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A Kliene update. 17C 12/31/2025 @ 2:31pm I pray everyone is well. Here's my update. May God bless you all. God willing next year, I won't be a stranger. (It took me a lot longer to rotate the video than it was to record it) Happy New Year! new year 2026.mp4

Posting a few photos of my Parajubaea torallyi. I planted this palm about 15 years ago from a 5-gallon pot. It currently has about six feet of clean trunk and it’s about 25+ feet tall. This time of year, I tug on the old leaf sheaths to see if any of them are ready to come off. If they're ready, they pull off easily. However, if they aren't, no amount of pulling will remove them. It’s not unusual to find Arboreal Salamanders (Aneides lugubris) under the old leaf sheaths as shown in the photo below. I'm in the San Francisco bay area.

If you’re interested in observing some very tall Windmill palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) in the Sand Hills ecoregion, check out Gullys Nursery in Southern Pines, NC. Some of the ones there were 25ft + and looked really well.

Chrysalidocarpus Leucomalla dropped another leaf and features a unique yellow that is almost glowing.

Happy new year everybody. A small update of my coconut palm in Cyprus. It's still alive for another winter. I increased the water in the summer and it started to make a difference in the growth.

Went thrift shopping for som fishes for the kitties when I saw this set of four. Hadda have em! How about you?

thanks for looking

A few new plantings to close out the year, first up is one of my mystery Chrysalidocarpus (possible hybrid) that I grew from seed from my old garden. I now have 2 of these planted out here with hopes that it will look like the parent plant from my previous garden. next up is Hyophorbe India hybrid from Floribunda. last planting is a small Coccothrinax Crinita:

January 2026 update:

Another update on this one, sorry. It caught my eye this morning opening a new frond. It’s been growing great. -dale

I’m happy to report that the Tahina I planted in memory of our dog Gracie, and also the first palm planted after finishing construction and moving into the house, is doing well. After planting it, it experienced another spear die off, but this time in the ground. I wasn’t going to dig it up and mess with it and just hoped that it would send up a new push. It did and now it’s finally showing good growth with each leaf being larger than the previous.

It's wintertime in Holland with snow and a few degrees below zero C.. Nothing to worry about, just enjoying the view of the garden with some Trachy. fortunei, a Chamaerops humilis vulcano, laurels with winterprotection for the stems and a few date palms! By the end of the week, it will all be over again!

You guys get a few more points in California for Rhopalostylis, Ceroxylon, Hesyscepe, etc. hah! Here’s my Blue Decipiens. Still a ways off from trunking when they seem to speed up. I’m guessing this one is 8-9 feet tall from ground to tip of newest leaf.

Hi Tracy! Yes that is Ravenea Julietiaes, or at least purchased as that from Floribunda. A slow grower here (not any faster than California from my experience there as well) but always looks good. Nice to have a palm that is a slower grower here as most are too fast! Here’s a zoomed in photo of it from the opposite angle:

Caught my eye that albeit 1/3 the size as when originally obtained, my Joey appears to have adjusted to frequent very dry periods. Perhaps it will still eventually bump into the adjacent K elegans.

A nice summer swim and a walk along a beach, with absolutely no body on the beach for miles, except for a few seeds!

My biggest surprise was my two veitchia arecina. They propably becoming my fastest palms. When I put them in the ground last summer they were 2 feet overall height. Now they are about 7 feet with a few rings of trunk. I'm glad they survived in the summer heat. I lost some palms in the heat waves, and some don't happy under the summer sun. I increased the watering for all the palms and it helps a lot.

And here are some year end updated photos of the garden. I’m not going to list out IDs for all of these but am happy to give IDs if interested, just ask. I’m also happy to post photo updates if there’s something you don’t see in this batch of photos. Just ask. Thanks for looking and happy new year.

Never noticed until today that this palm makes butterfly shapes in the leaves…in first pic

Seeing as we're at the end of 2025, I am posting the current condition of my coco-test here in the Palm Springs area. I see I never posted one at the end of last year, mea culpa. So I'll bring it up to date. Of my newer specimens, only one was a new type...the large "football cocos" from Kanoa Hawai'i received in April 2024 that I noted above. It grew from a nut with eophyll to a six-foot plant in one season, absolutely beautiful and amazing, but during last winter the central spear started to dry out..followed out by the whole plant. So...strike-out on that one... In spring of 2024 I added another Jamaican Tall (sold as a Panama from the same source as the others, Let's Grow Florida), planted in a protected jungle glade under canopy, facing southeast but under quite dark but slightly dappled shade most of the time. I've labeled this one as aff. Jamaican No. 3. This I planted next to the spot I had placed the now-dead "giant football" Cocos, but this one has thrived and has excellent appearance. The older aff. Jamaicans No. 1 and 2 have done well. Very similar to the other two I have in an adjacent area under slightly more sunlight. All of these have good appearance now, a couple did throw a stunted leaf after their first winter but I think this has lessened now. All of these coconuts put on about 3-1/2 leaves this past season. The supposed red spicata I purchased from Eureka Farms in Miami has much better appearance this year, and also put on 3-1/2 leaves or so this year. This one really does not want the strong horizontal sun during heat waves in fall. The two leaves facing that direction did yellow from this exposure, however, the other large leaf, which faces north, looks perfectly healthy. I added another red spicata this last summer and it is not yet planted, though I have it in more sun, southeast exposure, in the general area I plan to plant it this coming spring. It looks a little ragged after being grasshopper food for a while, exposure to sun from its probable greenhouse origins, etc. So I will photograph that one in 2026 once I have it in place. All in all, I can say that these two varieties have persisted and seem to be improving in appearance and show no real upset with winter cold or lots of shade. In fact, they really look much better in a good amount of shade. Perhaps (and this I will test with the newer spicata) conditioning in more sun during summer will prevent the sun-scorch that the spicata has shown in fall. Current photos taken within the last month: Presumed Jamaican talls: aff. Jamaican No. 1: aff. Jamaican No. 2: aff. Jamaican No. 3 (planted spring 2024): Red Spicata No. 1:

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

These are the first seedlings from my most robust Hedyscepe palm, with a trunk diameter of 6.75 inches. I offer these sprouts for $20 plus $15 shipping, via USPS Priority Mail anywhere in the 48 contiguous United States. I can put two sprouts in the small flat rate box, or more in the medium flat rate box for $20. I have twelve sprouts available. PayPal only, PM me for my PayPal address and your mailing address. I may not mail these immediately, in order to make fewer trips to the post office. Thanks

@juju95 I would say Elaeis Guineensis, but a rare mutation called "whole leaf" or "Idolatrica." ...and welcome to Palmtalk!

I hope everyone is having a great new year so far! Here are a few pics from today.

They would have been In my shopping bag faster than you can blink. Pillaging Peachy

Golf course at Lajitas Resort, which borders Big Bend and the Rio Grande.

I went walking in Crescent Bend Nature Park today. The area was a residential area until it flooded in 1996 and 1997. It was then made into a park with lots of trails. There are a couple of old Washingtonias in the park that were likely in someone's backyard at some point. They blend in nicely in the savanna environment of the park though:

Checking out my garden in between rain storms. Picking up debris from all the wind , I noticed the coloring on my Rhopalostylus Bauri Cheesemania. The green of a newly opened frond and the pinkish red of the petiole really caught my eye. It seems to be luvin it’s home here in Santa Paula . This one is from @DoomsDave about a year and a half ago. Harry

14 months on Thrinax Radiata between photos. Been pretty impressed. 8 months on Chrysalidocarpus Pembanus. Have some Archontophoenix that grew the fastest, just no good before and after shots.

Scenes ..and things.. captured while back in the old neighborhood, tending to important personal matters. Despite the circumstances that would lead to an un-planned ( ..are they ever ), 13 hour drive, following a phone call / texts a day before, after 15 or so years of absence and greatly expanded perspective / reflection, was nice to lay eyes on where many things began again, let alone play catch up w/ family, and of course, get my hands on a few things .. While i didn't make it back to every spot i'd have liked to re- visit ..this wasn't a " vacation " trip after all.. Was in town just long enough to spend time in the most important places. Hopefully, it won't be another 15 years before i visit again.. Starting off, a few shots along the 10 between Parker ( AZ side of the Colorado River ) and Palm Springs.. A few just- after- Sunrise morning views near the river.. Think it is dry here? ..A lush oasis compared to areas west of Phoenix. Couple of annual Gramma ( Bouteloua ) species encountered at the same rest stop.. First is either Rothrock's or Six - Weeks. #2?, Pretty sure is Needle Gramma. Doing my part to stop a horrible invasive trying to take over desert /drier areas of the Southwest / Mexico ..Sahara Mustard.. See this S^^^^, Yank it!! Perhaps my ( and everyone else's ) favortie view ..of that portion of the desert.. while passing thru the Palm Springs / Coachella Valley area.. Mt. San Jacinto.. >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sounds like you have done pre winter protection, it’s up to Mother Nature now, welcome to the zone push club where you get to watch palms die and you also get to watch new palms live. See socratea rostrata picture below for a zone push winner!

I love the cocos but I also wanted to give priority to palms that can more easily grow in my climate. Here are some photos. Sorry for the mess. I have a lot of cleaning to do, but I've been very busy lately with work.

Spotted these in a beach side community in north Palm Coast, FL borderline getting into St Augustine-ish area in my opinion. One even had some small fruit. I’ve posted a few of these posts about northern coconuts and always like to share when I spot them out of their normal zone

Finally got a bloom, overeating lookin inflorescence. Tim

I can't imagine a scene with so much snow in my garden, I would lose all the plants😥

I kept some seeds and decided to germinate them myself. I had a nice, sunny, warm New Years Day to pot up 86 newly germinated seeds. About 8-9 of them are doubles, and there was one triple. Nice way to start the new year! I will probably be selling seedlings later this year, if anyone is interested in them.

Personally I really enjoy learning from those in other regions. What they can and cannot grow, the favored species, the challenges others face, the palms they desire but cannot obtain. I especially savor everyone's photos of their palms and gardens. One can get a lot of inspiration from the forums. It's amazing to me to see very tropical-looking gardens in Germany and Switzerland, Greece and the UK! Australians have so many climates, plus challenges to importing anything. Before learning about it here, I was unaware of the significant differences between growing palms in Florida compared to California. Curiosity drives my participation on Palmtalk. My very first post here back in 2005 was asking about a "palm" I had seen in Tanzania, which wasn't a palm at all, but a Ravenala madagascariensis (Traveler's Palm). So I've come a long way since then, primarily due to being obsessed with Palmtalk for years. Yes, I am in the camp that prefers the botanical name to be at least mentioned once when discussing a palm, so that others are not confused by the identity of the palm. We have a worldwide reach here, and as has already been said, common names are only good in one's immediate area and create unnecessary confusion. Get involved with your local fellow palm people to expand your sources of information and palms, and continue to participate here as well. You won't regret it.

About 4 years back I planted 7 small one gallon pots of C cabadae to form a grove and now there are 24 trunks currently growing. Yesterday I noticed what almost looks like variegation on one trunk’s leaves, I assume this is nutritional or environmental or is this a trait of C cabadae?

Very few of my cycads are currently flushing however the previous flush leafs are spreading out and making room for the next flushes so hopefully soon I’ll have more to post. Currently I have an Encephalartos sclavoi that’s putting out a nice flush. I also have a Encephalartos delucanas that is pushing out a two leaf flush. These are very slow growers but I think it will start to grow faster now that it’s a bit more established.

Coccothrinax ‘Azul’ - Almost looks chrome in the afternoon sun

December 2025.