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When they build that update, I hope they can create an encyclopedia about palm trees. It should be built with images and descriptions from each PalmTalk member, all compiled by a PalmTalk team of palm tree experts. The goal is to create a comprehensive encyclopedia where everyone can interact and view it through PalmTalk, ultimately leading to the publication of the "Book of Palm Trees"—the world's largest book on palm trees. This book should also include photos of germinated seeds of each variety, indicating whether germination is adjacent or remote. It would offer far greater knowledge than any other encyclopedia. Licuala Mapu: Female flowers are the longest. Male flowers are shorter and produce pollen. Female flowers receive the male flowers.

Thanks @Darold Petty, that's what I've been looking for. I found it hard to track down this service at an affordable price. I'll give them a shot.

Paul, this is an absolutely solid company, https://www.groworganic.com/products/complete-soil-analysis?_pos=1&_sid=faa19fabc&_ss=r

LOL I am currently watching a neighbor who had a broken irrigation system in sand. 4 royals are wasteing away even with our (NOT THIS YEARS) rains. They shrivel up from the grow point down. It takes a few years for them to come down. If you think aobut it and use Google AI's estimate of 63-64% water from an oil palm, it means 2/3rds of the weight can be lost in dessication. And it occurs from the top down so the tendency to topple shrinks with dessication/time. Ive also seen abandoned field nurseries where some royals waste away. The guy up the street has 3of 4 where the crownshafts are gone and the trunk is continuing to dry up and dissappear top down. I walk my dog by there everyday. As the thing dries out and loses height there will be less of a damage risk dropping it. I have thought about this a lot as I do have a fat royal with 25' of clear trunk. Its not a coke bottle so much. I'd say 28 in ch minimum trunk diameter with a max probably 5" more than that. A simple calculation on water weight is using water alone based on 64lb ft3 says that tree is 8000 lbs of water in the trunk with one third of that wood which is not counted in the weight. I would estimate 10,000 lbs for the trunk overall if wood is 0.8 the density of water and 33% the volume of the trunk. Who wants to chop down such a tree and then have to carry those 5 tons of wet trunk away? It could easily be 1/3rd of that weight and if you let it dry out and crumble you have mulch you can spread, and not have to carry away at all. Im still thinking about it for the day if it comes in my lifetime.

AMAZING!!! Harry

I am convinced that plants know the difference between rain and the hose. They perk right up even if they are well watered . I don’t usually water anything but the soil and I spend a lot of time watering but one good rain and they look much better! Harry

When my large Wodyetia failed , I waited and it was tough to watch such a beautiful palm go through that. No identifiable reason for the failure . No frost , well draining soil , and 7-8 years of solid growth . Other palms in that area of the garden were fine . The Foxtail just decided to die , about 7’ of smooth trunk plus the crown. It looked pathetic for the last year but I thought I could save it. I tried different treatments over a 12 month period , nothing helped. By the time it was cut down , I was so frustrated . A few blocks away , a friend has a huge one is his front yard producing copious amounts of fruit with viable seeds. Nice palms , but finicky here. Harry

Dioon Spinalosum grow well here in temperate climates. I bought a little 10” potted one some years ago . It is now getting ready to get its annual set of fronds and I patiently await seeing the new growth. It can easily hold 3 years fronds at one time but I end up trimming the oldest ones due to space in that area out front. You have a nice batch there you are planting . All should do well with a rainy season planting . I see you gave the Dioon some room , I didn’t do that but it worked ok I guess . For me , I have a smallish garden with large ideas. Harry My Dioon Spinalosum last year , about June or so when the new fronds came . It seems to be later than the Cycas or Zamia I have. I usually let it carry two years fronds , otherwise it gets very crowded there. Harry

And I now have "proof of life!" It's like one of those spy movies, I expect Liam Neeson to pop out any time soon. "I have a special set of skills..." The new spears appear to have grown about an inch overnight. I gave it another good dose of hydrogen peroxide and Daconil. Hopefully it'll keep going and produce at least a bit of green frond in a couple of weeks!

Have you ever bought anything from adiantumtime? I don't know what to think about this website because the prices of rare species are good

Yes it depends on what variety of palm you are planting that determines how much you invest in amendments. Iam amending a lot of my rarer and exotic plants now simply to give them a head start in life and that extra jump from the get go. But back in the day 30 years ago I just planted as much as I could if it lived it lived and what has lived you see now in my established garden. Iam going for round two of expanding my garden, making the most of the understory I created. Also new landscaping for all the new plants I have and I have a lot. Budget is another thing to consider as well, when it comes to my garden there is no budget whatever it cost it’s an investment. Iam about to order 50 cubic meters of topsoil. This to me is an investment in my peace and harmony in life. I wish you good luck in your gardening, just plant as many plants as you can now.

You are very lucky to be able to play around with so many different palms. I just hope I can get anything established, I'm pretty slow at doing so but I try my best. I'm lucky sabals at least are accustom to my conditions because if I truly wanted too I could just throw them in the ground and that's it! But I still throw a bag of soil or half just to allow anything I'm planting to hold some moisture! I think when I planted my butia I got from f*ceb**k marketplace. I can't even remember if I had any soil so I raked a bunch of leaves and threw them in the bottom of the hole and mixed it all up and planted it just to give it something down in there. 🤠

Looking at the outer edge of the garden, in there is a whole world of joy

Well Z iam still running around the block, when it comes to planting holes in my garden. Two rules apply the old saying is a $2 planting hole for a $200 palm or a $200 planting hole for a $2 palm. I have 600 kerriodoxas and I just plant them anywhere chip a hole and heel them in and leave them. If I have a sabinara that are rare and rather expensive then I amend the soil, dig a hole as big as possible backfill with the medium of choice. Turn that soil in the hole mixing it with the soil that’s been removed. Then I remove that soil again place more medium of my choice turn that soil again, by now I have excess soil that is what I want. I then plant my sabinara backfill with all the amended soil and make a dam with the remaining soil, see Chambeyronia picture. Another way I go about planting is with raised beds they are a game changer in growing palms, I make a raised wall with the materials of my choice rocks, railways sleepers or coppers logs or whatever is available. I turn the ground in that created bed then backfill with the medium of my choice. But I will say water is one trick in growing palms.

Chucking them in the ground while the rain is about, some proven winners again. Chambeyronia, chamaedorea, kerriodoxas, dypsis black petiole, Calyptrocalyx spicatus, davidson plum and a dioon spinolosum. A bit more of the tropical look happening.

Do you still have the mutant available?

They are tough the Schizophylla this one is in a tough spot out in the hot sun! Richard

Some decent rain after a dry spell is always welcome. You can water all day long with a hose, but the difference good rain makes you just can’t beat!

A nice Chambeyronia in the greenhouse and a beautiful archontophoenix out in the garden.

Just a few more Chams in the greenhouse!

I have one the same in my garden. It even takes forever to open up a new leaf, holding up to 3 spears at once.

The white background gives it even more contrast.

True it is not the temperature it is the combi of cold and wet! If dry they can handle a lot of cold, I live in Central Portugal and here it is wet in winter but it hardly freezes at night and during the day normally it is like 13°C, My Dactylifera even produce pups.

I can say now that I've been around the block a time or two, I still don't know what I'm doing when I amend soil so I just pour a bag of soil or 2 and mix it and that's it. 🤠