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Steve, I had never planned to buy this palm, it was a suggestion and it was super cheap, cheapest 90 gal ever and delivered for that price. Clay under sand is like magic for some palms as long as the clay is draining. Some clay will not drain and I suspect is the death of many palms. High sodic and calcereous clays are going to be very tough for many palms as they can cause nutrient deficiency. This palm may tolerate alkalinity kind of like a bismarckia, its not dependent on fertilization. Ive seen a few green ones in arizona that looked great in a well draining clay. I usually don't pot with clay due to drainage and our rain. We have construction clay here up near( within 10') houses, its designed to repel water so foundations don't wash away. Away from house is a different clay, used to elevate the land over swamp. This clay often has some sand in it and can be useful from growing but with over 50" of rain a year it better drain. I believe a decently draining clay in an arid or semi arid low rain environment is just the ticket for gardening as it limits irrigation needs and salt buildup due to irrigating. Most clay is loaded with cation exchange and good water retention. Cation exchange by organics dissolves and washes away, needing to be replaced frequently. But a good draining clay with sand near the surface keeps that cation exchange forever. When I dig a hole I go deep and mix the sand and clay under a palm and add some organics(10%) for the backfill. I did not always do that and some of my results were not so good early on. My raised beds which have much less clay content need the mulch more than the more substantial clay mix areas. I do have a couple spots where the clay predominates(80-90%) and things get stunted as water does not drain well. Drainage easements have the clay on top to direct water. The area that got my #2 bizzie killed by weevils from oversaturation in standing water was almost all clay. I got the pick axe out ripped up that ground to 4' deep(sand), and amended it with sand, turface MVP, and organics and replanted more of a water lover there (C, Hospita). I found growing out the in 9" rain a year hot desert very different from here in florida. I killed a number of palms not understanding the varied composition of soil in the yard and how different it was growing in a sandy soil high rain environment. I give this alba credit, I have neglected it compared with 3/4ths of my palms and it still shines in a full sun position.

The same here. I have one Plumeria by the kitchen window , next to a large Chamaedorea that keeps some of its leaves year ‘round. The rest defoliate . The climate is definitely warmer here than when I was young . I think most scientists agree that it is cause for alarm. The palms are luvin it though. When I was in biology class in the late 1960’s we were taught that the planet’s mean temperature was critical to life . If it were to change by more than a degree or so , it could threw off the balance of life. Here we are! It’s not knowledge we lack , it’s humility. ( stolen words from Don Henley song ) . Grow more palms , cool your garden . That works at my house! Harry

Not only a strange flowering habit, but the fruit is fantastic on a bit of toast with some lemon juice added, whoever invented toast needs an award I say!

We’re all a little unusual in this part of world! These are just some small ones they get up to 3 to 4 metres in height, and they are very old at that stage hundreds of years old!

They will get you, try as you might but they still get you. Even a whipper snipper would get done by these evil monsters trying to get the weeds, just tell the husqvarna trimmer it’s time to weed the Australis and it would throw itself in the creek than have to deal with them!

Indeed they are deciduous in my climate. They hold on for as long as they can, once they start dropping that is when I know the weather has definitely changed into winter. They hold on next sign I get in my garden is the clivias flowering once I see that happening winter is definitely over, two great signals I look for. It’s been a fairly mild winter this year a good sign in a way for palm growers. But a definite sign that we should taking notice of for the planet, is climate change real they say, well I guess time will tell! Richard

I knew at the time of my last post that it didn't look good, had just gone below 0 the earliest in the evening in my station's history and the forecast -5C was the worst since maybe the 1990s. I wanted some time to assess damage before posting. So the nuclear frost that I always knew could come some day was here. I always knew there was a risk as while I was not recording my own temperatures back then, there were memorable frosts in 2009 and 2015 that were a step above anything that had occurred since. At time, they were worst since the 1990s. The 6th Aug had min -3.2, bad, but no worse that the week before. If it had stopped with that, might have gotten away with no further damage - but no it had to be a 1,2 punch this time. The 7th at 5am was on track to maybe only be about the same min as the 6th, but it then decided to go for gold and dive to a min -4.2 of the recorded 15min samples, I saw -4.3 taking a manual reading between samples. So far, I am mostly amazed that the damage is not worse to most of my palms and other things, and to notable specimens around the town. Rhopalostylis x 5, all look pretty much unaffected. Will see if show changes over next few weeks. Heavy canopy, natural/permanent or temporarily placed was at work. Bangalow x3. Two in backyard have partial natural canopy, otherwise not protected. They are a bit bronzed. Maybe 40% burn, but still heaps of green. One in front yard, is badly exposed. It was already bad, possibly no worse. It does have some green, about the first 4 leaflets at base of each frond are still green. I stuffed some scrunched up frost cloth in places to try to protect this remaining green. Avocado tree (Bacon variety, 6 years old, well loaded at moment) no protection. What frost? Can't tell anything has happened. Bananas. Leaves long gone, had trimmed off. Stems look like nothing happened. Neighbors bangalows look about 20% burnt now, but surprisingly good. Drove by the three largest bangalows/bangalow groups around town that I know of which have about 5 to 12m of clear trunk. From a distance hard to see detail but look like nothing happened. Bring on the growing season so can see things looking better and better each day again. A nearby city broke its all time record, to give some perspective on this event. "Rotorua woke to its coldest day on record this morning. The thermometer dropped to -5.6C, beating the previous recorded low of -5.2C set in 1996 and 2011, MetService said. The records began in 1972."

Chrysalidocarpus saintlucei, surely qualified for this one.

I have another batch of the rare napaliensis seeds. $5 each seed plus postage to anywhere in the world.

My chamaedoreas are flowering again and these little tenella are gorgeous palms to have. The male and female are pretty easy to tell the difference between them. If they are seperated in the garden just collect the male pollen when ready, and then when the female is ready dust away, you can store the pollen in the refrigerator if the female is not ready. Daily observations is all that is needed for a successful pollination. Female male

I guess Iam pretty lucky then to have both growing in my area, fosteriana practically everywhere along the coast, and if you know where to look bellmooreana are out there, so much all you have to do is knock the door and they are giving the seeds away if you ask. The bellmooreana are such a lovely palm far better then the fosteriana in my opinion, and are beautiful looking seedling.

Dypsis procera in the afternoon sun.

A pandanus that is all over the coast line of northern New South Wales. Growing right down to edge of coast just out of the tidal zone, that was s exposed to the elements of the ocean. They will grow further inland and I have them in my garden. You see them a lot in coastal towns. And they can get quite large taking up a lot of space. Seeds are easy to collect, to propagate you just leave them on top of the soil, preferably sandy soil with a little mulch on top of them. A nice pandanus that is worthy of any garden!

Dypsis rosea and a nice new leaf on the dypsis louvelli, a nice bit of winter colour!

On the Cistus website they talk about revoluta being hardy to 8b and essentially fine to put in the ground in the PNW. They advise covering it when temps get into the teens. I’m skeptical, but I’d imagine they would defoliate during a particularly cold winter but survive with protection and drainage. Does anyone have real experience seeing these grown in Oregon or Washington in the ground with our cold wet winters? I got this one cheap from HD in the spring and after it’s done flushing I was going to stick it in the ground. I bought it on a whim so I’m not overly attached to it if it dies.

Here’s one tough palm the decaryi. While not the most of cold tolerant palms it will take a fair few degrees of low temperatures. Give this palm plenty of room to grow as they can get quite big. Dry tolerant, I have some in between sandstone rocks on a steep site that is rather dry at times with a lot of sun and heat in summer. A popular palm, they may be common but the colour of the leaf bases in sunlight is one feature that keeps them coming back into gardens. The triangle shape is another great characteristic that makes them likeable. I like them and even planted a couple more in the garden today. I may like my understory Uber super tropicals but for a palm that takes a beating in all sorts of climates, it’s a winner in my garden!

Growing fast, this photo is one fay after it was planted. I still don't see any transplant shock and the spear is growing faster than it did when it was potted. The palm was root bound and was difficult to get out. I didn't break/move any important roots.

I better update this. This summer has been truly roasting here and exceptionally dry. Multiple heatwaves, including 38C / 100F officially in June at Lingwood in Norfolk. No rainfall here for almost 2 months now. Just crazy. London now qualifies for Csa (hot summer Mediterranean) again this year for the 2nd time in 5 years due to an average temp of 22C> during the warmest month and a summer month receiving less than 30mm of rainfall (London had 0.0mm) and the wettest winter month having 3 x more than the driest summer month. So it is about as Mediterranean as you could possibly get anywhere based on the rainfall alone (London drier than any Med region in Europe)... My nearest official Met Office station. Due to how dry the soils are, the nights are actually quite chilly like you would get in a desert. 21 automatic Met Office stations in England recorded zero / 0.0mm of rainfall in July, plus a further 13 manual stations (34 official stations in total with no rainfall in July). For London Heathrow for example, it is the driest month on record of any month in 80 years of records. Driest July on record at Kew Gardens too. Both had zero rainfall (0.0mm). Same with Wisley near me and all London and southeast England stations. 90% of England (55 million people) now under water restrictions. I am up to 54 days since it last rained here now.... Extreme drought here now with soil moisture at 0%... Hurn (Bournemouth airport) with 401 hours of sunshine in July, higher than just about anywhere in Europe. 350+ hours of sunshine in London for July... Satellite passovers show the true extent of the scorched earth (these images are over a week old now)... Some photos from London and the south coast... Latest charts would put me here at 70 days without a drop of rain. It is inevitable that I will now go 2 months without a drop of rain here... I am already at day 54 now... Probably pushing 38C / 100F again next week as well... ECM vs GFS... I can't even be bothered to post about the wildfires anymore. The situation may be unprecedented later next week in England. Arguably the worst wildfire risk density globally... Dunwich wildfire in Suffolk...

This VERY fast growing Kentiopsis oliviformis (now classified as Chambeyronia) showing its first ring as of last month. This is one of three of this species in my garden and the other two are WAY behind in growth despite being the same age and growing in the same conditions. This one in the pictures was planted as a one gallon plant just five and a half years ago.

Ouch sorry to hear!!

Just thinned out one of my planters. Orange and yellow. 1868 New Jersey st. Help yourself!

Dypsis mirabilis with strings of pop beads. Tim

@SubTropicRay I'm just N of Orlando and saw a minimum of 22.5F. I lost several small Chamberyonia in previous years with cold fronts around 27-28F with frost. A few did survive, but I lost all 5 this winter. Three were small (1-2ft tall) and died immediately. The other two were under a Chinensis, about 15ft from the house, and reasonably sheltered from wind. Both had just started trunking, with maybe 6 to 12" of actual trunk. Both were defoliated and one died immediately. The second tried pushing a new frond but died in May. I had the same experience with Archontophoenix, with every one of the 8 or 9 immediately killed. Surprisingly enough 6 of 11 Hyophorbes survived...

It's doing pretty well, all things considered. I lost most of the Chambeyronia, Archontophoenix, and Veitchia, but my two large coconuts are still kicking. Overall survival in the yard was around 67% or 2/3rd of the garden. Considering all of the crownshaft palms and other sensitive species, that's not bad. My replanting scheme is going to include a lot of Brahea and Livistona species so I can enjoy myself more when it cools off. The threads below cover the damage in my area pretty well. This way I won't completely hijack @JLM 's thread My own personal thread: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/52296-palms-and-others-of-interest/ February 2026 cold damage thread: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/92659-2026_02-florida-palmageddon-observations-and-damage-photo-thread/?page=10 Threads for the municipal gardens (Still in the process of getting updated photos) : Downtown: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/94081-downtown-lakeland-lakeland-fl/ Lake Hollingsworth: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/93816-lake-hollingsworth-lakeland-fl/ Lake Wire: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/61996-lake-wire-lakeland-fl/?page=2 Common Ground: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/61890-common-ground-lakeland-fl/ Tigertown: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/75211-tigertown-lakeland-fl/ Hollis Garden: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/18482-hollis-gardens-lakeland-fl/?&page=2

Arenga Undulatifolia is a wild looking monster. It should be hardy in Miami, but burnt to a crisp in my place NW of Orlando. Sabal "Lisa" is a neat mutant, as is Elaeis Gineensis "Idolatrica" aka "Whole Leaf." Attalea Cohune should be easy to find down there, and doesn't take up a lot of horizontal space. They grow really vertical, like a "fountain of fronds." Kerriodoxa should do great there with some shade, as well as Licuala "Sumawongii," Grandis, Spinosa, Ramsayi, and some others.