All Activity

Yes the humidity is not a problem, they like warm soil. But they are slow regardless, they are called the queen of draceanas, and frost is definitely not there friend.

James, It might surprise you how close our average daytime highs are to yours. :)

This baby 'io (Hawaiian Hawk) was stuck here for a while today. It is probably it's first day out of the nest. The parents were flying around trying to encourage it. 'Io are endangered and only found on the Big Island, we have been lucky to have a pair nest around the property just about every year since we've been here.

It's very advantageous in terms of viability and known-good specimens as you indicated. Free seeds are also immune to inflation. 🙂 Do you have an approximate on the number of species that set viable seed in your area? Here it was up around 100 species until the cold snap this year. Looking over the list now, it's probably somewhere between 60-70 locally.

Do you have the high humidity it wants?

I have several Pindo Palms in my back yard. I live in Katy, Tx (clay soil) and I planted them about a year ago. They have all grown quite well. They started out as 3-gallon (about 3 feet tall) and now most are taller than the 8ft fence. I noticed that several have tiny brown spots on the fronds. I water these using drip lines. I increased watering from 2 days a week, to 3 days a week about a month ago due to the high heat. And because one of the palms has browning on the tips. I fertilize with Perfect Palm. I am not sure if these spots are normal, fungal, or because it’s been so hot. What do you guys think? This one really shot up in the last couple of months. This was originally smaller than the one to the left which was planted this year. You can see the little brown spots on the lower fronds.

Well, there are two over 70 ft specimen in Indian River County, zone 10a, one of which has been fruiting for years, and I know of one (much smaller, but still with over 10 feet of trunk at the moment) in Safety Harbor, FL, which is also 10a. So I wouldn't say that they are THAT delicate when it comes to temperatures. The one in Safety Harbor actually has survived the brief freeze of past winter with minimal damage, and has survived the freeze of 2010 (not sure if it was protected back then) when it was much smaller. https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/28765 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh0ro-gHQs0 I am not saying they can be cultivated in Central Florida without some care and protection especially when young, but they don't seem a "South Florida only" palm. Actually, now that I think about it, that house in Safety Harbor has two, not one although one seems to be much younger than the other one.

End of summer update ! The palm is loving our tropical weather we have had a lot this summer. Dew points have been close to 70 or higher, & temps have been in the high 90s. The palm is still a slow poke but I can see it definitely speeds up with heat !! 1 leaf opened with a spear chugging along !

Hey Jim, I’m a bit hotter and I think my inland sun is more fierce than yours. It’s interesting I have 23 various Archontophoenix: all of the subspecies: Alexandrae, Cunninghamiana, Maxima, Myolensis, Tuckeri except my Purpurea are hybrids. Only my multiples struggle where especially in late summer their new leaves open with brown streaks along the leaves. None of my singles experience this no matter how hot it gets. I water copiously so it isn’t a watering issue. Perhaps elevation is a factor too as I am at 2100 feet.

My Favorites.

Also from Ken J in South Florida

I have a 5 gallon bucket of seeds available for free. Fruit still attached. Send me your address and quantity and I will send them out. US only. Some of the parent pics attached

One advantage to locally sourced seeds is a far better germination rate than imported seeds for obvious reasons. If imported seed had a better germination rate then the cost would drop dramatically, unfortunately it’s a living cell that only has a certain amount of viability. In Australia a lot of the exotic varieties are not seeding in great numbers or it will take a lot more years before they will seed and even then no guarantee that we will have the right conditions, they may flower but not set seed. One lone female is not going to set seeds in a hurry with just one single plant in a garden. Seed supply is the critical factor and the availability of good quality seed is sourced locally, and you know it will grow well in your climate. You may get the seeds have great germination rates and have the first winter kill them all. That hurts even more with rare palms.

i checked and its wet but not soaking wet. it did just rain about half an inch 2 days ago

You know it when you see variegation. Vertical stripes is more what you see. What you’re seeing is the nutrient deficiency as the leaf has growth spurts.

Been a while since I’ve posted on here. I run Teddys Nursery, a licensed and state-inspected nursery here in Tennessee. Selling mostly cold hardy palms. I’m going to start moving some plants on here at PalmTalk prices — considerably cheaper than my normal online prices. I’ll post pictures, sizes and prices below. Just shoot me a PM if you’re interested. Prices are for the palm only. PM me your address and I’ll show you the exact shipping cost on PirateShip. Everything ships in pots or grow bags. If anyone feels more comfortable buying through eBay, you can also check out Teddys Nursery there and order through my store. https://ebay.io/m/tWPIBT Sabal minor McCurtain 1 gallon $18 Sabal minor Chipola dwarf 1/2 gallon $12 Sabal palmetto 1/2 gallon $12 Washingtonia filifera 1/2 gallon $12 Sabal mexicana 1/2 gallon $12 Sabal pumos 1/2 gallon $12 Sabal mauritiformis 1 gallon $18 Sabal yapa 1 gallon $18 Chamaerops humilis 1 gallon $18 Sabal Birmingham 1 gallon $18 Sabal Louisiana 1 gallon $18 Sabal bermudana 1 gallon $18 Chamaerops humilis ‘Vulcano’ 1 gallon $18 Brahea Armata 1 gallon $22 Sabal minor blountstown dwarf 1 gallon $18 Sabal minor chipola dwarf 1 gallon $18 Livistonia decora 1 gallon $20 Sabal Maritima 1 gallon $18 Sabal brazoriensis 3 gallon $32 Trachycarpus wagnerianus x fortunei hybrid 3 gallon $32 Sabal minor 3 gallon $32

i’d be shocked if it’s too dry. we’ve had so much rain! i’ll check when im home and ill lyk

It does take the cool, but even slower in the cool. And yes frost would turn it to mush.

Just a follow up. The new leaves show no variegation. Unfortunate, would have been a striking palm

Possibly, , I'll keep an eye on it. I'm going to post more photos in 2 weeks to see if it is thriving or not.

No I think it will be ok if you just used mainly native soil, check whether it is staying too dry

IMO, appears to be some random, errant growth ...Something i've seen pop out from otherwise healthy plants occasionally. Looking at the last shot, you can see how it is already starting down the path to it's own demise, ...Most likely outcome at least... via older leaves at about the 3 o' clock position in the picture starting to brown out.. That will continue until whatever amount of energy it has left in that growth is exhausted.

Dig down in the soil six inches deep or so, about 12 inches away from the trunk and see if the soil is chronically wet or dry. Observe whether the roots look a healthy, white solid color or if they’re mushy and darker black or dark gray, which is bad. Also check and make sure you didn’t create a bathtub effect by putting in potting soil or some sort of loose soil when you dug the hole initially. Trachycarpus fortunei Windmill Palm Tree MEGA Guide! https://youtu.be/cOOhgmWnqRA

The reason it’s attempted is due to the numerous microclimates in California. If you live 10-15 miles or more inland and you see limited or no frosts then it might be worth a try because you get more consistent heat and this especially true in winter often 80s in the day mid winter. Last year mid March I hit 96 with weeks of 80+ after that. Along the immediate coast is too consistently cold in the winter because of California’s famously cool water bringing day time temps near the immediate coast often in the low 60s in the day and cloudy often. The lack of heat. I’m trying it because I live inland in Fallbrook with enough heat to try it even if winter nights are cool. In Fallbrook we can grow coffee & dwarf cavendish especially dwarf cavendish which requires a lot of heat and plantains persisting for years without freezing.