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The reason for a fairly comprehensive test is to check that you don't have problematic conditions which prevents proper growing conditions. If you're on a serpentine belt, for example. There could be some problems with heavy metals.

That’s a beauty that one. And it would be intresting to see how it handled the big freeze event, my ones have seen temperatures as low as 2 degrees celsius. So fairly cool tolerant. This approaching winter will be the first real outdoor test. Growing in the ground is a bit different from the greenhouse conditions, which they handled not a problem.

I’m bumping this old thread because it covers two things I’m interested in: sandy soil and organic fertilizer. I’ve seen a few recommendations for organic mixes, but they are all pretty costly and come in pretty small bags. 15 lb seems to be the biggest I saw and that much fertilizer wouldn’t last me too long. Has anyone made their own mix to approximate say a 4-2-3 ratio from organics available in larger bags? Right now I have Greensand, worm castings and blood meal. I also have liquid fish emulsion. What else do I need? And any suggestions for a proportional mix would be appreciated.

Sold to me as Encephalartos Longifolius x Princeps. This plant has exploded in 5yrs. Planted out as a 1G with a 2-3” caudex at the most. -dale

The first flower opened last night with a bunch more following today. Despite that, it is just getting started. I really need to get a ladder out to photograph the flowers properly.

Oh yeah @BayAndroid I do fertilize a lot, and with this information I probably will more. I use fish emulsion and greensand along with Palmgain, and will expand my use of other organics.

I have two and have my fingers crossed that I can keep them happy. Allegedly it’s a fine line between keeping them appropriately damp but not allowing rot. Those are my summer goals. Come fall/winter even though I live in South Florida I don’t think I can keep them outside the whole time. It appears there’s a hard stop at 70 degrees. Bringing them in would be fine, but then I have to up the humidity. It’s gonna be a challenge, but I am ready! I really, REALLY love this species! Any tips appreciated!

It's recovering. I'll get some photos when I get a chance. It defoliated but never stopped growing.

Perhaps they should try another one, they are a beautiful tree. I did see one in the Kew gardens a few years back.

That’s a lovely specimen, shortly after they discovered them and propagated them botanical gardens around the world where the first gardens to get them as gifts to ensure their survival. Then slowly they became available from a specialist nursery that had the license to propagate and sell them.

Purchase purchasing a test from a company that is more comprehensive will help you get the big picture. As it stands, it seems like you just need to throw down some fertilizer. I would recommend organic, personally. Before doing anything, perhaps submit your sample to a company for testing and go from there.

Chamaedorea adscendens.

Great night to plant the clearance rack Washy…

On mobile (iPhone), sometimes the "Submit reply" button doesn't do what it's supposed to do,so you have to do it again. So you might think you have replied to someone, but you haven't. Quite annoying.

I agree, but the rub appears to be how to kill it if you can’t do the orthodox chop off the head method.

Sorry if I missed it, but any signs of life with your fenestralis? 😕

I was in Mobile and Gulf Shores in April of 2025 and I posted a lot of pictures. I think you can still see the posts although it’s been over a year. The palms in Mobile and along the Alabama Gulf Coast were recovering nicely. The P. Dactylifera at the old train station were coming out, the robustas around town, some of which are very tall, were also recovering. Sabals and pindos looked undamaged, and many sagos were looking great. I saw some Queen palms in Orange Beach that were putting out leaves, and some large P. Canariensis near Fort Morgan, close to Beach Club, looked almost undamaged. I thought that I would find the palms of Mobile to be decimated but they weren’t. Even the sylvestris near downtown were recovering nicely. I hope the pics are still visible. Happy to reshare if necessary.

18z GFS " End of May Monster 597mb Ridge buildup / set up " ... One n' done, Dumpster run, or hint?? Clouds slowly creeping into town from the S.E. Some dust rolling thru Tucson noted on the UA Cams earlier so, ..don't be surprised if some haze on a gusty breeze enters the valley over the next few hours.

That was quite helpful thank you very much! Not the Bifida for sure!

The heat may have backed off a bit last month, compared to March, ..But " Sizzle " was the theme in the sky, last month.. ** Don't forget, all images are property of yours truly.. Don't get yourself in big trouble by trying to $teal them.. ** 04 / 03: Streaks n' stuff... 04 / 04: Molasses and Gold.. 04 / 05: Sky Tones.. 04 / 07: April Lava.... Pt. 1??

Nah the tomatoes in my polytunnel are absolutely nuked. Like they are kaput. And everything I had planted out in the open, next to the polytunnel, is also completely wiped out. But strangely all the smaller pepper plants seem to have survived fine, almost undamaged. My allotment is basically situated right in the middle of a large field, right out in the rural countryside. There would have been at least two consecutive nights of -1C / 30F there in that exposed location. And I wouldn't be surprised if last night went down to -2C / 28F out there in the open. I had -1.5C here at the house, which is basically record breaking. That first cold night, I didn't even protect any of my garden tomato plants or anything and they were completely fine. Yet all the tomato plants in my polytunnel at the allotment got burnt to a crisp, just 500 yards away from my garden. The shock of it catching me out led me to protect all my house garden tomato plants for that 2nd night, just in case. Anyway last night was the coldest May night in 16 years here, since 2010. So we are talking a 1 in 15-20 year type event at least. And it may have been the coldest mid-May night in 70-80 years potentially around here. My grape vines are wrecked.

You wait and see what that shovel can do, a good operator on a machine like this can perform gardening miracles! Richard

Sounds like it’s just to cold and wet, and the varieties you have chosen are just not suitable for your climate.

Hope not. I’m not up on this tech stuff it appears I’m okay. Maybe message palm mod?

I've been trying to update/confirm my username and password at PT's insistence so I can be ready for changes to come. The Forum refuses my efforts to do so. It will not accept the Username I've used since I joined in 2008. It does not accept my (only) email address as valid and acceptable even though I've used it for years. It rejects all my attempts to change my password. (and yes, I've had my password for many years). It essentially blocks me from updating - period. Do I have to wait for these improvements/updates to take effect only to find I've been blocked from PalmTalk altogether? All these improvements to come but will I have access to them?