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And 9 months later in the (hopefully) later stages of a 30 year drought, the little fallaensis chugs along measuring at just over 5' tall(61 inches). The drought did seem to slow leaf production but we are now getting rain the last couple weeks so hopefully we can have a normal fall season where we can water more than once a week. So from an 20-21" 15 gallon to a 61" palm in 2 years, not so slow. All day sun, water and plenty of florikan palm special fertilizer. Once these get some roots they are fairly drought resistant, though this palm has seen 4" of rain the last few weeks. I'm my experience the last two years they really respond to rain. Seems like I need to add more pavers to the boundary to make it bigger.

A new leaf for the Chambeyronia ( Kentiopsis) Pyroformis! This one has been very slow . I probably planted it too young . Harry

By the way, the reason why there is all that space now is that there used to be a live oak there, until December 2021, which then the power company decided it was too wide and getting too close to the power lines. Which is definitely good for the Copernicia as it has much more sun than before, but it's definitely not good for the looks of the garden as now there is all this space with nothing in it.

Just saw this, it looks like real impetiginosus, which is fairly rare in the US. If the tag is right, palmeri is an old name for the Sonoran form of impetiginosus according to Gentry and your tree does look like a Mexican form of impetiginosus. In 2015 Hodel and others did an article about the Handroanthus in Southern California. The vast majority are heptaphyllus but a few (very few) appear to be impetiginosus (unknown origin). The old Tropic World nursery north of San Diego used to sell something that looked a lot like the impetiginosa in the article: In drier towns in Western Argentina trees that look like heptaphyllus may have some impetiginosus genes in them. In 2020 I collected seed of a heptaphyllus type in La Rioja back in 2020 and it does well here in South Texas while ones collected in a wetter area near Roque Saenz Peña (where heptaphyllus is native) struggle here with chlorosis issues. Both “species” are grown in La Rioja and the seedlings have varied from pretty close to heptaphyllus to things that look like impetiginosus with slightly smaller, serrated leaflets. A tree I bought from Desert Survivors in Tucson has a similar look to the La Rioja trees (it does very well here too). The heptaphyllus seen throughout Harlingen also appear to be well adapted by our local soil. The impetiginosus on the Virtual Library of Phoenix Landscape Plants looks correct except for a few pictures taken in So Cal. https://www.asu.edu/lib/camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/handroanthusimpetiginosus.html The tree in the first pic was taken near the Old Town Tavern in Scottsdale (it may be gone now).

This bunch of ripe fruit on our Butia caught my eye. Very unusual to have it hanging around like this . The high temps and humidity must of curbed the appetite of the squirrels! It is cooler this morning so maybe these will be gone by tomorrow. Harry

The seed I have planted is 17 ft from the house. As you might recall, I was wondering whether to plant Hyphaene thebaica or Borassus aethiopum and after realizing there is probably enough space, I decided to go for both. They are in a east-west line configuration, with a Copernicia fallaensis at the end: {borassus}----(hyphaene)----(copernicia) All about the same distance from the house. The Copernicia was acquired as a seedling in July 2019 and planted in the ground sometime in spring 2020. This year it's the first time that its size started to be somewhat notable although it's obviously still a juvenile. Hyphaene was planted in spring as seed directly in the ground and it sprouted in late June this year. Borassus was planted later in the ground, part of 3 seeds 2 of which apparently sprouted while in the mail package and were damaged. I planted the only one that had not sprouted, which also happened to be the largest one of the 3. This was planted in early August so I still have to wait some time to verify if it was viable. If not, I'll try again next spring. I know Borassus aethiopum is a large palm but looking at the one in Safety Harbor, very close to here, 17 ft from the house does not look like it would be a problem with leaves falling on the house unless they are blown by a hurricane force wind.

Just ordered again from Teddy his palms never disappoint. I have shopped at his online store many times and this is an even better deal. Thank You

My experience is in agreement with Jim's. I am in florida so different climate but we have sandy soil that dries out fast. Any wet loving palm in my yard does better grouped with other palms. The part shade reduces heating of the leaf. When sun heats the leaf, the plant releases water from stomata to keep it cool. Burn happens when the plant cant release enough water to keep it cool. Watering is great but has its limits when the roots cannot take up enough water fast enough to replace transpiration. You can take those archies to the arizona desert and water them all you want, they will look terrible in full sun. I have to laugh at my self for thinking archies wou;ld take the arizona sun and heat with the low humidity. As a strategy I grouped my wet loving palms so they shade each others roots and foliage at some point in the day. As palms establish big root systems they become much more resistant to the overheating and desication that causes burn. In florida, my triple alexandre are spaced 2 1/2' plus apart center to center and took 110mph winds from Milton with zero lift, so their roots are quite strong. The first roots to die upon drying are surface roots because the top of the soil column dries out first. This is why I like to shade the root areas of my palms from sun. The sun dries out soil on top by heating it.

That's good growth. It will pick up even more speed over the next season or two. Here is what two years of growth looks like on mine. Memorial Day 2024: And today:

One of my favorites I agree, but 27 years for that size is astounding, Richard! My first viable seeds grew up to be flowering plants by their third year, now in their fourth year the tallest ones have 3-4 inches of "trunk" already. Their little growth rings are spaced about half an inch apart and new leaves appear at a steady pace. I did bring one inside to trial as a houseplant and is certainly seems to be sleeping in comparison, I suppose the climate does make all the difference.

Any chance they went to Oklahoma or Weiss Lake? Those palms seemed remarkably unscathed or lightly damaged (depending on the individual) in February 2024 to have just experienced an estimated -10 degrees Fahrenheit low (according to AccuWeather, which in my experience is remarkably good at forecasting extreme temperatures and drought where I live). Unless they came from McCurtain County or the Coosa Valley, I suspect they may have hybridized with some hidden ones that may be nearby or been overrun by and hybridized with some from across the Mississippi line nearby. That's also part of why I'm inclined to think the mysterious Hardin County cluster growing in that highway ditch is probably wild; not only did it pop up in an abandoned area that's rather wet, they also showed remarkable resistance to a 0 degree Fahrenheit low and single digit high in December 2022 when the January 2023 street view went back through there. Now that I look, 2024 doesn't seem to have hurt the Hardin County ones that much either, although they still took more of a noticeable hit than they did in '22 and the Hornsby ones did. Granted, maybe we'll never know. Nature doesn't play by our rules. But if I ever meet the Cherokee, I'll probably ask them. If they say yes, I'll insist on making sure people believe them like scientists did about the California fan palms in Nevada - and even if they say no, the hunt for what may well have come naturally somewhere along our long southern border sometime in the past 190 years continues. I'm also rooting for those in Virginia that are trying hard to get the truth about their state's wild dwarf palmettos out once and for all.

I found mine was sensitive to frost, it didnt get any leaf burn at 30F but did get burned by 32F with frost. Frost burn has a pattern, the leaves will be facing upwards but not directly under another leaf. So the burn happened on the exposed parts(to sky) of the upward parts of leaves. If I had planted mine away from the house more, like 20', I would not have edited it. I just didn't want a bunch of big, heavy frost burned leaves with sharp thorns falling on my roof, bad for shingles and roof leaks. I'm sure they would do well here in manatee long term as the taller they get, the less likely they see frost. You see a lot of posters here planting a palm that will be impossibly big near the house or fence, I was guilty of that 2x. I wish I had been more wise in my decision making as my Borassus would probably be at least 25' overall now. Once they start trunking, the growth spikes up. They also love heat and sun and are the most drought resistant palm I have grown in florida. I was working across the country for 6 months and the irrigation broke at a time when we had 60 consecutive days without rain with 85-92F heat one year. I come back and everything looked dry tipped and at least slightly wilting except the borassus. My established bizzies actually showed some dry tip. The borassus was lush, glowing with a glacous tint as if it preferred the 60 day drought.

Average highs and lows are not indicative of some of the common extreme temps that inland Southern California sees during late summer through fall. Not to mention , the lack of humidity during Santa Ana events that are much more common than even Central California sees. Of course , this year is an exception with very high humidity combined with consistent high temps. But that’s just how weather can be , unpredictable . Living on the ocean for 15 years taught me that …..the hard way! Got my Fanny handed to me more than once! Harry🙄

Good job !! Those are very healthy @gyuseppe . Harry

Well, Brazoria palmettos do have true trunks. So too do Louisiana palmettos. Yet both do well unprotected in both Murfreesboro and Clarksville which lack the measurable urban heat island Nashville has. It's the strictly Deep Southern cabbage palmettos and foreign Chinese windmill palms that struggle throughout the state, not the glacial relicts found in the Mississippi River Delta and Brazoria County that had to adapt to Tennessee-like climates to survive glacial periods.

There you go ….taunting me!😊Harry Thank you , @happypalms 😉

That's true - but most cities in the state aren't Chattanooga. In the state as a whole, Brazoria palmettos are a safer bet, and even that would be very marginal in Cookeville. The cabbage palmettos In-N-Out tried in Lebanon already perished in a single winter despite (and maybe because of) their attempt to cover them, and although thankfully the local backlash I feared hasn't arrived there, they were removed without being replaced. And I'm still fearful Putnam County and others - as well as the state overall - may overreact without the full picture and go the Shelby County way (even though it's not the likeliest outcome).

Copernicias from cuba always grow notably faster in full sun and warm temps. They are drought resistant palms, but prefer moist soil with high drainage to grow their best.

This year I managed to make 3 of metallica ones, in the photo the largest ones, the other one is opening the 1st leaf

Richard , how old is that Chuniophoenix ? It sure is beautiful , as well as the Cayptrogyne . I am sure , someday , a “ Chunio” will grace my garden. Another perfect palm for an already full garden . Small , loves shade , and very slow growing. Harry

Quite lovely , unique coloring and they love the warm temperate ( or sub tropical!) garden. All of mine are well over 30 years old in pots. One of them , somewhere along the line , produced a viable seed that sprouted about 6-7 years ago in one of the pots. I have to tie them up 3-4 stems per pot so the wind doesn’t destroy them. They are at least 7-8’ tall , including the pots. Harry Chamaedorea Metallica with their little buddy Ernie! Another pot of C. Metallica with a surprise volunteer that popped up a while ago . Now there is a C. Microspadix volunteer in the pot !I bought these in the early nineties when they were about 2’ tall. My palm collector friend said they may be much older than I think.

Well we landed back in Perth last night. I think winter has ended. This morning Perth had a minimum of 13C and we left when it was 27C. Total blue skies and reminded me of Townsville. Travelled home to the south coast and all the lakes and billabongs at my place are full. Got mushy soil around in areas especially around my Archontophoenix. The minimum was 14.7C this morning with a max of 24.2C and peak dewpoint of 16C. It feels like we are back in qld. The frogs are all singing loudly, all different species and songs. The midgees have come out of hibernation and going crazy by the billions. We can’t open the glass doors because the midgees are small enough to get through the fly screen holes then buzz around under the lights. It’s 8pm 16C and 91% humidity. Going for a min of 13C and a max of 23C then rain tomorrow night. High teens to low twenties after that. Single digits at night which is normal. But mid twenties we sometimes don’t see until October here and it’s still August. High dewpoints though are great at this time of year. August had quite a few 20C and higher max days which is weird. Somethings really different this year. The flight from Brisbane to Perth was one hour quicker than normal. The pilot said that the normal west east head wind was unusually non existent yesterday. In fact we had a tail wind. Something weird is going on with the atmosphere. This could be the year to expect the unexpected with the weather and throw the “rule book” away because it won’t be relevant. Anyway I’m enjoying the balmy night. It’s actually quite hot in the house because our house sitter kept the fire going continuously even on the warmer days. I’ve got a few more seeds germinating because of it. So I’m gonna call. Winters gone and maybe this year even spring will be short. Summer could be ferociously hot or wet if enough moisture builds in the atmosphere from the warmer than average oceans around Oz.

A couple more pics. Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana Chuniophoenix nana

Oooh the renda, to some the holy grail of palms. To me I see a dead palm in winter I don’t even entertain the idea of growing such beauty.

Linospadix minor in flower.