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Partway through After dark

Bonus footage of my neighbors queen palm in ground and nicely protected.

Something about overcast, rainy days here in Arizona seems to deeply accentuate the foliage color of blue plants and draw it out more than sunlight does. No filters on any of these: Brahea armata: Bismarckia nobilis: Sabal uresana: and… okay, not palms… but…. Juniperus deppeana: Eucalyptus kruseana: And last, but certainly not least, Acacia pendula:

My garden at work... not the home garden, but visitors this afternoon all the same. The Flamingo didn't have a band, so it wasn't visiting from the San Diego Zoo or Sea World. Not sure where it came from in fact, but they do visit from time to time.

I don’t usually bother to post pics of my itty-bitty California garden with very few palms. Here is Howea-ville with a few P. Roebelenii that were here before me, on a blustery Christmas Eve morning.

Funny you should mention that Tracy..... lol Went there yesterday after getting told by Mark M. and picked these up.. As to the "other" one.. my gut feeling is it was from there too... from I person I had just met, but sold to me versus telling me where the source was a couple weeks back.. Oh well

So many palms declined in Texas from defoliation, and we had our cold spell just at the very end of winter. I wouldnt take chances in a climate that is going to have several months of cool weather till they start growing again if damaged. Many complicated factors to your forecast. But if the confidence level is over 50% dont chance it. Eitherway its a beautiful yard. My soil ( oh and the salty killer city water) just doesnt afford me to grow those type of plants.

Just watched your latest videos (before you posted them here, hah). The protection looks beautiful at night, to be honest, and I am sure it will be effective as well. In Texas last winter (we're talking several days below zero and extreme lows of 4F for me), a lot of the palms you protected survived with less (e.g., no lights). It looks like you're not taking chances. In fact, from my vantage point, you're not protecting for survival, you are protecting against any cosmetic damage! In all seriousness, I don't want to dismiss the storm. Weather is unpredictable and you all got some nasty combo's coming your way. I know how it feels so I totally understand doing the max. I hope this will peter out for you west-coasters and I surely hope won't reverberate into Texas somehow mid-January! Yours following closely! Oh, and don't forget to spear-spray with some fungicide beforehand!

They’re saying trace to 4” here this weekend but there is some more snow after that. I don’t want any spear damage or any damage. It takes too long to grow out of it. I think I have one more days worth of work to keep protecting. Hopefully the big palms can deal with this.

I’m not at peace I HATE snow and cold temps. 40 years was enough for me, I could care less if I ever see snow again. I spent the whole day protecting and boxing in palms. I see 4 nights in the teens right now but I am also worried about the heavy wet snow this weekend followed by the sunny and windy weather predicted after that will be devastating. Front yard is 99% done. Backyard to go. First time protecting palms so hopefully I didn’t screw it up.

This looks really promising for palm trees and certain monocots: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2302939-near-impossible-plant-growing-technique-could-revolutionise-farming/

I hope that your seed brings you the same happiness that I am enjoying.....

Sabal Brazoria full of seeds.

Caught these today walking along Indialantic Beach.

Most of these palms have been in place for > 1 year, they are in what I call the pond - normally dry but during big rain events it will fill and spill, holding about 4' of water. Up to the petioles on the Areca vestaria, half way up the trunk of Macrocalyx red and others, totally submerging a new H rheophyticia. This time I'd say they were in some serious water for perhaps 24 hours or so, fully drained this AM and so far all look normal.

Well, here is my lame protection, LOL! Not pretty at all, but it seem to work most bad winters. One Butia out front is on it own, it has overhead protection form Trachy's. The six photo is the massive tree fern. cycad Aloes, dyckia, Horwothia. Pink cordyline 5' tall. Butia Mule palm Tree fern 9' tall. big cordyline mule palm Jbf2.

I missed the PT announcement here, but was glad I got up there to get some, as some may know my nice (looking where I was going to plant it) 15 gal was stolen from my driveway a year and a half ago.. Not long after, I had found the sources of these had basically dried up AND the ones planted were starting to really get to the point that it was an extremely obvious observation that these are an easy to grow, stunning Palm in So Cal. !! So happy I was told of Gisela having these earlier this week, they are HUGE and beautiful!! Thanx Gisela!

The latest models suggest it won’t be anywhere near as bad as was being forecast 24 hours ago. Portland doesn’t look like it will go below about 20F now. Seattle shouldn’t go below 15F. A couple of days below freezing and some snow, but nothing too extreme, unless the models change again. Most of that extreme cold looks to be going east, rather than south now.

- Just had to post it again... I found an updated 4k remastered version followed by the original... Corona Extra 'Feliz Navidad' Commercial It is still circulating channel breaks to this day. I remember we had another topic on the commercial, but I cannot find it. Oh well... cheers! Ryan

If you look at the Historical weather maps of Feb 1, 1950, ( seattle coldest day i believe at 0F ) and the forecast weather pattern to develop soon, I wouldnt sleep well. It takes perfect conditions to break or come close to records, and not any one area or even In a town will have the same conditions. ( wind, snow cover, etc...) but this is clearly a Pacific Northwest Arctic Outbreak that could easily send the coldest weather in a long time.

There was a sever freeze predicted for us last year, I saw -13C forecasted for me at one point but it fizzled out and went south instead. I only saw -5C and a wee bit of snow at my place. I think Oregon folks (@Chester B) dealt with some nasty freezing rain, but no extreme cold. The cold then went south and punished Texas. I hope for your sake it doesn’t happen again. But I don’t want it either! Everyone grab all your fans and point them north to send this air back where it belongs!

Well, The needle palm, the chamaerops, and cordylines are all on their own. I ran out of blankets, darn it. I don't do lights or boxes but they sure are pretty when done right. Nice Videos, Man!! yard is rocking. Tomorrow in the rain have to wrap tarps over the lucky ones that got a comfy blanket. I am looking at this as a hardy palm and exotic shrub experimental test for hardiness and comeback recovery. I hope my dyckia's will be ok their in big pots against the side of the house. Aloe have a small popup greenhouse with a blanket over the top, this one I am curious will they do good when totally dry. I've done all I can do just have to see what happens.. I did get the tree fern wrapped, it the most prized plant in my garden it is totally Irreplaceable because of it large size.

As far as i am aware, DBG does to reintroduction related things, but yes, lol they have stuff that should be promoted much more ..to a wider audience.. Never understood any garden that hoards plants that have been in their collection long enough to prove they do well in X area, and haven't shown the slightest tendency to become aggressive / invasive if propagated for sale. When i first visited AZ, years ago, my first plant sale -anywhere- here was a DBG related event.. At that time, i found some rare stuff in the " plants from the garden " section ( wasn't actually called that fyi ).. The guy who does all things Eucalyptus / Australian plants was also there offering up lots of interesting things.. Even came across some Brahea sp. for sale.. After moving here and attending another a couple other sales, the " plants from the garden " ..or whatever you'd call it.. section was a single table of somewhat sad .. " Cart of Sorrow " as @Palmarum coined it, looking plants. Guy i mentioned who sells stuff from Australia wasn't there, and 99% of the non - cacti / succulent plants offered were the same stuff you could find in any nursery here. Go to sales put on by Boyce, or T. Chul Park ( ..or Desert Museum's annual fall sale < Wish they'd host a spring sale.. but what do i know, lol.. > ) and you'll find a much wider selection of things, ..some common, many rare ..or at least fairly uncommon / unique ..and you'll often find new things / connect with hard to reach / more obscure vendors. Notice a big difference in attitude toward those who inquire about plants ( for sale or in the garden ) too.. While getting frosty feedback at DBG, people i have spoken w/ at Boyce are much more pleasant. Last time i was Tohono Chul, i spent 20 minutes or so talking plants w/ a garden volunteer who'd just moved to the area from Minnesota. Looked through pictures she'd taken from Catalina State Park of what was flowering there this summer while talking about the garden and Tucson in general. Great conversation.. When i have called down there looking for plants, most of the people that responded were conversation -worthy as well ..even if they didn't have what i was hoping to track down. We'll see if their new hire as propagation supervisor is as good as the guy who retired awhile back.. Better not turn their nursery / greenhouse into an extension of 25 other " carries just the common stuff / what Martha Stewart types think is " in style atm " kind of place ..err!, haha.. Anyway, i guess all i'm saying is while DBG is definitely worth a visit, whether you return, after visiting other gardens here, is a bigger question.. and i wouldn't blame anyone who chose not to ..or only returned occasionally.

Looks like a couple -10F events (at least)possible on there, what they call zone 6 weather around here. Seriously those -20F dew points need to be watched because they can translate to lows of the same with the right set up/timing, fresh snow, calm winds and a clear night.

Last year I ordered some palm seeds from RPS and decided to step outside the box of the usual palm suspects for two species for two of the species: Pinanga bicolana and Wettinia aequalis. I did not let my hopes get too high but, wonder of wonders, the seeds not only germinated en masse but the seedlings are surprisingly robust and extraordinarily beautiful. Whether they can survive in my climate long term but I plan to grow them as long as I can. Tonight I took the following photos. 1) Pinanga bicolana - Leaves are mottled and newest leaf opens bronze-y red 2) Wettinia aequalis - Reaches 25' tall with a 1-1/2' cone of roots

As a lapsed and semi-observant pagan, I try to spend my day in the garden on the solstice and equinox days. Here are images from my garden, all made today. The view to the west with the crown of Cyathea medularis and Ceroxylon quindiuense Lepidorrhachis opening a new frond Bomarea multiflora Dypsis baronii 'Black Stem' from Bill Austin seed, obtained February 18th, 2018 closer image, same palm ground planting achieved this afternoon, D. baronii 'Black Stem' on the right and D. baronii 'Black Petiole' on the left (RPS seed) It was quite pleasant today, scattered light rain showers and temperature of 50F, or 10C.

Here are a few of my palms catching some meager, early winter light this morning. Coconut struggling to make a comeback after getting some sort of crown fungus at the end of last winter, some Dypsis lutescens babies growing from seed thrown on the ground in the ditch behind my house enjoying probably the only scraps of sunlight they will see today, foxtails etc. from different angles. Got down to about 47F last night, it has been awhile since it has been that cool. At least the days are getting a little longer now

The Sabal at Barton Springs has very strong stiff leaves. The Sabal I have that is Brazoria leaves are huge and showed more damaged from the weight of snow. Then there are these two unknown Sabals in Hempstead, which until the freeze I thought were the same, and maybe Burmudanas. The small one sailed through the freeze and the tall one, that I assumed was the mother plant appears to be in decline from the freeze. Clearly was severely damaged. Pictures from 12/21/21. The smaller is setting seed in December. And not very tall, so it rules out a lot of Sabals. Very odd timing. I hope we can skip winter so the seeds mature.

Part of the ignorance has to do with a static mindset where "this is how things were" as if there was one perfect state, discounting all change. As we all know species appear and disappear, animal and plants species do in fact spread and recede naturally without the aid of man, and that's ok.

Raveneas are beautiful palms, with their emerald-green leaves, many with long, narrow leaflets and others like sambiranensis with great arching leaves. It's too bad that there is so much species confusion. The original Ravenea shown reminds me of the palms I grew from seeds sold many years ago (July 2007 and July 2008) by RPS as Ravenea lakatra. Here is a pic of the four I planted in my front yard (taken from my upper deck because of the incessant rain). (The big thing in the rear is Beccariophoenix fenestralis.)

Nothing impressive here, all but the coconut are only about a year in ground. Yeah, I snuck in a bamboo photo but sheesh, in the AM light this guy...

Morning fog down here in Loo-K-D-a which has made it hard to distinguish the time of day, other than daylight. That said, I'll share a couple of early morning sites up. First photo is a solitary Dypsis onilahensis weeping form planted between my house and the garage. Second has one of my favorites up front, but also includes some other palms in the edges and background.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2302939-near-impossible-plant-growing-technique-could-revolutionise-farming/

Woke up to near 6" of snow this morning. Current temp 35°F / 1.5°C. We have a 40 mile drive today for Christmas commitments. Hopefully road crews are on top of conditions.

Geez this is a bit early for this type of weather; our worst is often January/early Feb... let's hope this isn't a harbinger of worse things to come. The precipitation is needed after a long drought (and winter precip makes me not feel guilty if we have a long warm summer). But at least let it be liquid not frozen!

This Laelia gouldiana (Greta Garbo" has almost fully opened this spike before Christmas, with another spike in full bud that should open just in time for New Year's Day. With so many genra and species, one can have orchids in bloom year round to add color to the garden. That said, I always look forward to Laelia season because of the plentiful large blooms and long lasting flowers.

Your torbay dazzler is a pretty plant; you could also try Yucca aliofolia 'variegated' variety, colors and patterns on leaves remind me a lot of the dazzler, but with stiffer/rigid leaves. It gets large/trunked and multibranched, and is rock solid hardy here, even in clay soil! Mine is taller than I am, with 6-8 trunks, and won't be bothered at all by this weather. But... I love me those cordylines too. Good luck w/ your plants; interested to see how they do! Fingers crossed...

Yeah the Dracaenas and Cordylines are not really winter hardy here (in coldest winters), so protect and hope! They do get big in the between years though! Good luck!!!

We're getting ready for a cold spell...soo here they go...will send some snow pics here ..looks like I'm gonna get 5to8 at some point..!

I didn't grab one, although they were very tempting. I specifically wanted the Ravenae julietiae for the smaller footprint as they are so upright. I had something else I was there for as a primary and when I saw that Gisela had some of these palms, I called to ask her to set one aside until I got there. I had plans to pick up a particular cycad. One of these days I need to come by and visit your garden, and you are always welcome to come visit mine.

It is at Wavecrest resort in Del Mar.

Now after draining...in photo2 the rheophytica is between the the 2 aroids barely visible left of the 'Stingray' next to the puddle

I too made it up to get one of these beauties. Did you grab a Lakatra too?

That sounds as bad as any HOA. Used to be staying out of HOA communities gave one more freedom…

Not sure of the sp. atm, but the red / off colored leaves are normal.. Is getting ready to go dormant. Water very lightly ( maybe once a month, Just enough to put a little moisture in the soil ) once the leaves are shed.

My south facing bank in my back yard is my oasis, so to speak. It’s where all my palms are planted...I have no temperature data to back it up but I observed it was always the first place for the snow to melt. We’re here in NOVA, just 8-miles or so from DC so our climates are roughly the same. That southern exposure is essential to longterm cold hardy success...most my palms went in-ground 7-8 years ago and all are doing well. The bank runs the length of the house but my palms only occupy about 2/3rds of it because that’s what’s manageable. The Trachy is very happy and the Brazoria and Needles are right there with it. The Mediterranean Fan palm has done really well, too...giving all less protection starting this year...practically none unless teens and single digits make me... The notion of microclimate is real and your south face situation might just surprise you. If you’re staying put, you may want to get some in the ground this spring...very rewarding hobby.

Here's a cool IPS article about the introduction of coconuts to the Americas, specifically the Pacific coast: https://palms.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/vol56n2p72-77.pdf Other than a single (dubious?) account in southern Panama, the vast majority of the current literature links New World coconuts to the Columbian Exchange based on historical accounts, anthropological and archaeological studies, oceanography and genetic studies of modern American coconuts. Whether they are "native" or not is a matter of semantics/philosophy. Personally I'm in favor of more coconuts, "native" or not. But aren't we all a bit biased?

I cant wait!

Ask Dave and you shall receive. This is my favorite morning view of my garden.