All Activity

When is the best time to plant a palm 20 years ago, time for that sancona to go in the ground!

Having grown Aloidendron Hercules from a small one gallon, it is apparent to me that the specimens you are considering in your post are from cuttings. I would go with the single stem, unbranched rather than the forked one you were initially considering. If you are worried about any marginal conditions where you live then don't introduce complications of a forked one that may abandon or abort one of the growth points. If you want an Aloidendron that branches low, then grow Aloidendron ramosissimum. Let the Hercules grow as they want to, which is vertical to about 6 feet before the initial branch. All these Aloidendron are fast in my book. All my Aloidendron were acquired as 1 gallon or smaller (Aloidendron pillansii being the exception which is slow). Watering schedule appears a bit different in your climate than here, so I will defer to Nathan's advice above on when to water and when not to. For Hercules here, it is more about not over watering to keep it from growing too fast. Aloidendron Hercules and a dichotomum starting to branch below.

Thanks Rich, will put them in individual pots today. My propagator is set up basically at room temperature 20-24c, so not too hot, Ceroxylon parvifrons are germinating happily in there at the moment, so hopefully it's a comfortable temp for these guys.

Cool, thanks so much for the photo. I'm going there next week. Did you spot the Jubaea x Syagrus I gave to the Isole di Brissago too? They planted it quite prominently on the centre lawn.

I don’t believe Aridlands carries any Hercules. I still have to make a trip out there and check out what he has. I think they usually want you to make an appointment before crashing in. It is on my list to do though. You said your Hercules rotted- what would you say was the main factor? I’ve got one in the ground already and very paranoid about how much or not to do with the thing LOL.

Oh it's already used to the sun. I got this palm as a little seedling in late october 2024. It's a rocket in both sun and shade.

Strikingly beautiful palms, so clean and straight as an arrow. Tom, those trunks are stout and thick. Mine are taller and thinner, but still show the deep purple color, especially on. The lower portion of the crown shaft. Thanks for the ‘bump’ Andrea. Tim

I would drop it in the ground. Start acclimating it to the sun little by little.

i Its neighbor to the left is quite something itself!! 😎👍🏻 -dale

The palm in question is Syagrus sancona. It's getting too big for its pot, I don't have bigger pots/containers. <Zone 10> Climate similar to south texas, maybe a bit warmer. Palms I have in the ground (+1 year in ground) Cocos nucifera Syagrus romanzoffiana Chamaedorea seifrizii Chamaedorea microspadix Chamaedorea pochutlensis Chamaedorea plumosa Thrinax radiata Attalea butyracea Acrocomia aculeata Sabal yapa Wodyetia bifurcata Tropicals I have seen around my neighborhood (Not owned by me) Roystonea regia Cocos nucifera Thrinax radiata Delonix regia Enterolobium cyclocarpum Ficus microcarpa Ficus benjamina Ficus elastica Ficus obtusifolia Chrysalidocarpus lutescens Adonidia merrillii Terminalia catappa Heliconia spp. Alpinia spp. Wodyetia bifurcata Pseudobombax ellipticum Heptapleurum actinophyllum Ceiba speciosa Tabebuia rosea Araucaria spp. Hibiscus tiliaceus Pithecellobium dulce Cassia fistula

Can definitely cut them / will add new growth afterwards. Gamble is ..how much you can cut, repeatedly, to try and keep the overall form shorter, w/out harming the plant. One i'd bought years ago was cut quite short ..might have had a foot of base on it before the grower it came from had trimmed it... Added 4 or 5 branches after cutting but, each branch grew straight and unbranched again afterwards. When i picked it up, each new branch was ~approx another foot tall so, ..they would've continued that trend until reaching ...whatever.. height at which they'd decide to branch again on their own.. Unfortunately, it started rotting the summer after putting it in the ground up here and i had to rescue the plant by lopping off / re-rooting what i could. Before headed up here ..into the furnace, lol, you might make a trip over to Aridlands Greenhouses and talk with Bob or Toni about pruning -related thoughts / see if they have any in stock atm.

Last night as the sun dropped low in the sky, I was reminded why the relatively common Encephalartos longifolius is one of my favorite Cycads. The shadows on the leaflets really was emphasizing the insertion and overlapping nature of the leaflets. This is a smaller one that has grown slowly since I transplanted it from one garden to the other several years ago. It had already stalled prior to the transplant due to my neighbors having planted a hedge along the property boundary that completely changed it's sun exposure, starving it of sunshine until I dug it and moved it to Leucadia.

I have read that if you cut the top off then it will tend to branch out. Are some growers actually doing this successfully? As for pricing this grower is being very fair especially offering free shipping. The local nurseries here are in short supply or no supply at all. I think fall/spring is when some end up at the HD and maybe other nurseries pick some up as well. I could also take a field trip up to your area and shop around up there’s. Seems like if you can’t find it in Tucson you’ll find it in the Valley

I have two satakentias from ken johnsons farm, planted out in early 2019 with 2-3' trunk. I also have a smaller one I grew from a 4" seedling in 2021 that was planted in early 2025 is now 6-7' overall. They are great palms and the trunks are pretty thick. I will quote ken " ythey are emergent palms so they like shade when young but with size they take the sun well. The trunk at the crownshaft is about 8-9" caliper, definitely more than my archies and all my other crownshafted palms except for the royals. They hate frost with a couple upper leaves burning a couple years ago. They do look a lot more colorful in sunlight after shedding a leaf. Here is one of mine, they trunks/crownshafts glow in the distance in sun. No sign of inflorescences yet. closeup of the same palm to see the crownshaft color a week or so after a new leaf was dropped Easily my prettiest crownshafted palm. I checked the trunk measurements, 8 1/2' clear trunk as of today.

Tall ones, like the specimen pictured, would tend to keep moving up before branching, unless the top somehow got knocked off. Shorter one in your first post might form a few initial branches at an earlier age, but would still move up before adding a majority of the rest, like the specimen at Tohono Chul, or these i'd found at a local nursery this past spring. Is the typical habit of the plant, vs. any outside variable having a major influence on that factor < ..Location, watering, etc, etc.. >

M amicarum seems to be building some momentum…

They sent me a picture of this one which I think they did for comparison. The only thing I worry about in getting a single head plant is that from the only examples of locally grown Hercules that I’ve seen in person are the ones in the shopping center by Cortaro rd and I-10. They were put in there as very small specimen and they all seem to have started branching out at around 9-12 ft. There’s about 7-8 of them an neither branched out sooner. I’m wondering if maybe it was that particular batch? Maybe how they were watered? Soil? Tucson weather? I know getting a branched out young one might come with some problems as well like possibility of branch splitting or monsoon winds knocking it over.

Fausto now a Cat #2 and headed west, Genevieve now on the board, and expected to become the basin's first significant hurricane of the year ..possibly reaching Cat 4 status per current forecast thoughts. As for Fausto, while it is supposed to diminish to Tropical Storm status in the next couple days, track takes it to somewhere near / in the Hawaiian Islands sometime this week.. Current, Key message from the Hurricane center regarding what to watch for out there.. It and Genevieve will continue to send rounds of 4 -7' swell to -at least- Southern CA beaches this week. On another note, Blob of activity on the T.C. Sat. view this morning in the south central Gulf ( of CA ) = what remains of Bertha. Moisture from it will need to be watched closely as the potential exists that some of it rotates northward toward Southern CA over the next couple days. Result would be a round of mainly dry thunderstorm activity if that occurs. Some moisture from it being drawn into an inverted trough currently over west central New Mexico / far eastern AZ may be what helps break the weekend heatwave here.

Using your last image, if the specimen you were looking to acquire is that one specifically.... Red = most likely would be the dominant growth point / direction it heads in.. Orange, ..potential co -dominant, future trunk. Other growths on that plant could fill out, or snuff themselves out eventually as a majority of energy for growth is directed to the dominant and / or co - dominant portions of the plant. Don't ever think i've seen a Hurc. where the trunk stayed short n' fat.. These things like to go up, one way or another. Trunk itself will fatten up as the plant itself heads sky ward, esp. if it gets plenty of water during the warmer months ...Though avoid applying any during portions of the summer when night time temps exceed 82F. Like all C.A.M. plants, watering them when night time temps exceed that threshold = plants suffocate and turn into piles of hot stinky goo. Regardless, that one isn't a bad specimen to start off with at all, but my eye points me toward some of the others in the background in the shot, esp. if offered at the same / a similarly reasonable price point. Assuming you've checked all the local specialty nurseries down there for reasonably priced specimens?

True; babypalms is not responsive, nor very polite. He is my last option. He has decent size palms at good prices

Ha Tracy……that breakfast mix ought to keep you regular. (or a visit to the ER) Tim

I’ve been looking for a younger Hercules that already has multi head/branched. Ideally I would love one that’s going to branch out around 5-7 ft but I’m not willing to pay the money for one that size. I found this guy for sale from an online shop and was wondering if those of you with more knowledge could tell me if this is a good plant or not? Will that main trunk stay small with the other branches growing at their own rate/direction? Will the main trunk grow as well or just beef up to hold the weight? Thanks ahead of time for any insights.

I am SO SAD these pictures in the original post are no longer visible 😭 any chance you can share again please?!

Acrocomia totai…. Where could i possibly find one ??

WoW! Those are every where in your area. I had one years ago. I lost it to some pink rot. WAS VERY BUMMED as I got it from Louie Hooper. A great palm to have!