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In reading Ryan's outstanding coverage of the recent tour of some incredible Gardens in the Miami area, one suprising note was the difficulties encountered by Licuala grandis even in locations where C. renda remained robust.I have seen numerous shots of browning leaves in many specimens. To my suprise,my six year old that I purchased from Jeff Searle at a Nov. sale in 2004(now trunking)has done rather well: Three months after the cold, you can view browning on the tips but otherwise I can see no obvious damage: Another: Looking for other green Licuala grandis in South Florida. Please chip in.

This is a offspring of Dick Douglas famous Bujubaea. It is showing two spathas in ´´adolecency´´ My eriospathas ,that are fast, don´t flower until they are bigger then this palm.....She is precocious!!!

This is the first one I have bought and know nothing about this one and what it likes. If someone can give me a hand that would be great.

These pics show a pair of palm trees growing in a host tree. I first saw this as a single palm tree in 2002 while working at the University California Riverside campus. I am working there again. The palm tree has grown alot since then! Also two more trees are growing palm trees. One is splitting the host tree in two! The smallist palm tree is the size the big one was in 2002!

- 12:08PM: The tour moved on, as Tim and the crowd entered the right side (north side) of the house. The property was a large corner lot, so it bordered a street and avenue on two sides. This side also had a large planting bed full of plants and several mature palms, Tim can be seen on the extreme left side guiding people through. - A large group of plant people who know each other quite well can lead to some hilarious comments, stories and jokes. Everyone started to laugh at something Jeff Searle on the left had said, don't ask me what though. I did manage to at least, get a photo of Randy smiling. - 12:10PM: The canopy around Tim's yard was well established and made areas like this one dark. This is usually a good thing for shade loving palms but made it tricky to photograph. I had to over expose the image to make everyone and everything in the foreground come out visible, at the expense of the clear sky. Jeff and Tim had walked around that showy Bromeliad to examine a cold damaged Calyptrocalyx sp. off to the right of the image. Those silvery fan leaves were part of a larger Zombie Palm, Zombia antillarum, clump. A "small" Canary Island Date Palm, Phoenix canariensis towers over them in the background. - A wide shot showing the north side of the garden. In the center, SFPS Director Lou Squros switched between his video camera and his compact digital. Ryan

- 12:02PM: Tour goers began to group together along Tim's driveway as he started the tour and his introduction. Cars continued to arrive and look for parking spaces as stragglers found their way here. - 12:03PM: I first saw Tim's collection during the last SFPS Garden tour that I had attended two years ago. I was eager to see how much individual plants had grown since then as I had heavily photographed his garden at that time. We started in the front yard, naturally and proceeded to go in a standard counter clockwise tour of the garden. - I did my usual run and shoot combo as I did my best to capture it all. I walked back to the entryway, as I noticed that large Rhapis multifida growing out from under the overhang. - "I remember that one." The very dark green foliage of the Syagrus amara made it stand out from a distance and I remembered that it had half as much trunk, two years ago. Those fan leaves to the right belong to an Old Man Palm, Coccothrinax crinita and the feather leaves in behind belong to a hedge of Cat Palms, Chamaedorea cataractarum. A recently planted Dypsis crinita resides to the right in the foreground. Ryan

I do not know about dog urine, but I go green & pee on a palm. I figure I save 1000's of gallons of water a year, not to mention adding a little fertilizer. Should this be another thread?

- 11:49AM: As I was heading over to Jeff's truck I took a few parting shots of John's front yard. I knew from studying the map, it was a short drive back up the street to the next garden, so there was time to squeeze in a few more photos... Garden #3: The Tim Blake Collection - 12:00PM: High Noon on a sunny South Florida Saturday. The 'short drive' became a mini ten minute side tour of surrounding properties and yards as we missed the turn to Tim's house. We saw a few yards of note, as the specimen palms were easy to spot from the street. When we made the last turn, we saw all the cars up ahead and arrived right at noon. The timing of the schedule had been spot on so far. - 12:01PM: I approached the entryway to the house to find FM. Randy Wiesner (palmisland) and Tour Host Tim Blake looking over the palms planted nearby. The collection included representatives from most of the popular plant groups and Tim's range for collecting showed no limits. - There was a half-moon shaped planting bed bordering the street and it was filled with plants from one end to the other and featured this impressive Sugar Palm, Arenga pinnata. Ryan

- 11:44AM: The mystery Attalea had a newly opened inflorescence just in time for the tour. - We left the backyard behind and proceed through the west edge of the front yard, heading for the street. As we were entering familiar territory once again, a few tour goers began to break from the group and make for their cars. The next garden was very close by. - 11:47AM: While unwisely standing in the street, I photographed the last few minutes of the tour at John Greenleaf's great garden. - John was a great host, as he welcomed us through his entire private palm sanctuary and answered every question with enthusiasm. He is a true palm fanatic and it was nice to see where he keeps growing his passion. I see him at the society sales and meetings and he will often be one of those hardcore bidders at auction time. Ryan

This palm tree is splitting the host tree!!! All of these trees are very close to each other.

As the mother of 2 furry boys, unkindly referred to as dogs by the ill educated masses, I must say that one than one of my palms have suffered a tinkle or 2. Purely for hygeine purposes, I generally give them a squirt with the hose to rinse it away and no ill effects are suffered. Big inground palms make their own arrangements. Peachy

Ryan, I've never seen a S. uresana that white.. and I've seen S. uresana in habitat twice. Are you certain that's what it is?

I concur. They are becoming more common here in south FL. Jody

It looks like a Copernicia alba, the Caranday Wax Palm. Ryan

- 11:41AM: The tour had reached the gate at the west side of the house, and we began to search through the densely planted beds nearby. I had made it back to this mystery Attalea sp., that I had spotted earlier in the tour. I still think it could be A. maripa, and had a few keys to go on, including old and new inflorescences. - This mystery Attalea had some super hard spathes on its inflorescences. Those paddle shaped spathes were made of a thick, dense wood and were quite heavy. The old spadices on the inside were firmly attached. John had kept them to give away during the tour, so they got snatched up in a hurry by tour goers, including one by me. - 11:42AM: A nearby Calyptronoma rivalis was hard to miss, as those upright leaves were practically waving at us with the breeze. - FM. Jeff Searle had pointed out a Heterospathe glauca planted not far away under the canopy. Ryan

- 11:36AM: I had to show another view of the C. ekmanii from the other side. Local grower and society member Bill Olson, Sr. was still in his Captain Morgan pose. - 11:38AM: The overall look of this Coccothrinax seemed familiar, so I found Tour Host John Greenleaf and asked for the identity. This is Coccothrinax scoparia, a palm seen in habitat during the 2006 IPS Biennial in the Dominican Republic. The fiber is very strong and stiff, with multiple layers. This species is hard to find with any considerable size and this specimen was on the verge of producing trunk. - In the immediate vicinity of the C. scoparia, was a cousin Coccothrinax clarensis. It is a smaller growing species, but had similar qualities, including matted fiber leaf bases and an unique silvery-bronze leaf underside. - 11:39AM: Here is a shot of the C. clarensis from the opposite side, showcasing the deeply split fan leaves. The leaves had a pronounced hastula and a noticeable, light-green hue. Ryan

Sergio? Wrong, It is a Sabal Uresana, not a Bismarckia. There are several of them at Peckerwood Gardens in Hempstead where I took the picture. Most of all the plants are grown from seeds the guys at Yucca do collected. They are all labeled as well. Ryan Fuller www.collectorpalms.com

John, I would like to vote, but the bullets in the second part are not applicable to me. How has your interest in palms been influenced? 1. Growing palms is natural in my environment. 2. I moved to a different state and expanded my palm interest. 3. I discovered palms after moving to a different state. 4. Moving from my native country allowed me to indulge my palm interest. 5. I discovered palms after moving from my native country. I never moved to another climate zome or country, my palm love is growing over the years as result of my love to them. And palms in German environment are not natural. Best regards, Verena

Try Sabal Uresana, they are more hardy and just as blue. They need well draining soil, and there is some variability in hardiness, but some are hardy to mid 10s. Ryan Fuller Collector Palms

Chris, why not try Butia odorata ? This butia is adapted to life on the beach in pure white sand, should grow well for you.

A grower in Naples, FL claims to have a Bismarkia "silver" x "green". I guess it's possible, but not sure if it'd be more cold hardy?..

Not to compare with the thickness of the tomentum of a Butia eriospatha´s spathe:

Interesting that it still shows some thin tomentum on the spathes , being the second generation after the Jubaea !!!

It is Coccothrinax barbadensis

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