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Membership renewed, I shall be donating my copy to the Coffs Harbour regional botanical gardens.

I forgot about this thread but to make it a long story short: it survived. ITs doing well right now and sprouting out much new growth. (the monstera) All of my other tropical plants survived winter aswell but i think the monstera is the most shocking. I planted a thaumatophyllum next to it.

I have had great success with Croton "Mammy". I got these at OC Succulents in Irvine. $30.00 for a 3 gallon, or $15.00 wholesale price if you have an account with them. The other Croton I do not have a name for. Does anyone recognize the variety? Croton ?? ↓ What other variety has everyone had success with? JW Dana Point, CA

Hello - Do you have an updated price list? THANK YOU!

Do you water this palm regularly on a n irrigation setup? Looks a lot like dry tips and lack of moist soil in our drought can lead to deficiencies of all kinds. Late stage potassium (K) deficiency symptoms are virtually indistinguishable from those of Mn deficiency at a distance and close examination is required to look for characteristic longitudinal streaking and basal (vs distal) symptom distribution of Mn deficiency. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDISENH1015/EP267: Manganese Deficiency in PalmsMy experience with Mn deficiency is it stunts the newest leaves

I would be in no hurry to sun acclimate them. I'd leave them in one spot where they get a couple hours of early day sun.

Basjoo were pretty easy, for me it was set and forget type of plant in Oregon. However I know someone who failed growing them in Texas, whereas all the other bananas here are care free. I don't bother growing basjoo anymore as I'd rather have bananas that give me fruit. Has anyone had success growing them in a Southern zone? My thoughts as to the failure is that its too hot for basjoo and it may be more of a temperate banana.

Sounds right to me. That is what I would expect to see. I grew both in Oregon and brought some with me here to Texas.

Rare Zamia inermis Seedlings, (Hand-Pollinated) completely UN-armed, my large parent plants survived 27F without damage last Winter. Pot of 9 Seedlings, many have 2 leaves. $8 each. Can split up if necessary, (3 minimum). Plus Shipping , Box, & Spaghum.Beachpalms@cfl.rr.comZelle or (No Fee PayPal)

The heat is not a problem in CFL. The high rainfall with sandy soil just washes the nutrients away. Get some Mn to supplement your Palm Gain and see what happens. It should improve over time. And don’t wait since the growing season will be ending soon. You will want to get as much green growth as you can to support the health of the palm.

Do you have any spare seedlings by chance?

I have them in pots right now in front getting morning sun. Would you recommend I pull them back in the shade once it hits noon?

Sorry. They have all been claimed. Those who PM me look for packages this week.

I might be heading to the Azores Portugal in December would be cool to see what’s there. I remember seeing on one of those driving videos a pretty tall and leafed out coconut although bronze on lots of the older leaves it was green. No fruit of course though. All around the climate just doesn’t get hot enough for them to thrive. Mild enough though!

Acclimation to the sun is in part due to growing a bigger more extensive root system to supply water and nutrients to the palm. With inland heat and lower humidity acclimation to the sun is best done gradually with netting. When leaves burn its a setback to growth, maybe small if few leaves burn. I never plant anything when its hot and there is no rain as the ground will suck water out of the plant unless you flood it. I generally plant in either fall or the hot wet season here if it rains enough. Planting in the hot dry spring here is not advised. These kinds of mistakes are made every year by gardeners. The box store got stock in so its time to plant .. uh NO! In order for a plant to maintain its healthy temp, it has to evaporate water it cool itself. If the plant cannot take up water fast enough in a small root system it will burn in the heat without rain. Ive been on here 25 year and heard the arguments for sun hardening, like its an epigenetic process within the lifetime of the plant. But epigenetics are almost always small changes in the plants that change the DNA gradually over a few or several generations. The bunching in a triple will help when planted. I would keep them well watered and in at least half day shade, not late day sun. Their true sun tolerance will only be realized after root development in the ground. The shade cloth would be wise especially with small water loving palms. The shade cloth protectiot will allow root development without as much heat related stress.

Shade cloth definitely would help. Hopefully we are starting to get more cool down at night , at least here. The heat waves we get in Fall are more fleeting , they don’t usually last for weeks like what we are now (hopefully) coming out of. I have used market umbrellas to shade new palms , if it isn’t too windy. Harry

there are two types of prostate drugs, alpha blockers that cause muscle relaxation like FloMax and ease symptoms and drugs that shrink an enlarged prostate, 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs). Flowmax type symptom relievers make up 1.3 billion a year sales. The 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) that shrink the prostate make up 7.3 billion a year. The saw palmetto extract is a symptom reliever not a prostate shrinker and it cannot be a powder, it has to be a gelcap. The powder supplement doesn't work at all. Likely there was oxidation of antioxidants in the capsule, but they dont relieve symptoms at all. If the studies are evaluating relief of symptoms, saw palmetto extract works as well as Flomax but with no notable side effects. Latter stage prostate disease will absolutely need the 5-alpha reductase inhibitors as a swollen prostate require a different treatment for prostate shrinkage. Drug companies offer both products. But relief of symptoms is quite good with the saw palmetto extract gelcap. I dont have an enlarged prostate just some symptoms and am glad I found the saw palmetto extract. My doctor recommended it over Flomax. I have zero symptoms if I take it every other or every 3rd day. Why the thieves? Maybe because they dont want to rob stores as that could get you shot here in Florida. I do expect the therapeutics were overhyped as usual by a marketing type looking to make the most profit possible. The price tripled for a while then came back down to 7-8 gelcaps per dollar.

Thanks Harry, It looks like the next week or so will be on the mild side. Heat waves in late September do happen. But I was thinking of removing the alfredii and planting the kings next week. With hopes that the he acclimation will help them recover more. Do you think the shade cloth would help? They’re still small 5 gallon palms with one 15 gallon.

Putting the largest of my altifrons out in the rain today. This one lives in the sunroom and usually stays inside all year.

Pavestones will work, the heavy stone or concrete ones are best, with about 1/3 buried. Have multiple filifera, a trachy, and med palm. Some of them.....red circle is 1 year old seedlings(triple filifera), surrounded by rocks. Rocks removed when true trunks appear (5-8 years).

Yes , I agree with you . Altitude as well as latitude , and distance from the Pacific influence , all play a part in the intensity of your climate compared to larger latitudes and coastal climates that are close to sea level. The sun’s rays are affected by latitude more than one would think. You are at just under 34 degrees North latitude at 2100’, I am at 34 degrees + North and closer to the Pacific about 500’ above sea level. Our climates are different in intensity , hot or cold . I am only 10 miles inland from Ventura but certain species that do much better in Ventura , struggle here. Even in our city , there are differences. I don’t get frost in my yard , but two blocks down our very steep hill , the roof tops and lawns can be white with frost during very cold winters. If you look at various weather apps , the climate and temperature averages are for Santa Paula city . I am up on a South facing hill and quite different . I am usually 3-4 degrees warmer in winter than what is on the weather apps . In summer , cooler than what is on the app. Local knowledge is key. Harry

Yes, I started mine from seed. I collected the seed in the Phoenix area in the fall of 2021. I sprouted them sometime in the 2022 growing season, when I still lived in Oklahoma. It stayed in a little pot until I moved to Texas in the spring of 2024.

Josh distributes within LA, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. So, I can ship directly to Central and Northern CA customers. You should be able to place the order on my website and then I will ship directly. Any questions, let me know. JD

You may want to wait it out before planting. What you are currently doing sounds good . If this winter proves the forecast right in that we have a very wet year , they will be fine by next summer . If not , just keep them watered . I don’t know anything about Tuckeri but Alexandrae love the water and handle sun at a pretty early stage once established. I planted my little one that came home in a 10” pot . It burned because it was in full sun but came back quickly . I think , for Archontophoenix in warm climates , water and time are key. You have clay soil which may help in this case. Harry

Very common in WA for palms to have damaged trunks when facing full day sun, then the termites move in.