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Still going strong, thanks to our mild winter. I'm curious to see how it does above the roof!

Thought I’d ‘bump’ this topic and add a few recent progression photos. This Lemur has really grown in the last few years and is such a magnificent palm. In one of the overall shots there is a shovel with an orange handle for scale. Tim

A few more red fronds , anyone? Finally some blue sky to show off the colors. IMG_5250.mov …and a backlit Chrysalidocarpus ‘Dark Mealybug.’

I just got back from a brief road trip to Bahia de Los Angeles to see the northernmost red mangroves on an island in the Gulf of California! It is a tiny coastal village in the middle of nowhere with no cell service and only satellite internet. Nevertheless, I stumbled upon some incredibly rare palms in a random garden! Anyone know any information about this garden? I tried knocking on the doors nearby but nobody was home, but there was a house pipe with wet ground beneath it so it looks like someone is tending to these palms. Click here if you want to see ALL the photos from the road trip First is the trip's purpose: the colony of red mangroves with the second pic being the particular northernmost mangrove in the colony. I'm guessing palms are Medemia argun, Bismarckia nobilis, Copernicia baileyana, Hyphaene coriacea, Cocos nucifera (only one in the village), Sabal riverside, Brahea armata (native), and Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera.

Hi all, Back in late 2017, myself and some fellow palmtalkers took a trip to the big island of Hawaii. We had a number of people there on the island that graciously showed us their gardens, which also included a trip to Floribunda. I remember one of the regulars that we met at Floribunda mentioning something to the effect, “man, you really got Jeff on his A game today“, which I thought was funny. Anyway, the following day we went over and saw the garden of Bill Austin. He was just a wonderful, funny guy. I remember standing by some beautiful clumping Chrysalidiocarpus, and Bill reached down on the ground, grabbed a fistful of seeds and said “here take these with you“. So I dutifully brought them home, germinated a bunch of them, and they turned out to be largely solitary, with a red growing point. At this point, I thought my memory must be faulty, and I poured through all my pictures and could find nothing that even remotely resembled them. I gave most of them away and kept one for myself. It’s been a slow, steady grower, that split a couple years ago, and is still only shoulder high. Lo and behold, I’m looking in the “for sale“ forum a couple days ago and I see some palms being sold as psamophilla x leptichielos, (being called a Sandy Bear palm) that are identical to the ones that I sprouted. Anyway, here it is in all its relatively diminutive glory…Thanks for looking!

You say it's a busy sidewalk. If it impedes walkers, maybe they have a point. As far as I know, a sidewalk is normally owned by a city, and is intended for public use. I remember my days as a young mother pushing a stroller trying to make it safely around obstacles. I never would have contemplated cutting anyone's bushes, but it seemed inconsiderate of some homeowners not to maintain a reasonably clear walkway. You might consider your liability if anyone were hurt by a spiny robelenii. I removed two that were leaning way over the sidewalk at my house. I see my thoughts are in the minority here.

A flash of red getting around the place!areca vestria dypsis lantzeana dypsis louvelli

Mine has grown really well throughout our summer despite multiple days of extreme heat. Mine gets filtered light for most of the day; it’s on the south edge of a south facing garden (southern hemisphere) so larger palms in the garden give it a degree of protection but definitely does see at least brief periods of direct sun throughout the day.

These three varieties of palms are a must have for any palm collection. All easy to grow and all have that exotic look so desired by gardeners and collectors. So if your climate is good enough these ones are a must have. I should know they are my best selling palms I have, proof enough they are popular! lanonia dasyantha kerriodoxa elegans Johannesteijsmannia altifrons

My biggest Hedyscepe canterburyana that I grew from seed from the beauty in pogobob old garden is finally setting seed. Last summer when Tim from Hawaii was visiting it flowered but the seed aborted.

I just noticed a spathe tip poking out from below an old boot on my Burretiokentia koghiensis. The two oldest boots were easily removed and I could see another spathe that was previously hidden beneath a boot. They didn't get an opportunity to fully open since the boots never dropped on their own. These are the first spathes on this specimen.

A vigorous push on one of my Encephalartos ituriensis.

Allogoptera caudescens opening a new leaf is such an attractive sight.

Not Carpoxylon. I’d stop short of saying this is a 100% positive ID since the lighting makes it a bit difficult, but looks like Satakentia liukiuensis to me.

Spring is entering gradually and new growth starts appearing on Bismarckia and Nannorrhops. Which one is more blue in your opinion?

I just found one in my neighborhood and knocked on the door to ask permission to take a picture. I ended up leaving with a huge cutting.

Hydriastele gibbsiana is very high up on my wishlist. Never seen seed available or even really spoken about anywhere in cultivation. Still never grown Ptychococcus lepidotus but would like to try. Other than that, there’s a few highland Calamus species that would likely grow well in our climates, but still not too many others from >2000m. Palms of New Guinea is a good resource which has a nice summary I’ve attached. The Heterospathe sp are interesting.

The palm didn’t miss a beat with the move… Seems equally happy in its new location. Both the old and new locations see a lot of sun (the new location slightly more sun than the old). I haven’t tried it in either of my two “worst of the worst” spots for sun, but it seems fairly sun tolerant to me (within reason). Likely similar to lutescens in that regard, but more cold tolerant (as in fewer “fried” looking fronds coming out of winter). Here’s a snap I just took at 9:30am this morning…

Had a quick visit to the gardens yesterday and snapped a few photos. We’ve had a few extreme heat days this summer up around 44C/111F but for the most part there’s not too much damage. Good to see more new plantings and there’s more to come. Geonoma undata. Pretty exciting new addition to a new cleared area where some South American species are being planted. Chamaedorea tepejilote Licuala ramsayi new planting off to a new start. Let’s see how it looks after winter but they are proven to be hardy here just very very slow. Hedyscepe canterburyana Arxhontophoenix maxima with a bit of heat damage to a new frond. Brahea armata in flower. Puts on a great show. The colour on Butia odorata in the background is eye catching too. Both such great palms for here. Parajubaea cocoides loaded with fruit Jubaeopsis afra is really becoming a standout feature specimen now. Beccariophoenix alfredii. Such a beast. Livistona mariae. This is a very old plant. Been about this size since I can remember. The smaller Hedyscepe canterburyana. Appears possible a bit heat damaged with its lower fronds dropping hopefully should recover with our long cool season coming up Chamaedorea woodsoniana still going pretty strong Syagrus schizophylla One of the big old Jubaea chilensis caught my eye with half of its crown shining silver reflecting the light off the fronds’ abaxial surfaces.

How its going.

Well just adding to my blog here. I had my first in person customer today. Sweet lady, home health care nurse. She and her daughter showed up looking for the elephant ears I have on FB marketplace, and they were just kind of in awe of all the stuff I've got growing _out here_. She told me she keeps killing her houseplants, I showed her how to mix coco coir and perlite and stop using potting soil, her daughter was fascinated with the kittens. Sancho didn't make an appearance, and she killed a bee that flew in after I told her I was allergic so I basically gave her the plants for half price and gave her a philodendron. I think she'll be back once more stuff sprouts up. I've got dozens more bulbs to sprout. And then there was a bunch of "ohhhh yeah that's not for sale" 😂

Asterogyne martiana is apparently an easy grower for me, this one has done outstanding this last 6 months despite a chilly winter, even in the greenhouse. There are others that look good but this one I really noticed recently after moving it.

Agree with Satakentia liukiuensis

I only have one Chambeyronia so I really get excited when a new frond opens. This time it didn’t mess around, the spear showed no signs of opening Sunday when I was watering . Yesterday afternoon it opened . Within 3 days it will be green , it is in full sun. Harry

Each new leaf on the dypsis basilonga just gets better and better, followed by y a nice young Dypsis utilis leaf and don’t forget the vonitra Dransfeildii for putting on a nice new leaf for a bit of colour!

A nice young standelyi leaf!

Curiosity got the best of me. Let's see if either sets seeds. I'll try to go up on my roof a few times each week to continue crossing pollinating while nicolai is in bloom

A nice Joey, followed by a iguanura sanderianum, and a iguanura broad leaf. All three got my attention in the greenhouse.

Thanks to all! The deed is done. It was still rocking around on those roots a little more than I'd like so I staked it at the base. It gets pretty windy around here in spring. Let the burn begin!

@BayAndroid's thread inspired this, but I thought it was worth expanding a bit. One of my pet terms is the Palm Water Need Spectrum, ranging from Desert Denizens, through Drought resistant, Drink and be Merry, Thirsty devils, [ethnic] Fish and Swamp Things. Swamp Things are those palms or other plants that will literally grow in standing water. In CA, those include Archontophoenix tuckeri, cunninghamiana (but not purpurea), and Ravenea rivularis. Anyone know others? Where you are. I don't have the blessing/curse of an actual swamp but I'm sure others of us do. Introduce us to your Swamp Things.

We can only report here on two Trachycarpus fortunei that are thriving in partial shade in a marshy area next to a pond belonging to friends of ours in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley. They look good

Wow, this thread was a blast from the past and quite interesting...looks like I learned a bunch of stuff that I've subsequently forgotten! I imagine that we probably know a bit more about the highland palms of NG now?

@Foggy Paul I have one that is just starting to get rings . Pretty fast grower here , thirsty palm. Harry

Update: the first spear has opened with a nice salmon color. I expect future leaves will look better, not having been stressed in the weeks prior to opening.

Iam finally getting back to the greenhouse, with a change in the season it’s time to get on with the property projects. So time to get the welder out put it to good use. So far total cost 2 rolls of welding wire and labour the rest of the materials from leftovers at work, the boss even gave me the two roll of shade cloth. About time as well after 24 years of working for them! My sister works for a trucking company so the plastic pallets were freighted up from Sydney. Not what you know but who you know in the palm growing game!

I had an area of my yard that was constantly wet . We had just bought the house ( new ) and the builder installed another French drain but it was still wet ….mosquito wet. I bought a 24” box Syagrus Romanzoffiana for $25 that was on death’s door , dug into the mud , and planted it . It took off like a rocket , problem solved . No more mud over there and we provided shade for my neighbor! Harry

I'm biased. Needs redone though... AI art is trash.

I haven't tried any Colocasia, but Alocasia 'Regal Shield' and 'Calidora' do well. Regal shield has purple undersides but Calidora is completely green. That Pharoah's mask is pretty attractive if it will work here. Xanthosoma sagittifolia is easy and has really huge leaves, but again not colorful. The top leaf in the photo below is around 3.5' long and they're still getting bigger. It's a bit weedy, new plants pop up in the area all around the original one pretty frequently.

A similar color fade occurring on this Cymbidium. The freshly opened flowers on the newest inflorescence are significantly darker than on the older more mature flower stalk.

SW Houston today just outside 610, in person this thing is nearly glistening in the morning light. No burn in sight, but it's a warm area (the young queens are green, the split leaf philodendrons and giant bird of paradise have living aerial crowns, pristine citrus, etc). It was installed in 2021 to replace a big queen palm. Met this guy who is REALLY into zone pushing (he even has a lipstick palm). Becarriophoenix and foxtail pictured. For hardier stuff he also has Bismarckia and hardy Chamaedorea spp.

I’m thinking you should plant Calamus radicalis along your front entrance. If he tries to go near it you will find him in the morning tangled up in it. A palm that fights back.

A nice fat Ferox cone, and an unknown cycas with a nice flush!

She is a bit light lime green yellow looking. Most likely at first look nitrogen, but a complete NPK with trace elements should give her a bit more green, could even be in a hot spot but being a syagrus I doubt that. Some good old blood and bone with a good feed of chicken poo should do the trick if you want to go organic!

Here's an older pic of mine that I tried to skin 😂 It just ended up looking like a trachy at the end. I might just keep doing it just to see what it looks like.

I have a fertilizer injection system that I've been using for a couple of years. If memory serves the, I've been using Peters brand water soluble fert with 10-4-12 ratio, somewhere thereabouts. I don't use standard granular fert much, as it really needs at least some overhead watering, which I don't really have.

My graminofolia seed came from south America originally twice. The person i got them from has sinced passed away. I was aware of the papers above and the crosses. Many years ago i was sent a Chamaedorea schippi, it has been the slowest chamaedorea i have grown. The C graminifolia in Australia came from the seed i brought in. They do not have rhizomes like rhizomotosa, ,brachypoda or stolonifera. I will take some pictures to show the difference Regards Colin

Closer up on that thing!

Phoenicophorium flowers must be somewhat appealing to the bees… IMG_4722.mov

Never a dull moment in the garden with a dypsis louvelli and a Chambeyronia hookerii for a touch of colour.

Reinhardtia latisecta. Tim