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Agree. No spikes ever! Do not violate the integrity of a palm trunk.

Pathetic

No none at all, kangaroos don’t bother me, it’s the bandicoots that are the main problem digging up newly planted plants looking for grubs and worms.

We got our one to 2" of rain up here. Nice change. Looks like rains will remain across the I10 corridor for a few days.

We're expecting rain here in the Orlando area later today.

I have the same issue with my Roystonea here at the Northern limit of this trees range in Central Florida. I always assumed it was because there are no other Roystoneas nearby to allow the insects to pollinate the flowers... Am I off base on this?

Any trouble with kangaroos munching on plants?

Yes it does . Doesn't look like a pure Palmetto to me, even their crowns can grow to a large size when old . Hybrid ?

Myself I would not use it in containers. And in the soil eventually you get a heap plastic looking gel all through the soil.

Myself I would not use it in containers. And in the soil eventually you get a heap plastic looking gel all through the soil.

This is the size of the two aleaxdreas when I put them in the ground. That was in 2006. It's nice to have instant gratification by putting in the large ones. But the small ones will always catch up to larger one pretty quickly. Jusy in case you're planning on growing more than one. Little ones can be purchased on ebay for about a euro each.

The wonderful world of plants!

As for Mediterranean planting advice. Water the hell out of them in August and feed them regularly. It's quite a difficult plant to screw up. Just don't cut into the roots by digging next to them. That will set them off into a long decline leading to death.

Thanks. Roystonea princeps grows in a sinlge location - a swamp that is a a few km inland from the coast. My avatar photo is from there. It's a great palm that is about twice as fast as an Archonto and takes up far less space tha R. Regia. The archonto in the middle was planted in 2005 at right about the same size as yours. I planted the two alexandraes next to the base. Those were in their first 2 or 3 leafs from seed. They left one overtook the cunninghamiana after about 5 years. The one on the right was stunted by the roots of the cunninghamiana for about 5 years but then took off. They haven't grown so much since I turned off their irrigation (I prefer it that way). So, reaching that height took about 15 years. When you put them in the ground, they explode after about the second year.

It’s a never end love of plants out in the garden!

Those palm trees look fantastic! I wasn't familiar with Roystonea princeps; I see it's similar but native to Jamaica! I can clearly see what you mean about the growth and the rings. Even though you're not watering them and their growth is slower, they look very slender and have a healthy color. They're very well established in that lovely spot. How long have they been planted there? I see from your profile that you're from Greece. Do you have any advice for our Mediterranean climate? Greetings from Spain!

It definitely is

I just took these photos for reference. There are 3 different palms in the photo. 1st and 3rd are Archonto Alexandraes. Second one is a cunninghamiana. The one to the right is Roystonea Princeps. Youj can see by the Alexandraes the spacing is very consistant until you stop watering the things (I took these off irrigation about 6 years ago).

Those 3 green rings will be a pretty good indication of the next ones. They look like about 15cm.

Intresting little article, the cassowary in far north Queensland a prime candidate for that job.

Of course, what you're explaining makes sense, but I hadn't thought of calculating it that way. It grew in the pot last season, from May to October, and produced four leaves. I don't know the distance between the rings yet until the leaves fall and I can see them, but I understand that if it stays in the same pot, the height will gradually decrease. And if it acclimates well in the ground, it will grow more, as you say. My friend says his Alexandras grow 1.6 feet per season, which is fast, and as you rightly say, we should enjoy it now that its canopy is at a good viewing height.

My guess is absolutely beautiful!

Those nurseries in Australia are a lot of specialty nurseries. Australian native plants can be tricky to work out propagation either from cuttings or seeds. It can also be difficult to get certain varieties of native plants in Australia. If you’re looking for a nice Australian tree may I suggest the Wollemi pine. Seed collection of some species in Australia are difficult to collect seeds as well. Then there are a lot of local native plants growers propagating and collecting local seeds to what’s in there area and that’s where you really get the rare native plants, at the markets from passionate native plant lovers! Or specialty nurseries that are around out of town in the community.

Archontos are amoung the fastest and easiest palms to grow. I have several 8m ones. To determine how long it will take to 1.7 m, you can measure the distance of each of your recent rings. Since one ring = 1 leaf, that'show many leaves your palm needs to produce. 8 to 10 leaves per growing season is what you can expect if you place it in the ground. Enjoy that palm while it's jusy tall enough top look directly at the crown. They become less interesting later.

They seem to be trouble free trees. You’re definitely correct about the sandy soil and rain not a problem. Robur is a fantastic banksia, I have serata on my property the big old growth ones and they are quite spectacular when old, but be warned of them in a bushfire they catch on fire just from the radiant heat. There are some fantastic banksia varieties available. A tree worth growing for sure.