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It is indeed growing very slowly and the medium takes 3-4 days to dry so I decided to leave it for now. Thank you guys, great advice!

Mine too. Very neat looking palm.

Likewise, mine seems to grow at pretty much the same rate as a typical forestiana, which is not fast, but nor is it anywhere near the slowest palm I've grown. I don't know about germination rate, but forestiana does naturally grow in big stands, such that the seedlings are very well adapted to and tolerant of low light (and will grow steadily in it for decades), and hence make good houseplants. I don't think belmoreana grows in dense stands like this, so it won't fair so well in low light and hence the reputation for being slower.

Apologies if my attempts at humour weren't coming through. I am indeed aware of P sargentiis reputation of growing at snails pace.

that is insanity. & I thought the US tariffs that dumb dumb recently imposed was bad...

A nice dypsis plumosa in the sandstone countryside and a Areca vestria not wanting to miss out on any attention!

These are rheophytes that grow along the margin of the Mekong river. If it's hot they need a lot of water. It's also possible that the root masses have become so dense that when you water them it doesn't permeate the inside. This is a peril of keeping something extremely pot-bound. Sitting the pots in trays of water might help.

How quickly does it dry out? That is another consideration. They are quite slow at that stage. How firm they feel in the pot is also a useful indicator, as happypalms said. However, when they're that size they're also quite forgiving if you repot and the rootball collapses. I potted up several small madagascariensis seedlings a short while ago where several collapsed but most of them are feeling pretty firmly rooted into the new pots already (a month or so). When my alfredii was that size it was in a slightly bigger pot but not a super deep one. It was only once it got closer to the almost-pinnate stage that root growth seemed to increase exponentially. If the rootball does collapse, it might also be a sign that the medium is not ideal for the conditions (usually too wet/anoxic), and repotting into something better draining will cause a spurt of root growth (bear in mind how media will hold/shed water will vary with pot size too).

Hello everyone, I would love some of the communities advice and thoughts on this newly transplanted Butiagrus (Mule) transplanted 2 weeks ago on April 2nd. It was from a large 25 gallon with about 5 foot of trunk and another 5 or 6 feet of fronds. Arrived with what appeared to be a mild nutrient deficiency showing on lowest fronds, but otherwise all fronds were green enough, with the core inner fronds being deep green. It was planted on a 4 inch mound, soil is kept moist but not soaked, I amended my socal clay soil with a bit of Pummice and a small amount of organic compost, though not much. The weather has been anywhere from highs in the low 80s these past 2 weeks, to highs in the low 60s, with the average being about a high of 75f. I'd say. Winds have been more frequent and stronger than ideal these 2 weeks, with some days being up to 20 to 30 mph, but not every day. This is normal for out here in spring. It is planted near a wall and home for some protection. Now, that I have gotten all of that out of the way, my butiagrus looks quite rough from the combination of these winds and the temperature swings combined with the expected transplant shock. Anyone have experience with these and transplanting medium to large sized potted specimens? It's turgor is good, it's holdong shape fine, inner 3 fronds are still 95% deep green with some dessication on tips, but the rest of it is beginning to look quite rough, especially the mid and lowest layer of fronds. It has 2 spears which seem strong and unaffected. I'm just getting a bit of anxiety seeing that yellowing and dessication/crisping beginning to creep into the mid layer of fronds as next is the 3 inner/top fronds and spears. Is this normal for butiagrus transplants of this size? I am trying to postpone hitting the panic button, but this has been quite stressful for me. I expected transplant shock, but I've never had a palm shock this bad. Even my large coconut I planted when I was in Florida and not California didn't shock nearly this bad and it was a similar gallon size, granted, different palm, different state, different conditions, etc, but it's my only closest reference. Any advice or encouragement would be really welcomed as the wife and I were starting to feel a bit defeated tonight. I keep holding onto the fact that at least the spears look great. Thank you all for your opinions, suggestions or encouragement.

@DoomsDave missed his calling as a chef. That said, there's nothing like a rack of ribs under the coconut canopy.

Nothing (usefully) eats/spreads Wodyetia, so far as I'm aware, but it still survives in a small range; likewise Voanioala (just). Brugmansia is another one. There are many examples of these. This Eleocarpus also has a small range, so could be a similar situation. No doubt there are animals that will eat the seeds of any species, but sometimes only one or two that will do so in a way useful to the plant. And sometimes this might account for seeds being difficult to germinate, but I'm idly speculating in this particular case. Wishing you luck with germinating them, anyway!

The Atlantic Tall officially has a shot as it is putting out its first full-sized frond

Update 4/16/26: I have no evidence to prove it other than it getting easier to shine my phone flashlight down and see how it looks inside, but it seems to me that it is pushing at a steady rate. Still a good ways before anything actually emerges, but at least the bits that have emerged that were previously yellow have now started turning green. Just little signs. Odds gradually increasing that this survives though. Will continue to monitor.

Gorgeous species. Not quite as common here in Florida as Howea forsteriana. Even that isn't very common outside of enthusiasts' collections and botanical gardens.

2026 - They year we lost legends. RIP @Pal Meir

The passing of a great man. RIP Walt.

@ACE91 It looks great!

Hey Steve, have you lost any palms yet to the beetle? We’ve got our own nightmare beetle here in California. But the damage is sporadic, despite a large population of the effers. My point is that the stress of a “maybe” beetle attack doesn’t really align with the reality. At least in my area. Hate to see you throw in the towel prematurely. 😬

Oh I have met peachy in person and her wit and humour is as sharp as tack and spot on, you won’t fool her in a hurry!

Sorry for bringing back an old thread whilst doing research but I could not help but lol at this 🤣

Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles (CRB)

Bunch of stuff coming alive in the garden. I’ll post quite a few times here in the coming weeks/months. Love this time of year. Admittedly I don’t know the cross but I believe it’s Longifolius x Princeps. Could be Lehmannii x Princeps as it’s very blue. Who knows….its happy tho. Last year was a 2 Leafer, this year it’s 4. -dale

Not sure if they'd go after them if nothing else around. Maybe in a year or two things will settle down. At 83 I'm beyond major landscaping changes or adjustments to the physical area.

This is the Palm Society yea?

The only thing fast about this post is how quick customs took my money!