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Welcome to the oven ..ah, i mean desert, haha. Definitely different than anywhere back east, let alone where you came from.. I've heard Fountain Hills can stay a hair warmer this time of year, due in part to elevation ( Coldest air tending to settle down in the valley, typically below where the foothill neighborhoods are located ), compared w/ some areas closer to where i'm at / on the far west side of town, ..not that it gets all that " cold " most of the time, here, lol. . That said, you can see a snowflake or two ..occasionally.. every few years, though they rarely stick. If you've been out to Boyce Thompson, they're growing a couple unusual things from Southern Sonora in one of their gardens you don't -but should- see down here. Both the Campus Arboretum ..At the UofA in Tucson / Tohono Chul Park ( Bot Garden in Casas Adobes area down there ) ..., have a bunch of other stuff from the same area, somewhat warmer / fairly frost - free in winter section of our region that you rarely see up here, but should ...( Mainly because no one plants them ), all have done really well at both locations down there ..and it can snow down there / drop into the mid /high 20s more often than we every will. He doesn't post here ( ..Moderates his own forum actually < Agaveville > ) but Ron Parker lives up that way and grows some interesting stuff, ..though his plant collections are more Succulent- centric than palms or other tropical stuff -angled.. Agree that the 10A/B neighborhoods you mention would be a good test ground for Coconuts.. Awhile back, someone visiting the area did post a shot of a Coconut growing somewhere in ..or near.. Mesa, but didn't give an exact location. Owner apparently wanted to keep that private i guess.. No worries, though i am curious what general part of Mesa it was in. Anyway, Considering all the Royal Poinciana, Cassia fistula, ..and some other " tender " stuff i've noted in my neighborhood since moving here, and in other areas of town, logical that coconuts would top the list of " tropical " thing folks in the warmer parts of town should be eye -ing next.. As far as AZ Low Desert - centric climate -related nuances to master go, in the ..almost 10.. years i've been here, the one thing that definitely makes a big difference with reducing heat / sun damage during our crazy summers? tree canopy.. Lots of it.. Some people complain about it ( Because, ..trees... they're soo messy.. right? ) but, have plenty of leaf - provided shade over your yard? you'll be very thankful for it / have more reach in what you can grow than many people w / out that canopy can.. I also advise people that when you plant, plant in a wide, shallow bowl that will catch runoff < When it actually rains, lol.. > / make it easy to deep water. NEVER mound -plant.. Have a neighbor a few doors down who is growing Mangoes and ..Jaboticaba.. ...of all things.. which aren't easy to grow here ( our water, ..our special brand of summer sun / heat / dry air are very tough on them ) in a yard containing several high -trimmed Sissoo that provide bright, all day, shifting shade to everything under them. Not a fan of that tree /would use something a bit less aggressive ( roots /suckering ) but, in his space, they work magic.. Think he'd tried a Coconut a couple years ago but lost it for some reason.. Anyway, feel free to brag about the week ( weeks ) ahead to everyone you know back home ...as much as you can.. haha.

Parajubaea fibre is the best fire lighter.

So do the trunk fibers!

Some recent guests: Apparently enough rain in September and early October to bring out da' " flutter - butts wit da' beak ", Libytheana carinenta Danaus gilippus Possibly Sympetrum.. Neoscona oaxacensis ..or orbizabensis Vanessa sp.. Which one, i'm not sure ..but they've been around much later than usual this year.. About a half dozen fighting with whichever sps of Hylephila are around for primo spots on the Zinnias atm.. Probably Euptoieta claudia, but could be a very pale E. hegesia. Smiling, Lady's face marking on the inner, upper wing ( look carefully ) certainly leans more claudia than hagesia, imo. Nathalis iole ..Another rarity, unless it has been wet and warm enough in the summer / fall Unusual to see any Toxomerus around this time of year.. Same with any of our locally common Agapostemon sps. ...The other famous Danaus, first time seeing any making a stop in the yard, instead of casually passing through.

Thanks for the info, Silas_Sancona. I moved out near the Fountain Hills area a few years ago from the Philadelphia/SE PA area to get away from the brutal northeast winters and have no regrets. Being able to see palm trees all over is a great feeling. As for the most recent chilly weather, I got down to 34F on Friday morning and had a little frost on top of my vehicle but nothing on any of the plants/foliage. Also had a couple buckets of rainwater that did NOT have any ice form. I've been lurking around this site on and off for a little while and as a weather and palm junkie, I appreciate the info everyone provides. I'm in a cool microclimate (9b/10a) but if anyone is trying to grow a cocos nucifera around here, the higher areas of Fountain Hills down through Shea Blvd toward Frank Lloyd Wright is a very warm microclimate (likely 10a/10b based on my personal observations). This area is routinely 5-10F warmer than the surrounding areas during the coldest parts of the day. I'm still learning about the nuances of the low desert southwest climate as it's obviously very different than the northeast but so far I find it to be quite interesting.

Current temps, in °C. Big difference as usual, N/S of I4

Dry Trachycarpus leaves burn very fast.

I was making a fire the other day at a friends house and dried saw palmetto fronds were perfect flame fodder. In my experience too dry pygmy date palm trunk husk is good kindle.

my crosses so far… ficus opposita x carica ficus fraseri x carica ficus ulmifolia x carica ficus racemosa x carica ficus aspera x carica ficus lutea x carica ficus sycomorus x carica pics and timeline

Ok, my yard is too congested and dense, help me out. Purchase these plants, I can't control my urge to propagate and obtain choice and rare palms. Here are some plants with no future for ground planting in my garden. No shipping, cash or PayPal only at my garden, PM for my PayPal address, thanks ! Weekday appointments OK The revenue from these sales will enable my obsession with ultralight backpacking gear ! Ceroxylon quindiuense, overgrown 5-gallon" in a Stuewe 8x8x12 pot, perfectly grown, needs ground planting in a lifetime garden. $160 Ravenea hildebrandtii, overgrow '5-gallon' in same pot, about 3 inches diameter, staminate (male plant), needs ground planting, $80 Howea forsteriana, overgrown '5-gallon' in same pot, about 1.75 inches diameter, 30 inches tall above pot, $ 60 each, three available Chameadorea 'Soledad', these plant came from seeds in a labeled pot at the nursery. They ae supposed to be an F1 hybrid with C. radicalis x some suckering Chamaedorea. The cross ID is lost, and no one at the nursery knows the ID, My friend, Jason DeWees, suggested that this is not so, and the plants are just trunk form of C. radicalis. I tend to agree with Jason, so far they just look like plain trunk form C. radicalis. Two pots, three plants each pot, $30, two available. Dietes robinsoniana The Dietes from Lord Howe Island. How strange, five or six species in South Africa, and one alone 1/3 around the world circumference. This plant is very cool, however I have been informed that it is shy to flower in coastal California, so don't count on flowers. Just consider it as a foliage plant like a special Phormium, no stem, just foliage, adult plant 3 or 4 feet Diameter by 5 feet tall, It hates being in a pot, and should be planted in full sun at whatever size you obtain it. Two '1-gallon' plants at $ 40 each

Lars, your personal message about Casa de Las Palmas was certainly heartfelt, especially for those of us who have shared a part of your journey. Seems like yesterday when the local palm society toured the property after it first came up for sale and experiencing it for the first time was altogether overwhelming. The hope, at that time, was that a new owner would embrace the beauty of the design and plantings and also maintain the entirety of what existed. Those hopes were answered and so much more. You and Irene embraced not only the garden but the local palm community as well, volunteering for society events and generously sharing such an important botanic resource. Until then it was a relatively unknown private garden unavailable to the public. Your energetic personalities and gusto have won you many good friends and trust me, all are grateful of your plans to remain on Hawai’i island. Best of luck with the real estate sale…..may the force be with you! Tim

It’s that time again - in the northern hemisphere! - to sit around a roaring conflagration in the fireplace, maybe tell ghost stories or….? When you edit palms as I’m doing, or have people in your hood doing the same, you’ll end up with palm wood and pieces/parts, some of which pyromaniacs like more than others. Dried dead palm leaves make great kindling, along with equally desiccated petioles, but they can be a challenge to use sometimes. So, share your experiences and thoughts and questions!

Wow keep us apprised @Foggy Paul! I hear Lepidorrachis need to have a perfect home or they just croak.

A fine 69F at 5 ( PM ) after reaching 71 on your Sunday in state 48... East / Northeasterly breezes seen locally thru the afternoon are settling down.. Upward, ...as we head for mid - month.. Could we break 80?, on at least one day this week, for the first time in '26? ...We'll see.. ...Lookin' pretty nice, regardless, region - wide.. ...As nice as it is looking locally, we might actually be a touch cooler than what is currently suggested in the local NWS " Point n' Click " forecasts for several spots in parts of SoCal this week, later half esp.. ..And not just in the usually warm, desert-y locales either.. L.A., near downtown, possibly reaching 84, ..a few areas in the San Fernando Valley maybe peaking at 85 - 86? Coastal spots from Santa Barbara to San Diego approaching 80 ...maybe reaching 80 in a few spots??? I'll be pretty impressed if any of those " suggestions " actually pan out.. Day or two right around 70 in both San Jose and Santa Cruz? ..definitely not bad for mid - January.. We'll get deeper into a topic that is increasingly being discussed in some circles already later, but.. A look at current SST anomalies off CA / N. Cen. Pacific, West Coast of Mexico and Cen. America atm.. Lots of Orange and red on the map, right out of the gate.. " Cool Pool " down near the EQ, seems to be loosing a bit of steam.. Looking over every WX model used by Copernicus that puts out longer term SST Anom. forecasts, majority keep temps warm to ..toasty.. across the Pacific / off CA and west side of Mexico as we head into the spring.. Another year of " extra " - interesting?? ..Could be. ...2 mornings in the upper 30s? ..didn't kill the skeeters. Still out, seeking blood. Year round annoyance now? ..i guess so 🤷🏽‍♂️

Funny. My in ground vaombe didn't bloom yet and is the same size if not a little larger than the potted one that is blooming. Mine started opening its flowers at Christmas. Budded up in November. I thought it was pretty early myself.

Looking really nice!

Chambeyronia macrocarpa seeds take C about two years to ripen.

@dimitriskedikogloy nice to meet you! Hmm, I wonder if those apparent beach front Washies are actually growing in regular soil under the sand? What do you think @Darold Petty @Jim in Los Altos and @SeanK?

Zamia tuerckheimii Is nice. Here is a photo of mine,

Lady Palms are one of those palms I wish were cold hardy, to me it has that look that it should be 😂

Here’s a photo of Santa Cruz Beach just south of the SF Bay Area and, as you can see, there are lots of Washingtonia growing in the beach sand.

Areca vestaria sp.

Gotcha, thanks! Nowhere I can reach did I find those multiples but these are overhead. I had a tag in a batch of about 130 cycads I bought labelled Cycas multipinnata and the pot with that tag is not right so I wonder if they thought this was C multipinnata?

Then you can get into F1 F2 and so on, but I can’t see myself around long enough for some backcrossing projects!

@Dan64 agreed! Here's a different view, showing the first split and second split = Micholitzii. That first split doesn't exist on Bifida. Bifida will have a single bifid leaf coming off the rachis, not a pair from the same spot.