Parajubaea and others in Fresno, CA

[Josue Diaz]

I wanted to share some photos with you of @xvang01's palm garden in Fresno (interior, central California.) He gave me a short tour of his place a few weeks ago, and these pictures are from around the beginning of February. 

*I'm sharing these with his permission of course!*

First up,  lots of parajubaea- I'm not sure which is which, but he has microcarpa, toralyii and sunkha throughout his garden.

[Josue Diaz]

He also has a spectacular caryota for our area (gigas? Urens?) 

A pritchardia hillebrandii 'blue moon'

A nice jubaeopsis

 

 

[Josue Diaz]

And lastly,  copernicia baileyana 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

I know where that copernicia came from....

[xvang01]

JDiaz, thanks for stopping by. That Caryota u mentioned is a gigas it has been a good grower at my place from a 15 gal. There are only two that grown in fresno county. One is at a local nursery  (sago rey) right behind her house and one at my place. As far as the Bismarckia nobilis, it also has been a great grower but I don't understand why no one plant it or sell any of these. I was told by a local nursery that these don't live here. I guess we just had to test our luck. 

[5150cycad]

2 hours ago, xvang01 said:

JDiaz, thanks for stopping by. That Caryota u mentioned is a gigas it has been a good grower at my place from a 15 gal. There are only two that grown in fresno county. One is at a local nursery  (sago rey) right behind her house and one at my place. As far as the Bismarckia nobilis, it also has been a great grower but I don't understand why no one plant it or sell any of these. I was told by a local nursery that these don't live here. I guess we just had to test our luck. 

Great looking palms!! I was expecting to see more cold damage on the palms after this last winter. What was your low temperature over the winter? Keep pushing the zone and test that luck. You never know unless you try. 4 years ago I didn’t know it was possible to grow palms in Fresno (other than washies and queens). Man it’s crazy to see how things have changed. You should educate your local growers to palms what will survive, like the bizmarckia. 

[GottmitAlex]

4 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

And lastly,  copernicia baileyana 

What are the temp requirements for this gorgeous palm? 

[iwan]

Nice to see some uncommon palms in the San Joaquin valley.  We need some more palm crazies to offset the big box palm and commercial landscapes.  Probably the biggest limitation to what can be grown is our cold and foggy winters.  Not even the urban heat island is enough to offset this.  This winter chill is one reason this is a prime stone fruit growing region. 

Historical Jubaea, Sabal and Brahea specimens in the Fresno region show a long standing palm passion, even with the limited selection decades ago.

 

[Josue Diaz]

4 hours ago, xvang01 said:

JDiaz, thanks for stopping by. That Caryota u mentioned is a gigas it has been a good grower at my place from a 15 gal. There are only two that grown in fresno county. One is at a local nursery  (sago rey) right behind her house and one at my place. As far as the Bismarckia nobilis, it also has been a great grower but I don't understand why no one plant it or sell any of these. I was told by a local nursery that these don't live here. I guess we just had to test our luck. 

I have about 100 of these germinating also. My goal with these is to give them away to people in my neighborhood and hopefully get some planted in public spaces.  The tower district might have to be renamed the palm district.

2 hours ago, 5150cycad said:

Great looking palms!! I was expecting to see more cold damage on the palms after this last winter. What was your low temperature over the winter? Keep pushing the zone and test that luck. You never know unless you try. 4 years ago I didn’t know it was possible to grow palms in Fresno (other than washies and queens). Man it’s crazy to see how things have changed. You should educate your local growers to palms what will survive, like the bizmarckia. 

My low was 32, but I may have been a degree or two warmer than Xiong, since I live in an urban area. There are lots of palms that will grow here but there aren't very many palm growers in this area like there are in southern California, so the only readily available palms are what the big box stores carry (queens, Phoenix, Washingtonia...) like Iwan said though,  there is a long history of exotic- plant lovers in this area. Older parts of the city have large jubaea, aracauria, jacaranda etc, none of which are readily available here today. 

1 hour ago, iwan said:

Nice to see some uncommon palms in the San Joaquin valley.  We need some more palm crazies to offset the big box palm and commercial landscapes.  Probably the biggest limitation to what can be grown is our cold and foggy winters.  Not even the urban heat island is enough to offset this.  This winter chill is one reason this is a prime stone fruit growing region. 

Historical Jubaea, Sabal and Brahea specimens in the Fresno region show a long standing palm passion, even with the limited selection decades ago.

 

I will give kudos to the big box stores though. Recently,  they've been stocking large (and cheap) livistona, archontophoenix, howea and caryota. The HD on Kings Canyon has large,  15-gallon chamaedorea plumosa! I couldn't believe my eyes. 

[iwan]

I am sure there are some other gems planted in back yards of people that just bought a palm at the box store or the local palm nursery.  For years, I have noted a palmy commercial planting in an industrial park.  It wasn't until the landscapers cleaned things up that I noticed that there was a trunking Trithrinax acantohcoma front and center.  That is certainly a palm you don't see here, let alone in a commercial planting.  That reminds me, I need to get a picture.

[enigma99]

Nice. Thanks for sharing. Like the pritchardia and copernicia. 

Yard is looking good, I need to clean up my yard too. What are those trunks behind the copernicia?

Any nice archie specimens down in Fresno? Looks like he has one trunking there

Edited March 29, 2018 by enigma99

[Josue Diaz]

1 hour ago, enigma99 said:

Nice. Thanks for sharing. Like the pritchardia and copernicia. 

Yard is looking good, I need to clean up my yard too. What are those trunks behind the copernicia?

Any nice archie specimens down in Fresno? Looks like he has one trunking there

If I'm not mistaken, behind the copernicia are archontophoenix, wodyetia and howea. 

To answer your question, yes the are several archontophoenix here and there. I have several myself,  and there are a couple in my neighborhood also. The oldest I've seen is at a palm nursery. That one pre-dates the 2007 freeze. Here's a picture of that one. 

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/55993-spectacular-palm-garden-fresno-ca/

 

[enigma99]

23 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

If I'm not mistaken, behind the copernicia are archontophoenix, wodyetia and howea. 

To answer your question, yes the are several archontophoenix here and there. I have several myself,  and there are a couple in my neighborhood also. The oldest I've seen is at a palm nursery. That one pre-dates the 2007 freeze. Here's a picture of that one. 

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/55993-spectacular-palm-garden-fresno-ca/

 

Nice. How do those wodyetias do down there? My drainage is so poor here they can’t survive, only in pots. 

And it is nice they are finally selling archontophoenix in stores but my experience is that they don’t transplant well. Usually go into shock and stay stagnant for a few years. My oldest one has been in the ground since 2010 and it wasn’t until the last 3 years or so it has taken off. Maybe in a few years they will be everywhere 

[Josue Diaz]

46 minutes ago, enigma99 said:

Nice. How do those wodyetias do down there? My drainage is so poor here they can’t survive, only in pots. 

 

Yeah, most people treat them like queens and put them in full sun. The only healthy ones I've seen have some shade. 

Here's my wodyetia from today. Its been in the ground through two winters. This will be its third summer coming up. My guess is that its days will be numbered once it passes the roofline. 

Edited March 30, 2018 by Josue Diaz

[Josue Diaz]

And here's a shot to give you an idea of where it's planted,  between the house and the driveway,  with a southern exposure. 

[enigma99]

18 minutes ago, Josue Diaz said:

Yeah, most people treat them like queens and put them in full sun. The only healthy ones I've seen have some shade. 

Here's my wodyetia from today. Its been in the ground through two winters. This will be its third summer coming up. My guess is that its days will be numbered once it passes the roofline. 

Yeah that’s a good spot. Even if it eventually gets cold enough, still fun. I put in a french drain in my yard, and pump almost daily to keep my roystonea dry. A lot of work, but it is alive and growing today so a first for me. Thinking wodyetias might work as well with the same method.

[Michael Smith]

Nice to see these plants being grown nearby in Fresno! I'm in Visalia and am interested in growing Bismarckia and trying Caryota mitis. Any ideas on the best places to find small starter plants?

[Darold Petty]

MIchael, Welcome to Palmtalk !!