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I’ve been watching these trees grow the past few years and thought I would share a couple of photos. they are located in the Presidio of San Francisco. I think they are all torallyi except for the one with me in vest - I think that’s sunkha. I’m 6’1” for reference. The one at 58 Presidio could be cocoides? It’s smaller in stature than the surrounding torallyis. I’m soooo glad I didn’t plant P. torallyi in my small garden after watching them grow in open spaces!

Human food: Society Garlic Ficus/indica pad rooted Rosemary Cereus repandus Yucca baccata Grapes Lettuce Maters & carrots Peppers onions Donut peach Cukes Pineapple Guava Utah Sweet Pomegranate Tubac

I took a few pictures today of two of the palms I grew from seed collected several years ago (not sure exactly when). The largest one was making stiff, bifid leaves, but the latest leaf is not split at all. The second one has a couple of split leaves, and the newest one is very cupped and not split, but has a window. The others are either still making bifid leaves or are still a little small and don’t have split leaves yet. They all seem a little stiffer than normal. It’s still too early to tell what will happen in the adult form, but it’s encouraging!

Pot is NOT big enough for a CIDP seed. Phoenix species palms are VERY aggressive root producers. Time to move it to a bigger,(deeper) pot. 2 liter drink bottles work well if you cut the top off and make a few drain holes in the bottom. aztropic Mesa,Arizona

A pollinator bed

My beach garden in Guatemala.

Nice to see palms naturalizing in NC. Sabals seem to like to sprout against walls, where I suppose trapped moisture aids germination and radiant heat offers protection. I tend to snap photos of these intrepid volunteers when I spot them. I guess I like the uncluttered setting. Here's my latest:

My local big boxes are a snore when it comes to palms but hope springs eternal; I keep checking. Not a palm of course, but a neighbor has a nice 'Jiangsu' kumquat he says he got from Walmart! I feel as though I missed the golden years of big-box oddities. They only stock reliable sellers these days. But, who knows? Buyers come and go, and a more adventurous one is always a possibility.

Sabal palmetto responding well to the hot wall

Good to know, thanks. This one seems to be in a better location than another I had. I think the sun got it lol. It seems to be fairly tough. This one resumes growth in February.

Probably a Nissan Pathfinder, but I need a closeup to be sure.

Brad It is possible you got a dud. A few times I've planted a group from the same batch of seeds where most did great and one just failed to thrive But overall most of the time things grow pretty fast. Yours looks fine to me. Here is my experience with this species. I'm a lot wetter than you (150" per year) and it's growing in about a foot of black cinder and compost extending at least ten feet in all directions. More or less full sun. Six months after going into the ground from a 5G Floribunda pot. Two years later it had some trunk and that fantastically colored crownshaft. Here it is today (9 years in the ground) with about ten feet of trunk. Not obvious in this photo is the very colorful inflorescence and fruit. This species just gets more beautiful with age. Regarding Tim's suggestion to replace it with Clinostigma, I'd recommend first checking other palm gardens in HPP to see how they are growing with your elevation and rain. C samoense can be incredibly fast in the right place, but seems to need gawd awful amounts of rain. I've seen some very sad Clinostigmas down your way that just are not getting sufficient rain to look their best. When B condapanna begins to fruit, it really adds to their beauty. When Clinostigma fruit, I think it detracts from their overall elegant appearance. Just my personal opinion. Bottom line, I'd give yours another year or two to settle in and take off before you dig it up.

I only have a few examples. I would like more inspiration.

Opuntia flowering on Enchanted Rock.

It's got a good start to the season . It's almost respectable and can look decent into January some years . Will

I found this growing at Well-Spring Retirement Community in Greensboro, NC. My first thought was that a resident must’ve planted it - but it’s in a weird location (full shade behind some bushes). I spoke to the head horticulturist and he said it just came up volunteer and has been growing there for several years. He believes there must’ve been palmetto seed in a load of mulch they put out. Either way, definitely pretty cool to see one popping up this far from its native range.

That's not even close to the hardiest of crown shaft palms. That stands as much chance of survival as a cat does doing calculus. The only way it will survive even wrapped is if the wrap is a heated greenhouse, 300 miles south.

Looks like you're well ahead of your immediate neighbors for planting cool stuff.

Good question. I always assumed that a palm with a so-called crownshaft shed their leaves and leaf bases in a generally clean manner and non crownshafted palms did not. But that becomes a lot less obvious as palms age. Howeas, many Raveneas, even Syagrus can become clean shedding as they become older. I have a Ravenea madagascariensis growing near a Syagrus psuedococos and they both have these beautiful clean, ringed trunks. So, what’s the technical difference between crownshaft and no crownshaft? Sorry, no idea!

That time of year when baby birds sometime need a little assistance when they land in the yard, Dove are doing their thing, and a hunter watches everyone from high above.. Curve Billed Thrasher, Toxostoma curvirostre fledgling that had to be rescued ..then moved to a better spot. ( Mom was starting to dig through stuff in " off limit " areas near the patio where batches of seedlings are placed ) Interesting that while i was moving it back out front ( Nest is up in the Olive out there ), the neighborhood Grackles were making alert calls alongside mom ( or dad ) Eurasian Collard Doves, Streptopelia decaocto American Kestrel, Falco sparverius making a just - after - sunset appearance high up in one of the Washingtonia next door.. Waiting to see whats for dinner.. Lots of House Finches and Sparrows around here. An hour earlier and it would have been easier to photograph.

An ailing Georgia Peach tree. The tree was dig out and removed, so I brought it home to give it a chance. Has seen transplant shock, leaf curl and a few windy / dusty storms. We’ll see. Should it perish, I’m thinking to replace it with a fig or plum. Something that can take heavy pruning to not invade power lines but provide summer shade for the grow boxes.

This stuff is so tough for me. I never water it, deer leave it alone, and it takes all the elements (even 3F). Long lasting flowers, edible, and it keeps the weeds out as a dense groundcover. Seriously, what more do you want? I have a one-species/variety policy in my garden but I don't enforce it for this one!

Year one I used styrofoam cups from a prior smoothie addiction. Preceding on I’ve had better luck with solo cups, packed with newspaper. They give a little better without breaking from the spines. The widest column had to be upgraded to one of those drinking thermos with the lid removed. Alternatively you can allow them to burn and cut the frost bite off. They will branch or pup new growth. I’ve never wrapped them for fear of moisture retention. Keep them dry as can be in winter. It’s my first columnar to wake up in the springtime. When it does, it gets a slow, long drink of water.

28F completely exposed. 16F with tip protection.

Pet aardvark

This is the one, big " head scratcher " .. W/ most businesses, once they've closed up shop ( voluntarily or not ) anything associated w/ it, inc the website should've been axed, ..esp. after such a long time.. Is the only thing that makes me wonder if something else, not necessarily connected w/ loosing his inventory during the freeze happened that caused him to essentially " vanish from the face of the earth ".. I mean ..someone has to know where he is / why he hasn't even tried to contact -anyone-.

I was going to see if we couldn't get Tim or Dean to post some pics of their more mature B. condapanna but it looks like Tim beat me to it. This is my all time favorite palm. There are 2 gardens on the Big Island that had specimens before they became commercially available, and I would regularly visit them. B. condapanna has been a difficult grow for us. Not because the palm is a problem but there is some borer and the banana moth that love them in our location. Now on our 4th try, this time got some in 20 gal pts with about 3 inch of trunk in early 2020 and planted them out in 2021 after finishing building the house. Here are some pics from this morning, gmp

Living where it doesn't rain much, you quickly appreciate things like encountering a shaded area full of Ferns and Spike Mosses ( Several native sp here believe it or not ) At the same time, more so the further south you go, there are parts of the state that resemble the Plains ..rolling hills carpeted in various sub tropical Grasses / annual / perennial flowering stuff, esp. during the summer ..especially if it is wet. Head roughly 2 hours south of Nogales, and you'll start seeing at least 2 native Cycads, several Orchids and Bromeliads both growing near and from the branches of trees ..and Plumeria, Ficus, and a couple other " rain forest " - type trees.. sometimes cloaked in woody vines that hang from the canopies in the summer. ..All are perfectly adapted to a non - jungle climate, but provide the " feel " of being dropped in a jungle -at the right time of year. Most people think " Desert = cacti / annoying spiny trees = boring ".. or try to waste valuable resources creating the false " idea " of a Desert Oasis ( IE: Lawns, trying to grow thirsty, ill adapted trees that often struggle / w the heat ) Even if someone is somewhat limited to a smaller property, one could create quite the " lush " looking landscape using plants from here, ( inc. the Ferns / Spike Mosses ), and just to our south.. Adding in those things - from other places - that add to the " look ", but are as tough as what grows here. Aside from the Ferns/ mosses, perhaps one of the weird, " Have to get up close to appreciate " plants that grows here is our native Pipevine.. Aristiolochia watsonii While tropical in origin, they can grow perfectly fine in full sun. Isn't until you bring yourself down to their level you can see how exotic they look. Flowers employ a technique used by carnivorous plants ..but for pollination, instead of consumtion ..trapping flies attracted to the " mouse ear looking " flowers that stink overnight, then releasing them with pollen to transfer to the next flower they explore ( which repeats the process ). Plant also attracts the only " tropical " swallowtail species that is common north of Mexico, the Pipevine Swallowtail. Another weird group of plants, that can attract Monarchs, Queens, ..and some other Tropical butterflies further south are Matelea.. Sometimes called Milkweed Vines ( ..A common, over used name also applied to Funastrum, another group of vining plants related to Milkweeds ..and a couple other related Genus in Mexico. ). While the flowers on many Funastrum are white/ pink, ..maybe yellowish, Flowers on Matelea can be Green, Brown ..or almost Black.. Some have weird looking color patterns as well. While flowers on many sp. aren't all that big, foliage can be quite lush looking. Some species can get large, weird looking pods as well. Matelea tristifolia: * May have recently been re-named after a population of similar looking plants was discovered in far S. AZ. Trying to source some of the weirder flowered sp. ..Then, there is one of the more " iconic ", but rarely understood desert plants, Devil's Claw.. Proboscidea.. Pink flowered sps. are annual, Yellow, perennial. Lush looking plant that emerges from nowhere during the summer/ Fall. Flowers look like Orchids, smell amazing as well ..and the pods are edible at a certain stage / seeds quite nutritious. Hooked seedpods that can grab a shoe or ankle while hiking, have been used to craft various things for thousands of years. Proboscidea althaeifolia, Yellow Devil's Claw / Desert Unicorn Plant. ...And that's just a few of the " strangely alluring " leafy things out there to be found.. W/ out seeking out the subtle things, no one would see the lush bounty that exists just beyond the thirsty looking landscape they might see in front of them at certain times of the year. far S. AZ during last year's wet Summer. Not so " desert-y " right?

Gymnocalycium damsii:Gymnocalycium calochlorum;Gymnocalycium baldianum:Lobivia aculeata:Echinopsis schreiteri:

If you are zone pushing you are killing plants!!! I say my job is to kill plants!!!

Sends water deeper. Just a free version of this . Essential for the hot days.

Hello! My canary Island date Palm seed planted one month ago. I can now see a root coming out of the drainage hole. The pot is about 10cm. What should i do? I would guess the pot should be big enough for a single seed.. There is no sprout yet. Thanks for help!

So I'm going to get a coconut palm dawrf variety. It's got around 3ft of trunk and should be producing coconuts they are field grown and I will have one transfered from homestead to lakewales central Florida quite a long drive. Any tips to reduce transplant shock and help recover the root system? This will be happening in June

Great pics! Love these palms.

Hybridization among Sabal species does occur but is not rampant like Phoenix. I've found my various Sabals have staggered flowering times, which give them little chance to hybridize. For example, my Sabal miamiensis x mexicana Leu Garden - itself a rare hybrid - flowered a couple months ago while all my trunking Sabals have yet to flower. My pure Sabal miamiensis is flowering now. The best way to prevent hybridization is to cut off all flower spathes except the one you want to harvest. If they have staggered flowering times, no problem.

Yeah they are. I have seen them pop up and different nurseries and grocery stores. And no they are selling them as house plants they are all potted up and everything! They also have a little tag that says what it is and how to care for it but I took it off.

These Canary Island palms were started by me a number of years ago. Unfortunately, I lost some when I was moving to a new location. I have only every really experimented with P. canariensis and Washingtonia, both are easy from seed.

Those are thirsty devils, like Schools of Irish Fish . . . If in doubt, give 'em another drink.

Picked up a 1 gal plant back in 2008. It's doing GREAT and doesn't seem to mind my dry garden. Again there may be ground water down there somewhere LOL But it's far to rocky to dig a hole looking for it and I believe here you need permission from the government to drill a well.

I'm going to have to do something about my Washy one of these years . My protection method is easier than that method used in Iowa , but if I keep protecting it on winters below 15F , and keep it alive , it's going to get like those sky dusters in California , and there is no way I can protect anything near the height that it has the potential to grow to . Getting a nice start to the season below . Will

Distance shot for full stick effect:

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pallets and peaches

Winter shadow is waning and I cannot wait for spring