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We have lift off, when I germinated 600 Chams the first one to germinate got labeled number one, i thought it’s gotta be the strongest out of 600 seeds, so I decided to keep that one special palm. It’s now planted in the ground. I know the feeling you have for those special seedlings. Sometimes it’s best to just forget about them and it’s a nice surprise! Richard

Another group in Houston.

Local Sabal uresana. Some or all of mine came from these trees.

A few germination successes for some rare species caught my eye: Syagrus harleyi Syagrus campestris Syagrus cataphracta Pritchardia waialealeana

109F right now in the east valley with a high of 115F and low of 73F. It's June and it's hot.

Mine puts on a bit of a show too.

So this has seemed to persist for multiple years now. Do you (palmtalk experts) think this is a permanent shift?

Two views of one of my Phoenicophoriums. Such a pretty species.

Looking great Scott. Nice to see all these growing happily outside in a climate almost identical to mine. What's the red flowered one in the third pic...almost looks like a form of Aechmea recurvata??

@Chester B Thanks for the update. Your palms look like they are growing well. Since I have Butia x Jubaea now myself, I like seeing more of what mine will like as I am taking my time to decide exactly where I want to put it in the ground. Can you remind me about what size yours was when you planted it out? I assume it went in the ground between two and two and a half years ago when you moved to Houston, correct?

Just an update of a comment two years ago, above. I always had problems with orange leaves. Some people said it was normal for the species and others told me it was due to insufficient fertilizer. Recently I have been trying to fertilize monthly using slow release 22-7-14 with micronutrients. Plus generous doses of pee. Don't scrimp on the urine! I have not bought fertilizer since the Iran war started, so I have no idea what it costs now, but pee is always a bargain. I still have some yellow-orange streaks in the older fronds, but overall I think it looks much better. The reflection from the perpetually wet glossy fronds makes it hard to see the underlying green. After a terribly dry 2025, I'm up to 94" (2.4m) of rain so far in 2026. If you are wondering why these don't look as good growing on the mainland, abundant rain is probably a contributing factor. The new plantings nearby are growing like gangbusters. For scale the larger one on the left has about 9 ft (3m) of trunk. After 5+ years of blooming, still no hint of fruit. A recently added Pigafetta with black bristles is lurking in the rear. As hard as it is to believe, FB produced the seedlings that grew into the 4 ft tall baby on the right starting with seeds collected in 2023 at the famous Carlsmith garden. With the proliferation of private palm gardens since around 1990, Hawaii is able to produce seeds for hundreds of rare species. Even for species that struggle to set seeds like Phoenicophorium, there is almost always somebody who has a tree with fruit. Judging with how quickly tropical forests around the world are being cleared, this might be just in the nick of time.

Looks like some decent caudex swelling which equals great root expansion!

awesome palms. Did you have any folded leaflets on your palms ? looks like awesome growth over 10 years and a much bigger trunk than butias.

Yeah there is a lot of filifera there with the thick trunks, stiff petioles. I see no signs of robusta but it could be 90% filifera with multiple generation crossings. The price of removal is eye watering.

I have a regular Butia with hooks, purchased from Lowes. Boron deficiency can cause this.

hooked leaves are a trait of the crosses too. Here is my B x J with hooks. I have seen a few dozen crosses at that size, looks like butia mother, jubaea pollination like mine Here are the hooks on mine 10 years ago before planting and here is the palm today, in an 8 month drought. Do not use overhead water when and if you irrigate it, as it will lead to mold spots. Mine is just escaping the the ground dew and has few mold spots these days, just a small amount on the lowest leaf or two. There was a time I almost removed it for the spotting, putting in the lawn was a bad idea in humid florida. Glad I didnt rip it out, its getting more impressive every year now. This one came from jungle music in california.

I dont know a 100% but from all I gather I believe this is a jubaea x butia. My reasons are: the petioles are unarmed completey, a trait of the jubaea. Some of the leafs have hooks at the end, there are a lot of folded leaflets as well. From my understanding these are traits from hybrids and jubaea, not butias.

I have a causiarum and the width of the crown is very similar to the uresana. The uresana has longer petioles and smaller leaves. I am surprised how much less shade it throws than causiarum which is also much less than bismarckia. The view up on my uresana appears most sparse of the three but it is wide, ~ 25' I think. biz crown Uresana crown lighter shade. Being closer to the uresana my lens cant get any wider(17-55mm cannon EFS crop frame). The uresana also has a thick trunk with leaf based on, similar to my Biz with a smooth trunk. The pavers are 9" on one side 11" on the other. I see 3 of them on the 11" side is about the thickness of the trunk base.

June 10 2026 update Not seeing a ton of change, maybe a new frond but I can’t really see up there. It seems to be more like summer weather now. The jackfruits are jumping to action I wonder how tall theyll get this year.

How long in the ground and from what size chester? I would also comment that bismarckias like deep roots, water for the bizzie, not for the shallow rooted plants. A plant water cycle for mine would cause them to suffer. I had (2) one eaten by weevils had a low spot with neighbors irrigation and mine nearby at staggered times(by necessity, HOA well pump alternates houses) and the soil was not great draining. I tried growing roses near one of mine in arizona, I had great roses but the Biz was not cold hardy being continually wet and kicked it one winter while 3 others no so situated with plants did ok and came back strong from the cold. I learned that you either prioritize the plants or the bizzie, cant do both. Some palms do great with water lovers nearby. My biz is separated from the water lovers. I saw a few mature ones 25-30' tall in miami that were in that rocky wet soil they have down there in some places and they had think trunks('a tad less than 18" base) and I could move the crowns with a push on the trunk, not root stabilized. My bizmarckia has a swollen base of 33" thick.

Triple 5 gallon metallica palms, $95, have about 5 -Joe 760-300-7339

Do you still have any Chambeyronia oliviformis? If so, can you ship to New Smyrna Beach?

A few of the palms this June. Sabal uresana, Sabal palmetto "Lisa" and Butia odorata to the right. Neighbors's CIDPs behind. Washingtonia robusta CIDP Butia yatay x Jubaea chilensis Phoenix sylvestris Bismarckia nobilis Trachycarpus latisectus

Bismarckia is about a foot taller than the uresana but does have a small trunk.