All Activity

I can’t see any major problems that will lead to progressive deterioration. I have seen worse looking than that. I will say keep the water up to them in summer archontophoenix are thirsty and to look there absolute best they need to drink.

I just had a mule spear pull after upsizing from a 7 gallon to 15 gallon. Very little root disturbance, noted yesterday the new growth was a lime yellow. Gave it a gentle tug and it came out easy. I've had pure Butia transplant similarly. Fingers crossed on this one for me, same for you. If the spear pulls you'll need to treat it then hope for the best...

I'm shocked and at a loss of words to read this. Truly an expert when it came to caring for Lytocarium....he will be missed. 😥

Still Unknown IDs Lonciera sp. Ulei, Osteomeles anthyllidifolia, Hawaiian origin. Aloes, galore.. Wonder what happened here. ..Speaking of which, Aloeodendron x " Hurcules " getting bigger.... Near- Native Coccoloba goldmanii looking pretty nice after a frost -less- winter. Rougher textured, colorful new leaf color = should be well known in local landscapes already.. Impressively - sized Celtis reticulata ( Net - Leaved Hackberry ) We really should be planting these in parks instead of Sissoo. Take the same amount of irrigation. Various, late - flowering Iris.. " late " flowering this year anyway.... Iris ..Pretty sure this is a Spuria section cultivar.. Iris, Bearded / Germanica hybrids. Aril- Bred Cultivar.. One of the epiphytic " Cereus Fam. " genus.. Possibly a Selenicereus sp. The famous " Tunnel o' Myrtle, " Myrtus communis. ...Where we're heading next.... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lots of commonly planted palms in CA need extra water to survive. Syagrus, Archontophoenix, Howea, etc. They all need more water than most Sabal species. By the way, I have a humongous Sabal bermudana on my side yard.

Jacaranda's always look better out West. This local started going off a couple of days ago. Please post your Jack's as they bloom

a good person, about 10 years ago he gave me some seeds and a plant

Very sad to hear. The Pritchardias being so susceptible is especially concerning.

Well all new fronds will be ok. Make sure it gets a good palm fertilizer when it settles in in a month or so as these are potassium hogs

Non - palmy highlights from this springs' check in up at Boyce.. Random stuff first, Standouts later. As expected, hot, dry winter we experienced has rushed the flowering season compared to past years at this time. While there were some around, obviously, dry winter = few native things to be found, let alone in flower right now. Still, lots of stuff to see and enjoy, even during a spring like this. A few " haven't seen this / these " flowering here " observations as well.. Staying kinda palmy for a sec, some coning Dioon edulis in one of the courtyard gardens.. Dioon and Cycas with the Sabals.. Hechtia sp, i believe ..but could be wayyy off. Puya " ..i can't remember which sp atm " ..missed seeing open flowers by a day. Hybrid Roses, for the Rose Admirers.. Bear's Breeches, Acanthus mollis. Not the biggest fan of these " ho hum " plants but, ..interesting to see them doing well here.. Melianthus comosus Not sure what facet of this years' winter triggered it but the garden's Pineapple Guava " wall " is currently smothered in flowers.. ...Will be interesting to see what level of fruit production this apparent " boom " cycle results in. " California Connection " Marah gilensis. weaving it's way up through the Feijoa.. California connection? = because the Genus is CA - centric /endemic, with only one sp extending up into the PAC. N.W., and only one sp. expending southeast into AZ and far western NM. ..Which occurred when AZ's past climate was similar to present CA. Another sp. may extend down into Mexico ( M. micrantha ) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now that you mention it, it was wedged between two other larger palms in at the nursery that were probably giving it substantial shade. It was outdoors, but I didn't think about how much shade it was probably receiving prior to being moved from the nursery to my yard!

Thank you, just nervous is all! It's the largest palm I've ever planted. And it's showing considerably more shock than I've ever dealt with during the establishment phase. Appreciate the encouragement!

You better believe it is, lol... There isn't a neighborhood built in / near San Jose / overall Bay Area where you won't see a Canary.. UNLESS the home owner had them removed ...which i'd witnessed numerous times before leaving the area. While not quite as " sprout -y " as Washingtonia, guaranteed, you'll find " Feral " Canaries along creeks / other consistently moist areas, esp down in S. Cal. w/out too much effort. Those feral specimens were some of the first SAPW started turning up in down there.

They have attacked all 5 of 6 Pritchardias, killed 2. Attacked-->2 Royals, 6 Vetchia, 2 Licuala, 4 Phoenix, 3 Sabal, 1Copernicia, 1 Coccothrinax, and maybe some others I havenʻt noticed yet.

Two native pritchardiaʻs, and one Copernicia alba (26 years old) on itʻs way out. Spending at least $1000 a year to keep whats here alive.

It's mid - April, Cloudy and warm ...which means it is time for this year's spring check in up at Boyce.. As usual, we start the tour with a check in on the Palms.. Other leafy and mobile highlights from the walkabout yesterday = find em' elsewhere on the forum. Sabal uresana.. Most look great, Some got a trim. ** Not pictured ** Seems the smaller specimens sited in the " Sonoran Desert Garden " section suffered from ..an issue w/ the irrigation perhaps?? ..Recovering it seems, but look a bit rough atm.. Hopefully the summer ahead gets them out of their funk.. Same issue w/ some of the Brahea armata planted over there.. Palmy area #2 between the AUS and Mediterranean gardens.. Rhapidophyllum specimen looks great.. Nannorrhops .." Smaller " one near the uresana grove coming along nicely ..Same with the bigger, more hidden specimen planted near Queen Creek in a different area.. ** Interesting side -note regarding this specimen. When looking at some stuff on iNat, came across this observation.. Coati, Nasua narica specifically, have been steadily expanding their range north and westward since returning to AZ from Mexico decades ago. More recently, they have been inching their way down out of the mountains east of PHX and have become a reasonably regular site at Boyce. Are now a fairly frequent visitor in more developed neighborhoods near washes in Tucson, inc. west of I -10 so, not out of the question we'll see them turn up in neighborhoods much closer to Phoenix in time. As you can see from the included observation links below, it seems they really like the fruits of Nannos. Observations are from the specimen pictured above.. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/317151847 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/317152091 As with the " Feral Phoenix" that can be found outside the garden, which they also seem to enjoy, will be interesting to see if any seed consumed and ..deposited.. result in this species randomly popping up in other parts of the garden / outside the garden along both Queen Creek and in Arnett Canyon nearby.

Hey Steve, I feel for you man, how deflating your situation must be. The anxiety on the outer islands is palpable nowadays as more disturbing updates keep being reported. I have no idea what the future portends for other island gardens, but we’ll see once the wave hits. Tim

Wow, it looks lush indeed! You need a mister!

No the canary date is everywhere, one of the most popular landscaping palms in all of California. Commercial landscaping palms tend to use the robusta or the pheonix dactylifera in inland areas, and king and queen palms are used in more coastal areas for commercial landscaping. The only canary dates that are in commercial landscapes are from 60-70 years ago, they’re way too expensive for commercial landscaping. The water honestly is a non-issue. The third most popular palm is a queen palm and it requires more water than a sabal.

CIDP is not nearly as slow as sabal palmetto, and they are one of the few choices for a really cold hardy pinnate palm. ANd people like the pineapple look architecturally. Most of the CIDP I saw in CA were public plantings and you can grow a phoenix in the heat with much less maintenance than any sabal. They are tough in the desert too, less needy of water than any sabal. Water is expensive out west in my recollection.

CIDP is attractive and useful as a landscaping palm before it even starts trunking. I wouldn't say that's true for any Sabal except for S. minor. There's also a logistical problem of not being able to grow Sabal in a field and transplant them up until a certain size without killing them. I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but the thing is, you are a self described "palm enthusiast". Your opinions and mine aren't relevant to how most people think about palms. (Which is to say, they haven't put much thought into them at all and are just doing what's easy and cheap)

If that were true, why is the slow growing Pheonix Canariensis the second most popular palm? @Silas_Sancona makes a point about it being here via the Spanish, so I guess that makes sense. But if people are against slow growing palms you would think it wouldn’t be as popular. I don’t think speed growth has anything to do with it. In many scenarios, slow growing is better. I much prefer a slow growing palms that will be eye view, rather than a Washingtonia which is what I call a “skyline” palm. It brings macro aesthetic, but they don’t do much for your personal garden in my opinion.