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An update at the end of July, 2026.

Hey there everyone. Its been a while. Had a rough NYC winter this year. Lots of snow and cold wet weather. Windmill Palm took a little beating!! But still thriving! 16ft to top of crown, 12ft to top of trunk. Just gave her a prunning. Unfertlized seeds avaliable.. not sure if you can pollinate them? Good luck to all this winter!! Bobby

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.

This genus is terribly difficult for me to differentiate between them. Even more than young Pritchardia, and that’s saying something. Nonetheless, here are two that were purchased either as argentea or maybe argentata..they’re similar in speed of growth and having silver backed leaves. Here you go!

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.

Many flowers over the years. First time I’ve seen seeds. Will see if they turn out viable. 20’ish years old from a 20 gallon. Dana Point, CA

Wide leaflet Zamia splendens

Yes me too!! I would need to dig again those pictures from my old hard drive! Here are some of them: Such a wonderful and colorful palmtree 🌴😀 JB

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

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.

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.

Here are some detail shots I took today.

Chamaerops humilis cerifera

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

18 months post cold event

Went to just do a quick heat check and figured I'd check a couple other things while I was in the grow room. The heat index in there is 127°F right now, and I've left the heat mats plugged in but they're not cycling on - they're set at 85 and the thermostat says the soil is 97. Anyway. Y'all think these are ready to come out of the baggie?

You’re not alone , Jim. I had a beauty ( Wodyetia Bifurcata)for 7-8 years with about 7’ of trunk . One year it started pushing shorter fronds and looking poor , eventually it died . The other one I had died within a year of planting , I have tried everything to save them. I have a palm friend a few blocks away that has one that is huge and healthy ( producing lots of viable seeds!) . He also had another one that did exactly what mine did . I tell people “ hit and miss” for these . I have two small ones that I bought from a private grower who was getting rid of them because he lost so many . He said “ I quit !” I got a great deal and they are plugging along slowly . Some gardens have really nice Foxtail palms , I just haven’t figured them out yet. Harry

Dave’s “ Droopy” , from our trip to his jungle. Harry

Cycas debaoensis - 1st leaf of the year (late July) of the three I have in-ground. Growing out from under the shade of my Trachycarpus princeps. My hope is that any leaf-chewing insects ignore it and choose more tasty plants.😉

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.

comparison between the pinnules of radicalis and radicalis hybrid,shorter and wider hybrids

One top ornamental palm, you won’t regret planting that one!

A nice selection of chamaedorea adscendens for the garden, when I get around to planting them!

Carpentaria acuminata with citrus medica fruits around

To add to the bump: This species is relatively trouble free in Melbourne. My one in ground is in deep shade, south facing, cool position. Has coped with up to 44C/111F and down to -1.4C/29C without damage. Slow but robust; each new frond significantly larger than the past and now it is bipinnate. Growing from seed, seedlings have been mostly trouble free but I did randomly lose a couple to some kind of rot. I assumed at the time drainage was the problem. Remaining seedlings are at 3-4 frond stage after 2-3 years with strong root systems in 70mm and 90mm pots. Agree with Colin’s assessment above. Great species for cooler climates. Caryota mitis is marginal at best here, and C monostachya is a much better choice for smaller gardens anyway.

Thanks for looking

Time to weed the lava and misc AM light…

here are some pictures of Caryota monostachya at home, This a great palm, does not get to tall nor to wide. good for temperate climates to tropical. More pictures from others would be good to see regards Colin

Yes, I hybridized radicalis x microspadix, producing about 10 seeds, all of which sprouted. The seeds were small. I hybridized microspadix x radicalis, producing only 3 seeds, but all 3 sprouted. It's a shame I lost almost everything while I was in the hospital.

I was gifted some seeds of this palm by @palmtreesforpleasure and what a lovely gift indeed. Definitely looking forward to getting some in the garden.

Dypsis rivularis and a nice Corypha umbellatum, waiting there turn to get planted in the garden!

A few more gardening years and she will be a focal point in the garden, plant it in the ground!

My Chambeyronia macrocarpa is putting out a new red frond. Pic taken July 27, 2026.

Chambeyronia divaricarta. New leaf is quite showy. Tim

And here are some random updated photos of the garden. Too many to list names but just ask if you have any questions about IDs.

Life has been busy and I haven’t had much time to be on PalmTalk or work on new plantings in the garden. It’s just mowing and weed wacking like crazy over here. But I did just find some time and inspiration to get a few new plantings in the ground so I wanted to document them here. I’ll post some updated pictures of the garden as well, after the new plantings. First up is Chrysalidocarpus Mijoroana: Next up is somewhat of a mystery. My old garden had a Chrysalidocarpus Pembanus hybrid (most likely crossed with Madagascariensis). I tried many times to get seed to sprout and only ever got 2 to germinate. So this is an F2 Chrysalidocarpus Pembanus hybrid, most likely crossed again with something in my old garden: And then I was able to plant some smaller Dypsis in the jungle area. Dypsis Beentjei: Dypsis Maranoseta:

Weekly Galveston visit… glad to see the overgrown crap along the causeway is being trimmed/ removed finally including the Washingtonia haha . Moody gardens pushing the zone push pretty hard with this coconut lol .. they removed a really nice monstera and clumping fishtail in this spot for the coconut 💔

Ever so subtle.

After over a year of waiting, some Butia lallemantii is showing activity!