Leaderboard

The reason I say " possibly a bumper crop " is because I've had little success with Birmingham's producing seed in 3-4 years . My biggest Birmy has nothing on it now in the way of inflorescences ( it has been like that for 3 years , and after a great crop back then ? ) , but my second biggest looks to be possibly loaded with seed . Lots of inflorescences with lots of flowering , and at a normal time for them to mature . Will Overview below : There are 3 inflorescences like this one , and a couple small ones too . I don't know why my biggest one is not flowering anymore . It's the one that produced so much seed a few years ago ? :

Tossed a handful of seeds in this mulch bed a month or so ago in my apartment complex and starting to see volunteers popping up everywhere . Most will probably be weed whipped away but hopefully some will prevail !

It was bulk pick up today, so I had to give the Chinese fans a severe haircut, and I pulled out all of the huge Aechmea blanchettiana bromeliads, which got way out of hand the last few years…. 10’x6’ pile removed. Sunlight for the Allagopterra arenaria achieved. My plan is to find some “Stoplight” Crotons to put in the backdrop of the understory, and maybe with some Firecracker Plant or some another small sun-tolerant croton like Yellow Mammy on the ends, as I expand that bed. So we went out to hit up the regular, local nurseries to see what they had. To my surprise, there was some interesting stuff at the regular nursery that normally just carries the usual ~7ish ubiquitous local palms…. Chambeyronia Macrocarpas 5+ feet tall…. Licualas…. Chrysalidocarpus Cabadae… Coccothrinax argentata (is it?) seeding already… Lantania lontaroides (these are everywhere this year)… A couple of very old men, that have been there for years…. No Stoplight, but lots of Picasso’s Paintbrush around this year….($9.99) A nice surprise to see some more “out-of-the-way” palms showing up at the plain-jane nurseries. Hope that trend continues. Oh, and some little old men…

I actually started my plant growing activities with orchids. Vandas are my absolute favorites, and they have, in my opinion, the most beautiful blooms of all plants. I had a pretty large collection of Vandas a few years ago, which unfortunately, due to circumstances, got wiped out. My main focus at the moment is growing palms from seed, but I really miss my Vandas. Will definitely start it up again at some point -- nothing beats those inflorescences! And orchids are pretty easy to go about if you can handle the basics. The only thing I dislike about growing orchids, is that it's impossible to grow them from seed on your own without access to a lab.

California poppy super bloom in the Santa Ana mountains along I-15 this past spring

A. Striata.

Probably Aloe Striata, not sure though.

Interesting, this is the second year in a row my Birmingham has been producing seed.

Yeah, not sure how it will work out with the little greenies. I got them from Floribunda, and am told the parent is blue. They could be green hospitas or even hybrids I guess. Greens and blues and in-betweens grow side by side in Cuba, along with various hybrids. Not expecting much blue out of them at this point, That’s for sure. A couple things about the hospitas surprised me (my 1st Copernicias). The root growth is crazy. At early age, it seems to be like 80% root growth, 20% green growth. At one point I had the little 1g pots sitting on bags of manure. The roots grew through the drain holes, punctured through the plastic bags, and grew 24 inches long into pure manure, when the plants were just a few inches tall. You could put a fingerling in a 20 gallon pot, and it would still be trying to escape its confines. The other thing was how much they actually liked the water. I then put them in saucers to keep the roots from reaching paydirt outside the pots. Then with all the rain this spring, I got lazy constantly emptying the saucers, so they were left in standing water a lot of the time…. They seemed to really enjoy the water, so I started just keeping the saucers full all the time. With the temps in the 90s during the day and 80s at night, combined with sitting in water, they seemed to speed up quite a bit. Perhaps this mimics Cuba’s seasonally flooded plains. I don’t think I’d try this with Ekmaniii, but for Hospita and perhaps some other Copernicia that grow in the flood zones, it might be worth noting that they seem to like tons of water to go with the heat and sun. I don’t think I’ll be keeping this up when temps start to fall though. They’ll be out of the water at the end of the wet season. Your triple arrangement will be amazing over the years as it grows in. Hard to find even one of these in a yard, let along a grouping. Yours have a nice color. They seem to range from the coveted silver to downright dull-green.

All pics are from LA and SD aside from the last one growing in the heart of San Francisco. I have seen healthy mature ones in Palm Springs, CA, as well! Very adaptable palms!

This is the first batch of seeds that I have allowed to grow. Getting pretty fat!

When I first joined this forum I didn’t know because I was too far gone. But I was going through bad depression because of work. I was drinking heavily but also obsessed with palms. I was using palms and this forum as a way to feel better. I’m very thankful for that. And this. Iam doing amazing as I got a new job within the company. (Huge company) I’ve taken on reef tanks again. As I did as a youngster. Thank you to everyone for your support. Thanks for the love. The YouTube support. My palms are doing well indoors here in southern Ontario. I did loose a few seedlings this winter as I have been taking care of my family. My parrots and my reef tanks. But I do get some dm as people ask me for advice for indoor northern growing and it makes me feel great!! I know I’m not on a lot. But I just want to say thank you to everyone for helping me get through a hard time in my life ! rob

While I enjoy seeing whatever is going on over in Texas or S. Carolina, are there any garden updates of the PNW that you all want to share? Maybe some cool progress shots or garden changes? Cheers!

Vanda are beautiful no doubt, ..but Plumeria, Cattleya ( ..and anything near-related to the Cattleya Alliance ) ..and everything withing the Iris family would like to have a word about possessing the most spectacular flowers, of all plants, Lol.

such a nice palm! it has a beautiful green crownshaft.

hello, Thank you so much for replying, sorry for not replying earlier, I didn't notice that you replied. Your foxtail looks fantastic! maybe the foxtail palm is better for mallorca, i would like to get one because they do really well here, i have a 1 and a half year old seedling, but i would like to get a bigger one. Where and when did you get yours from? or you grown it from seed? Here theres a foxtail that is growing in mallorca it looks very good! its on a private garden in calvia near the coast.

I grew some hospitas from seed I picked myself off a blue parent tree. Sold them all off at 3 gallon size as they were still as green as could be. Don't know if they ever change color, but suspect not. Also grew some blue yarey (small hospita) from seed I gathered from a wild population in Cuba. Blue from the very first sprout. Here's one of them, today, planted in ground. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

I joined this forum when i was in 8th grade, i was literally still in middle school. Ive been fairly active every year since and have learned A LOT about palms, and plants in general. Now im coming into my senior year of high school, and its time to think about what i want to do in life. It is looking very likely that i will be going into a plant science program through UF. Seriously, if it hadnt been for this forum i wouldnt be in this position right now, and i want to thank everybody who has contributed to this. There are many different fields that i can go into with a degree in this subject, and i will let yall know what happens whenever that time comes. It is very unlikely that i will stop being active here, as i have so many palms and various plants (this plant addiction has gone INSANE lol), ill definitely be posting about them from time to time and asking questions where needed. Jumping back to when i first joined the forum, i was struggling at the time. I was going to be going into high school next year and thats stressful enough as it is, but there was a much bigger thing. My Grandmother had passed away in October of that year and i was struggling quite a lot from that. Getting into palms and such definitely helped me in regards to that. I think still to this day the reason why i continue to pile more plants onto my collection is not only from catching the palm bug, but its also because it makes me feel better. I guess plants make me not think about it as much and therefore im happier as a result? Im not sure but it has definitely helped. I should also note that she was a plant person, just to a lesser degree, so maybe i got it from her in a way. In any case, it doesnt feel like its been almost 4 years, even though it has. Palms is my coping mechanism, and i know there are plenty here on this forum who can relate.

I visited the Amsterdam BG and noticed these two aloes with beautiful red lining of the leaves. Any ideas what this variety may be called? There was no name tag.

Hopefully so, I’ll grow them up either way I suppose. I think I’ll try your seasonal flood saucer trick to see if it works for me, I have a couple of gigas that may also benefit.

Same here. I always have loved collecting plants. Whenever I am upset I go and sit next to them. The only problem is that I keep wanting more plants and my parents won't let me get more. But I just turned 18 and I will hopefully be able to buy lots more plants in the future.

I got 3 seedlings from Floribunda earlier this year and all of those were green also.

Thanks Tim and Peachy. Here’s another lost label. It does not look like any others I have so probably not seed grown. Maybe from Floribunda years ago, but not sure. Ideas appreciated!

A long time ago I went to one of the (two, I think) beaches on Crete where these are to be found, and the small seedlings all grew under the shade of the much larger trees, in, at most, dappled sun, and many in deep shade. I'd not put a newly sprouted seeding in such an exposed position, or maybe protect with a shade cloth for a year or so. The one in the photo, however, looks past the point of no return.

I would agree with this advice but you can try your luck if you just want to try planting seeds in a certain area. Generally speaking, if seeds germinate in soil and are happy there they will continue growing. But seedling transplants are always hit or miss. If you do try again, I would suggest amending that soil and putting down some mulch.

A Cloud temperature -based view recap of last night's surprise storms.. For reference: White, to Purple to Green colors = warmest cloud temperatures. Yellow to dark Orange / red ( ..and occasionally blackish brown w/ some white { not in this particular storm complex } ) cool to extremely cold ( and high ) cloud tops. Last few evenings, we'd had storms form over ..or just northwest / east.. of Tucson, then try to make a run up I - 10 toward Phoenix ..or at least parts of town. In all but last night's case, those storms would collapse well before reaching the county line. Last night, storms managed to break that spell and worked their way into ..at least.. the East and Northeast sides of the valley. On a scale of 1 to 5, i'd place this storm event at a marginal magnitude 3... Pretty good light show, ...esp for areas near downtown where there was an impressive flare up of lightning activity ( Can see this on the Satellite view as the last storm in the line forms just north east of Downtown Phoenix. ) Was very evident while watching it form / progress.. ( A " Flare up " = the non-stop " strobe light " effect of frequent lightning often seen in storms that are progressing into / through a strong intensification phase. ) Lots of dust / wall of dust rolling through town extending several K ft into the atmosphere.. Wind, and decent rainfall totals for many ..though limited to mainly east side locations. Was also some damage and power loss issues noted in a few areas as well. Earlier in the evening, the same general storm complex itself generated a brief Tornado warning over the open desert due south of Casa Grande.. While on radar last night, it looked like Sky Harbor might finally be getting some rain, apparently, they did not.. Can see that some areas in N. Mesa / Scottsdale, Gilbert, and the ( mainly ) open desert areas ( for now ) between Apache Junction and Queen Creek did ok rainfall-wise. Closest Flood control district gauge near the house registered 0.04". Would've been nice to see 0.40"- 1.00", but i'll take whatever falls.. Can see who the winners ..and losers were last night. In case anyone is wondering, this is a fairly typical pattern when we get rain, esp. this time of year ..some parts of town get dumped on, while others ..even a couple miles away, may not get a drop. As is the usual case after an active night, tonight / tomorrow night may be quiet, though it being clear this morning / now can sometimes change that " typical " outcome ..so we'll see if any storm activity develops / moves towards the valley later. I doubt it, but, ..the Monsoon plays by it's own rules.. Not ours. 110+ Heat continues, thru -at least- Saturday. We'll see what the weekend ahead brings.

Mine is a mess too, they all start that way its all good! If you can give them plenty of water they can do either spot i think but close to the tree is better if ypunhave dry soil and cannot irrigate heavily. Mine in sand was daily drip between rains to keep it happy. The photo has my old garden in largo after hurricane Irma came through. The angels trumpet is still standing on the top right of the photo above the rubber vine (purple flowers) and was planted with almost all day sun. Its the only photo i have now but kind of shows how it was grown. Had companions and competition and full sun and still did ok. It was not spectacular as it aged though and does need to be cut back if a freeze never hits it. This one was frozen a bit that january and came right back mostly with minimal damage. They are fast growing so if you mess up just move it or take a cutting or two. Your photo looks like dry soil so water may be an issue, but if moisture is below the surface that helps. My sand was like that and helped keep it going. Now i wouldnt dare plant one without a really good irrigation system in the sand that drains in seconds. (The whole yard looked like that after irma but the damage was really minimal after they came back)

Plantago maritima (sea plantain/goose tongue) CA native plantain of the coastal strand, in this case colonizing the median "dune-strip" along upper Great Highway in SF.

Max of 23.1C / 73F. It started off sunny and lasted most of the day before cloud cover and rain moved in tonight. A continuation of the poor theme with below average daytime temps. Such crap weather. I can't believe how bad this July has been for sunshine hours and heat. I moaned loads about July 2021, but this has definitely been worse than that. The worst July since 2007 and it isn't even close. At least it is warmer than San Francisco still. That's what it has come to! This is one of the coldest airmasses on record for the time of year. It is certainly the coolest, cloudiest end to a July that I can ever remember in my lifetime. Even 2007 wasn't this bad at the end. This is probably the worst summer month that I have ever endured. It looks like a number of cold records have fallen over the past 24 hours. Some of the coldest late July nights on record under clear skies. Daytime maxes running below average. Strong winds and quite a bit of rain. It has really felt more like October than July. Such a poor month. Southern Germany also looking very cold for the peak of summer with maximum temps of about 13C / 56F in the Munich area. Regensburg to the north only reaching 12C / 54F.

I went outside and noticed a Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus had partially dropped the bottom leaf. It was still attached and being held up by my recently flushed Encephalartos princeps. Needless to say, I removed the frond before getting the camera to minimize the damage. This is one of the disadvantages of a small yard and big palms. There are a lot of things in the drop zone. The next frond it will drop is over my Encephalartos horridus x woodii. I think I will have to get proactive on that as I don't want a repeat of what happened today. All considered the damage wasn't too bad. Next to my dog there is a potted Sobralia macrantha which was supporting the leaf tips when I initially came out. It too suffered some damage. Yes, it caught my eye and was also impossible to walk past on the walkway until I took it down the rest of the way. Colorful trunk too!

Whatever this is showing alot of color, should be trunking soon! Can't wait

Great palms. I’ve got two younglings in the ground and 5more in 1g pots. The ones in pots…. I’ve been leaving them submerged in an inch of standing water in saucers mostly this summer, and they seem to love it with summer heat. Not exactly the typical recipe for Copernicia. The roots are crazy on these… In one year, they’ve come a long way… will be removing the pot with tin snips… The in-ground juvenile specimens are happy with a lot of rain and sun on this side… These seem to tolerate submersion in water when temps are in the ~90F range.

It's generally around the first week of September that I get to the point where the accumulated heat of summer gets to me. Almost one full week left in July, after a mild June, and I'm there already. 115 today after missing a possibility of a little rain and upper 70's last night. May have missed 0.01" once or twice overnight but have not observed rain in many moons. As is said. Looking forward to low 100's at the start of next week - if it holds this time.

Here’s a few different angles from this evening

My first orchid. I love epiphytes and once I found out some epiphytic orchids are hardy in my area (and at least one native) I got much more interested. Bit more humble than many featured here but I like him lol I plan on mounting eventually but am waiting for next spring due to it being hurricane season now Enc. tampensis 'alba form' 1 month ago vs today I plan on also eventually getting the following if hardy in my area: Epi. magnoliae Cattleya cernua Laelia anceps Dendrobium moniliforme 'Kouga' Sedirea japonica and Gomesa bifolia if I can find one for sale

Yes Tim, you “need” an Alocasia azlanii. Here are a couple more Alocasias still in pots: The one above I also have in the ground in a few places where it went dormant with the unusually dry months since I don’t water them, but is popping up again now. And last for today a Colocasia that really needs full sun and sitting in wet soil or water to do well for me. Pharaoh’s Mask goes dormant here even with our normal short, less rain (normally not really dry) months so I divided it to try it in pots with no drainage holes and also in a low spot where water sits. So far so good. These should get much bigger and more dramatic now that we are getting rain again! I am pretty sure lots of you complement your palms with these genera so please add yours. So much of what I see pictured online are permanent house plants.

Any updates on that Washingtonia in Cary?

Loving the heat and still moving along

Also, sorry for the long overdue update, but I’m pretty sure some of the seedling and seeds i’ve planted are established now. Will need to do another trip back down to get some photos.

Hi everyone, This project is still in the works. I have a ton of sabal palmetto seedlings that I need to get planting. If anyone is in the eastern NC area and wants to help i’ll send you some to plant : )

Hi Brandon, yes its probably a transplant shock. Usually Royal palms should transplant quite good but obviously it depends if they were growing in a greenhouse or in the sun. Don’t stress yourself and give it a bit of time. i have planted one smaller Bismarckia last year in September and it hasn’t opened a spear yet. I planted one 15 meters away from it 3 years ago and it has opened 5 spears in the first year. Nothing to worry about. First they grow roots and then later on the spears. BTW, the Foxtail that I have planted in the same spot as the Royal Palm, that had died before, has opened the second spear this year and starts to trunk now

some recent blooms. been really hot and humid lately in south Florida.

Corymbia ptychocarpa after -8C (17f) and 36+ hours below freezing during our Christmas freeze. All six, including the 2nd from the left which is either a hybrid or something else entirely, have lots of new growth from the lignotubers. I doubt any amount of cold in Houston can kill them, but they are probably destined to be a multi-stemmed hedge. Euc. tetraptera seedlings will go in the ground in spring.

My experience comparing smaller Armata is that they start leaf damage about 12f. The plants die about 11f. So when young, the leaf and plant lethality temperatures are about the same. So when young, the leaves are hardier than small filifera. Trunking specimens from Las Cruces/El Paso survived 0f to -5f in 2011. Very rare palm.

I think this is a fools errand. You may get them for a bit, but ultimately, they are outside of this zone. Driving around here there are so many dead washies, even a lot of trachys croaked. Want to know what didn't croak? Sabals.... the massive variety of Sabals that are available to us but most people simply ignore because they buy crap from Lowe's\Home Depot or whatever their landscaper provides them. For every ONE of those washies around here, there should be 500 Sabals , easily, because they thrive here. It's so sad, but I'm working to change that around here.

A few more……. Tim

One could argue that a deeply established Filiferas are some of the hardiest palms or the hardiest trunking palm. Especially since they probably regrow faster on rebound than a S. Birmingham.

Someone needs to grab some seeds from that filifera once it recovers enough to flower, then gorilla plant them somewhere lol

This is a little project that I have been drafting over the last few months. I have been researching historical archives of Sabal palmetto and the general climate. This is just a draft but soon I will write an official paper. Restoration of Sabal Palmetto in NC.pdf Also, I visited Bald Head Island this past Wednesday. While I was there I collected a few seeds. I am pretty sure that the good majority of the seeds I collected came originally from the BHI populations because they were much larger than the seeds of Florida transplants. I plan to germinate these seeds to use for future restoration.