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Im definitely guilty of being that guy after having a palm weevil fly into my back slider. In my head I looked like Brad Pitt fighting in the movie Troy but judging by my wife and kids laughter im guessing it was more like Homer Simpson trying to hula hoop.

I have one here in San Diego.... well now a ton because they've naturalized my years and I have to pull them out all the time. not only does it live here it's bullet proof. I've cut it down about 4 times and it keeps growing back because im too lazy to dig down to the growing point. after I cut all the leaves off it usually will throw a bunch of flowers and then seed. if you want a seedling or 10 let me know.

Yes. The winter of 2026 was the worst I’ve seen in 40 years here in Northern Virginia anyway. I guess SBB may have moderated a bit but the pine trees everywhere there took a real beating with limbs broken and down from the heavy mixes of frozen precip. And it stayed freezing and sub freezing for 3-4 weeks?? It was a very long duration freeze. However, with a small amount of cleanup, my two Sabal minors from this post did just great. IMHO Minors are a great choice for SBB.

about to order my second batch they are beautiful palms cant wait to plant also shipping was very smooth and well packed

They grow till zone 7a, the cost of the Netherlands is zone 8a and the rest I believe 7b and the east 7a!

Mid - Week update: Lala = well out to sea / Northwest of the islands now, but has exploded to Cat 4 status.. Hurricane Lala explodes to category 4 and will hit northwestern Hawaii by Wednesday night 2 possible systems on the board soon.. Unfortunately, the system anticipated to form out in the Cen. Pacific may threaten Hawaii again by the weekend / start of next week. Eyes up. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/08/19/first-alert-forecast-could-another-storm-be-brewing-behind-lala/

Compare the leaflets on the Encephalartos horridus x longifolius (or the opposite order as I can't recall right now which was the female). It reminds me more of your plant but even it has a different lower leaflet (more like true longifolius). This is why I think it could be a hybrid. The lower leaflets of your plant resembles Encephalartos altensteinii or natalensis, while the more terminal leaflets resemble horridus. The fact that you found it in a dump indicates there was a reason someone didn't want it. While it would be a valuable plant here, my understanding is that hybrids are much more frowned upon in South Africa. Perhaps that is for a good reason. We don't have pollinators here which you have in habitat. Hybrids could potentially unintentially "pollute" the gene pool of wild habitat specimens there. Here, we have to hand pollinate, so unless someone misrepresents what they are selling as pure species, the only harm is someone having something they think is species but isn't. It won't go wild and dilute the genetics of habitat plants. A long way of saying that someone may have dumped the plant because they didn't want a hybrid, which I suspect your plant is based on what I have seen. There are plenty of folks with more knowledge and experienced eye than me, so don't take it as the last word. Here is the horridus x longifolius or longifolius x horridus, depending on which was mother and father. I have heard that this is actually a hybrid that can occur naturally when the two species are in habitat. Mine was produced through hand pollination here so was an intentional hybrid... sort of. It is a rooted pup from close to a dozen years ago, off a plant that was hand pollinated here. It is one of my slowest Encephalartos which was neglected in a pot for a while then planted in a spot it didn't like, dug back up and put in a pot and finally planted out where it is now a few years ago. It is finally found a spot where it will establish.

Tabebuia palmeri = old Synonym of H. impetiginosus. ....Same thing with the defunct Tabebuia / Handroanthus " avellanedae ". Better shot, hopefully, lol..

While the leaflets closest to the terminal ends look like they have some twist like Encephalartos horridus, it really is limited to the terminal ends on the leaves. The color is not an issue given your descrption of finding it in the rubbish heap. The waxy coating on the blue cycads can rub off over time, which is why I mentioned waiting for a new flush in my prior post. I did take a couple of photos of a pair of Encephalartos horridus, one female and the other is a male with multiple heads. The color of the female isn't as blue as it could be, because it skipped flusing the last two years to push consecutive cones. More importantly, look at the leaflets as well as how far down the rachis they continue to show some twist and spines on both specimens. The flatter leaflets on yours reminded me of my Encephalartos horridus x longifolius or it could have been the opposite, longifolius x horridus, I have forgotten. For now, here are the horridus for comparison to yours.

I will let you know. Always into sharing palms with folks! I just built a greenhouse for my seedlings , not a large scale operation by any stretch. I have many Chamaedorea Radicalis Tree form around the house ….and many seeds. I give those seeds away to folks who want them . You could just push them in the ground in the garden and they will pop up in a couple of months or so. They germinate easily and are pretty tolerant of sun and cool weather. Harry This one is about 3-4 years old , getting ready to trunk. Soon it will be over head! This was a volunteer.

Matty, how is that cutting doing? Were you successful in getting it to root and establish?

I am in zone 9b and had mild frost for two nights. Howea is a very safe option I think. Also, S. romanzoffiana and Rhapis excelsa. Mine wasn't bothered at all at 29 F. My R. regia also survived but covered in fleece; same with Ptychosperma elegans..

Also bought a livistona chinensis this weekend from palm island nursery. excited about that.

They've taken 3 summers and 2 winters with no protection. Mild frost but last winter had a solid month of fog and cold with no sun. my tropicals did not dig it. no freezing. 25/26 winter just touched 30 a couple times. 24/25 spiked down to 25 a few times but doesn't stay that low for long and was ok. One is 8' from the house facing east and is doing great. The other in the open about 20 feet from the house and showed minor damage and is growing but was slower till this year. Trunk isnt thickening up as much as the other.

All-time record high for Miami and Fort Lauderdale is 100F. I always find that odd as every state I’ve lived in prior to South Florida hits temps higher than this… Even up north. The difference is the duration, and the months of night time tropical heat down here without a break. Miami hit 100F yesterday and Fort Lauderdale hit 98F, night time lows in the 80s. Dry as a bone. Local AC units seem to be dropping like flies after months of this. Mine went down the other day. Indoor temps of 92+ at night for 3 days, til it could be fixed. Supposed rainy pattern on the way as Saharan dust moves out now.

They are looking great!!

@Silas_Sancona i was digging through some old files and actually found the original tag it says Tabebuia palmeri so is that Handroanthus what variety would that be? I can’t believe the price I paid back then I must have wanted it!!

adscendens or metallica?

It’s been a relatively mild summer compared to other years. I haven’t actually been out to Ventura in over a month. Usually I hit up Ventura for the natural ac that is the Pacific Ocean. But haven’t needed to this year. If you ever have any pup palms you wanna sell let me know I can meet you up!

It’s probably climate. But wow what a striking beauty. I have another spear forming, so hopefully it opens up to a deeper red.

Nowadays, they grow like weeds overhere!🌴

Very nice, I hear they like cool weather...!

Yep, its a Permian mudstone derived duplex. Old, acidic, and leached, like so many Aus soils, but the topsoil has high natural organic matter levels, and seems to respond pretty quickly to added nutrients. Although the hardpan requires a bit of management, it's soooo much better to work with than the hydrophobic nightmare of the South Arm sand. Back on topic...I was reading Dowe's description of A cunninghamiana last night in Australian Palms, and the purple colouration seems to fall within the species parameters, so I guess this population has been studied at some stage in the past, or there are other populations with similar characteristics maybe? Dowe also mentions that cunninghamiana extends right up to Mt Elliott at Townsville, so another 250km north of Eungella...another population to explore! Interesting that Livistona australis also tops out at Paluma in the mountains just north of Townsville.

I have two Baselonga planted together that look very similar to the small potted one. They are very slow at that age. Harry Dypsis Basilonga , tied together to keep the petioles from breaking in the wind. The leaves are very long for the size of the petiole. The petiole are very dark when first emerging. Harry