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New update on my palms in San Antonio zone 9a. 4 years into my hobby, I've experienced multiple casualties due to severe freezes but also bugs , the ox beetle that was responsible for killing one out of two of my Trachycarpus fortunei this year . BOTH have been attacked. My wellness check on my palms are increased by the recent event"s" that I had with the ox beetle. Terrible insect !! Other than that my only survivor is still growing and shows no signs of damage "yet"( pic1) . I've planted 3 Sabals this year. 2 Palmettos (pic2,3) and 1 Defuniak (last picture) Growing all at a normal speed . I don't zone push anymore so all I have are the bread and butter palms of San Antonio. I uploaded some pictures of my Phoenix dactylifera, Chamaedorea radicalis, Chamaerops humilis, Sabal minor, Washingtonia filifera ( 3 of them) , Washingtonia robusta (hybrid) and a couple of Butia Odoratas. All growing very well , especially the ones that I have in a ground for at least a year. Butias grow quite fast for me but the real winners are my Robusta and Filiferas. For height and width comparison I used my flip flops and a broom since nobody is here to take a picture for me.

Sabal should be fine, but they are SLOW in our dry climate. It will take a very long time to get anything substantial to look at.

Here is the tallest/oldest Chambeyronia macrocarpa at Leu Gardens. It was planted in 2004, its under high tree canopy about 20ft tall. Leaflets totally burned but petioles still alive. The first leaf to open post freeze was 90% burned. Now 2nd leaf is opening, its been slow to recover. And it is flowering.

Hi Chris, thanks for giving us an update on some of the Queen palms that were planted in recent years along the Riverwalk. As I mentioned before , those palms were planted on borrowed time and have absolutely no chance to survive here for decades , as a matter of fact since 2021 the survival rate of Queens are anywhere between 1 and 3 years. To give you my 0.2 cents and I'm speaking about personal experience, I say just keep walking next time you see them at the BB store. It is not worth it !!! Waste of money and all the work that comes with it to remove it. Slow recovery from freezes and look like crap for most time of the year after the fronds were burned from the past freeze. Stick with Sabals , Pindos, Washies or some other really cold hardy palms . IF you don't live in the RGV don't bother with Queens.

There are multiple palms in each clump. Not Sabal minor as the leaves are very costapalmate. Beyond that it will be difficult to identify without some seeds.

I am not familiar with what is available there. I use an EB Stone product for Palms and it has an odor but works well for “ greening up” . I would only recommend it for outdoor use . It isn’t strong and outside I don’t notice it but indoors it would be noticeable. Harry

Standard way here is to trench then wait a few months then undercut and complete the move. Shifting a small palm would be much easier I would think. As you have a few maybe try one with a moderate root ball and see what happens?!

All the seeds have recently been collected so they are fresh, I think your chances of germination are good. Its a lot of money for seeds though, but he's the only game in town.

Aloha Dave, I have moved a couple Rophies over the years. I root pruned them over the course of 8 weeks and wound up with a root ball I could move with my 36" box dolly. They never really skipped a beat, both have been seeding for a few years now.

@palmenthusiast100 You may consider coming to the next Central Florida Palm Society meeting in Orlando. At the last meeting there were several Kentias available for very reasonable prices. Here is the post for the next meeting. https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/93849-central-florida-palm-cycad-society-fall-2026-meeting/

Why would you wait? I think Yucca rostrata is hardy to zone 7a or something like that...and better to get the roots into the ground where they're insulated. Roots are the most sensitive part of a plant to cold, so the insulation will help it in the event of super-cold event. You still have some time for root-establishment and top-growth as well. I think the more important thing is to make sure in a wet, humid climate that it would be prudent to plant it in a somewhat raised position, in the sandiest substrate you have available, for maximum oxygenation of the roots and excellent drainage. Avoid planting in a "sump," in a block of heavy surrounding soil where water would accumulate. Otherwise it's a very, very hardy plant. It's even planted in the UK, so obviously it's a fairly adaptable garden subject!

I see; I didn't know that about palm trees—that they could put out more than one spear at a time. That’s interesting. I’ll be keeping an eye on how these spears unfurl. The palm looks happy in that pot; unfortunately, I won't be able to repot it or plant it in the ground because my patio is very small, and it might become a nuisance to the neighbors later on. Right now, I’m using a liquid fertilizer I bought on Amazon called POFLO. I’m not sure if you could recommend a good fertilizer available here in Europe. Thanks, Harry.

Hoping you and your family are doing well following the impacts from Hurricane Lala. Also hoping your garden didn't suffer too much damage. Your garden is truly outstanding and hopefully very resilient!

Mine died year before last during Snowmageddon (5 inches if snow). I had it for over 10 years here in the Coastal Florida Panhandle. Cold 9a. Feel bad for all down state experiencing an event that I get almost yearly. You all may never experience that again in your lifetime....hopefully.

I have had this happen occasionally before on a number of different palms. More often than not, it works its way out of it. But generally it seems to be a condition that is root related, possibly sometimes not taking up enough water. At least that’s been my experience. Had a triangle palm many years ago that was in the ground and was rotting out at the base, hence the reason the the leaves weren’t opening. So I always look at the base and roots first with this condition. I actually have a Pritchardia doing the same thing right now, which has had me a bit concerned. But I noticed over the weekend that a couple of the leaves began to unfurl and it was beginning to throw a flower spathe. This was actually a fairly large transplant from two or three years ago and still hasn’t come up to speed yet, so again, I think it gets back to the root issue.

Just wondering given its august if I can plant or should I just wait until next spring?

This is fairly common with some species of palms . I have had them have 3 spears at a time . My mature Alexandrae typically has two before the oldest one opens. It should open soon by the look of it. A very healthy looking palm , soon it’s going to need a bigger pot. The slight spotting or yellow patches is just nutrients that could be added . A good , organic palm specific fertilizer would help that , but only on subsequent growth. Harry

Often wonder why there has not been an effort to either revive the native species or to plant the somewhat similar Jubaea across the island. A island-wide reforestation effort.

@CardiffPalmNuthave you moved rhopalistylus? If so maybe share technique timing, etc?

I would be interested if I were closer to the coast , myself. I’m afraid my place wouldn’t be a positive move. They do well in Ventura . Harry

I would investigate chamaerops, particularly mixes of humilis and cerifera would do very well there. They are better adapted to dry places(cerifera is a morocco native) than sabal minor which is a florida palm. Still you could grow sabal minor Im sure. Here is a link with some old(20+ years?) full size chamaerops. The cerifera blue is stunning next to the green.

Hi everyone, I have an Archontophoenix alexandrae in a pot that currently has two emerging spears, and I'm looking for some advice/insights on what might be happening. The situation: The older spear (on the left) emerged first, but instead of opening, it remained unopened and bound. Part of it snapped, but the palm continued growing and pushing a new spear (on the right) right next to it. The question: Why did the first spear get stuck and fail to open while the palm pushed a second one past it? Is this normal? Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks to all for the help and encouragement! I’m trying to fix the ill-conceived act of planting two Hedyscepes too far from the beach (about 20 miles). They just burn badly here and aren’t a good grow, so I’m going to try to dig and pot and sell them to someone in a suitable climate for them in all their glory.

Yes , pictures are needed for a true evaluation. So many factors to consider especially if they are field grown palms . Sabal can take quite a while if they came out of the ground and moved. Harry