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San Diego, CA, USA is treating her right

Yesterday was a great day in the garden after encountering this C. ovobontsira reveal. Up until now this young palm was rather unremarkable, no longer. It was gifted to me by Hilo Jason a few years back, you picked out a good one Jason, and no, you can’t have it back. Glad I’m able to share these photos. Tim

The colour of the new leaf on the atrovirens is amazing. An absolute stunning palm, seemingly easy to grow water and humidity, it’s not to fussed on soil as long as it is free draining. But one palm definitely worth growing in any collection. It seems to be a lot brighter red longispina the underside of the leaf yet a darker almost black on the leaf surface.

A little palm that needs no introduction from me on palm talk. They speak for themselves as far as ease of growing, germinating and pollinating. A beautiful little understory palm that I have cracked the growing code, producing hundreds of hand pollinated seeds every year. I have noticed the ones that produce good amounts of seeds seem to rest bi annually not producing large flowers, then the next year they flower with large flowers. Just an observation when I see my chamaedorea daily in the garden, it’s easy to learn the palm and what it does.

Hi, I'm new to the forum. My name is Matthew, and I have a plant collection across many plant families and genera. I especially like rare plants and miniature species. Despite my plant experience, I have never grown a palm tree before, and I've never tried germinating a palm seed, until the story below... A friend of mine sent me one Dypsis minuta berry. I had no clue what to do with it, so I did some research for a few hours and then decided to go for it. I cleaned and prepared the seed per my research, then planted it. I knew palm seeds generally take quite a long time to germinate, but wasn't ready for it in reality. I waited and waited until I nearly went insane and wanted to dig it up to see if the seed was still alive, but I resisted. Finally, I decided the seed had died and I had failed with my one, sole chance. That said, I left the container and just forgot about it. A few days ago, I was totally shocked to unexpectedly see the seedling popping up. It had been so long that I had to check the date it was sown, and discovered it took 13 months to germinate. I danced around like a fool and could barely contain myself, then sent messages to my plant friends about the news. In my years of growing plants, this may have been one of the most exciting successes. I opened the container and put in some fertilizer and supplements. I am considering moving the seedling into one of my rare plant grow tents. At this point I'm going to learn more about palms. I'm especially interested in the smallest species which may be suitable for indoor culture.

A gift from a pal up in North Queensland back in October 2023 (I think). A small seedling when received, it has been bulletproof and a decent grower down here in SE Queensland. Flowering for the first time too.

Here's a larger example in Cairns Botanical Gardens. They don't get big, but are very attractive.

This one is at Barnett Park in Lakeland, FL.

A couple of lovely arecas showing off their gorgeous looks. You can certainly see why they’re such a collectible palm. A couple of Mother Natures finest examples of what she has on offer.

Both this lot I germinated from seed easily. The Chuniophoenix are a slow seeding taking it’s time to get a move on and the picrophylla seem to be the standard syagrus growth rate from the get go. Now all I have to do is plant them in the years to come.

@NBTX11 Your Filiferas are coming along nicely. This HEB seems to like them.

Guess I made the right move by ordering about a dozen species of Braheas for this year.

Parajubaea for sure.

At first glance, I read Bentinckia Looking Nasty. I was relieved to learn I was wrong. A real beauty!

What’s up with all the leaf damage in this picture? It did not get anywhere cold enough this winter to cause damage to wild Sabal minor like it did in 2018 in some parts of ENC. Perhaps flooding? Or is this just the angle?

Thank you for sharing!

Revisited the Croatan yesterday and took this photo while I was there. Not the best photo quality, but it does show the larger Sabal minor within the forest.

Native Palms of the Croatan National Forest in Carteret County, N.C. May 2025 Update:

No, I think they’re different. Neither grows great for me, but the dark mealy has pretty wide leaflets (at least on young plants) and the ovibontsira is very upright in its growth as a young palm. Distinctively different

I’d say it’s a perfect example. Looks great! -dale

@MattyB good to see you and your new baby!

An absolute beauty of a palm. I can grow em Harry I just need the seeds. I have a couple of common palms in my nursery but that’s where it ends the rare and exotic ones for me. The slower growing the better as far as iam concerned. Richard

They go deeper green with deep shade and yellow a bit in the sun. I wouldn’t say it has a silver underside but a real healthy one has a velvet look about its leaf. It’s my all time favourite chamaedorea Richard

Starting to gain some size on that one. Very dark , burgundy look to the new frond , making it stand out amongst the others. Quite the nursery you have there with the sprouts afoot! Harry

When it comes to nothernmost potted cocos outside yearround there is the one in Malaga, grown from a coconut (picture by Pindo in 2020).

Thats a great books. Me and my dad still have em.

Attalea, most likely Attalea cohune, it's the most common one in cultivation outside its habitat.

I bought a 50lb bag of Langbeinite or Pulpomag shipped from something like Seven Springs Supply. I doubt you would find it locally. You could maybe find it at a local Ewing Irrigation, or SiteOne Landscape supply. I use Sunniland Palm 6-1-8 from the big blue box store. SiteOne and Ewing carry Lesco fertilizers and might have a good 8-2-12 at the local stores.

Here’s my triple planted one next to. a big Strelitzia nicolai. Happy as a pig in mud. It’s in sand but deeper down is heavier soil.

Mine has taken 5C lows a number of times last winter with no issue. It would benefit from more shade to darken it up a bit, but I don't have the luxury of a canopy yet.

Picture of one in our hood taken today:

@STEMI Welcome to Palmtalk! I can provide an update on my Heliconias this winter. We had two freezes this year. The first came with all the snow which took a full 5-6 days to fully melt at my place and wasn't great. We had another freeze in late February in the -3 C (27 F) range which caught me unprepared and cooked a bunch of things that I didn't protect. I lost a really nice Firebush I had been growing in the second one after it survived the first one. Large raised Heliconia bed: Heliconia 'Mexican Gold' (5) - all recovered fine. Heliconia latispatha 'red' (2) - this is a running form, both have recovered strongly. This one is basically a weed and I'm going to need to keep an eye on it. Its already going places I don't want. Heliconia x 'Siberia Lemon' (2) - one recovered, one died. The one that survived was much larger than the other that got crowded out and shaded. Heliconia x 'Coral Surprise' (2) - both have recovered. Heliconia latispatha 'Parakeet' (3) - didn't return, but when I went to dig them out all of the newer rhzomes at the edge were healthy. The ones in the centre of the clumps had rotted though. Might have recovered in time, but I tossed them. I didn't like the dull colour of the flowers nor the tall form of the plant that prone to wind damage. Heliconia 'Bleeding Heart' (3) - none returned, but they were planted fairly late in the year and got shaded by some of the others and as a result were much smaller than everything else. I'm pretty upset that I lost these and I think they are worth trying again if I can find them. Other Heliconias in ground: Heliconia latispatha 'Dwarf Orange' (1) - in a mixed bed that gets frost cloth and xmas lights, lost all its leaves but has recovered. Heliconia acuminata 'Super Chieri' (1) - same protection as above, actually retained some of its leaves and is slowly recovering. This was a much smaller and less established plant though. I overwintered my others in pots and put several in the ground this spring, including H. latispatha 'red/yellow' (2), H. subulata??? (2), another two H. acuminata 'Super Chieri', and then H. lingulata 'yellow' and H. champneiana 'maya sunrise' and 'maya gold'. All are doing well and have new growth. I killed several H. hirsuta, these don't want to grow roots for me. Some takeaways: I think size makes a big difference in their survivability. Cutting them back properly so that new growth doesn't get jammed inside the dead stems helps them recover. My pot culture of Heliconias is bad. Everyone else's photos of pots look great, mine get really rootbound and have comparatively few stems, and only look good when they get in the ground. I want to figure this out this year.

this part is also worth quoting from that link (emphasis theirs): "Palm trees are replanted more frequently since the 4 cm thick oak panels can no longer withstand the extraordinary growth of the roots after 7 to 8 years. "The soil is reduced by 10 cm on each side and is then placed in a new or restored box of the same dimensions, with a strong iron or cast-iron frame for the oldest models (1856). "Once the box is closed, a soil mix rich in organic matter is compacted in successive layers inside the wooden panels. The heaviest boxes, such as those for large palm trees (weighing 4.5 tonnes), are transported in the garden using a flatbed carriage. Since 1996, the carriage tractor has been equipped with an electric motor to reduce noise and atmospheric pollution."

Box car Willie on the road again!

Need some help identifying this one. I thought it was a beccariophoenix alfredii but now I am not sure.

I noticed quite a few had leaf damage. N.C. has been very dry for several months, and as you mentioned the lows this past winter should not have caused damage. I'm not sure what caused the damage.

Wow this is super impressive!

@anotherworldterraria welcome! You GO bro! I’ve never tried Dypsis minuta from seed but have killed babies already sprouted. Maybe show us some of your other palms and/or other plants. I, for one, am on the edge of my seat in anticipation.

That must’ve been such an incredible surprise after waiting over a year - definitely worth the patience. Dypsis minuta sounds like a fascinating choice for a first palm, too. Keep us posted on how it grows, especially if you move it into your rare plant grow tent. Excited to see what’s next in your palm journey!

I planted my 3 in one area very close together, one male two females. What is your method for pollinating them. I take it won’t happen naturally. They’re flowering now.

this type of palm is very robust and tolerates a lot. it even came back after -14 degrees celsius with a friend, it just needed time. i can only agree with harry. the friend lives in switzerland where it can get very cold, but then quickly hot again in the canton of wallis. also a very dry climate where he lives, with hot summers by local standards.

They do like a good drink , you can always install irrigation…. Richard

A real trooper , that one. I’ve seen large ones up north , covered in snow . On a return visit to the area in late Spring , they are beautiful! A full set of nice green fronds like nothing happened. They were in a shady spot , by a building so they were very showy. Harry

It's been in a pot but 24/7 outdoors in winter. Most say planting in the ground significantly increases survival chances.

That should be alright. You did the right thing and found signs of life before it was too late. Just do peroxide daily, covering not really necessary unless it’s supposed to be raining soon. You should see the white part start to push up (grow) in a week or so.

Yes, please move the post. Sorry about that.

Sooooo, turns out that the nitida survived, I'm shocked and surprised. I thought it was gone, and from the looks of it at first glance, you'd think it was dead. But when I went to pull it to pop it out of the ground to replace it, it was so strong, and I'm like, what the hell? If it was dead, it would have just popped right out. So I dug around the base of it a little with my finger, since the green part was covered by soil, and to my shock, there was green. I was confused, so I checked the middle spear area, and to my surprise, some green was popping out. So I guess I'm not replacing anything. I'm not sure what exact temperatures it saw, but it was tough enough to survive being left out uncovered for a night in December, getting completely burnt, I continued to cover after, then spear pulling and the rest of its leaves died off. After that, I stopped caring about it and left it covered way after the cold was over. I'm excited to see it's still fighting, so I'll be caring for it again, knowing it has a chance at recovery.

@WaianaeCrider , here’s mine. Similar but yours looks better. -dale