All Activity

Quarantine didn’t stop shot hole borer from getting here. Funny how it got to Fremantle first. All that wood furniture coming through from Asia through Fremantle. Then you hear of borers in wooden furniture from Harvey Norman. I think big business are more likely to breach quarantine, not little palm collectors who have no interest in doing the wrong thing and don’t want to import pests and diseases either. We absolutely need quarantine and biosecurity in this country. It’s how they go about the process which is maddening. They should be working with collectors not against them. A case in point is all the wrong palm names on BICON. They’ve been approached to help correct them. They’re not in the slightest bit interested.

Oh and I forgot to ask also, did your Butia that transplanted similarly pull through?

Noted. Sorry to hear about yours. What a bummer. Didn't know their root balls were more fragile than other palms. From what I remember we were careful putting it in, but you never really know. Reminds me of what I've heard about parajubea. I planted one of those recently and it seems the consensus is those absolutely hate root disturbances. So far so good on that one. This mule is confusing me because it seems otherwise stable and I just got this picture of the crown and it does seem the spears (it has 2) are pushing, albeit slowly now at day 16 in ground. I just wish the fronds would stop getting cannabalized. It seems to be stabilizing, but I don't want to get my hopes up just yet. Anyway, thanks for your input. It's good to know going forward. Sorry again about yours.

....." Arizona is so dull and boring that even the rocks suck "... Chrysocolla and Azurite in matrix. Wish my Chrysocolla chunks would weep like these do, lol.. We have lots of rocky spires and Hoodoos here but, in this case, these chunky bastards you're looking at are the weathered down bones of old, deep Tufa deposits laid down when this area was extremely active volcanically. No natural Perlite and imbedded Apache tear Obsidian deposits in accessible parts of Magma Ridge within the garden ..that i'm aware of.. but the mine i've visited is within walking distance of this spot in the garden. Yes, i stare at rocks, too.. Very important for plant nerds to know their local Geology. Rocks are fun to collect as well, ha ha. Anyway, ..... Pink -flowered Form of Bauhinia lunaroides Piscidia mollis, our near -native " Fish Poison Tree " A few Standout Texas / N.E.'rn Mexico Specialties we should see a lot more of in drier location landscapes throughout the southwest... Ehretia anacua Standard, white Flowered Bauhinia lunaroides.. Twist -y Vachellia schaffneri lurking above and behind it. Slim leaf / Nuevo Leon Rosewood, Vauquelinia corymbosa, Nuevo Leon, MEX. / Big Bend region of TX. Really nice form. Texas Pistache, Pistacia mexicana ..Really should be utilizing these in local /nearby drier locale landscapes, rather than the non native species from Chyy - naaahh, ...or other parts of the Old World. Full frontals of the elusive Mimosa martin - delcampoi in all it's bloomin' glory.. Cat Calls welcome, lol. Our favorite TX / N.E. Mex region Legume tree w/ golden balls, Leucanea retusa... >>>>>>>>>> >>>

Yeah, it’s growing at a really fast rate. The Maypan Claude is amazing. I took old photos from when it was planted in November 2 today and using the size of the landscape lighting fixture It was able to estimate bole size and current crown diameter and it’s actually projecting that this is gonna have a 16 inch diameter trunk, which is pretty close to its bole size all the way up we even double checked it with a tape measure and gave Claude those measurements and it gave me a two-year estimate and it’s telling us when it’s gonna flower in the fall

Oh Unfortunately it was on purpose but hes thriving thakfully. I got more plants and they are all doing well

Two more smaller but well tended. These trees are ubiquitous and when the fruit starts falling in early summer, it gets very messy!

What you said about the color of the Purpurea is interesting, as is your comment about its growth. Of course, I can't just compare its size based on how long it's been planted; there are many other factors. Although I read that it tends to be one of the more delicate varieties and grows somewhat more slowly than other Archontophoenix species... but I don't know if that's true, and many factors are involved. They arrived today, and yes, it's definitely a Purpurea. In person, you can see the difference in the crown cap, although it's young, and I imagine that when that old leaf falls off, it will be more noticeable, especially when it's a bit more mature. I love learning from such passionate people on this forum. I'm grateful for the patience you show in explaining things. I've had hardly any luck on another forum in my country, and nobody shares information there.

Wow, so much technical information here! I'll need a pen and paper to learn. Thank you so much. Although the soil and climate here are different, and I need to study them or get advice from other Mediterranean people regarding Archontophoenix to ensure their health, I'm quite lost with all this information. Mine are still planted in pots, and the fertilizer a friend recommended works quite well for his Archontophoenix. But I'll look into slow-release fertilizers and the ideal ratio here. The palm trees have finally arrived, and they were in good condition. Tomorrow I'm going to buy slightly larger pots, and I'm not sure what kind of soil to add that would be ideal. I'll look for pots with plenty of drainage holes, although some people tell me it's good to leave them with a saucer underneath and a little water in them at all times... In the end, I'll have to keep researching and, above all, experimenting on my own.

Never seen one in person. The image in Loran's book sure is beautiful?

....Before we get there, summore' randos.. Various Agave and Cacti... A. chrysantha ..Most likely.. NOID Agave.. A. schottii.. Another NOID.. Ferrocactus pilosus ..and friends.. Cylindropuntia sp.. Possibly one of the C. thornberi forms.. Lophocereus gatesii.. Not sure about this kid.. " Yucca Love " highlights n' scenes.. Y. filifera... Y. grandiflora.. Y. brevifolia.. thompsonii?? Crazy for upside down Carrots.. AKA Boojums... Lookin great this year, despite the winter dryness. Jatropha dioeca form. Appears the garden is getting ready to move ?? / has recently moved to here?? some large Organ Pipe -type Cacti specimens.. Ceiba sp. up on the hill nearby.. Pachycormus discolor.. Note the " branchy " tiny Bursera microphylla to it's right.. Not sure why it is as small as it is currently. Hopefully a hot wet summer gets it moving.. Phorodendron californicum danglin' from Vachellia rigidula.. >>> >>>> >>>>>>>>>>>

Steve - you can't have it both ways mate. What's happening to you with CRB is devastating but you actually needed more government intervention, didn't you?

I like it better than all the other giant green ones, except woodii. Those trunks can get 2 feet or more wide and might crack that fence! Massive.

Unfortunately, it's not insanity...have a look at the current thread on CRB in Hawaii As @tim_brissy_13 pointed out above, it's worth paying the price to not have horrible, uncontrollable pests like CRB in the country. ..at present Australia is reasonably free of a lot of the worst stuff that you guys in the Northern Hemisphere have to deal with (including that dumb dumb, but not his crippling fuel costs unfortunately), and being an island its reasonably easy to police imports. Given that Richard has probably imported 10's of thousands of seeds, the cost per seed of quarantine probably evens out over the long term. Hopefully he gets a good return on investment when he sells the palms later on! To my mind that's how liberal democracy works. Everyone shares the costs and the potential rewards, if you take a bigger risk, you can potentially reap a bigger reward and that's your own choice to make but ultimately the state provides the mechanisms and security nets. That's why we pay our taxes and share the costs of government and its what those idiot 'sovereign citizens' and that clown in Washington can't seem to comprehend!

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.