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Yes, I have five of them in the ground...Three of what I'm fairly sure are Jamaican/Atlantic Talls; and two of what I purchased as Red Spicata, in both cases from mail-order nurseries in Miami. They do "fine" here (some other types, however, have collapsed in winter). "Fine" meaning if you find just the right amount of morning sun and dappled shade, in an east- or south-facing area under good canopy, they put out nice leaves...problems being at least when young, they only produce about three leaves per year under those conditions. Really not enough to have a great plant, I feel that five is the absolute minimum for a healthy specimen...though I suspect leaf-production will improve over time. Also some issues with blanching if the sun hits the leaves during the low-sun season, again, careful siting required! There are mature palms here in the desert, most of them now cut down by unwary home-buyers who didn't know or care what they had. The remaining one in La Quinta is impressive in size but the crown can look dry and kind of ratty at certain times of year, and old leaf-bases hold on since there's little rain or humidity to tease them off naturally. Nice to have it here, nonetheless! There are beautiful specimens growing a couple hundred miles southeast of here at Golfo de Santa Clara, but since it's on the Gulf it enjoys humidity and slightly milder highs in summer. The crazy case was an absolutely gorgeous one growing outside of the desert, in Corona of all places, it was beautiful, but when sold, the new owner chopped it down. There are plenty of threads on all of this, if you search, elsewhere on this forum. This topic has been drilled to death here...but ultimately I look at it as a somewhat marginal but fun thing to have around, but I keep it in the "semi-temporary" category. If they start trunking and looking great, so much the better, but I don't necessarily expect it.

A bit of luck with the pollination on the adscendens in the garden. Should go close to another 400 seeds from the rest of the mother plants, not a bad haul from the garden for a relatively rare palm.

The first two photos go together…

A bit off topic but have you ever tried a coconut? Seems like your climate is the best suited for cocos, unlike coastal areas that don’t get hot enough in the winter, you stay relatively warm in the winter.

H rheophytica and Bismarkia today

Mediterranean fan palms are slow growing and they grow outwards leaving gaps that don’t provide enough screening. Im thinking the best option is probably a non-palm. Im thinking fern podocarpus is probably going to suit my needs and goals. .

My gardens are coastal, so much higher humidity and lower summertime highs. Santa Ana conditions are always much milder here, but even here there are better clumping palms than Chrysalidocarpus lutescens. Chrysalidocarpus onilahensis, Chrysalidocarpus rufescens will both clump but have far less brown tipping on the leaflets than lutescens. If it is in your budget a large box specimen of something that is slower growing but will add a foot or two above your wall to start might be worth considering. I am thinking of a Butia, a Brahea or even a clumping Chamaerops humilis. These are better suited to your climate but will have relatively full foliage for your screening goal. The Arenga engleri will never get too tall as individual trunks eventually die after flowering the full length of the trunk and reproducing by pupping. I don't know how they will hold up to excessively dry Santa Ana winds that you experience though. Otherwise I will heartily endorse them as a screen. Part of your decision will depend on the height you want. Do you want 2 to 3 feet above your wall or more like 6 to 10 feet?

I suspect that if I lived in the tropics, I would be bored to tears with this particular palm, but they are an unusual, elegant addition to a Southern California garden. Here are a couple growing in mine and my next-door neighbors yard.

Tracy, yours looks 100% like beccariana to me. Great looking palm..

Bump...updated photos of #1 and #2 palms. I have a palm acquired from Phil at Jungle Music about a dozen years ago that was labeled as Pritchardia beccariana. I think it most resembles your #2 palm Matty. It has flat, large round leaves with many shallow pleats compared to the deeper pleats on most other Pritchardia I have growing. Steve please share a photo or two of yours as well.

I've used this technique a couple of times recently for pineapples, although I quartered them, rather than halved...also got the idea from web wisdom, lol! Seems to work really well. Good luck!

Depends on which side of town / how strong that influence penetrates.. Closer to S.F. Bay the neighborhood is located? more direct / frequent. My side of town / east side nearby ? less marine influence ..though still enough throughout a given year to counter the hotter stretches we see ..for now at least. While Jim's is the biggest in the overall " South Bay ", there are -at least- a couple other notable, private palm gardens in San Jose.. Shame we rarely hear about them here on the forum anymore.

Impressive garden, Jim. My sincerest respects from Spain.

Break in the clouds = great morning in the 70s jumping into the lowers 90s at 1:18PM.. Should hit the upper 90s before the next batch of high clouds rolls in sometime around Sunset. Chop 10 -15deg off tomorrow under mostly cloudy skies ..which might squeeze out a sprinkle or two sometime tomorrow evening around the valley. Take it down a few more degs under partly cloudy to mainly sunny skies on Tuesday / Cinco De Mayo.. Enjoy it cuz it may be the last sub -80 /85F day we'll see until -at least- a rain cooled day during Monsoon Season ..if not later on.. ..Now up to 105 - 106F by this time next week ..Perhaps eclipsing 106F by Tuesday of the following week. Eye - balling some " interesting things " trying to sneak into the forecast via the last 5 or 6 runs of various WX models around the same time as well.. ....And no, that's not including any on going " tropically -themed " hints the models continue toying with atm. FYI : for us locals ( Western / Southwestern U.S. peeps ) Dan will be live tomorrow at 2PM, PST for his take on the upcoming return of the heat ..and other stuff..

I'm amazed that it managed to grow a new leaf after those temperatures! You must have a well-acclimated and hardy palm tree in that location, and very healthy, to still have the energy to produce a leaf even in those conditions. How old is it? Yes, I'll plant it soon, and I imagine that even if the leaves touch the fence, it will take off like a rocket in one or two seasons. Last year I kept it in the sun, but I put up the awning during the hottest hours. This year it will have to acclimate to full sun. I understand that the leaves might get burned or dry out, but the new ones that grow will be more resistant... or at least that's what I hope in the Mediterranean sun.

Oh, yes, I see the small ones next to the large one in the first photo. In the 2008 photo, it's very, very beautiful, a size to truly appreciate. And how curious how the others grow so quickly in proportion; you can already see it clearly in the 2012 photo. I have a question: is it possible that the trunk rings are closer together when the tree is young and then spread out a bit as it grows taller? Or do they stay at that fixed size? I ask because my Purpurea is young, it still needs to develop its trunk, and the rings it has are very, very close together... will they stay like that? It's just a curiosity to learn more about this wonderful species.

The base and crown of mine. The crown has a diameter at least 4 meters; it’s a big boy!

I was incorrect, the survival rate was 4%. One of the survivors was in a larger pot, left on the patio the entire winter. So of the 2 "bag" survivors, the best one was on the edge, and the hanger on was in the middle. I do not think the losses were temperature related. More to follow.....

Hi mnorell, and thanks for the question. I have three types Medjool about 120 trees, 50 Zahidi and 10Barhi, I have just started with Barhi and only have 10 trees. Barhi are expensive to get started with at about $300 each as a Medjool is around $50. So for one row of 10 trees with irrigation is about $4,500 to start Barhi, My understanding of the Barhi cost is from them not producing as many offshoots compared to Medjools. I'm all ears on growing one off's like my favorite a Zahidi but it comes down to how do you get 40-50 trees at one time to allow a good start and from whom? I know they have farms but its very difficult and some times they do not like to share and the next obstacle is these types of trees cant be imported. I'm all for a group effort or even to take advice for what would be the next tree that has interest.

I will exchange the Marojejya Darianii seeds for Juania Australis.

I’m trying to cross a robellini with a reclinata any tips would be appreciated!!

The roots of that poor palm have been restricted for far too long. It would take years to recover, if ever, if it were planted in the ground. PASS!

Thank you for the helpful input. The only variables between the one up front that bloomed all the time and one in back that never bloomed was amount of sunlight, which it was still getting enough to do something out back. And where they came from, I often wondered if that man at the plant show sold me a broken one. But suspected it was user error on some levels. And I think what mnorell suggested makes a lot of sense to me. Their natural habitat seems to in Caribbean coastal areas that are historically prone to hurricanes just like what was mentioned after Irma. Still get surprised at how well you have to know some of this stuff to be able to grow it.

My home is about ten miles from the ocean in south Orange County, CA. The Dypsis lutescens in the front yard do well, but I don't know how well D. lutescens would do further inland.