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Adam, That's a really beautiful photo. The hues are great and the washies are silhouetted nicely. Was that picture taken during a big brush fire perhaps?

Hi everyone Have decided to cut winter short and spend 3 weeks in sunny California ! Danylle and I will be arriving in Los Angeles next Friday 27 Aug . We will be spending the first 6 nights at the Sheraton Park Hotel 1855 South Harbor Boulevard Anaheim. http://www.sheratonparkanaheim.com/ Hoping to get to Justin's BBQ on Sat 28th (ring me Dave at the Hotel) and see the Hoopers garden and hopefully Ralph Velez's . On Sept 2& 3rd we will be staying with El Hogie Jack and Lindsay up in L.A Sept 4,5,6th we will be staying with Pogobob and seeing the new nursery at Oceanside and pull up a weed at BS Mans ! Sept 7,8,9 we will be staying at the Days Hotel-Hotel Circle(543 Hotel Circle South, San Diego http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60750-d556822-Reviews-Days_Hotel_Circle_by_SeaWorld-San_Diego_California.html Sept 10 -12 will be staying at Matty B's San Diego . Sept 13-15 San Francisco at the Holiday Inn express Fisherman's Wharf . http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60713-d217813-Reviews-Holiday_Inn_Express_Hotel_Suites_San_Francisco_Fisherman_s_Wharf-San_Francisco_California.html 16-18 We will be with Darold Petty . We fly out of San Francisco on Sept 19th . Unfortunately no Hawaii this time . If anyone wants to catch up give us a call at the Hotel one evening and we will get a mobile phone on the Saturday . Cheers Troy

Funny stuff.

Yep, pretty funny stuff! As several of you now know, it takes some time to do, but its fun!

Hi Troy, hope you have a great adventure here in California. Looking at your itinerary, I'd say it's a sure thing. Hope to meet you and Danylle during your stay. Cheers, Kim

Stephan you just keep your arse in Woy Woy and out of my compost pile thank you very much. Jim, any dog that's breed starts with a P is bound to be gorgeous. Ugly kids ? Well until they moved across the country I made my sisters offspring call me Mrs (whomever I was married to at the time) so people wouldnt guess I am related to such ghastly looking creatures. I don't hate any palms (apart from the spikes of death out in the yard, masquerading as a P.reclinata) but there are a lot of species I wouldnt want to look at in my garden. I love my rommies....they are fast, great canopy and look so nice with little effort. Peachy

One of the most hated palms of all...

Troy, Prepare yourself for some CA summer. I'm not sure of the temps in SoCall, but we will be over 105F dry and windy in the CA Delta this week....pure hell on earth for a few days.

See you there Randy !

These "cross the world" PRA's are becoming epic! Makes my Florida journeys seem wimpy. See ya soon Troy!

Thanks Wal In that case i may have to Clone myself or send my EvIL twin up to Qld He he he !

I have many of the cold hardy palms that have been mentioned, esp. Trachycarpus and queens. The queens have given me a quick canopy and the many different Trachycarpus sp. give a fan leafed counter in the canopy. Ive planted palms to grow in the mid canopy and others low to the ground, all in an effort to create an effect. I guess what I'm saying is that my yard is a canvas and palms give it variations in color and texture, so I find it hard to dislike any palm that will grow here. Now having said that, I still haven't found a place to plant even one Washingtonia.

I've never been one to want to offend someone's likes or tastes by proclaiming my disliking, or even worse, my hate, of something they may hold dearly. What's the point? I have several of the palms on this thread's "HATE" list and they're SPECTACULAR in my opinion and that includes P. reclinata, queens, clumping palms, cold hardy palms, etc., etc., etc. So I hope I don't offend anyone's tastes when I proclaim my distaste for dead or dying palms or fake discolored palms. I think I'm pretty safe with those two.

Hear hear hear....after all who would want to grow a palm that is hardy, beautiful and cheap to buy..... Sorry Kumar, but this topic comes up about 5 times a year - its a bit tired. You know, I don't really have a problem with any cold hardy palms or enthusiasts, but they're NOT for me. BECAUSE, If I can grow probably a couple hundred types or species of palms at my place or more, but I only have 1/4 acre to grow them on, why should I use that space for the same palm that 85% of the people with "tropical tastes" are growing in my area? If I had the space, and someone to take care of them (which, obviously, by the point of their desirability, they would not need much) I would have more of them. That being said, I do have a queen palm that I never post a pic of that looks great and its here because its the first palm I planted, probably about 10 years ago.

Any cold hardy palm. Even though I have one.

I posted this on another thread but thought it opportune to repeat it here. Long-term forecasting is improving in accuracy but is still almost a 50\ 50 proposition especially when past ENSO phases [either El Ninos or La Nina] can behave so eradically from the norm. There have been many discussions among climatologists of what is happening this summer and what is may mean for winter. Observations of the leaves of certain trees turning color already in August could suggest an early and cold winter. Some say animal behavior such as cats & dogs growing thick coats foretells of a cold winter. I don't know if any of this is verifiable. Many of us recall December 1990 when an arctic airmass descended into California dropping temps well below freezing in many area for a week or more. It was the only time I recorded below freezing temps [2 nights at 30F\ -1.1C] and was worse that the 2007 freeze. Some are suggesting that we may experience this type of sub-freezing event by winter. But the summer of 1990 was unremarkable and in-fact slightly above normal followed by a warmer than normal autumn. Coincidentally, the Jan 2007 freeze occurred after a normal to very hot summer and normal to slightly above normal autumn. Climate analogues ["the past is key to the future"] is fascinating but in the case of California's last 2 significant freezes there is no correlation to this summer's unusual coolness. I don't have the available data before 1980 but have never observed a summer of consistent below normal temps [actually starting in April] like we have experienced this summer. Here are a few quotes by members of the AMS [American Meteorological Society] - Los Angeles chapter who study data going back over 100 years: Here's another interesting statement: All of this suggests that we are in unchartered territory and anything can happen.

christian do you mean ALL trachies or just fortuneis? its just like syagrus--i wouldnt plant anymore UNLESS it was something off the beaten track for socal.

I'm so sick of my Vershifeltia splendida grove. I'm gonna chop it down soon.

"familiarity breeds contempt," is what most of us seem to be saying ,& i have to agree, but if i could grow whats on jeff in costa rica's list of "most hated palms" i would be ecstatic!

Heck, Jonathan....that's the whole list of what you can grow!

Almost any species of palm can be appreciated if it's a well-grown, well-located palm. ( she said diplomatically )................ However, (you were waiting for that, right?) why take up limited space in your garden for the palms that can be seen across the street, next door, and down the block? Where I live, that would eliminate Washingtonia, several Phoenix, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Chamaerops, and Trachycarpus -- just not very exciting. At the other end of the spectrum would be palms that never look good because they are too marginal. A weak, struggling specimen doesn't merit the space it takes up in the garden, and some other exotic palm is always waiting in the wings, so OUT! Whenever I make a "rule" for myself about palm selection, I break the rule very quickly. "All palms must be self-cleaning." Am I going to live my whole life without planting a Tahina? No way! "No spiny palms." If I get the chance to grow Phoenicophorium borsigianum, will I pass it up because of the spines? Nix! So my only rule is: try any palm that suits my fancy.