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A few nice hookeri pictures.

I am so old that during my Lotusland visit Madame Walska was still alive, and peered down at us from the second floor window!

My baronii in coastal Tasmania

Here's my Baronii, originally purchased from Floribunda.

I had put in my order, they had been picked, packed and posted on a monday, express post so they should have arrived on wednesday at the very latest. Come wednesday, no palm. I contacted the purveyor of pulchritudinous palms, who after investigating, discovered they had been stuck in a flood zone. Silly little post truck driver didn't think of making a detour around the floods. Oh my bleeding heart, all my pretty new babies laying dead in a cardboard coffin, woe is me. We shall now ignore the next 9 days, spent in mourning for the babes. Late in the afternoon, on the hottest May day on record for this area ( 28.8c) I heard the postman's little motor bike, went outside and there was a parcel. Should I open it and face the horror of little corpses or just chuck the box and be done with it ? I chose the former and to my utter amazement, apart from being a little bit pale, they were all in perfect health. How did such a wondrous miracle occur you ask ? The secret is perfect packing. Even after all that time the soil was still slightly damp. My house plants can't go that long without water. Who is this pearl of a palm packer you must be wondering.....well it was performed by none other than Richard, of Happypalms Nursery fame. So after this prolonged presentation, let me introduce the new comers. Areca vestiaria, red form. Reinhardtia gracilis, ( I call him Reinie for short) Lanonia dasyantha, Brassiophoenix schumanni and of course the palm that nobody can live without, Chuniophoenix nana. Thanks again to Happypalms nursery for providing and special thanks to Richard, whose packing kept them alive. Peachy

When I worked for Crawfords I met Barry Humphries quite a few times. I have also met that typical Australian mother, housewife and superstar, Dame Edna who single handedly put Moonee Ponds on the map as an international tourist destination. She gave me a pair of stylish, elegant and tasteful eye glasses which I still own today. Peachy

Not mine, but in the neighborhood.. B. armata specimens on a stormy Sunday on the first day of June ..in the Desert. Better look than this? = Ditch the Washingtonia and install blue form Sabal uresana.. At least this business-scape is thinking forward a little.. Big, beautiful, flowering beasts..

You want’em hookeri? Me give’em hookeri!

My colleague Mara was on Madeira with her friend Dennis until today and sent us this photo, I should present it quietly. she was there to dive ...

That’s classical what a fate for that tree, you should take a heap off cuttings and rename it on the grass var after your brother, then sell they would sell like hot cakes!

Another new red leaf palm that’s a cracker of a ptychosperma. Definitely will be planting these ones along the driveway that’s for sure when they are ready to plant out perhaps in spring.

My Schippia Concolor has powered along ever since I planted it back in 1998. It even tolerates a few yearly frosts. I have several smaller ones around the yard now from seeds off the original palm. Oddly enough, the seeds germinate quite quickly - usually within 4-6 weeks.

For me , other than the emergence of the red frond , the size of each frond is so impressive . My C. Macrocarpa is getting very large fronds for the size of the palm. Those that you have are very nice. Harry

Bismarckia at Enchanted Forest. Today I learned they cut all the fronds off and protect with a Teepee structure. It’s looking kinda rough but the Sabal mexicana all look great.

Here are a few shots I took earlier this week. Recovering really well!

The PSST meeting and auction today was a success. Good turn out and some good food and fellowship. Some very nice palms and other plants were auctioned off - I personally wasn't planning on getting anything but walked away with some interesting things. 1-gal Papaya, 2-gal Livistona saribus (green petiole form) and a good sized Syagrus oleracea seedling. All for $21. Volunteer seedling with the papaya (Dr. Montalvo thinks it's a Rhapis multifida). This is the Syagrus oleracea along with 2 Washingtonia robusta volunteers. This Syagrus is very similar to the typical queen palm but with larger fruits and doesn't produce as many fruits which is a plus. Common street tree in Brasil.

@mfoster ‘s thread reminded me to mention a trip I made yesterday to The Huntington. I hadn’t been there in almost 30 years . My friend and his wife ( palm collectors and avid gardeners) invited my and I to tag along for the day. A short 1 1/2 hour drive from Santa Paula in traffic , probably shorter if you can hit it in the middle of the week. We spent most of the day there exploring a fraction of what is there. Our first stop , of course , was the palm garden. It is a large area with tons of mature specimens , some shady walkways through some fascinating landscaping . The plants are well marked , for the most part . We did find ourselves on our hands and knees a few times reading the tags staked in the ground when formal labels were non existent. We then toured the Japanese garden and Chinese garden , two very different approaches to landscaping. The finale was the rain forest greenhouse . Words can’t describe what is there . A great day and we even visited an art gallery on our way out of the park. I don’t know why I waited so long between visits , worth the drive . Harry

Just wanted to share the beauty of this coconut variety. Definitely an eye catcher. Planted from a sprouted nut in 2016.

Agree , I fertilize only the palms that start to show some deficiency. The rest are on their own . My Chamerops Humilus is in the ground , planted over 25 years ago. Never fertilized from a tiny seedling. It ha never sent out pups just a tall single trunk. Rare , but it happens! Harry Center of photo, up by the retaining wall. Full sun on a south facing slope

Here’s a few of my C baronii planted in the garden. I’ve got a couple of standard baroniis which are both clumping quite vigorously and really very fast growing now that they have established. I’ve also got 5 C baronii Black Petiole from RPS planted which came from seed in 2018 or 2019 I think. As noted above, they are variable and each one looks very different. I also planted various baronii at my childhood home ranging from a solitary one to a weird dwarf heavy clumping one. First photo is my largest standard C baronii. Second my most colourful Black Petiole and third photo is my largest and fastest Black Petiole but also least colourful; will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

Super silver

Hers a nice selection of some great grower varieties to have in the garden. Easy to grow and beautiful to look at. Just add shade and a little water, most chamaedoreas are cool tolerant. Fantastic palms for any shaded area or patio in a container. The last three pictures are the good old favourite Ernest augustii.

I'm thinking of planting my Areca Vestiaria in my Garden in Moraira Spain because it's getting a bit too big for the greenhouse. It's about 2.5 feet taal and in a 2 gallon pot (which is too small). To my knowledge, it's never frozen where I am in Moraira and the coldest it gets on rare occassions is around 6C at night in Januari with daytime temps of around 16-18C. Usually the night time temps in Januari are around 12-14C. I currently have the following palms in my garden Pritchardia hillebrandii, Pritchardia Pacifica (supposedly but I have my doubts), Chambeyronia Macrocarpa, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Chrysalidocarpus lanceolata, Chrysalidocarpus pembana, Howea forsteriana, Archontophoenix alexandrae, Adonidia merrillii and Hyophorbe lagenicaulis. All are doing well, albeit slow to grow except H. lgenicaulus which is a rocket. My house is only 800 meters from the mediterranean and gets a constant breeze from the north african continent: sahara winds with all the red dust that comes with it. I have this spot in the garden that gets only morning sun and shade from noon to sunset. Humidity is generally 60-80%. The only problem is that I'm not there very often, so watering is by irrigation only which I control via internet. The leaves in the picture are a bit crispy due to sun exposure in the greenhouse in spring. The palm is I think 5 years old and grown from seed. Should I risk it or keep it in the greenhouse to grow some more?

Blooms are big

It’s been more than 40 years since I came to California and back then all the palms were new at least to me. It just happened that right about that time palms as a group became cool landscape plants, including for office parks and shopping malls. (Remember those?) Different kinds got popular in waves; back 120 years ago Washingtonias were the thing and you still see them today, lining the big booleys, along with CIDPs. By the time I got here in the 80s, queen palms were all the rage, and I got caught up in the fever too. I still remember going to a Pacific Nurserymen Association show in LA and the Majesty palm was being offered for sale for the first time I can recall. Anyone else have similar memories? Share! If you dare.

The risk of docent-led tours...volunteers provide a great service (usually), but of course they're often enthusiastic people who love a place but really don't know anything much off-script. A shame, but otherwise, it would be self-guided, which has its own negatives for many... And Darold, that is amazing that Ganna Walska was still there "behind the curtain" for you...to have that legendary and eccentric artist/creator there...you waltzing through her highly original, dramatic and unorthodox creation...really adds dimension to it!! I've been to Lotusland twice, and both were during the years when it was a closed facility except for special occasions. The first was a Palm Society event back in the day, and it was a Really Big Deal. They opened up the gates to the adjoining estate, El Mirador (a private residence), and so it was a double tour and really incredible. El Mirador had a grove of old Howea forsteriana that was so large and dense, it felt like you were someplace in Malaysia (well, or maybe on Lord Howe Island!) and really demonstrated the visual and emotional power of groving almost any species of palm. The second time I was lucky enough to finagle a private tour with one of the curators. So it was a great experience both times. But I'm realizing as I write this that it must have been 35 years ago! How time flies.

A raptor perched on a bare branch in front of Andean wax palms. Could be a peregrine falcon or a red shouldered hawk. I can't say at this distance. There's a Juania australis to the right behind the foliage.

It took awhile for this Microcycas calocoma to finally flush but it was well worth the wait. Hopefully it hardens off before it rains.

That is so cool! @JohnAndSancho Harry

Nice! And volunteers are always a bonus.

i can do that. It was a tall, beautiful tree. Now it's a bush. I think it was about 3 months of sitting in water before the cutting had enough roots to pot up.

In a dumpster that’s cruel, we all love the success story of palm that come back from the dead, rising from the ashes like a phoenix (not the robellenii type). Richard

Absolutely stunning the best example I have ever seen, you got it going on in that garden.

All humankind are created equal. I just love life, oh and palms🌱

A quick correction before we move on.. All this talk about synonyms elsewhere discombuubuulated my by brain for a moment, causing me to forget that this species, alongside most of the other new world Albizia sps have been reassigned to Pseudalbizzia : At least i'm not afraid of correcting a self made mental " gas pass " Anyway... One big highlight here i've been a bit anxious to check on again since my last visit has been some Handroanthus specimens installed right after the retrofit. They looked pretty good after installation but, that was before the last two horrible summers.. Based on specimens i'd seen at another park in Tempe, years ago, wasn't sure if these might look as bad as those did.. Upon returning = Quite a pleasant surprise.. Handroanthus impetiginosus ..or heptaphyllus ..or some cross between ..Don't really care, though i still lean in one direction over the other.. How they look after two of the worst summers in local history = gives me more ammo when suggesting these for recommendation in parks ..or to people.. closer to the house.. Will have to look em' over next February when they're bloomin'.. The iconic, monster Ficus ..benghalensis i believe.. near where the Downtown / Old Town Scottsdale strip begins.. Even in the desert, they try forming aerial roots.. Shave that thing my friend.. ..Another pair on the north side of the plaza.. Seedlings here.. Seedlings there.. Poppin' all over the place.. Desert Ironwood vs. monster Ficus should be an interesting battle to observe ..if they don't axe the Ficus.. >>>>>>>

The monster Albizia sinaloensis i always come here to check on ...and it's up and coming brethren nearby.... Long after i've passed, my ghostly presence will have to wander back this way every so often to check on my mini - monster in training in the yard, and any others i'm able to plant locally.. Even up here on the 2nd story of the parking garage, wouldn't want to be passing by when this large limb had come down.. Some nice Cycas revolta and Firebush ( Hamelia patens ) in a nearby ground level bed between the monsters... >>>>>>>>>>

Dacty suckers replacing mama in Webster lol

You have to get reservations well in advance, but Lotusland (former estate of the late eccentric Polish opera singer Ganna Walska) is a garden you will likely never forget. It is located in Montecito, a very beautiful area next to Santa Barbara and home to numerous celebrities. And the Los Angeles County Arboretum is a wonderful place to visit (in my opinion they take much better care of their palms that does the Huntington, which is very nearby). It was the nineteenth-century estate of 'Lucky' Baldwin, and has the tallest documented Washingtonia robusta, as far as I know. The palms were planted about 150 years ago and are really spectacular to see in person. These surround the original 1880s-era Queen Anne cottage which is a wonderful structure, and set aside a (rare) natural lake, Baldwin Lake. This has served as the backdrop for many, many famous films needing a jungle feel, from the silent era to the present, as well as television shows like Fantasy Island. It is a very large arboretum and you would want to allot a full day to see all the tropical and subtropical treats that are hiding around its various nooks and crannies. My own biases aside, the Huntington is very much worth visiting...it has an incredible dryland/succulent garden and that is worth the price of admission if you are interested in that type of flora.

It would be worth taking a little side trip to San Diego while you are in the area as there are some lovely palm gardens there. Dave is the one to contact as he knows everybody. Most flights stop over in Hawaii so it would be well worth the time to get in touch with Realarch, his garden alone is worth the trip. Have fun and enjoy the trip Peachy

I moved this big Encephalartos Kisambo around Thanksgiving last year, and it's decided to put out a good 13 or 14 leaf flush. Once it's done I can cut off all the 1/2-length fronds left over from the move! And this fasciated/mutant Zamia Furfuracea is midway through a nice flush:

The day @peachy writes a book on her journey with palms in her life, iam ordering a signed copy for sure. When I read her wit and how it’s written it’s classical literature up there with Steven Spielberg even better. Iam not a social media person and since joining palmtalk it’s a fantastic and wonderful way to meet new people you would have never have had the opportunity to meet in life, and to have a common interest in palms even better.

The gift of giving. It’s a wonderful feeling to see someone get a gift and unwrap it, it’s like Xmas when I open my new palms. Richard

Y.recurvifolia. Compound branching. Let me know if you want some.

So if all goes well, maybe by 2046 I'll have a few units like that.

The great thing about palms is that, when they grow skyward, suddenly there’s room in the garden again.

Ah, I just read Kyle's post about the Pritchardia in Marin without paying attention to the context here. I did see your Ravenea, and it's a very attractive palm. Sub-montane to montane rainforest off the coast of Madagascar? - so hopefully a cool-weather lover (or at least "tolerator")! Please keep us updated. Attractive species on the smaller side are always in need for our urban lots.

The place in west Houston today My Cyphophoenix elegans and Archontophoenix cunninghamiana are both going through delayed chill damage with deformed leaves/partially dead spears. The Euterpe edulis (pictured) and Archontophoenix alexandrae are unaffected (go figure) The Lytocaryum hoehnei has spear pulled multiple times after winter but never seems phased. Pushes out like nothing happened. I'm also convinced Chuniophoenix nana is superior to Rhapis in zone 9. It grows faster and is also suckering/can return from ground level. I have one that has been unprotected for years and has seen below 20F a few times. Prettier too I think. My Lanonia dasyantha is also suckering but doesn't grow as fast. I also have a (protected) Licuala fordiana that grows like a weed with the bud still at ground level (maybe for a loooong time?) but I'm too scared to test these two.

I think this one is the same as yours. I assumed B calcarea , but maybe Super Silver. IMO they are probably the same species.

@Tracy, at my old house I had a Revoluta that was consistently pushing tangled mess of fronds and I was told it had bugs. I cannot recall what I sprayed on it but in 2 flushes, it started normalcy again. Not sure the back story or if you think that could be a possibility but thought I’d throw it out there. Love how the pups are all cleaned up at the base by the way. Looking good. -dale

Despite my trimming I didn't defeat a tangled flush. Ironically, the tangle is in the main caudex flushing on my Cycas thouarsii × cupida. The trimming probably did help the flushes on all the pups though.