All Activity

And here are some random updated photos of the garden. Too many to list names but just ask if you have any questions about IDs.

Life has been busy and I haven’t had much time to be on PalmTalk or work on new plantings in the garden. It’s just mowing and weed wacking like crazy over here. But I did just find some time and inspiration to get a few new plantings in the ground so I wanted to document them here. I’ll post some updated pictures of the garden as well, after the new plantings. First up is Chrysalidocarpus Mijoroana: Next up is somewhat of a mystery. My old garden had a Chrysalidocarpus Pembanus hybrid (most likely crossed with Madagascariensis). I tried many times to get seed to sprout and only ever got 2 to germinate. So this is an F2 Chrysalidocarpus Pembanus hybrid, most likely crossed again with something in my old garden: And then I was able to plant some smaller Dypsis in the jungle area. Dypsis Beentjei: Dypsis Maranoseta:

102, w/ a 57deg. Dew Point yields a real feel of 107F at 9:41PM under high clouds from a distant monster.. ** See below ** Still some hints at AM showers rolling into town tomorrow, and temps staying under 110F thru the rest of the day due to lingering cloud cover ..If.. that occurs.. Enjoy it, cuz..... ....You know what lies ahead for the rest of the week. Suspect the current Excessive heat warning, set to expire Wednesday, will be extended, instead of being dropped and re-issued at that time. ..As for the Monster mentioned above? While not a guarantee, Monster Thunderstorm Complexes like this exploding over Sonora can hint at changes ahead / are a sign the " Gulf to mountains moisture transport engine " may be kicking into gear / that the north end of the Gulf has reached the " Golden Zone " as far as SSTs are concerned. In this case, it may be what sends the AM showers / 1 day break in 110F heat our way tomorrow. Further out?, this kind of activity is what we want to see if we want more rain. FYI: redder / darker the shades in I.R. imaging, = colder the cloud tops.. White surrounded by Black / Deep Maroon? Really cold Thunderstorm tops. Imagine Hermosillo is getting hammered tonight. Outer cloud shield edge currently extends from the Sonora / Sinaloa Border, north to Flagstaff / West to the El Centro / Mexicali area.. Mighty Impressive.

Those are great looking palms Mike, thanks for posting updated pictures of them. I have 2 that I bought from you that finally got planted not too long ago. Looking forward to watching them grow here.

I was told the problem with my Bismarckia was water and fertilizer! I have worked on that but I know it will take time!! Some fronds were falling off and I noticed it looked like something had been chewing on the petiole and frond joint then I noticed a hole in the trunk and it looks like something has been chewing on a bloom base and some petioles are just petioles with no fronds!! Any ideas?Chewed area at base of bloomHole in trunkFronds that appear to be chewed on The end of a petiole that has no frond

Weekly Galveston visit… glad to see the overgrown crap along the causeway is being trimmed/ removed finally including the Washingtonia haha . Moody gardens pushing the zone push pretty hard with this coconut lol .. they removed a really nice monstera and clumping fishtail in this spot for the coconut 💔

Here are a few cycas currently flushing around the garden. Cycas maconochiei Cycas siamensis. I grew this from seed I got about 20 years ago. A Cycas siamensis “dwarf” in the foreground that was flushing and got smashed by a Bismarkia palm frond from a storm that passed through a few night ago. In the background is another Cycas siamensis flushing. Cycas revoluta was pretty common around here until a few years ago. Scale has killed off most of them but I’ve been able to keep this one in check. It seems to like my soil prep area.

Hi Jim! Also in the Bay Area (Peninsula) and have a foxy lady seedling to plant. Do you remember the sun exposure yours had when you planted it as a seedling 10 years ago? Should I find a full shade spot where it has to mature/grow to reach full sun exposure?

New one available: Phoenix theophrasti. $3 per germinated seed.

Once you get that mulch on the ground it’s a game changer, it’s one thing to plant a heap of palms and let them grow on own , but if you tend to them and add a little plant culture along the way they respond much better and grow a lot happier. You can see the difference straight away, good mulch and water and palms grow a lot healthier once the mycelium start to take affect and begin eating that soil becomes just what they want. And another great benefit is the decorative affect with all sorts of colours in mulch materials, along with using a light coloured mulch it reflects light back up, using a dark coloured mulch you heat the ground up faster great gor that extra warmth in winter. Richard

@Hennyhana I have a bunch of them too, some just generic. In the front yard is a kinda-solitary tall Cerifera, but it's been shaded by a Sabal Causiarum and losing some of the silver. But it is also growing loooong petioles in the shade, which is interesting too. Also up front is a sorta-Cerifera with a nice silver-blue color. In the backyard I have a single trunk generic green, a Vulcano, and a very clustery generic type. When I am at local nurseries I check their stock for anything odd.

@Robert Cade Ross If you are moving to Florida, there are some public places where you can collect seed. I think the seed needs to be collected fairly fresh though, as everything I saw (at a couple of different locations) had damage from boring insects.

Hallelujah it’s raining seeds!

I’ve seen @DoomsDave R. Oleracae in person a few times . It is a real stunner. He has named her well! I planted mine in a very protected spot out front and it grows well there. Unfortunately , until about 5 years ago when I joined this forum , I found out that I was not giving it enough water. Now it gets water , water , water . I also give it a bunch of organic fertilizer 4 times a a year. It is coming back slowly . The fronds are almost twice the size they were and the trunk has that swelling they are known for. Harry

About two inches for me today in the plastic rain guage, so im hoping it is correct but dont ever trust these they always drop when they get closer in time.

Yes , they should fall off easily . The C. Decipiens I had experience with literally rained seeds every time I went to gather them. They were green in color , about the size of a marble or a bit larger. Harry

Ever so subtle.

I sprouted Nenga seeds last year and had an albino as well. It died quickly...

Yes, that Black Wings one is really nice! Beautiful displays in Hilo. A place I would enjoy visiting sometime.

They’re definitely more tender to the cold. A big one died on me in the big freeze of 2007. (Small regias survived nearby no problem.) Got this one as a fiver from Mardy Darian, and it’s been a rocket.

When they fall onto the ground or with a bit of a nudge. Ain’t that right @Harry’s Palms ?

Fausto = headed toward ..but will swing just north of.. the Hawaiian Islands, though increased showers / breeziness, and increased surf conditions may still effect some areas out there as it passes by.. Genevieve = First E. Pac. storm / U.S. Hurricane to reach Cat 5 status. https://www.sacbee.com/news/weather-news/article316674317.html ..While some outer bands on it's northeastern side may swipe at Socorro Island as it passes, storm will remain a fish storm as it heads further out into the Pacific. That said, it will help generate 8 to 10'+ swell along beaches across Southern CA.. ...and will likely play a big part in the upcoming heatwave across the region later this week / into the start of next week..

Yeah the place has been testing me lately. I got the outside nursery panel back up again yesterday just before sundown. Will cable tie frost cloth back up today. The weekend is project “rebuild greenhouse”. Ahhh it needed some love anyway. Will re establish the guy wires and stitch in new black shade cloth. Never grow Pinus radiata.