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I started planting tiny Rhopalostylis seedlings (bauri and sapida) many years ago. Was worth the wait. Here are some of them.

Yes, my “Lassie.” Actually he’s Midas and will be two years old on the 30th of November. He’s VERY gentle in the garden.

Nenga banaensis and a lovely Japanese variegated rhapis ayanishiki.

UPDATE- Finally had a winter without extended periods under 20F and it led to a much better growing season. It looks like 7 to 8 new leaves this year and only 2 leaves browned off. Minimal cold damage this last winter and the damage from Jan 24 doesn’t look as bad as I was expecting. All in all thankful for the last years weather and hoping we can get a merciful winter again this year. Here are a few pictures of the palm, trunk, crown, and Jan 24 cold damage grown out. If I can catch some afternoon sun in the next couple days I’ll add another with better lighting for comparison.

There’s nothing wrong with planting palms in winter, provided there are no frost in your garden. They seem to do quite well and when spring hits them they take off. It was a wet winter so all the palms recently planted had a good watering in. Soil was amended and a good planting hole was dug to give the best start possible. And a good irrigation program has been implemented to back up the amended soil and lack of rainfall. carpoxylon macrospermum licuala pelata var sumawongiiDypsis tsaravoasiralicuala fordianachamaedorea Ernest augusti kerriodoxa elegans Chambeyronia divaricata licuala magalonDypsis speciesCalyptrocaly yamutumenePinanga disticha Dypsis poiveanaJohannesteijsmannia altifrons Marojejya darinii

My arenaria is flowering again. So time to keep an eye on it, I will use an artist brush to help Mother Nature out, it seems to work with a better seed set. There not quite ready yet do daily observations will be the order of the day to catch it at the right time. I have had good amounts of viable seeds in the past.

These are hands down one of my favorite to grow. Pretty much bullet proof, can take some heat can take some drout… here’s a couple of mine…. I now have 1gals and 5gals from my own palms… there’s a solitaire one in the center back, second photo. The first photo came in as sp. kindreo

Update..2025.. Not the greatest pic.. Taken at dusk..

Another one in the collection goes in the ground. Plenty of shade good soil and water will suit this one just fine.

Why not plant a few common palms around the garden. I know they grow well in my climate and will make great additions for that tropical look so desired. Dypsis sp Chuniophoenix nanaJohannesteijsmannia altifronschamaedoreas elegans

This coconut palm from my garden caught my eye

As @James B mentioned , we had an unusual weather occurrence here in SoCal . I got almost 3” of rain in less than 24hrs . That is highly unusual for mid October , normally it is very dry this time of year , dominated by high pressure systems and low humidity . These systems normally mean warm temps / cool nights and sometimes pretty gusty winds. Last year we got about half our “ normal” rainfall for the season. The previous two years were well above “ normal “ rainfall. I’m not a climatologist so I can’t really speak about anything other than my experience as a gardener , things have changed here . What ever it is , my palms are happy , that’s not to say it’s a good thing . I am watering so much on dry years just to keep them happy . Harry

The past 3 winters have been getting warmer every single year. With tempatures in central Jax never getting below 28 and the beach not going below 30. this warm trend has brought tropical palms in the Jacksonville area. Palms such as foxtails, Areca, and majesty palms are flooding the neighborhood. Many have survived multiple winters and still are looking fresh. Hopefully in the future they will grow big and more people begin experimenting with 10a palms. Here is some evidence I have found throughout central/ historic Jax. It only shows 2 pictures of Areca palms but there are at least one per street.

Ok. Technically this should fit in other forums but I'll be honest, this one gets the most reach and I kinda wanna show off what I've done tonight. I'm proud of this and I crave validation. I'm building an overwintering wall of foliage. I'm far from done, I need to pot up like 5 or 6 more plants, I've got sheet plastic to wrap the bench, I've got 1/2 wooden shims to place under them, but I really want y'all to see what I've done. The bench is exactly centered and is 97.5"w x 13.5" d and it's exactly 12.5" from the wall. There's exactly 30" on either side. I spent a lot of time doing math to line up all the holes in the ceiling as can be told by the 22000 sharpie marks. Everything is tied into the now wall mounted power strip so one switch turns everything on and off. I have more chains on the way to drop all of these lights down another 2 feet. They are not full spectrum, but they're 5000k and have plenty of blue for foliage growth which is what I want, and best of all they were cheap. They came highly recommended by nerds on Reddit that are much smarter than I am. $16.88 each at Wal Mart, same price in store or shipped so I bought 2 and had 2 more shipped. Room has an in wall propane heater and I am going to hang a tarp so it's not heating the whole room, I have 2 box fans for air flow, I've got one more light for another seedling table and I've got a bunch of little grow bulbs for philodendrons and cuttings, I've got a small humidifier and I'll probably end up using cat litter buckets to pot up a few bananas and using some of these new buckets filled with water for more humidity. I'm going to sprinkle cat litter around the baseboards for spillage from any overwatering, the floor is concrete so I don't care if it gets wet. 10 more pounds of coir and 4 more cu ft of perlite are on the way and I've still got some compost and some super rich potting soil I will mix in with that. Yeah it's pots and there's a good chance none of these buckets get palms in them, but I want to show off my ingenuity where it'll be seen. I'll be watering everything with willow water and adding pinches of 4-4-4 and going back to my roots with the Stink Water (fish emulsion/kelp/seaweed/chelated iron and systemic insecticide if needed. I'm proud of this. And once I get it cleaned up a little I think it'll be rad.

Gorgeous garden Jim, yours is one of the best looking "stuffed" gardens(palms per square meter) I have seen. Everything looks happy!

Yes. Just remove them. You might be able to do it with a searated knife,but a reciprocating saw makes quick work of the job and will also come in very handy for pruning any fronds or other woody materials in your yard. If you don't already have one, you should get one. 😄 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Yes they certainly do in the tropics vs the subtropical to temperate climates. Each offers its own unique microclimate perfectly set for certain varieties of palms that require that just right microclimate to survive. Every garden has its own microclimate, that a gardener learns where they are in his garden, and uses those spots to his advantage. I have more survivors than failures! Richard

Hey @Jim in Los Altos correct me if Iam wrong, but do I see Lassie in there! Nice puppy dog.

I look at the gardens in Hawaii and tropical locations, they are the true tropical garden masters!

No frost protection will be required I don’t get frost. It takes a lot of research and online looking for seeds and plants. Prior to palmtalk I researching and searching for seeds and plants. It’s not easy finding them, and a lot of top growers whom I respect, it has taken them a lifetime of collecting and building there collection, not to mention there contacts and that is something I respect in those growers they deserve that respect and not to be fooled around with when it comes to them knowing there stuff.

I really wish I could grow these here, but the summer would cook them then the winter would melt them. I think even my grow room is probably too warm and humid.

And another

Tri Bear Dypsis hybrid

Rhopie sapida

They all look great Jeremy, but can I say something? You might be the most organized detail attentive person I know. I'm over here trying to do basic math and measurements to figure out where to drill holes in my ceiling for grow lights for the Wall of Bananas and it's making my brain hurt, and you've got detailed maps of your yard and the labels on your seedlings leaving absolutely nothing to mystery.

Fortunately , scammers are pretty easy to detect for those of us that have been on PT for a while . That said , we are all vulnerable and should be careful. Thank you @Hu Palmeras for bringing this up. Harry

That must’ve been quite a whack! Those things have quite the structural root system going on

It's a lot more likely for me to get into a relationship with Sabrina Carpenter after winning the lottery twice and getting hit by lightning 6 times in the same day, but if it happens I got you.

I am convinced that local ecotypes of collected seeds can have a huge effect on the cold/wet hardiness of palms. I live in the Puget Sound of the PNW, near Seattle (Zone 9a), and butia odorata seems almost within reach for us. The main issue with growing this species here is the spear rot from our wet, cold winters. I am unsure where most of the US butia odorata seed is sourced from, but I am very interested in obtaining seed from the wet, cold areas of its native range, specifically the southern coast of Uruguay. Uruguay seems to have few weather stations, but they do tend to show a trend where further south means a lower average temperature in wintertime, with influences from the Atlantic coast. Uruguay's SE Seaboard is lined with saline marshes, and with preliminary research, the Laguna de Castillos may be an excellent place to collect B. Odorata seed that is well adapted to mild, humid, and waterlogged conditions, all of which are major issues for growing any feather palms here in the PNW. I would love to hear if y'all had any opinions on B. Odorata ecotypes and/or collection locations, I don't want it to seem like I am very knowledgable in this field, I just want to see feather palms lining the Puget Sound coast in my lifetime; I also hope to be doing something similar to this with Jubaea Chilenses, the other obvious feather palm candidate for the PNW. Imagine hybridizing these two palm species only from the most PNW bulletproof ecotypes.

For a complete collection of photos with IDs, please click here Here are some photos I've taken over the last few days in San Diego, CA! Borassus madagascariensis Jubaea chilensis Chambeyronia hookeri and Ptychococcus lepidotus Coccothrinax macroglossa Dictyosperma album Oraniopsis appendiculata Ptychosperma elegans Syagrus amara Caryota gigas

Hers my largest this morning with about 8’ of clear trunk….

Thanks! Always looking for a way to “stuff” in another palm species.

Cut them off. Mule palms are aptly named - like the animal they are almost invarianbly sterile. No seedlings to pull up.

Every area has its trade offs . Tropical ( Hawaii ) is amazing , varieties the warm temperate or subtropical folks can’t grow . There are species we grow that do not thrive in tropical climates. My latitude (approx. 34 degrees north) combined with the micro climate I have at this location gives me a wide variety that thrive here. You are , I think , about 29 degrees south , also a bit of micro climate edging in your favor . We have beaten the odds more than once! I have lost more palms to gophers than climate. Harry

Not enough drainage.

Has it rained recently over there? What is soil consistency and pH like? This sp is sensitive to poor drainage and alkaline soil. I buy larger lava chunks and smash them subsequently in to smaller pieces to use them in soil mixes.

Plant large plants they stand a much better chance of survival in the cold.

You're right, Richard. I think I need the frost protection mesh, and above all, a well-shielded glass greenhouse.

Seeds seeds and more seeds is all you need!

I picked three for my friend and I ate one of them! :P

Propagating them is easy, there a business just waiting to happen, mail order them they will do well!

Correction: As was pointed out earlier in this thread by @Zeeth, this species is recognized by the WFO Plant List as a distinct species. Long live Sabal miamiensis: https://wfoplantlist.org/taxon/wfo-0000299294-2025-06

I have quite a few around the garden and they do better in the shade , or at least partial shade here. They sort of self regulate here . The trunks get , sometimes , almost 20’ tall before they flower and have to be cut down . Last year I cut several trunks from 3 different clumps and new pups keep coming up in their place so effectively maintain their size. I have 5 different large clumps . They respond well to deep soaking . A couple have fruit on them now , I let them fruit because if they fall they will not cause any damage. I would like to germinate a few just for fun….with rubber gloves! Harry

A month ago, an Asian seller (from East Asia) tried to scam me. I could tell he was a big scammer from the first word he spoke. It's a shame these palm trees are rare. If they weren't, everyone would display them. It's like finding a new variety or discovering something that wasn't discovered in time.

You used to be considered crazy for attempting to grow a queen palm here in the 1980s. Now, you're crazy if you don't have a few coconuts or crownshaft palms in your yard. How times change. All of us are dreading the change back the other way. 😬

Car's totaled but I bet the palm survives (if allowed to)!

Yeah. If you post in the wanted section on here, a new account will reply to you with the name of an existing, older account but using a fake email address to contact them that's not tied to the older account at all. I get why they did it, but this is why I think giving everyone automatic ips membership at signup was bad - I'm sure having to go through and verify and add the badge to everyone's profile one by one is a pain, but giving it to them by default lends credibility to uncredible people. Also, like Meg said, you're not gonna find Tahina seeds. It just ain't gonna happen.

Ouch!

Tahina seeds are pretty much unobtainable since the one offering circa 2009. I can't swear to it but I believe Madagascar has banned exportation of Tahina seeds in an effort to encourage its citizens to watch over this treasure. Don't believe anyone who claims to have them unless he can certify they are the real deal, not poached, and viable. I've had rogue seed peddlers steal my own photos to hawk their products. Once a thief, always a thief.

Beautiful palm! Absolutely amazing set-up with the mound hill and rocks around it. In the PNW with lots of winter rainfall, that provides for good drainage. Great job!