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Purchased a strap leaf seedling about a year ago that was believed to be pure Jubaea. It's clearly a hybrid with strong Butia influence. The growth has been phenomenal. I just potted it up to 15 gallon in less than one year.

JessePNW, I think palms are an investment in the future. I am almost 70 now and the long lived trees like Jubaea or Bunya Bunya are going into the ground here on my farm. No I won’t be here to see them in their grandeur but I have grown an appreciation for longevity. And some trees are just so dang big that getting them removed is more trouble than it’s worth. And what will the world look like in eighty years when earths average temperature may be +3C. We hit 50C in the Santa Ynez Valley a couple years ago. I don’t know what heat stress does to an adult palm but the young ones in the greenhouse didn’t like it, but survived. So planting palms at the northern edge of their growing range now may be the best way to preserve them long term, I am planting Jubaea, and dates, Butia because they are long lived fruit bearing trees( that can handle heat ) and even though the people who eventually harvest them will have no idea who planted them they probably will realize that someone planted a lot of fruit bearing palms and nut trees.

I know, it's truly a sight to behold, it just shows you what's possible in SoCal. Go for it!!! Plant a palm, you can't grow wrong!

Blows my mind to see a Cocos surviving in costal CA because that seems like the worst place for one considering they don’t see the sun nearly enough and it never gets above 80. Makes me want to remove a dragon tree by my driveway and go for it since that seems to be the best spot between concrete on three sides with my house at its back also giving off warmth.

I had it under grow lights for the first winter, 24/0 light cycle. Planted in ground last summer. Just been over a year now, it should really put on some size this summer.

Hey folks, I've gotten really interesting in SoCal zone pushing recently, and since so many more palms have become available in recent years we have seen an explosion of zone pushers trying lots of tropical species previously thought to be unable to survive in Southern California in fact thrive, as well as other harder to grow palms for SoCal. I'll start things off by posting two videos from my YouTube channel, Palm Planet, of two gorgeous coconuts I have a had the pleasure of seeing, one in Del Mar, and one in Santa Ana. And before someone says it, yes, coconuts DO grow in Southern California. I hope to get out and visit more SoCal coconuts soon. I look forward to seeing all your posts! Thanks! Alex

Here's the Butia yatay X Jubaea chilensis hybrid from Patrick/Patrix, just arrived in great shape! Also Trithrinax campestris, with its sharp pointy blue-green leaves. Love em! The JxB hybrid seems more coveted, but Patrick indicated that the BxJ hybrid is faster, hardier as a seedling, and has glossy green leaves (whereas JxB. yatay tends to have blue-green leaves that are less glossy). So BxJ leaves may resemble Jubaea more in terms of color/texture, which is a bit surprising. These will go into the ground after I move to So. Oregon with its warmer/drier Mediterranean climate.

75F currently but the "winter chill" has definitely set in

Although I physically missed the warm December I see the effects of the above average warmth now that I have returned. My palms have carried on with their growth, continuing to push spears, and the newly open fronds are large and robust, including the Adonidias which are notoriously grumpy around here most Januaries. Coconuts around the neighborhood are fruiting heavily and exhibit no noticeable cold symptoms. My Hamelia cuprea, while not flowering, is still green. It normally turns bronze and partially defoliates by now, only flushing out again in early March. My patens are in full growth mode and most surprisingly my Helliconia pssitacorum are in full vigor. They have normally turned brown and mostly given up the ghost by now. The Brunfelsia grandiflora in my yard is in the best flowering phase in my memory. All of the mangoes in my area are as full of flowers as I have ever seen them, and they are much farther along than last year. The Taxodium distichum in my neighborhood is holding onto most of their needles, though they usually own their common name by this this time of the rolling year. Geiger trees have not defoliated and some are even blooming. Clerodendrum quadriloculare seem to be the exception to the rule as they appear to be a little behind where they were last year when it was a cooler period. These are just my observations in my little corner of the universe. Hopefully this cold/cool spell over the next couple weeks will not set things back too much. I have a feeling we will revert back to a warm period in February after this relatively chilly period, as the macro trend is the trend until it isn't.

If its anything like last year between 3-5. This is going to be the year they really start taking off... everything!

Looks like the NOAA airport station got pretty chilly: Low temperatures in the yard ranged from 48F to 53F. Meanwhile in Bartow...:

Short video, I don't know why I recorded so quickly but you can pause to get a look at everything also put it in full screen to actually see I don't know why it's stretched in the thumbnail IMG_9954.mp4

I went out there and got some good pictures of everything, all the palms seem healthy and I feel confident the washie may have the perfect amount of robusta and filifera in it to hopefully hold out during our winters and it's been pretty cold these past couple of nights. I was able to collect over a pound of seeds so if anyone is in the fayetteville and you want to get some washie seeds, definitely go and and get some! Theirs volunteers everywhere from the washie and sabals, I'm unsure if the butia put out anything at one point but it also looks great and the sagos are just massive!!! I may go back out their this weekend to collect a bit more but to also grab some handfuls and distribute sabal and washie seeds in areas that should go untouched so they can grow hopefully on their own and be amazing!

Chester B you’re right! . I have several in the garden and they all look like the one I posted.

Don't know why I never noticed this before, but I picked up this flower spathe that was shed from a Dypsis basilongas today, and before throwing it on the compost pile I noticed that the inside had some color. So I opened it up to find this.

It can be frustrating donating valuable plants then having them neglected or not even planted. Some gardens are better than others-best to try to develop a personal relationship with someone there. I donated one of my Chrysophyllum imperiale to the Huntington Botanic Garden through a friend who works there-look forward to seeing it grow up there and hopefully thrive so others can enjoy it over time.

I like the sagos despite the fact that they're way over-planted. They have a beautiful gloss on their leaves and a definite architectural presence.

Here are some additional shots of the coconuts: Del Mar: Santa Ana:

This was the first year I left my chrysophyllum imperiale outside in winter. It was previously inside an unheated greenhouse. Now it's out in the open on my driveway. It's 3 years old, no damage in 33F with light frost. Fresno, CA The dry parts on old leaves are from not properly acclimating it in summer, not from frost.

Ya I mean how would you tell if a seed has been hybrid pollinated? I sure as hell wouldn’t know. Right on, he’s a nice guy, figured probably would appreciate the feedback. Definitely a Beautiful palm though, I wouldn’t complain either! Very nice

I wish I could grow Rambutan... The forecast is for low 50sºF (for a couple days) with a breeze, which could mean sporadic high 40sºF, close enough for a few, very sensitive items and some unknowns. Including some fragile seedlings I potted up recently that I probably shouldn't have, but did so because December was so warm. But now... brrrr... Ryan

Pritchardia flynnii in the morning sunlight Bananas in the morning light (yummy for breakfast with my guavas) Early morning view looking east up my street along the side of my property and beyond.

Are you going to have room for all these palms?

Here’s a pic of the one I saw at Leu Gardens. Maybe @Eric in Orlando can tell us a little history on it?

I have been buying from @Philfor prolly 15yrs now. Was way easier when I lived in the OC tho haha. Now i just buy what's what won't cost me my liver to ship =) Did you get the Teracarpa as a 5g ? If so prolly wasn't cheap to ship. T J

Congrats @MarkbVet on the great selection. I pretty much got the same palms a few months back so please do post regular updates so we can compare growth (my climate may be a bit warmer but I probably do neglect the palms more).

Yeah, my Radicalis went through 18F unprotected (briefly) and seem like they will be OK (as opposed to some of my unprotected cycads and browning Robusta). I don't find them to be pretty palms (yet) but they make for reliable additions to a palm collection in 8b (and perhaps even 8a?) ~ S

Warm start to February? CFS has been leaning this way for weeks now.

I believe this is a result of the NW->SE direction of most fronts, and the lack of a substantial urban heat island. Fakahatachee strand is typically 5-10 degrees cooler than downtown Miami in fronts. The cold 1890s even killed off a small stand of royals in Everglades City. The insulated canopy and otherwise amazing growing conditions (wet, mucky fertile soil, no fire) are apparently enough to facilitate native populations. Flamingo near Cape Sable has a weather station and it is mid 10b. Cape Sable is probably 11a over the last decade or so but I imagine the occasional cold snaps do it in. The mangrove islands between Madeira Bay and Key Largo were 11a in 2012 and that has probably expanded further west to Rabbit Key by now.

Finally what I've been hoping and praying for since December last year: "cold weather when I'm in Florida in January" is happening. I'm not there yet... next week will arrive! I confess that I was really really worried about not getting cold this time in the US. But I feel really sorry for those who traveled on December, they got extreme heat.

Is that your secret? It is really growing crazy. Nice work.

My latest purchases for my anthurium collection arrived from ecuagenera today. I told myself my last purchase of year was in September but when I saw the holiday discount on the normally pricey Anthurium luxurians —-well, I just couldn’t afford not to;). Also, opportunity to add Anthurium reflexinervium (which was on my wish list) and Philodendron verrucosum 2. Dreaded a January shipment date but they put me off a month; low temperature was 11 degrees F few days ago at my house. Plants seem to arrive okay but seems that next few weeks is real test if they will acclimate before declining. photos below: The wonderfully textured Anthurium luxurians: Also, a remarkable texture on the Anthurium reflexinervium. Not an anthurium, but came across photos online of the Philodendron verrucosum and wanted to try it. They are notorious for shipping *horribly*; glad I was given the warning. Will need to get up to speed on their growing culture.

Typically the longer they wait to cone, the higher the probability they are female is both what I have heard from some other growers and experienced in my own garden.

-Starting to move plants indoors- Brrr...

A few from a desert camping trip over New Years.. Butch

Finally possible California weather! Too hot all winter and we deserve some cooler weather notwithstanding what Alan said…

Pot had to be cut off, for sure.

Thanks, I’ll check these out. I got a small Red Button Ginger a while back that grew into a monstrosity in about a year. I’m thinking of chopping it to the ground to hit the reset button. Thinking it will roar back. It’s a hearty type and seems relatively drought tolerant for these parts. I’ll keep my eye open for some hedychiums.

On the edge of the mangroves LIVISTONA AUSTRALIS

Elaeis guineensis

Licuala spinosa

Areca vestiaria

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, Ravenala madagascariensis (not a palm), as well as a Calathea lutea(not a palm).

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.

Sabal Louisiana with heel

I didn't have a PBR handy, but that beach plum is definitely my new favorite water. It was a suitable stand in.

I have a sabal that I have no idea what it is. It grows faster than our native sabal,s & is much fatter. The story is, I was doing a cable repair job where the woman had cut her line while gardening. She felt bad & said here thake this palm that she had picked up somewhere in TX on a trip. Any ideas?