the first week of November so the garden didn't do much our warmest temperature recorded was 75 And our coldest was 17 our average daytime 52. night time 36. The whole month of November wasn't that bad it was a little below average but not bad Overall it was not a bad growing season. The last couple months were below average and Very DRY. but the rest was really nice. also here are my favorite picture of my garden let's hope for a great 2026 growing season everyone!

Pinanga maculata. Tim

Searching Google Maps for somewhere nice to have lunch, I came across a restaurant opposite Giardino Garibaldi (always on the lookout for potential palm locations 😉). As we tucked in, I noticed this specimen in the distance. Upon closer inspection, I believed it to be Butia odorata x Jubaea chilensis. It's producing viable seed, which is most likely self pollinated as there aren't any other cocoid palms close by as far as I could tell (some Syagrus romanzoffiana 5-10 minutes walk towards the coastline). Most of the seed floated in water, but I'm persevering with them as I've germinated floating Jubaea and Butia before. Further research online uncovered an old article on the European Palm Society that confirms the ID. http://www.palmsociety.org/members/english/chamaerops/041/041-14.shtml by Juergen Plaumann (Chamaerops No. 41). There is also a picture of it on there. BxJ seed with endocarps intact. BxJ cracked and endocarps removed

A built of Basselinia inflorescence’s. B. eriostachys and B. glabrata. Tim

And some more from Punakaiki and surrounds including Pororari River track, Truman Track, Pancake Rocks, and the bottom end of the Paparoa track.

Pinanga disticha, Licuala grandis, Licuala glabra var. glabra.

Chrysalidiocarpus Lutescens some pink on the new spear to accent the orange/gold The colorful fruit of Chamaedorea Microspadix goes well with the soft green texture of the leaves. Harry

Calytronoma plumeriana. Tim

A couple of young licuala starting with a Ramsayi followed y a sallehana var incisifolia.

I've not shared anything with you folks before, simply because I haven't had anything to offer. I was not born with a passion for palms. We (my wife and I) fell into this peculiar and fascinating world quite by chance. Like anything, the more you learn, the more interesting things become. That said, all we have to offer you is our experience managing a legacy garden. Irene & I bought Casa de Las Palmas on Hawaii Island in 2017. The garden was the tropical fantasy world of the late San Diego nurseryman Jerry Hunter. Mr. Hunter was successful. He’d started his company in the 1950's, and was the 33rd licensed Landscape Architect in California. He'd been involved with the design of San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Balboa Botanical Gardens, among many others. He had the first tissue culture lab in Southern California. His parents had been the go-to people on the west coast for begonias. He was essentially American plant royalty. He figured out that if he grew his tropicals in Hawaii and shipped them to California, he'd be ahead of the competition. He built a nursery in Hilo and bought the land for Casa de Las Palmas. It would serve as his home away from home, and as a showroom for his wealthy clients. Construction of the garden began in 1981 on almost seven acres of upland pasture. The volcanic clay soil was not suitable for planting juvenile plants, so untold tons of cinder and rock were brought in, and the landscape shaped and molded into what we see today. Most of the planting was done into cinder mounds. For the design of Casa de Las Palmas he worked with the local landscape architect Brian Lievens, whom he would task with sourcing some of the rare plants from east Hawaii's growers. Brian was gracious enough to provide us with the original planting plans of the garden which are now laminated and framed on the lanai. These exquisite plans (like a cross between a complex wiring diagram and an artwork) were how we learned about the palms in the garden. We spent endless evenings cross referencing the botanic names with The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Being a nurseryman from San Diego, Mr. Hunter had a crew of extremely hard working and talented Mexican men build the garden for him. A swimming hole was hand-hewn under one of the waterfalls. A delicate stone foot bridge was created over the stream. We were told that the lava rock paths took three years to complete. And the scale of plantings were nothing short of colossal. The kind only a successful nurseryman like Mr. Hunter could even contemplate. We were lucky enough to apprentice under one of the original employees, Cristobal. Without his dedication and care we would never have got off the starting line, our ignorance would have been absolute, the garden would have fallen into chaos. I recall how early on we planted a dwarf papaya on a cinder mound next to a Metroxylon amicarum and Dypsis carlsmithii (now Chrysalidocarpus carlsmithii), much to Cristobal's unspoken, but obvious, distress. Shortly afterwards a large palm leaf fell and destroyed the papaya. We took this as a sign that the garden requires a certain amount of respect. Since then, staying true to the intentions of the garden has been something we work hard on. When we plant, we consider the design. Perhaps we plant a Alocasia zebrina underneath the Caryota zebrina to mimic its petioles. Perhaps the Pinanga distitcha should be planted near the Licuala mattanensis “Mapu” to mirror their mottled leaf forms. Constant working in the garden reveals new insights every day. Sometimes it's like garden archeology, discovering a long-overgrown path or a rare plant languishing under piles of fallen leaves. Sometimes it's a lesson in design - realizing that most of the plants in an area share undulating leaf forms or that the color scheme is quite deliberately rigid. Casa de Las Palmas has evolved from a carefully orchestrated young garden into a mature ecosystem. Plants have produced progeny and plants have died. The blueprint has gotten a little more fuzzy. Many of the palms are too big to groom now. Everything fights for light, air and nutrients. It has become naturalized. Pretty soon we realized that the nutrients the garden demands couldn't be met by chemical fertilizer. It was just too expensive. So, we looked into goats. We now have six gelded males rescued from the butcher's block and fenced on a neighboring paddock we own. They provide plenty of manure for the garden. Their poop doesn't smell much, is hard and breaks down slowly and can be flung from a shovel in showers through the dense plantings. The plants love it, but we do supplement weak or needy palms with a special palm fertilizer as needed. Legacy gardens are by their nature equal parts demanding and rewarding. They offer those of us new to gardening an incredible learning experience. We certainly don't have the kind of money, manpower or knowledge required to create something so remarkable from scratch. But like buying a beautiful, world-weary house, after a lot of work, you can enjoy something unique, grand and magical. Really for us it is the magical spell that Casa de las Palmas puts you under, one that removes us from the world and enchants us, that makes this legacy garden so very special. Lastly, I'll leave you with three things of note that we have learned: Map your garden. Don't make it too big. And don't go planting Clinostigma samoense down the driveway...or any heavy crownshaft palms for that matter! com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.kix.editors.clipboard?uuid=ecbeebc8-9124-4c8d-9ebd-e5cbdce7e26b

I think this dypsis louvelli classifys as a bit of colour!

Areca vestaria sp.

Upon request by the owners and IPS president Andy Hurwitz I am posting information about a one of a kind legacy property available for sale in Hawaii. PT is not normally the correct venue for real estate ads, but I believe when you read more you will see why an exception is made here. Although memories of my visit there in 2022 will forever be etched in my mind, please address inquiries to the owners, not to me personally. Please see information and photos from the owners: A New Chapter for Casa de Las Palmas We purchased Casa de Las Palmas in 2017 from the estate of legendary nurseryman Jerry Hunter. Jerry was the owner of Rancho Soledad Nurseries in California, Palms of Paradise in Hawaii, and Mount Soledad in Pacific Beach. Dubbed the "Dean of California Landscape Architects", he held license #33. His designs are found throughout the San Diego area, including San Diego Zoo, Balboa Botanical Gardens, and a host of other public and private venues. Along with collecting and hybridizing many new plant varieties, he built the first plant tissue culture laboratory in San Diego. Casa de Las Palmas was Jerry's private Hawaiian retreat. Over the course of 35 years, Jerry transformed seven acres of upper Hilo farmland into a true garden masterpiece, creating a magical realm of exotic palms, waterfalls, meandering lava-rock paths, water gardens, and flowering tropical plants. Now over 45 years since planting began, it's a vast and mature botanical collection of rare palms, cycads, philodendrons, bromeliads, anthuriums and orchids. We have been honored to be the caretakers, but the time has come for us to move on, so we are offering the property for sale. Before we list it on the open market, we want palm and garden lovers to know it is available, in the hope that we can find a custodian for the future. The property has a 2-bedroom, 2-and-a-half-bathroom house with a separate apartment, and potential for additional dwellings. We currently do private garden tours, film shoots, and small events, and there is plenty of room to grow a successful business here. We had the delight of hosting IPS members for a lunch and tour during the 2022 Biennial in Hawaii. Please do contact us if you would like any further information. Irene Francis & Lars Woodruffe 646-338-7882 irenefrancis@hotmail.com https://houseofthepalms.com/

I was out cleaning up this part of the garden and did some trimming on this Decipiens hybrid which makes it easier to get photos of it. Also, for what it’s worth, I was speaking with a friend about this palm. He is familiar with the original garden this seed came from and mentioned that he believed the Decipiens crossed with a Baronii which is close by. In the past I thought it was crossed with a Madagascariensis type palm that is right next to the Decipiens, but none of these hybrids, to my knowledge, showed any irregular leaflets which crosses with Madagascariensis always seem to show. Supposedly, Decipiens and Baronii are very closely related on the Chrysalidocarpus DNA tree. That would explain many things about these hybrids. Not just their appearance, but also the fact that so many hybrids happened from the 1 seed batch, and now the hybrids themselves are making plenty of viable seed. I’m no expert but I wonder if palms that are so closely related hybridize, does that create a somewhat new species? Or a variation?

Those of us who live in the Blue Ridge mountains are headed into a series of very cold weather. Temperatures are going to 16 tonight and 14 tomorrow night in Saluda. The two Trachycarpus, one 18' and the other 15' will go through it with no protection and should do fine. I raised these two from babies and have tried every method to keep them warm until they could take care of themselves. These two went through 5 degrees several years ago. One lost its head by came back. The Sabal minors always amaze me at how hardy they are. They will also go through the several days with no protection.....same for the small Rhapidophylum. My exception is the potted Chamaerops. It's had major problems in the past (even when protected) and its taken several years for the center spear to start producing again. The old Christmas tree lights are in place and the covers go on this afternoon. All of my one and 3 gallon palms go on a light bench in the golfcart garage. 25 years ago it was too cold to grow anything but S. minors. What I grow now is because of climate change in the mountains.

You all did it!! $25,000 was raised for Ravenea louvelii. As Conservation Chair for IPS I want to thank every one of you for helping save this remnant palm population. If our palm people had not stepped up, the situation in Madagascar might have become bleak. We will keep you posted on what Mijoro and his team are doing.

I just harvested seed on this complex hybrid of C. Debaoensis (not true) x (C. tropophylla x C. mitcholitzii). As expected this hybrid can be extremely variable so it will be interesting to watch the seedlings grow. I’m hoping a few will carry the mothers trait, shiny metallic leaf that glows a bluish hue when the sun hits the leaf.

Why do all people overlook the humble Phoenix theophrasti and dactylifera? In Stalida in Crete Phoenix theophrasti grows right on the sandy beach. A few cm below surface one can dig with bare hands to sea water. Theophrastus in his book describes how ancient growers used to spread salt around the trunk base of cultivated Phoenix dactylifera as a mean of fertilization.

my crosses so far… ficus opposita x carica ficus fraseri x carica ficus ulmifolia x carica ficus racemosa x carica ficus aspera x carica ficus lutea x carica ficus sycomorus x carica pics and timeline

It’s that time of year here in Southern California . Temperatures in the upper 70’s and mid 80’s f. and lows in the low 60’s. We have had quite the week with a follow-up to our incredible wet November and December / early January. The garden , once again thinks it is Spring or Summer. The wonderful weather has a price …..very dry winds . That means MORE TIME IN THE GARDEN!😎. I was out picking up debris once again and took a few pics. All you SoCal folks can join in , I know you’re out there in you gardens , watering , fussing about . Even those of you not in our area , I can sense the gardening bug doesn’t just have me in its grip. Harry ‘The Pritchardia has opened 3 new fronds in about 2 months. another view with the Caryota behind it Cyphophoenix Nucele …..” WHAT WINTER?” ‘ ‘Orchids are blooming Even the Ground Orchid is popping up around the Chrysalidiocarpus Lutescens. Chrysalidiocarpus Lanceolata pushing a new spear , it won’t be long on that one! Rhopalostylus Bauri Cheesmania keeping Ernie company Well thats it for now , I think I have a few weeds that need to be pulled. Harry

Intrigued by the stilt roots of this palm attracting airborne Tillandsia and a home for a benign orange lichen. It’s a beautiful palm with the roots, spiny trunk, and entire leaves. Here are a few photos starting with the roots. Tim

Have been joyful to see my Windmill Palm grow and thrive in NoVa over the last 9yrs+;

Ok, the rest of the palm……. Shovel for scale. Tim

Its prettier in daylight. It'll be gone within the next 2 hours. Winter wonderland vibes in the Panhandle this morning.

Status update: we have a dusting of snow.

Was on the west coast of the South Island recently for 2 weeks camping and experienced lots of great habitat. Here are some photos, mainly from start of the heaphy track. The first photo is from the deck of a friend’s house at the Mohikinui River mouth.

32 at my house in Altamonte Springs, 35 at Leu Gardens. If you followed local "news" you would have thought FL was having another Dec. 1989 freeze with the ridiculous feels like temp ratings hype.

One of my Chamaedorea Ernesti Augusti decided to flower . It already needs to be repotted after only a year in this pot . I think I will wait for Spring and just freshen up the soil unless it is root bound . Harry It looks like it has gotten a bit of a trunk as well. These grow very well here . This has been the warmest January I can remember . Highs in the mid 80’s f and lows in the mid 50’s . We had lows in the upper 40’s already this year but ,since all the rain we got , it’s been very warm . Harry

This is the bigger of two Presto Hybrids I got from FB two years ago. Whether it was the same pollen doner... who knows. It has been a fast grower here in So Cal.

A lovely trio of tenellas one boy and two girls, both hand pollinated and with a bit of luck a few mature seeds next season.

With the annual pacsoa plant sshow coming, it’s time to give some of my stock a bit of a review and pick out a good ones to take to the show. You just never know what will make the grade, some might go some might stay, but I certainly know that there will some good ones going from happypalms! kerriodoxa elegans Johannesteijsmannia Altifrons Trachycarpus princepslytocarum weddlianum Dypsis lutescens Hypohorbe verschaffeltia Bismarckia nobilis

Fresh water but ..Washies definitely don't have issues w/ consistently wet feet, .out here at least. ..or dipping their trunks into the drink, look closely.. Agua Caliente Park, Tanque Verde area of Tucson, 8 / 2021.

If ever there was a flower that looks alien, this one male flower surely would be in the running. I do get viable seeds now then. One very tough palm tree the densifolia.

You should, cause they're beautiful!

Just a quick drive-by shot of a nice corner planting in Schertz:

2 pics from yesterday and 2 from today. I love this dypsis Mt. something or other

Once upon a time I would have jumped at a 1000 baronii, now I have that many iam not even bothered with them. How we change our palm fashions. Time, room to grow and cost of growing them, all factors in not being interested in growing them. Spoilt for choice I say!

Cefalù is a must see if you're travelling to Sicily. Stunning architecture, beautiful city.

Damn sanity really isn’t your thing! GOOD! My limited experience with hybrids is that fan palm hybrids breed true to the cross, I.e, they keep their distinctive look down through the generations while feather types seem to revert in the F2 back to one or the other of the grandparents.

Here’s an Archontophoenix “beard” with Conan for scale.