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No need to fix drainage problem if you plant Archotophoenix in that spot. They LOVE wet feet. They will grow happily even in stagnant water. I know since some of the fifty Archontophoenix growing in my yard have submerged roots year round.

Wow, that’s very interesting. Thanks for sharing you guys. I wonder what the occurrence rate is.

I'm in Southern California. and have similar weather as you and the heat is not an issue at all. I got one a few years ago, dug it up, took another day to get in the ground and it has never once missed a beat. I have not even trimmed the original leaves because they are still a bit green even though they are 2 years old. It's a very durable palm in my experience. If you could, get it out of the ground, hose off the roots and repot in the backyard in the shade. It might stand a chance of survival.

Hmm , not sure who has any Alexandrae. You might check with Green Thumb in Ventura , call first. Perhaps put a post on the sub forum of Palm Talk classifieds . I’m not sure if @DoomsDave would know of where they could be found , but he is pretty knowledgeable about who has what. It would be worth a drive to get one , especially from one of our private growers . Harry

I guess there is a big difference between living and just barely surviving and eventually after years of torture only ending up on the compost heap. Plus they are to rare, and to kill one is such a great lose. Leave them for the warmer climate!

So here is the tally; Chambeyronia divaricata - 2 specimens 3,5ft, both dead. The 5ft specimen had split near ground level a few years ago and had 3 separate heads Chambeyronia macrocarpa- only 2 survivors, 1-20ft tall and 1-4ft tall, 5 younger specimens 3-6ft all died Chambeyronia macrocarpa (hookeri form), 2 specimens 4-5ft both perished Chambeyronia macrocarpa 'Watermelon' 1 3ft specimen survived, 1 died Chambeyronia magnifica- 2 specimens 4ft tall both died Chambeyronia oliviformis 2 specimens 4ft tall, both survived but slow to grow back Chambeyronia pyriformis- 2 specimens 4ft tall, 1 of 2 survived

There was a random Anthurium as a freebie with my absolute horrible looking Aloalocasia portei. I have no idea what spp it is. It hasn't died yet so that's a plus.

I have clay and I have lost some Encephalartos, but my Beccariophoenix do fine.

Chambeyronia macrocarpa, the only juvenile survivor

Chambeyronia macrocarpa 'Watermelon'

I wouldn’t say it’s dumb idea. We all want fast results. As far as the Bismarck I would show her a few in person (assuming you haven’t). Maybe she’s thinking of a brahea and doesn’t like those. But a massive, silver self cleaning Bismarck is a nice center piece. A sabal mauritiiformis would be a unique look too. Maybe don’t over think it. You’ll eventually end up like the rest of us and have a jungle anyway 🤣

A few more Chambeyronia survivors at Leu Gardens. Chambeyronia pyriformis

My wife does not like the blue, she likes the Mediterranean fan palms, but i'm not a fan. I think you're right. Getting large palms in boxes was a dumb idea. I wanted immediate results and paid the price. I ended up losing money and still ending up with nothing in the front.

Are these free? If so, you posted in the wrong section. If not, you are supposed to post a price per the forum rules: All palms/plants/seeds offered for sale must include a price and size/quantity. I assume from your wording (Buyer Removal, CAVEAT EMPTOR) that they are for sale. Seems like a tough sell. DIY dig and remove might be possible on the smallest stuff. The single Roebelenii could weigh 300 lbs or more depending on the rootball. But the big CIDPs will require a professional crew. That’s a lot of $ and risk just to move some palm weevil food into your yard. That one by the utility pole should be fun.

I think the madagascar highlands are seasonally dry and wet compared with one of the wettest areas in Hilo. Do bismarckia do well there? They are just 1500 feet above alfredii . Might be rocky soil is that is the site. I have seen bismarckia in miami in rocky limestone soil and they hated it. Thin trunks about half the typical diameter here. Alfredii are just about 2 decades in cultivation, they might do better on the west side of the big island.

I genuinely don't know. I think I made a big mistake buying a large palm. The 15 gallon palms I bought have done well. I think I may have drowned the palm by watering it so much. I have heavy clay and potentially a drainage issue.

Yep.. Big, ...but perfectly harmless ..and actually really good composters.. Who cares if they eat some fruit too. Because so many people freak out about them when seen locally in the Spring, Spadefoot Nursery in Tucson re posts a writeup they did about these guys to talk the fearful off their ledges. Turn up in the yard every so often this time of year up here as well. Know anyone w/ TX Sage in their gardens? ( Leucophyllum sps ) = not uncommon to find dozens / hundreds of Figeaters clamoring over the flowers when they bloom, ...here in AZ at least. Of the 12 sub species, not sure if CA and AZ share the same one or not. Difference between it and Japanese Beetle, ..which has only been observed a few times in CA ...so far at least.. As pointed out here👇, " May / June " bug = broad brush term for numerous native / some introduced / non -native ( ..to North America ) Beetle sps in several genus, many of which are common in CA. https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/94169-june-bugs-are-destroying-my-gutters/ FYI: Lined June Beetles ( Genus Polyphylla ) = the one that squeak when handled.. These dudes.. Great laugh when handed to folks w/ an unhealthy fear of bugs. Fear of bugs in general = Lyrics from Basket Case come to mind, Every time.

I think it's a combo of both the answers above. Looks healthy over all. It's just adjusting to its new home.

I think you'll be fine with almost all the archontophoenix maybe except purpurea. Our climates are similar and I have Purpurea, maxima, tuckeri, myolensis, Alexandra and cunninghamiana. all grow great except the parpurea which always looks a bit anemic and never colors up great for me. they do like lots of water. My one bit of advice no matter which one you pick would to buy one that has not started trunking yet. The trunks in pots are stunted and will be permanently deformed and you will have to cover up the ugly part of the trunk with air plants and orchids......not that im speaking form experience.... They are super fast so they will form a trunk in no time and it will look way nicer. I do like the idea of a big fat blue Bizzy too though if you're open to a fan palm.

Looks like you lost that palm because you didn’t drip irrigate the root ball and it dried out. What happens to these large boxed up palm specimens is that they repel water wants the root ball is dry and the water just goes into the surrounding wet soil. I’ve lost plants that way here in Hilo where it rains a ton. Once the rootball dries out the only thing that I can bring it back is to actually put a drip directly onto the root ball so the water can slowly penetrate into the tree. Florida gets such sporadic rainfall that you really gotta watch out for that drying effect especially in those Sandy soils. I would second the recommendation to stick with Alexander Palms because the regular king palm is not suited for the tropics. I have a lot of Alfredo palms in the ground and they all look ratty. My biggest regret in that regards is to not have chosen the fenestralis species of Madagascar, coconut palms. That one looks so much better and grows so much better in the tropics. I think the Alfredii likes cooler Highland conditions.

Sorry that happened to you. I vaguely remember seeing some pictures and you got hit pretty bad. It’s really not that bad here. I learned my lesson in terms of what not to plant. Most of the massive carnage came from Inga trees, also known as ice cream bean. I’ve spoken to others and they tell me it was also ice cream bean trees that cracked. The previous owner also planted a lot of cypress trees, which do not fare well in wind. I’ve been replacing them with cryptomeria and other typhoon resistant conifers from Japan. We’re up in the mountains, so the whole garden has a Jurassic conifer look to it and we want to maintain that. The only bummer is not being able to grow Klinki pines (araucaria hunsteini) which all came down as well. I feel a little overwhelmed with the amount of work involved in the cleanup, but I really didn’t lose any major palms. And now I have a lot more space to plant.

Well, after a couple more years the one “Hospita” out in the open has really taken off. It’s about 9 feet tall, and easily 1 foot in trunk diameter. Now has gnarly spines. I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s mixed with one of the bigger Copernicias, or maybe not. It’s very robust and pics don’t do it justice. The other hospita, partially protected by other palms, it slower and less robust, but still doing fine.

I was particularly impressed by the size of the male cone on my Encephalartos munchii. It is the first time it coned and I don't recall seeing any munchii cones in person before. I had no perspective on what to expect until it began to stretch out and start dropping pollen. I decided to get out the tape measure just to see how tall it is. With the peduncle, the first cone is topping out at about 37" but the peduncle adds about 10" of that 37". Since my Encephalartos cerinus is also now yielding a little pollen and has likely achieved its full size, I measured it as well. This cone seems bigger than past, but now I will have a measurement as opposed to memory to gauge future cones on this species, or at least this plant. The cerinus is about 24" inclusive of the peduncle, which is about 4" tall.

What a beauty. Do you know where I can find good alexander kings in your area? Id rather drive down the 126 then the 405 lol

Mine has put on it's annual 2-3" of growth....