Leaderboard

Spot on I think - most look bad because of neglect and not enough natural rainfall rather than it being too cold. Some of the better ones I’ve seen are out in the outer Eastern suburbs in the foothills of the Dandenongs where it gets pretty chilly but receives more rainfall than near the CBD or around Bayside suburbs. Same goes for Archontophoenix. I will say though, that Ravenea rivularis was susceptible to crown rot for me when young in Spring. It’s grown out of it now, but I suspected it didn’t like cold and wet conditions while it was still establishing. I planted in a cooler area of the garden in mostly shade intentionally based on what I’ve seen with specimens that dry out too much, but I think that’s the opposite risk when you go too shady and cold. The best one in Victoria I’ve seen is the one at Geelong Botanic Gardens. It gets morning sun but is well protected from all sides from wind and looks to stay quite moist in that area. There are a few mature specimens around Melbourne - this one down the street from my place looks pretty good. Doesn’t look like it gets extra attention but I assume the roots have tapped down deep now. The tree to its north must help with preventing it drying out too much too. I planted this one nearly 25 years ago. It’s the only survivor of about 5 originally planted in this garden. Soil is nearly pure beach sand and no irrigation. This is the result 🤣. And here’s an interesting planting - Singapore Botanic Gardens have them as aquatics. They like it in there in the tropical climate, but I’m certain it would be a death sentence in cooler climates.

First pics were taken june 2021 and the following two today. It isn't slow after forming a trunk.

I finally got around to building (assembling a kit) a small greenhouse for my seedlings. I had so many taking up space between other palms in the garden and also dominating my work bench. I really don’t have much room around the house so it had to be very compact. It took me about a day and a half to put together , including a 4x4 wooden skid to give it height . I finished it today and quickly put all of my babies in there to enjoy the nice , warm environment. I have a few varieties now and more sprouting so it was time for a dedicated space. Harry It is squeezed between two large Syagrus R with enough room for my ladders. A nice vent to keep it from getting too hot . The wet pea gravel will hopefully raise the humidity a bit . I just opened the vent more to allow it to cool down and circulate the air. I plan on adding a solar powered fan at some point. These are very reasonably priced but take a lot of assembly time. There are many sizes to choose from . I chose the 4’ x 6’ . Harry

Someone certainly loved palms and went all out with a hedge of engleri. A local suburban house in my hometown, they went for privacy and certainly got it with this lot of palms. So engleri will make a great hedge over time. They even threw in a Bismarckia for good measure.

I only have two in the garden. Both are 30 years old, one is raging along while its cousin is still doesn’t even have a trunk, planted about 3 meters apart. They are tough palms and have done the job that I wanted when planted with a vision. I see them planted around the place in my home town in full sun situations but to me they look better in shade I think. A wonderful tough palms and worth growing!

Here’s my little grouping. Excuse the weeds. They go mental when it’s wet. The ground is sloppy and saturated and water runs out of this area all winter. These pictures were taken a couple of mornings ago when it was about 2C. Brrrrrrrrrr

I purchased seedlings from a reputable seller on palmtalk probably 7 years ago of Brahea calcarea ‘blue’. He stated the seeds came from a known specimen in California and differed from ‘Super Silver’. The most obvious difference being this palm is blue from the start. I unfortunately am down to one but the palm has rapidly developed over the past 2 years. Up until the last flush or so the petioles had stayed pretty much “unarmed”. A trait of calcarea. As of this last set of fronds, nubs or small teeth have started to form. The palm has a lot of similarities to Brahea armata except A)it’s fronds are flat and don’t have a crease in the center like armata B) the palm is drastically faster than a neighboring larger armata. The calcarea was probably a 3/5 gallon 2 years ago and the armata a 15 gallon when planted. Likely by the end of the growing season or early next year the calcarea will have caught up in size. I know that’s not definitive but of note. Both survived mid teens (Fahrenheit) with minimal damage. I covered the calcarea and it took no damage unlike Brahea clara that had minor burn, but was also protected similarly. Does anyone know of the origin of Brahea calcarea ‘blue’? Identifying traits? Any other useful information ? If this one is accurate then it appears to be a hybrid likely with armata. Thanks Brahea calcarea ‘ blue’ in front, armata in rear : Brahea calcarea ‘blue’ old petiole New petiole: Brahea armata petiole:crease in Brahea armata frond:Brahea calcarea ‘blue’: Brahea armata:

Hedyscepe canterburyana dropped an old frond and the freshly exposed crownshaft is looking great!

That area is semi protected but in a real cold year it may get a mild frost. I haven’t seen below zero since the winter of 2023 thankfully. In open exposed areas I’ve definitely seen below minus 2C. Not good. These guys yellow a little in that situation and sail through. By summer they’re crankin. The sun came out today after a bit of drizzly rain. I thought I’d take a picture of the water flowing through the area. BTW further back in the thread Tim said I’m closer to Sydney weather than Melbourne which is true. I wish I had Sydney winters though. They’re glorious and sunny. Anyway to give my climate an eastern states perspective the closest I can find to my winter temps is Nowra. I may be a tad cooler at night in winter but definitely wetter by about a factor of 50% to 100% more than Nowra. My garden has already seen a min of 0.5C with no damage this year. There’s a lot of winter to go though. Generally though if my lakes fill up, the risk of a hard frost disappears. There could be an exception though but if the rains are late, beware. My lakes filled up on June 15 but it can take until early August to do that in a dry year. The earliest I’ve seen was May 3rd. That was the year the place flooded. No frost that year. I think once the atmosphere gets more moisture in it, the chance of cloud cover increases and the risk of frost decreases.

Here are most of the palms I own

Now in their third summer from 4” containers, the Burretiokentia kogiensis, and B. dumasii, and second summer B. vieillardii have proven to be winners in my Northern CA garden. Partial shade and lots of water seem to be the trick not to mention good soil. I had imagined much slower growth with these but they’ve sailed along. Not pictured are my two B. hapala. Would love to see examples in other members gardens! Burretiokentia vieillardii B. kogiensis B. dumasii

Getting a bit of trunk these days, looking good today. Tim

I started out with two little greenhouses and a small hothouse, the addiction grew along with more greenhouses, the pictures below are where it all started. Soon you will be building another one. It’s a great hobby that’s for sure and your setup is perfect! Richard

Borassus flabellifer were looking good at sunup this morning...

We've crossed the midpoint of the year. The daylight hours for us in the northern hemisphere are counting backwards now. As everything in the garden that didn't die or get removed begins recovery mode, a photo of the Livistona decora and a small Copernicia alba and then @palmfriend's Okinawa Garden featuring Livistona chinensis and Arenga engleri. Happy Summer!

Royal

I've been over to Indonesia a few times in the last couple of years. Always interesting to see the sights...beaches, rainforest, volcanoes and all the local culture etc...so very different to home in Darwin! Suprisingly not as hot as I thought it would be. But all that volcanic soil, good rainfall and tropical temps makes for a very lush landscape...Have seen quite a few native palm species growing in natural habitat, plus the milions of coconut palms everywhre (although the Rhino Beetle is doing a fair bit of damage unfortunately) Fortunately it is only a two and a half hour flight to Bali from Darwin, and reasonably priced. Internal fights are super cheap. Over the top of Kilingking beach So many volcanoes on the flights from Darwin to Bali and from Bali to Java Rural life Plenty of bamboo forests Rural villages everywhere in Java Pinanga javana Caryota rumphiana Calamus sp Corypha utan Areca catechu Caryota rumphiana Plenty more if you'd like to see...

First flowers on our indoor Rhapis multifida

2026 update

Bp x pjc hitting its stride.

One could say that the coronata is a lot of bang for a little buck! Super easy to grow and germinate. A good old landscaper’s favourite palm. It may be common and not as great looking as some other Pinanga palms , but its good enough to stand next to them in the garden and look just as spectacular!

Wallichia disticha leaf.

Two palms that have surprisingly taken the cool weather quiet. The Calyptrocalyx was the biggest surprise as they are quite fussy, and the dypsis was a surprise as well for such a tropical looking palm. Either way both have lived through my winters in the ground with temperatures dropping down to 2 degrees celcius.

Good photos to illustrate the difference. I think the only thing I can add is that if it is armed, even slightly, then it cannot be pure B calcarea. Brahea sp can be prone to hybridising and I think there’s still a bit of confusion in general within the genus so I can’t give any more insight.

Another great little chamaedorea for the understory the genoformis. Easy to grow like most chamaedorea varieties. Easy to propagate and very predictable growth patterns making for an excellent palm wherever you can find a spot in the garden. Excellent container palm for the patio or indoors for a couple of months. A great palm all round palm for any collection.

A nice wet winter day with the sun coming out in the afternoon.

The utilis a garden favourite of mine, this one is around 26 years old, endured many a dry spell and heat along with seeing temperatures around 2 degrees celcius. It’s proven itself in my garden as a nice exotic palm that’s super tough. Catch them at the right time and they have a glorious colour to their new leaf. There aren’t many palms that split their trunk dichotomous is the word I think. A lovely palm with a few strange traits.

A few colorful flushes around the yard today.

After a few years of only receiving small amounts of Pelago mesocarpa seeds, (and sprouting them to sell as seedlings), I’m happy to have received a large amount of fresh seeds this morning. $6 each (minimum 5 seeds). Plus shipping. Beachpalms@cfl.rr.comZelle or PayPal(only if No Fees on my end), Checks or Cash.

Not entirely true... Over time, I've learned to never say never when it comes to a particular plants survivability. Both the Jubaea and Parajubaea CAN definitely be grown in the hot, dry, desert.They may not look California perfect, but they don't just die, either. Arizona summers are notoriously famous for having over 40 days a year at 110F+, with several nights where the low temperature is still in the 90's F. I have both species planted in my Arizona garden for over 15 years now. The Jubaeas actually do fairly well in Arizona, so much so that our local moon valley nursery has imported and sold dozens of them over about the last 5 years. I started a batch from seed myself in 2016, (last few available are in 15 gallon pots) and have also sold a couple dozen of these trees locally. Growing in full sun, the only thing I notice is that they do yellow up just a bit over summer,but the yellowed fronds actually do green back up over the cooler winter. Parajubaea,on the other hand, while it will survive here, burns considerably over the summer, although producing about 4 new fronds over the winter, so only looks good about half of the year. We have already had several days around 110F this year,and you can see the burn setting in.🤷‍♂️ While I would recommend a Jubaea for my area, I would caution against a Parajubaea, as it will not live up to its potential under our extremely hot summer growing conditions. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

At least there’s plenty of soil moisture in winter!

The garden is loving the cool temperatures, summer is nice, but the change in season brings a different perspective for the garden.

The Chambeyronias throughout the garden are pushing new leaves, a welcome bit of winter colour!

The species can live happily IN WATER so you can’t over water yours. Water yours daily and even twice a day if the weather is very hot.

Nice new leaf on the chelyocarpus in winter!

Yes, although it might make steam shoot out of taxonomist's ears, elegans=sumawongii in the local horticulture trade. I don't know how big these get in Florida, but they thrive in Hawaii reaching maybe 15 ft after many decades. I would recommend a minimum of 10 ft separation in Hawaii, but in Florida they might look better spaced around 6 ft. They can tolerate a surprising amount of sun here, but might appreciate more canopy in Florida heat. Protection from wind is the big concern. I don't know how difficult (effective?) it would be to wrap a tree in a sheet before a tropical storm arrives. Typical results in residential Big Island gardens. About 5 ft tall & wide after 7 years in the ground. Overwhelming 35 year olds at the former Donn Carlsmith garden on the Big Island. 4-5 ft of trunk. 8-9 ft petioles. 5 ft wide fronds.

A bit of colour with a Chambeyronia and a couple of chamaedorea flowers!

A natural JxS hybrid I grew from seed. Grows about 4 times as fast as its standard Jubaea brethren. I had 2 of these hybrids come up from a batch of seeds I collected from the 1 blue Jubaea at mission beach. Gotta love it's very upright growth pattern when planted in close quarters.🌴 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Brahea elegans

Brahea ‘Super Silver’ is thought to be a variant of calcarea, and the petioles appear to confirm that.

3 years from 3g pots. This turned out to be a nice palm for next to a walkway. The upright fronds stay out of the way. One annoyance is that when fronds age out, they drop all of their individual leaflets one by one, and leave behind a dry brown spike to cut off. I’ve found it’s best to just cut the oldest fronds early. Overall a pretty easy palm and moderate grower here. Hard to see… but bases are quite huge actually. These hold 3, sometimes 4 fronds, so pretty sparse looking alone. A grouping seems to be the best bet, if unaccompanied.

It will probably be fine. There were pictures of wildfire that past through Vina Del Mar in Chile. All the Jubaea trunks and fronds were charred, then within a year pretty much all of them came back to life and flushed

A nice little tray of bells, collected the seeds through a door knock, in my local area. Time is all you need for these to germinate a year or more depending on how cool the conditions are. They are a beautiful palm indeed!

A nice dypsis prestonia showing some good colours. And the next generation of seedlings coming behind.

Small queen palm showing some nice colour.

There are several areas where tropical and subtropical palms are planted in this area. Boasting a shoreline that transitions to steep hills on all sides with a variety of microclimate conditions. This thread begins with the survivors of the 2026 February Freeze, but many of the palms were previously posted in the Remarkable Palms of Tampa Bay thread. The coldest parts of the lake in the lowest spots near the north shore recorded 21oF; a tie with December 1989. The mild side of the Lake near the Country Club recorded numbers at or near 24oF. This first set of photos is from the Boat Ramp near the country club and a short walk down the hill from Common Ground. Chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos - in recovery mode Coccothrinax crinita - Recovery and flowering both in progress Zombia antillarum - surprisingly little damage and still flowering Thrinax radiata - lost some foliage but does not look bad at all Allagoptera caudescens - no serious setbacks, perhaps due to being low to the ground for this one. Unfortunately, the Chambeyronia macrocarpa and Carpoxylon macrospermum at this location succumbed to the cold. An Archontophoenix cunninghamiana is 50/50 on recovery as it is pushing green, but not out of the woods. The Beccariophoenix alfredii is OK, but a lot of wind desiccation. My picture didn't come out that well, so I'll post a photo once I get a better one.

Here is a young Encephalartos equatorialis that is starting to push out bigger flushes.

Looking great Richard. I tried some in shade and they just slowly declined in my climate. Not enough summer heat. However I saved most of the shade declining ones by digging them up and putting them into full sun in a perpetually wet spot with white clay below the surface and they just took off. I’ve got I think 15 planted in the same spot at varying stages of growth but when they all start to trunk it’s going to be great to walk underneath the canopy they will create. In winter, like right now, the area is literally oozing water from the ground. Mine have started growing pneumatophore roots like a Raphia or a mangrove. I’m hoping they will set seed one day, however they are not that popular any more and most WA soils are crappy gutless sand which they just hate unless you constantly feed them with fertiliser and leave the hose running on them 24/7. They are tough. In the middle of January (summer here) I took some 30cm high seedlings out of the shadehouse and whacked them in the ground in full sun but in heavy wet soil and a week later we had a 42.5C day and I expected them to just be fried. No, they didn’t even fade. As long as they are wet they will take tons of sun, and they can take light frost in winter. Heavier frost creates damage but they are so quick to regrow it doesn’t cause lasting harm. One of my tallest trunking ones took a direct hit from a dead pine tree I cut down that fell the wrong way. I was devastated and thought the growing point may have been shattered. No. Some leaves were damaged but two years later you wouldn’t even know. I love them. They are a real feature in the garden. A totally under rated and under utilised palm in my area.

Red spicata is great!! Almost fluorescent orange colors. This picture is from last year. Planted as a sprout in May 2016, so about 9 years in the picture. A bit bigger now.

It's a blank slate!