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I think you've gotta make your own connections...there are people posting here from all over the world and after a while you figure out who posts stuff relevant to your situation and you hook into that community. As for scientific names...have a look at this current thread to understand why most of us prefer them

Sabal Yapa

Ive been on palmtalk since 2007. Posters have changed but it was always worldwide. There are less floridians as a percentage of posts perhaps but you are in 10a, you should be able to grow what I grow. Of the vast thousands of palms in the world perhaps 10-20% are good in zone 10a Florida. Scientific names prevent confusion, trade names are often confusing to me., in a world of thousands of palms the trade names are not specific enough to identify a palm. Many have no trade name as they are not common in general nurseries. I believe kinzyjr has a cold hardy list you should be able to choose from. WHen I look back many of the most experienced palm growers are not posting much these days. People get older and their garden mature so they are not searching for potential palm information so much. Get the list of 10a palms and do a search for the scientific names. Some palms are referred to as partial scientific names like for instance a search for bismarckia will turn up bismarckia nobillis or roystonea will turn up roystonea regia etc. WHen I started the names seemed difficult to memorize so go with a 10a list from kinzyjr(pm him)

I’ve been on here most of my life and I’ve always found it helpful. I agree with the above, I think the key is to filter through to find the stuff relevant to you. Being in CFla, there should be some regular poster who can help. I know I’ve always admired photos from Leu Gardens. Another suggestion - starting a topic with a particular request often helps, e.g if you’ve got a spot in the garden you want to fill with something interesting snd obtainable that would do well in your climate.

Today I noticed a coleus hitching a tide on L rupicola I believe this is?

I am the most lazy gardener in the world. I grow palms by throwing seeds around my yard, and seeing what sprouts and survives. Brahea edulis is my best success. Here is my largest, which is about 17 years from seed, throwing its first bloom spathe.

I want to put out there that Caryota Urens are very dangerous when they get big. Do not wait for them to flower….cut them down when they get large. I had been warned by @DoomsDave but after posting on here and talking to my tree service , decided to wait for the first inflorescence. DON’T DO IT! We had a nasty Santa Ana wind event following a good amount of rain. That is all it took . This morning I got a text from my neighbor “ your palm fell over! . It was straddling her driveway , her husband had already left for work and his brand new truck would have been crushed! I guided her out of her driveway so she could come and go. My small electric chainsaw won’t help with this one. Harry we got lucky with this one! Harry

It’s one thing to germinate palms, but you need something to put all those little babies in, and both go hand in hand requiring both things to get any sort of results. It’s been a labour of this one project, life getting in the way has halted the completion process. Slowly getting there, this one project will be one of the better ones I have built learning from the past 3 structures refining this one to my liking. Another row of benches and then the floor and a potting bench at one end along with a storage shed the other end. It won’t take long to fill it, I know that much!

I haven’t been here 5 years but I have seen plenty of helpful advice on growing of all palms , whether exotic or common. Scientific names are helpful to me as that is what I normally go by . Harry

A nice bit of new leaf colour on the kentiopsis oliviformis!

You’re welcome, enjoy. I thought you had polar bears because all Tasmanian tigers got eaten by the polar bears. Did they migrate there on an iceberg? look after those baronii there a wanted palm! The palm police will be expecting a written report on the baronii!

Here is a link : https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/tags/cfpacs/

Palm growing has changed over the 35 years I have been growing them for. Once rare and exotic lytocarum weddlianum is now that common you can’t give the seeds away 35 years ago they were that rare. Now once common is replaced pretty quick by new rare exotic varieties. There are the true exotics from the past thay always remain exotic Johannesteijsmannia, licuala orbicularis, mapu, kerriodoxa iguanura palms Calyptrocalyx they are here to stay as exotics that are not rare. Nowadays growers want the rare unobtainable stuff that is super exotic looking. You could join a gardening club or other type of society’s that are more specific in your interest. They are always looking for new members w are more than willing to share or sell thay specific plant that takes your interest. Think outside of the greenhouse and there is plenty of content material just waiting to be posted!

And Ptychosperma elegans definitely not referred to an Alexander palms in Australia. I’m not a fan of any common name but that one surely takes the cake for the most senseless and confusing!

I had no idea that they emit an odor! I have been down the hill when mine is blooming and never noticed it. My gardener cuts them once they go to seed. The inflorescence is cool looking though . Harry

You’re the captain of the ship in Tasmania, steer it well and the future of palms will be great for many generations to come!

Archontophoenix never referred to as king palms in Australia...

Andrei, CongratuLations on the maturing of your B. edulis! Mine’s roughly ten years older than yours. It flowers profusely but I remove the inflorescence before the flowers open because, honestly, I can’t stand the smell that emanates from them. It’s a strong urine-like odor and attracts flies instead of bees. If the palm were in a more open area, it would likely be okay. Your’s looks to be in a more open area.

Has this forum gone from semi regional and helpful to worldwide extreme exotics? I cant find anything in between. I scroll pages of cool stuff but nothing I can get or grow here. Nothing I can contribute to either. The whole board is littered with google search terms of unicorn palms in places so vastly different than I could even think of growing. I’m in cfla and should have a ton of interest but I see almost nothing. Can there not be regional boards or what? I feel like the main page discourages anyone searching and looking for guidance or inspiration. Inspiration is what first brought me here. all I see is scientific names in far corners of the world now. Any old timers (5+yrs) feel the same?

DON’T plant Caryota urens in suburban settings!

I think that probably faraway places have become more reachable Thanks to the internet. Sort of how national geographic and other nature shows. I've helped me travel the world from the comfort of my couch.🤷‍♂️

Chambeyronia piersoniorum with a nice new frond - a blue/silver that appears more vibrant in real life than I can capture in photo. Similar colour to its relative C oliviformis but perhaps even more striking.

On Christmas Eve , in Ventura , we were walking around and my wife took this picture of the ground around some Washingtonia palms . We have had a lot of rain and wind . Some very nice coloring on the debris and leaf bases of the palms . Harry

With some logistical arrangements and the kind work of @palmtreesforpleasure Mr Colin Wilson. He has arranged for some plants to be sent to Tasmania. So iam kindly donating some Arenga engleri, a jubea chiliensis and some lepidozamia peroffskyana. This is all I can think of at the moment thay will survive the winter freezer in Tasmania. I have also placed in box some gifted plants to @Jonathan his holy grail palms 2 calmus muellerii and 3 black petiole baronii. These will go into his garden. So good luck to all involved in making it possible for the botanical gardens in Tasmania to get a few plants into there gardens. Oh and Jonathan who better not kill the baronii in Siberia!

The gift of giving, I should have been growing them in my refrigerator, at least they would e acclimated for the frozen tundra of Tasmania.

Those look lovely . So many palms but so little room here. I am getting hard pressed to find spots in my wee little slice of earth. Harry ‘Most of my near quarter acre is very steep and home to palm root eating gophers!

Üdvözlet minden pálmafa-rajongó társamnak, Szeretném bemutatni mediterrán kertünket, amelyet 2008 óta építünk és szépítünk. Télen a pálmafákat lefedjük és fűtjük, kivéve a kint az utcán álló Trachycarpus fortunei-t. Gyula, Délkelet-Magyarország. Normális esetben USDA 7b zóna, de az elmúlt 8 évben 8b lett.

The last month of endless "Tule Fog" (radiation fog) in California's central valley has done some damage to marginal plants, despite temps not dropping below 40F except for two instances when we dropped to 39F. From November 21st, for more than 3 weeks, we did not see the sun, and temps did not exceed 50F. We were stuck in an endless cycle of lows in the low 40s, and highs in the high 40s, paired with 90% humidity. Everything wet, everything cold, no wind. Just stagnant, cold, wet air. 365+ consecutive hours of it. I think we broke a record this year for the most consecutive hours in the 40s Fahrenheit AND the longest fog event in recorded history for this area. While most of the state had clear skies and warm weather, we were under this 400-mile long stretch of cold fog. My plumerias are wrecked, I'm seeing dead tissue and rot at the tips. Most palms seem ok. Here are some winners and losers from that type of cold spell - frost free but cold and wet. Chrysalidocarpus mananjarensis - second winter. Seems to be ok with prolonged cold and wet. Chrysalidocarpus "Blue Decipiens" (which i understand is one of the "ugly Betafaka) has no issues with it either. Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae looking great as always Syagrus sancona - really thought this would be ok with extended cold and wet since they're grown extensively at high elevation in Colombia... Gaussia gomez-pompae seems ok with it. Tiny bit of spotting. Brahea pimo spotting pretty extensively The big loser, roystonea regia. Despite being well within this species' temp range, the prolonged "refrigerator-like" conditions really wrecked it. Sunnier and drier conditions are coming back so hopefully this pulls through. Might bring it indoors. Lastly, a shot from my friend's front yard just ABOVE the fog at around 1700 feet above sea level. 70s and sunny there, and just 3 miles downhill, 40s and visibility less than 30 feet. If anyone wants to read more about the phenomenon, here's a good link: https://weatherwest.com/archives/43605 Anyone else in the valley seeing similar damage?

They actually do surprisingly well here

Yeah, it has been cyclical depending on the players in the game. @aztropic mentioned the Orlando thread since it is geographically consistent with what @Bkue can expect. When @palmsOrl and his alias accounts stopped posting and @RedRabbit took off for Texas, there was less posting from Central Florida since they were the original posters of the Orlando and Tampa area threads: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/59360-zone-10-palms-in-the-orlando-area-mega-thread/ https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/61172-remarkable-palms-of-tampa-bay/ This friendly back-and-forth went on for a while and was one of the big drivers of interest for communities near the two cities, like Lakeland-Winter Haven, Deland, Daytona, etc. A bunch of the people who were interested in these threads have joined a WhatsApp chat that @Bkue or others are welcome to join (PM @EPaul) and typically come to CFPACS meetings and/or comment on the CFPACS Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/p/Central-Florida-Palm-Cycad-Society-100064719099155/ @Bill H2DB + @sonoranfans mentioned CFPACS and me, specifically, so it is important to understand the impact of threads like the above. There had not previously been a CFPACS meeting in Lakeland to my knowledge, but after the Remarkable Palms thread became popular, we had two meetings here in two years and have a booth at the Plantae-palooza sale at Hollis Gardens each year. Just going off what I see in CFPACS, we have a LOT of new members from the Jacksonville and St. Augustine areas. There's been a lot of interest in the coconuts and other tropicals around New Smyrna Beach. We had our four quarterly meetings this year, and attendance was through the roof. Our publications page is very helpful as well: https://cfpacs.com/org/palmateer/ Freeze events also tend to spark engagement. Back when PalmTalk became a thing, the forum was very active with posts from California, especially after the 2007 Freeze. When 2010 came, Florida became an area of focus as folks wanted palms that looked tropical, but could survive those types of events. Texas has gotten hit the last couple of years, so a lot of the activity in the Cold Hardy forums is from Texas. In that regard, I guess I'm good with little to no attention LOL. The posts from @happypalms have renewed a lot of interest from Australia and folks not accustomed to some of the stuff he is able to grow that we either can't or have a tough time with here in the SE USA. @Than and @Phoenikakias have a lot of content from Greece, and thankfully, @gyuseppe is back in the game. Overall, yes the forum has changed a bit with different players dominating the field, but that is normal. If there's specific content that you desire, consider creating a thread for it if none exists currently. Many of the users use Google searches like the one below to find something of interest: www.palmtalk.org: central florida palms In my own case, I keep a spreadsheet of direct links to content I found informative or interesting in the past so I can visit those links to refresh my memory.

The most I ever got in one year was 36" of trunk on one of my windmills back in Oregon. I had 36 in ground and the average was 18" per year, with a some outliers on either side. More trunk per year as they got taller. So I'm not at all surprised by your numbers. Nice palm!

Yes. This is always the problem. Once we germinate 85000 palms where do we put them to get to the next point. Also since we brought them into the world at least I feel responsible for how their life turns out. A bigger shadehouse is the only answer. I’m in the process of creating a new grow on area to allow me to empty parts of the shadehouse for new youngsters. It will be full in no time and require another shadehouse or grow on area.

I have about 40 of them and even as seedlings they are special!

Nice little slice of earth if you ask me. Fantastic view palms and dont spot a friendly gopher or two! You need cycads on that hill, tough reasonably fast growing, and are cool tolerant a lot of cycas species. And if you’re lucky they won’t be gopher food. Richard

I like gifting plants, gifted plants have a story about them!

Good thinking 99 as maxwell smart would say, very lucky to get seeds from such a rare palm. I will put one spare plant for you in the back of the greenhouse for you to collect one day! 🌱

Still holding up, a little concerned about the future of the third one. I believe we have only seen 22 degrees so far.

Correct. I've told Richard a million times not to exaggerate!

Yes, Harry, you really need them here. My uncle (Weesen SG) gave me another one; he apparently doesn't need it as much at Lake Walen. According to his calculations using all the weather data, his USDA zone is practically USDA zone 9a in the microclimate of his garden. It's unbelievable, but it's even cooler than Quinten SG, which would then have to be around 9b. Somehow that doesn't seem real... And somehow I'm a little jealous... They don't need a fortress wall there, like I do on my balcony. It's time to plant something there in the spring, but only with his prior consent, of course 🤗

Here are some of the more colorful palm trunks in my Northern California garden. Post yours please! Howea forsteriana Rhopostylis baueri Archontophoenix purpurea Chambeyronea macrocarpa Archontophoenix myolensis Chanaerops costaricana Rbopalostylis sapida ‘Chatham Island’ Rhopalostylis baueri Rhopalostylis baueri Chrysalidocarpus decipiens Wodyetia x Veitchia Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti Howea forsteriana Chambeyronia hookeri Euterpe edulis Archotophoenix alexandrae Phoenix roebelenii Caryota urens R. sapida Hedescepe canterburyana Chamaedoea tepejelote Bentickua condapanna Dypsis rosea Chamaedorea species Euteroe edulis ‘Orange Crownshaft’ Chamaedorea elegans C. radicalis Livistona australis

I never posted the flowers when it was in bloom last month. Here are the photos I took.

Two of the finest palms from South America definitely worth having. Germinated the bondaria and they have been slow as seedlings. And the socratea purchased a couple of seasons back. The socratea show a little cool tolerance surviving in the ground and in the greenhouse. Two palms worth growing if you can track them down!

Looks like quite a few of my palms will be getting the ring this growing season. Here’s a couple: Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus hybrid (consensus is likely x pembanus or cabadae). I believe this is originally from Floribunda seed. It definitely has hybrid vigour just in the fact it is growing here in Melbourne. Next up Chrysalidocarpus baronii Black Petiole/Vokona Lodge. Got a batch of 10 seeds from RPS back in 2018 and all germinated 2019. This is the largest of the bunch but also the least colourful. I’ve got 5 left now and the others are all quite striking in the range from red to black leaf bases and petioles. Always thought they’ve been quite slow, but considering it’s been 6-7 years from seed to producing clean trunk, I’d say that’s not bad.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all ! Stunning photo and cute Santa @pogobob ! Harry Ernie says “Hey!” Looks like time to repot already.

Nice color on the first new leaf from our little C. ambositrae, purchased from @Darold Petty a couple of months ago

Every year it's the same thing. Someone's going to get hit . I want to keep my faith and hope for a mild winter, I think we all deserve it after a few years of cold winters. We shall see. Fingers crossed.

Since I only check the traps on Saturdays the year is over for counting. I have 4 traps on 2 acres and unfortunatly I have not totaled each trap to see if there are more in one area, but I donʻt think it matters really.