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I would say that "exotic" goes beyond personal taste, and implies something that is also not commonly seen in gardens where one lives. Most palms would be exotic going by the strictest definition of the word for those who live in places where palms are not native. That said, here in Calfornia, a palm from Australia (Archonotophoenix cunninghamiana) or South America (Phoenix romanzoffiana) would hardly be considered exotic here given their abundant planting. That said, the question appears to be asking what species in Bay Android's specific geographic area would be considered exotic or "novel". My response would be to look around neighborhoods nearby for palms and cross of the species that one commonly sees. The best answers will come from people in the Bay Area who know what is uncommon up there, yet will survive in the specific climate zone. My guess is that the selection of the Chrysalidocarpus decipiens will be a pretty novel selection once it is established and gets some size to show off its distinctive form and trunk... patience is the key. Excellent selection! I don't know how it will do in the cooler climate, but Chysalidocarpus ambositrae is another beautiful normally solitairy palm here in California, which will be much faster and not quite as large that I would suggest trying. I believe that Darold has tried these in his significantly more foggy climate in the Sunset, which I don't think they liked.

That time of the year again when my adscendens start flowering again. So time to collect a bit of pollen, I have been making observation of this make flower daily and today was the day. So the usual place the flower in bag and a couple of taps on the bag and we have pollen. Then of the girls with only one ready, placed the bag over and a couple of taps again and pollination is underway and let Mother Nature do her part in the deal. It’s a good indication when they flower the last lot of seeds are ready, I will wait as long as possible for the seeds to really mature.

I wanted to give people a heads up that 4” plants of this Mystery palm are now available on the new Floribunda price list. So if you were not able to get seed from me last year, but still want this plant, you can order them from Floribunda. It’s listed as “Chrysalidocarpus Sp Hybrid - Jason Dunn”.

A few proven winners going in the ground, even though winter is here they will be fine, they might sit still for a month or two but come spring and summer they will get a move on. Hopefully they tick themselves in for winter and hold until it warms up, either way they would be in the greenhouse and going through winter regardless. So first up a Pinanga coronata , ptychosperma elegans 2 of them, cocothrinax dussinia, carpoxylon macrospermum the one I repurchased, Crysophilla warscewizianus an unknown rainforest tree, pandanus variegated sanderi, and a satakentia liukiuensis. That should do for today and give the garden something to talk about with the new residents moving in!

Forgot the beccariophoenix Madagascariensis tough old things they are.

So far so good with these exotics in the collection. Some are approaching there second winter while a few are new in the collection and there first winter. And some are proven winners bit recently purchased. Still a couple more months to go of cold weather. But it’s looking ok for now time will tell, but I thought the Pinanga sarawakensis was going to first on the chopping block but still holding in there. Even the carlidovica is still looking good for sure I thought it will succumb to the elements of winter well will see on that one.

This is the trunking Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae in Darold’s front yard as seen last Monday (6/16)

‘This is about as much as I let them trim the Syagrus . This is the only one in the front of the house and the only pic I have after trimming. The shorter one next to it is a Roystonia Oleracae and it is self cleaning. I don’t let them trim anything else except for the huge Washingtonia at the bottom of the hill. All my other Syagrus look about like this one after the tree service finishes. Harry

All of mine are smooth trunks now and too tall for me to trim. I have a service once a year just before the Santa Ana winds start. Harry

Hello and happy summer to all growers and plant lovers, thank you for a busy spring season! We are happy to share our new price list update, filled with new and enticing species, including the awe inspiring Marojejya insignis (pictured above in its Madagascar habitat) and more, including: Vonitra perrieri is one of the most spectacular palms in the world, the combination of its tropical stature and unbelievably plush soft red wool on its spathes make it a popular talking point in the garden. Seedlings available now at $8/ea. Check out our other Vonitra species as well! Heterospathe califrons adds a dramatic flair to any garden with its upright form and entire leaves, and is Benji approved. Available now in 4 inch size for $20. Ravenea musicalis is another mythical Madagascar palm that is one of the only species that is truly aquatic, as seen above in habitat during one of Jeff's trips. Rare in habitat and very difficult to find for sale, we will be shipping seedlings in pots for $20/ea. Order yours now while supplies last! Chambeyronia lepidota is one of the rarest and most elegant palms of New Caledonia, with its characteristic stiff leaflets and velvety red crownshaft. We are proud to be a part of conserving this amazing species and distributing it to more gardens. Other featured palms from the new list: Euterpe sp. 'Orange Crownshaft' Iguanura polymorpha Pinanga maculata Chrysalidocarpus sp. Hybrid - Jason Dunn (Photo by Jason Dunn) All these and many more are available now on our new price list! View Price List

My one will receive dappled bright light. And with 30 meters of gum trees all around I can’t see it breaking through the canopy in a hurry that is for sure. It does get in hot in my area but the gum trees willl protect it.

Some more seeds today that needed sowing. Pholidocarpus macrocarpa, borassodendron borneense, ptychosperma microcarpum. And a batch of seeds from Colin Wilson in no particular order are tracky princess (blue silver), Geonoma mooreana, tracky Nanus, dypsis confusa, coprenica, vonitra perrieri, brahea clara icy blue, tracky takil, nannorrhops ritchiana, coprenica berteroana, pseudophoenix vinifera. Thanks Colin should keep me busy for a couple hours or more. And as for the other seeds another zone push but worth a try you just never know your luck.

I started my “palm garden” in 2024 after moving to a new home. I wanted to make a thread to share some pics and posts as I go. first, my hurricane cut palmetto. Fully unprotected. Showing hurricane cut pics after install, and 1 year out. Home weather station read 12.9F this year as the low. Maybe 5 times total sub 20F. Honestly, most the brown on it was there at end of summer. Very little damage noticed. second group - 1 year of growth on my L. Nitida. Now in-ground as of March. will show my other nitida later. I love these things, and want them to work so bad. Fingers crossed. Then, some windmills. Palmettos are my love. so the windmills feel like “yogurt, when I really want ice cream”. Ya know? Being zone 8, windmills are plentiful in the area, and do well here. I didn’t always love them, but they are growing on me, for sure (literally). working on a Z9 garden now. Mostly doing some robustas and cycads. And an CIDP I ordered from Etsy. I also have a ton of Oleander blooming. And others In the mix. Comments and critiques are very welcome. I tried to share info to answer the sort of questions I had last year.

Looking for different types of trimming anyone can share ..saw this the other day ..clean and more uniform look...🤙🏿 please share if you have a unique way of trimming your queens... greatly appreciated!!!

I didn't do anything today, but pictures anyway. The other day i very stupidly dug into the wisteria hole again just because I wanted to know how fast this soil actually drains. I'm used to little pots filled with bark that drains in seconds. I flooded this hole and it took a few hours. Even worse, now yellow jackets are coming in and stealing my mud. I haven't even finished killing all the grass in the front yet, I'm pretty much exhausted just from walking my dog, I sweat like a goat just standing outside, and I'm already eyeballing and imagining other spots in the yard.

Well it's not much but it is positive growth. These were from the batch of seedlings that Kinzjr had for sale last year. When they arrived here in Arizona they looked perfect and were packed very well. They did not acclimate to my cultivation techniques and started to go south. I put them in the ground a few months ago knowing they'd be happier there once Summer started. Now that we are hitting triple digits everyday, this is what they love, they're starting to grow again. I'm glad to see Positive Growth that means they are still alive.😁👍🏼

😀👍

Some palms don’t mind a new home in winter . As you say , they are proven winners! Harry

That’s a pretty good system ! It has worked in the past for you. Harry

It takes at least 6 weeks for me to my rps orders due to customs delays. Sometimes longer. So fresh seeds are the key you got lucky. And yes they are slow to grow I know that much.

I checked them yesterday nothing yet!

Sorry never did get back to you on that one Harry. I had the same thing happen to my tepijolote as after it snapped off well I just pushed it in the ground, cut all the leaves off, and now it’s pushing up the new spear and alive crazy chameadoreas. Richard

The new growth looks pretty good . It can take a year or more for palms to acclimate after transplant . I would just keep watering as you have been , make sure it doesn’t dry out. These are pretty tough palms . Harry

Pretty fast that lot,where they rps seed?

That is a great looking cycad, which also makes a positive argument for hybrids in garden settings. Since we aren't in South Africa, where the pollinators for Encephalartos exist, we don't have to worry about accidentally polluting the gene pool. Meanwhile, I'm guessing you have experienced faster growth with this hybrid than with a pure Encephalartos latifrons, which is a spectacular looking cycad. My sibling Encephalartos (arenarius x latifrons) x latifrons are often a little off in their flush timing. I did get one as the "pick of the litter' and the other was the runt of the same litter though. Growth has been a little different, but still much faster than with a pure Encephalartos latifrons . The runt appears to be getting brown leaves on it's oldest flush, which is different than the more vigorous specimen which holds about 2 old flushes when it is pushing a new one. The leaflets are still a brighter green and haven't hardened off yet on this flush.

I guess climate change in reverse can’t be that bad, oh I forgot that is right it’s called the ice age, blooming great where all doomed like the dinosaurs! 🦕

A couple of months ago one of my C. Tepejelote had formed a clump about 24” above the ground on one of its stems( clumping variety) . I was cleaning around the palm and as I reached down the whole clump broke off . It was so beautiful and it really upset me but it was only attached by a small portion . The stem , or trunk , had penciled down but I couldn’t see it under all the foliage . I decided to pot it up . I buried the base about 3 rings down on the largest stem and trimmed off its fronds as they died . I spear marked the main spear and it has grown about 3/4” so far and the spears are all green on the three stems . I had read here on PT that this is a possibility with Chamaedorea so maybe this is true? If my Tepe lives it will be amazing it is a large trunked palm . The host palm is still doing fine but the stem that broke is done . It is about 30 years old and very large. Harry ‘I planted it right after it happened I cut the inflorescence off immediately as well as the already yellowing frond.

It looks funny and wrong but it’s actually true that some palm species like Washingtonia can still thrive when planted deeply as shown. I’ve seen it done here in California. Their trunks will send out roots wherever they make contact with soil. Their trunks also routinely break open above ground and send out aerial roots when exposed to regular moisture. Chamaedorea species adapt well to burying their stems in soil and will send out roots from any part of those stems making contact with soil.

This is at the corner of Sunset and Mansfield in LA per the Twitter vid. I'm guessing it's a Washie, my palm ID skills are still terrible. The rest of the video shows piles of trash everywhere, but I kinda think this is cool. Because I'm a palm geek. Edit: this is apparently the same palm from March? Or there's another one? I'm confused. He says this one is at Sunset and La Brea. I know nothing about LA, but other people say it's the same one. Do Washies really put on this much growth in 3 months out there? I cropped the 2nd pic due to some NSFW language.

Update on Borassodendron borneense please. Did you get them to germinate?

Most palms "eat" the older fronds before they fall off. So palms like Sabals, Foxtails, Queens, etc eventually shed the old fronds. But when they fall off they weigh almost nothing, so are not particularly a hazard to things underneath or nearby. Royals have a nasty habit of just dropping full size, full weight green fronds. So when that 15 foot 30-60lb frond comes down it goes BOOM and crushes whatever is unfortunate enough to be under it.

Hmmmm…going to have to see what my “Brazoria” flower stalks do. Never knew this. I purchased it as a Brazoria, massive fronds, bluish in color…let’s see what those flower stalks do. If they exceed the length of the fronds, what is it?

If that turf is a walkway, get ready to have to duck and weave when passing this palm in a couple f years. In another 10 years, expect the trunk to take up the width between your inner boulder ring. We often don't appreciate the size some of our palms will gain until long after they are planted. Hopefully you have some room between your your palm and the house as well as your neighbor's home. The crown can get quite large too. I planted mine a little close, as you can see from the upstairs bedroom window, but it has a little clearance.

@PhoenixFXG It was a 20 gallon Bismarck when I got it. It got me concerned because I never saw the frond come out so yellow but I’ll give it a few days and hopefully is what you said and others. The palm has been healthy since I planted it.

Sharing my own. A few of these are razor thin on the ends. Currently 99.5 outside.

they seem to be holding up pretty well there, as seen in these two older posts with in situ photos:

Well if it’s on the internet of course it’s correct. Even doctor google is correct how silly of us to think anything on the net is not correct after all A.I is the sumpreme being. 🤣

A special bit of colour in these plumosa seedlings. They could almost go for being red arecas there that red some of them. The seeds are from my own palm in the garden. It will be interesting to see how long they keep there red colour for, but gor now there definitely interesting as seedlings.

You don't learn unless you have some challenges. Pot growing palms are more of a niche deal. Not exactly the easiest route.

Y'all. Y'all. Y'all. It's tiny. It's brown. It's a nub right now. But it's a spear. It didn't pull. This SOB is alive after all the hell it's been through.

You have a while to go before they are planted out or transplanted into another container. At least 3 years. The ones in the pictures provided have at least 2 to 3 years before transplanting. Unfortunately palms are slow especially as seedlings. Even to grow a nursery it takes around 5 years before you can really start to sell plants that are ready for either planting or repotting patience with palms.

Also, tree trimmers using spiked boots have poked lots of holes in those trunks. Don’t let that happen anymore. A ladder and correct tree climbing harnesses only.

It'll get afternoon and evening sun in this spot without the risk of rain getting into the growth point or getting baked. Also impossible for the cats to knock it over again. Chop stick test says it's growing. Gave it half a gallon of water, too.

Hey John, first time seeing this thread. Yeah it looks sad. I would give it a bright spot and yes, keep the rain out of the growth point if there was cold damage. I hope it comes through but coming back from 9°F in a pot is asking a lot.

Just picked this bad boy up from palms for Brisbane, Samoan Dwarf coconut palm, thanks Kennybenjamin !!! would 'love to see any others out there

I knew they were supposed to be slow, but after 12 years from a "small above the soil" 5 gallon my bailey has weathered 2 hurricane force wind events and a resulting spear mold infection that took 2 years to fully eradicate. IRMA had the worst hurricane damage by far, newer leaves cut the older ones up good with petiole thorns. It had half the leaves shredded on the windward side. Currently its 4-5 leaves short of a full crown but its growing quickly now. Three pics: august 2011 6 months after planting showing a new flush of leaves. Second pic 2017 just prior to iRMA and last pic today sept 4 2023. By comparison with the peak of the house roof of 16', it looks to be 2-3 foot taller overall so a few feet shy of 20', and just about 7' of trunk. I could tear the leafbases off with my hand but allowing them to fall off naturally leads to a more smooth trunk. The first 4 feet of leafbases are loosely held, a smooth trunk awaits in the near future. Annual growth in height and numbers of leaves increases as the palm matures so a slow start does not mean its slow in a 12 year scale. I'd say its a medium grower.

Here is my Fiji Dwarf,

Also saw a crocodile: And some Iguanas: That's all for now!

Took Daryl's advice and drove down to Palms for Brisbane today and caught up with Ben (Kennybenjamin) Bought another Samoan dwarf and a very nice red hyophorbe indica