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A hot n' breezy Hump Day across state 48 today w/ highs in the 104 -108F range across the valley at 5:15PM.. Luckily, still dry enough out there that temps will cool off nicely ...By June standards.. Once the sun sets.. That starts to change tomorrow.. As mentioned Monday, Forecast for the back half of the week gets ..interesting.. Whether or not WE, here in the valley, see anything or not, much of the state will see fair to decent shower and T- storm chances as a surge of moisture from Mexico and the Gulf of CA. reaches the state just ahead of the start of our rainy season. Here in the valley? we're going to have to wait and see how the forecast evolves over the next 24 -36 hours.. Some model runs have dangled light shower chances in the forecasts ( Friday night / Sat. morning ..and possibly again Sunday morning ) If we do see ..something.. rain amounts would be light, with gusty outflow winds, and / or lightning being the bigger threat. Once thing that seems pretty certain? A big jump in Dew Points, ..which will also boost overnight lows into the 80s ..for at least a few days. ...those elevated Dew Point readings may hang around into -at least- the first half of next week.. Curious, i looked over data related to what the Avg. Dew Point readings are as Monsoon Season starts. On average, 50 / 50+ D.P. readings typically aren't reached until the start of July, both here and in Tucson. If the current forecast thoughts below are correct, we could flirt with 60deg. Dew Point readings over the weekend, and possibly on Monday ..With 42+deg readings hanging around thru the entire current forecast. Numbers like these would be WELL above normal for the start of the season.. ...As if that isn't interesting enough? ..While a forecast beyond 6 or 7 days is more fantasy / place - near - a - trash - can - worthy than trustworthy gospel, things could get " extra?? interesting " as we head toward the Astro. start of Summer / end of the month.. For one, looking like the nagging extra - active N. Pac. Jetstream that has been bringing late season troughs thru the west may finally get the hint and take off on it's summer vacation, allowing the 4c ridge to start solidly building west and north across the region ..which means our traditional, June Nuke Fest may not bee too far off ...Some model runs have been flirting with the idea of 115 -115+ heat again at least.. At the same time, some model runs have been suggesting more moisture surges bringing shower / storm chances into the state as the 4c high edges west from Texas and induces daily Mesoscale Convective Complex < M.C.C. > development across the Sierra Madre in Sonora and northern Sinaloa and southerly flow from the Gulf ( of CA ). Outside chances of a couple easterly wave -induced inverted troughs trying to sneak into the picture from the Gulf of Mex. / Southeastern Mex. in some of the model runs as well. While " far off in fantasyland " thoughts from -any- WX model are to be taken lightly days ahead of a suggested outcome, ECMWF, ..which most consider a pretty trustworthy WX model.. spat out something worthy of sharing today. While 60+ Dew Point readings might not get a glance from folks in most other parts of the country, any time they cross the 60deg. mark here in the desert, it is down right fluffy out / nights get a bit more uncomfortable, even if green, leafy things love it.. 360HR / 00z ECMWF dangled Dew Point readings reaching 64 -66degs here / in Tucson around the 20th.. Today's 12Z? ( Also goes out 360 Hours ) = Hold- My- Brahea. ...Yes, you're seeing that right.. Dew Points ..in the mid 70s, ...WAYY ahead of when we'd even reach an avg of 55degs. If 50 /50+ is muggy / humid, 60 /60+ soupy / " fluffy " ..70 ...+? ...would be pretty darn oppressive, esp. by " Desert " standards. Even during our wettest summers, crossing the 70deg. mark is uncommon ..and wouldn't occur until sometime in July. ....Do i believe such a suggestion, this far out? ..Not really. this ..and / or the 00z run could be stretching the truth / biased a bit. That said, Simply put, it is interesting that ..the " best ...?? " WX model out there... is already toying with the idea of excessive moisture levels here, right out of the gate. ....In a year of " It's Already Been Weird ", i guess we'll have to see what kind of weird -ness awaits as we enter what could be quite a summer ahead. For now? 103F at 6:29PM, w/ some high and mid level clouds starting to nose into AZ from the Gulf, ...with a lot more around by Sunrise tomorrow...

Bizzy Update - 6/10/26 Making more progress as the days get hotter and stay that way. Frond is emerging at a slow pace, albeit much faster than a couple weeks ago. Already starting to see a little bit of silver coloration on it as well. I did cut back some more of the dead petioles to expose more of the living tissue to sunlight. Gonna go ahead with a light dose of fertilizer on this and see how it responds.

The big red and yellow thing? Vriesea phillipo-coburgii (or some variation on that spelling!)

Not so sure. Everything else about it seems about right for C seifrizii. The clear indicator would be red vs black ripe fruit. I know the old C ‘erumpens’ which is now a synonym of S seifrizii was originally separated based on wider leaflets. I’ve got the ‘Florida form’ which is supposedly a ‘hybrid’ between C seifrizii standard form and C ‘erumpens’ - it appears to have slightly wider leaflets than typical. Perhaps Richard has the ‘erumpens’ form?

Yes I know the name change and all, iam kinda old school if I got it as fairy palm it stays a fairy pslm in my book. They are a fantastic palm though any a garden visitor asks what’s that pslm over there. Merc got the last batch of seeds of me, so there out there somewhere!

They are a wanted cycas species even in Australia, theres a town south a few hours drive away called Taree and their habitat has very tough conditions. And quite common in gardens as well with it being so cold tolerant. A very tough plant!

Couple f beautiful flowers there. What’s the last picture flower variety?

Full, all day sun. Heat, and fast draining high pH soil. A fair amount of water actually, but only when it’s hot, and in fast draining soil. Here in South Florida, they grow well in the hot-wet season, and slow way down in the warm-dry season.

It’s looking like E. natalensis to me

I planted this green Encephalartos at my bosses house as an unknown species. It has grown very fast and now has a beach ball sized caudex and is throwing a nice flush. I am not an expert on green encephalartos so not sure on the ID🤔I was thinking maybe Altensteinii🤔What say ye experts? It is a very nice looking Cycad and I have it planted in filtered light so it is very stretched out.

Just so everyone can play along Richard: This is now Arenga oblongifolia. Previously Wallichia oblongifolia. Before that Wallichia densiflora. I think you e mashed up the previous name a bit with the name before that 🙂 Great palm by the way. I love anything weirdly unique.

They are true water lovers!

Low light may have caused the loose looking stretched look. Or not very high temperatures, if it was growing in Australia it would a lot more compact looking due to high heat and the intense light factor.

Someone like @DoomsDave or @Harry’s Palms can probably point you to a California group. This website changed a week or two back and the links are not the same as they were.

Pure Jubaea has stiffer, stubbier leaflets and is much more compact. I have seen quite a few but of course I could be wrong as growing conditions and variation can deceive.

thank you for your response. May I ask why you say that ?

Naah, lol.. these are special, bougie flies, needing someone to take them places.. ..Cuz' flying somewhere, on your own, is too hard ya know /s.. As far as the rest of ..recent statements regarding the whole situation ..I saw this coming as soon as cases started rising across Central America. Unfortunate, and isn't going to help things at all but ..Popcorn is in hand, shaking my head while watching the " blame game show " get going.

For f see one information on bonsai palms have a look at the Japanese variegated rhapis palms, they have been growing them as bonsai for centuries!

I have seen one growing in a dam with about one foot of water around the trunk, a true aquatic in this case!

how do i find a local group

Can't flies... you know... fly?

That 'soil' mix looks PERFECT for growing Pseudophoenix! 😎👍 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

yes is hybrid

If your soil is more sandy loam than clay , you would be hard pressed to overwater . If your soil stays muddy and wet for many days at a time , then you have to be careful . I would start by , maybe , increasing you watering to twice a week or every three days . If you see the soil wet all the time , then back off until the top 1-2” drys out a bit . It looks like those are planted in raised beds . Hopefully whoever planted the palms knew enough to use a sandy loam soil for them . If you can dig the soil easily , then that’s a good sign . If your shovel or blade feels like you are trying to dig through concrete , then you have heavy clay that should be amended. For now , I would just slowly increase the watering . In about a year they should look beautiful . Harry