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Rained much of the day yesterday, the total in my straight walled bucket open to the sky was 2"+ yesterday. The ground is soaked, I sink a little walking on it in the garden areas. There is a glow to the yard this morning that I have not seen in a year. The retention ponds and the canal I haven't seen in a week look near full, not overflowed onto the grass but !6" below the lowest grass. It was 2' plus a couple months ago. The canal is higher than Ive seen in a year and the water is barely moving, a leaf on top moves about half a foot in 3 seconds. More rain is predicted for today late. We were in a severe drought still a week ago, the next update should be interesting.

Welcome ! You have chosen well , the Howea palms are great indoor choices . The Foresteriana being best suited for your situation. As was mentioned , Bell palms are much slower and probably would need more direct light . The Palor Palm ( Howea Foresteriana ) has been used for many years as a way to bring tropical foliage indoors . Use a pot with really good drainage ( I put smooth medium size pebbles in the bottom ), soil that has more of a sandy loam mixed with perlite , and a pot slightly larger than what it came home with. Do not over water , but they like regular watering . Let the top few inches dry to the touch in between watering , then water thoroughly ( you’ll want a nice tray under the pot ).The occasional outdoor shower and fresh air is a huge benefit . I would find a shady spot with a slight breeze for its holiday at least once a month , even over night if it isn’t below 50f or so. It sounds like a lot and they will survive with less , but to grow reliably , a bit of attention goes a long way. They will take low temps if planted in the ground and established but not cold. Good luck and enjoy . Harry

Hopefully we have some warm years and they don't go under 20F for you. Mine took a lot of damage under 20F but less UV here for the next day warmup than you. Here is my Mule Palm playlist of the growth I had, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVDrk5W7jTdjQmxI4FEtmI7CrCvNqNKs&si=VFS-i1SLpo1BHruH

Cibotium glaucum finally decided to grow a new frond after almost a year. Is this normal?

Yes in the proteacea family, easy to propagate as well!

Me too, just light stuff. It was really weird watching it somehow dodge the area like that. Fits the pattern for my house though, but idk why it happens so often here.

Nice, different-is it a Protea?

2nd spell of 0 degrees last couple of nights here in south Auckland knocked out a couple of late flush cycad leaves that hadn't hardened off. A bit of cloud cover tonight eases the stress level a bit.

Hey! I bought one from Phil as well . Mine was not labeled and when I posted pics here I was told it was C. Barbadensis. Mine is about the same size . It grows slow and steady. Jungle Music had a few Cocothrinax species when I was there about 20 years ago so not sure if mine is the same as yours. Very small when planted and full afternoon sun . The fronds on the one I got don’t stay stiff and tend to relax with age . It has an orange-ish hastula . Harry Trunk is pretty typical Cocothrinax The fronds are more relaxed a year or so after opening Orange colored hastula. I’ve got this one labeled Cocothrinax Barbadensis. I was at one of Jungle Music’s sales many years ago and Phil had some that had no label and were too little to identify . These pics are from when I posted a while back ( couple of years?) . Someone on PT said it was Barbadensis. Since these photos were taken , and seeing others , I started giving it more water and feeding it . I believe mine is a different species than yours.

Wow. I knew you guys had it bad, but didn’t think it was that bad. Sorry to hear about the losses, a real kick in the stomach as a collector.

Have they been fertilised? Over fertilised will cause the leaf curling.

looking to buy some fresh parajubaea seeds. if anybody is growing a palm in california.

I notice the bougainvilleas other houses have (they are everywhere) and I haven't seen any like mine. All other bougs look happy. As for the soil, I tried one last year in the ground and it died.. I must mention I also have one in the ground, at a different spot with better soil (amended) and that one does not have shrivelled leaves something which makes me think that it's the pots.. perhaps too much water? But then I would expect brown leaf tips, not shrivelling

That said the curling makes me think something in the soil like a pathogen, let them dry out they are super tough. I also knew they are super tough; I remember my grandma had one in a terracota pot, and never watered it. It became a monster. The leaves are still moist inside.. I don't get it.

I must have a palm from the same source. I bought mine from Jungle Music as well. I've seen your previous posts about it and have wondered if there was any official ID.

palmenthusiast100 Welcome to Palmtalk !

I have one too!

Dypsis Plumosa

I have very little experience with mules personally, but I have always liked them. I now own two. I have one that I bought last summer at roughly a 3 to 5 gallon size. I grew the other from seed. (It was the only one of 12 seeds I was able to germinate) Both have grown well in pots and in the ground for me thus far. Seed grown: March 2025 June 2026 (bottom right) Tonight 6 August 2026 (1st pinnate frond) Mail ordered mule: September 2025 March 2026 Tonight, 6 August 2026 This mule in the ground is the most marginal palm I have planted in my yard. My area is rated zone 9a. If you ask January 2021, it is an 8a. I have planted my landscape with the idea that I want my palms to be able to look good down to 20F, and survive 15F. I would like to think I am not being overly cautious or confident. Time will tell, I guess.

Floribunda palms caught my eye today, such a luxury to be only 25 minutes away, sorry I wasn’t able to do photos today (other than my order) also picked up an Areca laoensis and Asterogyne guianensis.

Forsteriana naturally grows in very dense stands, with seedlings germinating and growing very slowly in often heavy shade for years or decades until a suitable chink in the canopy opens which they can fill. You can see photos of these stands on LHI. This is why they do so well in low-light, indoor conditions. Belmoreana, on the other hand, tends to grow in much more open environments, and in more stony, volcanic soil. My theory is that H. belmoreana's reputation for being slower than forsteriana is largely down to this fact; people assume that it will be equally tolerant of low light as an indoor plant and it isn't. My belmoreana lives in the conservatory in winter and outside in the summer and gets as much natural light as I can provide any non-hardy palm, and it isn't slow in comparison to many other palms I have. If I were to put it in a room with a window at one end (rather than light from three sides and above), I don't think it would respond well, and it would grow at toenail-speed. I'd suggest H. forsteriana is a better fit for your environment (will grow quicker in your light regime).

Tracy, was that a Jungle Music purchase? I have a spitting image from them; argentata if I recall..

@Phil Petersen if you are concerned about root rot you can also foliar spray it diluted. That's what I have done with some potted palms that turned yellow. I just guessed it was root rot from the potting soil being too dense with too much watering. It seemed to work well, about the same as @Urban Rainforest dry sprinkle + watering method. I haven't had problems with Whitelockii/Ituriensis in pots or in the ground, at least here in the swamp of Florida. The PTer I bought from used almost pure perlite and supplemental fertilizer. I used a "chunky" mix of perlite, potting soil, Turface MVP (fired clay pebbles) and sometimes a handful of mulch or small pine bark. I have around 10 in the ground, the only problem with them is frost damage below 30F. What are you doing for soil & water? @Urban Rainforest I bet the sprinkle and water works great as long as it isn't root rot. I haven't been able to grow any of the South African blues (Tri, Lehmannii, etc) here due to crown and root rot. Some hybrids (Nat x Horr or Aemulans x Lehmannii) seem to work in dry areas of the yard.

I would post this is the palms worldwide section. This is the cold hardy section. You will get your answer there

There are some good ones. I also believe Houston and Dallas are drier in fall/winter than summer, and trachies there are more fall/winter growers. Here, they are spring/fall growing. They idle in summer/winter. I have learned to look at the base of trachies here in the SW. The "decent" ones usually in an irrigated lawn situation. Soil type and ph could also be a major factor.