Leaderboard

Hello ! Was lucky enough to explore the forests of Costa Rica : from altitude cloudy forest to dry savanes. They have it all, with amazing species. A special thanks to Jeff who gave me great advices and IDs. Some of you might know him.

Hey y'all I thought this would be a cool post to make this is what my 2025 garden season was like. I'll post favorite pictures average temperature for each month etc. OK I'll start off with what our coldest temperature was and our hottest temperature was and average temperature for each month of the growing season (March-November) March. March for us was generally a mild month our warmest temperature was 81 And our coldest temperature was 19. our average daytime 57. night time 38 April. April was a lot like March it was more mild not as hot as I have seen but it wasn't too bad. our warmest temperature for the month was 90 (Very warm for April) Our coldest was 18 (Very cold for April lol) our average daytime 66. night time 47 May. May Was a pretty average month. Typically our may's are a little warmer but it was pretty normal. our warmest temperature recorded was 85 Our coldest temperature was 30 (Very cold for May for us But can happen probably due to us being in the Appalachian) The average high was 73. Our average low 56 June. June was a pretty hot month. Many days we had were 90 plus degrees outside It was more like July weather for us. our warmest day recorded was 100 (Very warm for June) Our coldest temperature was 49. our average daytime 86. night time 67 July. July was a very hot month there was very little days That were Below 88f We also had very little rain Our warmest day was 100f And our coldest day was 66f. our average daytime 90. night time 72. Otherwise it was a nice and warm month just very dry August. August on the other hand was below average. Not a lot of action in the garden it was a very dry month Only one day of rain and that did pretty much nothing. Our warmest day was 93 and our coldest day was in the mid 30s (That is very cold for us in August but it was recorded towards the end of the month) our average daytime 82. night time 64 September. September was also a below average month For temperature and rain, we had no rain in September the garden really suffered. Our warmest day was 90 And our coldest day was in the mid 30s (Also cold for September in our area) our average daytime 79. night time 59 October. October was also a below average month for rain and temperatures. The garden didn't really grow that much. Our warmest temperature was 85 And our coldest temperature was 30. our average daytime 67. night time 47 November. November we had our first Killing frost within the first week of November so the garden didn't do much our warmest temperature recorded was 75 And our coldest was 17 our average daytime 52. night time 36. The whole month of November wasn't that bad it was a little below average but not bad Overall it was not a bad growing season. The last couple months were below average and Very DRY. but the rest was really nice. also here are my favorite picture of my garden let's hope for a great 2026 growing season everyone!

One beautiful palm from New Guinea. Clumping, colorful, well behaved, and attractive entire leaves. Copious amount of indument on the rachis and leaf veins. Been in ground for around twelve years. I’ll add photos of the colorful inflorescence and seed if and when that happens. Tim

Pinanga disticha, Licuala grandis, Licuala glabra var. glabra.

A built of Basselinia inflorescence’s. B. eriostachys and B. glabrata. Tim

Palermo was a bit of mixed bag. Still pockets of stunning ancient heritage, but unfortunately the city in general does appear to have lost its way. The botanical garden on the other hand was a pleasant surprise, with a fantastic variety of palm species. Also the most comprehensive collection of citrus trees I've ever seen, the majority of which were full of ripe fruit. Well worth a visit. Washingtonia robusta Church of St. Dionisio 14th century ruins Phoenix sylvestris Washingtonia robusta Not 100%, but I think this is Trachycarpus takil. Labelled Trachycarpus fortunei. Brahea armata Butia sp. Brahea edulis Trachycarpus martianus Jubaea chilensis Trithrinax campestris Rhopalostylis sapida Chamaedorea metallica Archontophoenix maxima Roystonea regia Chrysalidocarpus baronii Brahea decumbens Brahea brandegeei Brahea armata Chrysalidocarpus decaryi Trithrinax campestris Brahea aculeata Nannorrhops ritchiana Parajubaea torallyi Sabal maritima Dioon spinulosum Encephalartos lehmanni Chamaerops humilis var. argentea Howea forsteriana

A few chamaedorea alternans that are a wonderful addition to the collection, a few more dypsis minuta are always welcome anytime, the Pinanga sylvestris should be a nice one for the garden, with a rare licuala micholitzii. All welcome additions for the collection and the garden.

32 at my house in Altamonte Springs, 35 at Leu Gardens. If you followed local "news" you would have thought FL was having another Dec. 1989 freeze with the ridiculous feels like temp ratings hype.

A desiccating Chambeyronia hookeri leaf adds a bit eye catching attention for a fleeting last flash of red!

A few more photos. Tim

This is the bigger of two Presto Hybrids I got from FB two years ago. Whether it was the same pollen doner... who knows. It has been a fast grower here in So Cal.

Chrysalidiocarpus Lutescens some pink on the new spear to accent the orange/gold The colorful fruit of Chamaedorea Microspadix goes well with the soft green texture of the leaves. Harry

Joeys are so so adorable & one of my top favorites !! I have one that's a 2 leafer that lives inside my greenhouse cabinet. I am absolutely terrified when it's time to repot as they hate root disturbance.💀

As the sun fell lower in the sky, something red was lit up toward the east. What could it be? Grabbed the phone and went to see. A sight I have never witnessed before, the unveiling of a fresh inflorescence of Loxococcus rupicola -- and wow, was it ever RED! Below you can see what caught my eye. Closer -- evidently I was disturbing a pair of Madagascar geckos -- can you find them? Below you can see the formed seeds on another Loxococcus rupicola. I sometimes have trouble remembering the name of this palm. My trick is to start with Coca-cola and then it falls into place.

Searching Google Maps for somewhere nice to have lunch, I came across a restaurant opposite Giardino Garibaldi (always on the lookout for potential palm locations 😉). As we tucked in, I noticed this specimen in the distance. Upon closer inspection, I believed it to be Butia odorata x Jubaea chilensis. It's producing viable seed, which is most likely self pollinated as there aren't any other cocoid palms close by as far as I could tell (some Syagrus romanzoffiana 5-10 minutes walk towards the coastline). Most of the seed floated in water, but I'm persevering with them as I've germinated floating Jubaea and Butia before. Further research online uncovered an old article on the European Palm Society that confirms the ID. http://www.palmsociety.org/members/english/chamaerops/041/041-14.shtml by Juergen Plaumann (Chamaerops No. 41). There is also a picture of it on there. BxJ seed with endocarps intact. BxJ cracked and endocarps removed

This is the luckiest palm in my garden. Twice it has been narrowly missed by huge falling trees, surviving without so much as a scratch. It even seems to like the decaying Cecropia trunk 1/4" from its base. Love watching this beautiful baby grow. Do you have Johannesteijsmannia magnifica in your garden? Or a photo of one you have admired on a palm tour somewhere in the world? Post your photos here! Not kidding about it being "in the jungle!"

My main sensor recorded 31F. The lowest sensor in the yard had 29.5F. There was no frost in the yard or in the open yards down the road, but there was a light layer on the roof and on the tops of the cars. The lowest hourly at the airport was 30.2F. There wasn't a lot of initial damage, but it won't be evident for a while and we have another front on the way. At the current time, it looks like slightly milder with frost coming up Sunday overnight. The NWS airport hourly reports are attached in ZIP form. 20260116_obhistory.zip

Temps across parts of FL this morning at 7:15am EST. Most of Orlando went below freezing. A fairly rare occurrence in recent times!

Pinanga maculata. Tim

I'm glad someone else noticed that! It's infuriating since both numbers matter for different reasons, and they act like the "feels like" is the actual temp. Super misleading click bait and by "reputable" sources. I'm so glad the sun comes out after most of these fronts, it looks nice out my window and the greenhouse is a warm and welcome 82, with the vent cracked in sun. I'll probably just cover what I covered again a few more times this weekend, I don't buy the 39 forecast here tonight, but maybe I'm jaded after last January lol.

Also forgot the post this picture from august 2 I'm standing in the background. Sorry I look a little rough. lol

Awesome photos everything did so well for you in 2025

It will be many years , they are slow growers , especially in that climate zone. The good news is they can survive very cold winters! Harry

Great post! Can’t wait to see how that Needle Palm looks when matured. What was your coldest temp in December?

One of my Chamaedorea Ernesti Augusti decided to flower . It already needs to be repotted after only a year in this pot . I think I will wait for Spring and just freshen up the soil unless it is root bound . Harry It looks like it has gotten a bit of a trunk as well. These grow very well here . This has been the warmest January I can remember . Highs in the mid 80’s f and lows in the mid 50’s . We had lows in the upper 40’s already this year but ,since all the rain we got , it’s been very warm . Harry

Amazing pictures , thank you for sharing. Harry

Been a long time lurker of this forum and finally decided to make an account to share the freezing conditions at my parents' home - wunderground stations show 22-23°F while the weather channel displayed 24-25°F My personal hygrometer didn't drop below 27.5°F and my Alfies still look green on camera (I am away from there at the moment). We seem to be in a location where the cold "funnels in" from the northwest (lucky us!) so I did my best to plant the Alfies on the south side of the home. They already took two shots down to 26°F this winter but this has to be undoubtedly the coldest morning this far. The hygrometer is reporting 5.5 hours below freezing and counting, but at least we're on the upswing now. I will say, I am thoroughly impressed this far on how these 15 gal trees have faired thus far. Fingers crossed, knock on wood!

Wowowowo thank you very much for these amazing pictures

Another beauty in the garden!

It was mentioned on this forum that he had lost access to many of the parent trees he used for his hybrids. My last communication with him was in August 2024 and he had stated he had not been producing and shipping anything but may get back into it that Fall. As far as I can tell he logged in her a little over a week ago so hopefully he sees your post....

Caramel Pluto philodendron Golden Crocodile philodendron Kiett mango from seed Jesus Christ my arms are hairy. Anyway here's your color.

I’ll do my best! I’d start by asking Darold!

The current forecast for my area is around 32 tonight. Of course, I listened to the radio on the way home and they were freaking out about 26 in Sanford! Apparently their forecaster thinks that Sanford is super near Jax...sigh... I put a cardboard box over an Arenga Westerhoutii that took some significant frost damage in the December front, and another box over a Corypha Lecomtei just because. Otherwise it's Darwinism at work, and hopefully all the freshly sprouted weeds (er...hardy imported and native annuals and perennials) take the brunt of it!

Beautiful, although that glabrata is going to need a babysitter...!

I think this dypsis louvelli classifys as a bit of colour!

I posted the white one earlier. Here's the pink one.

2 pics from yesterday and 2 from today. I love this dypsis Mt. something or other

Have you ever fertilized it? I assume you bring it indoors when temps are below 50F. I assume you fertilized it at some point over the past 7 years although it does look undersized and peak-ed. I grew green and red lipsticks from 3g to over 9' tall in about 5 years before I sold them. They got too heavy for us to roll their carts indoors and were touching the top of the birdcage. All that aside I suggest you wait until the weather warms in March to fertilize to get best results. During cooler weather the palm takes in fertilizer little or not at all and its growth slows. Fertilizer is too expensive to waste nor do you want to force new growth on this uber tropical palm in mid-winter. If you haven't so far I suggest you heavily research care of this species here or on reliable internet sites. It can grow into a beautiful palm but you have to cater to its tropical needs. We can no longer do so and I decided years ago not to try more lipsticks. I do have a Cyrtostachys loriae - a solitary, robust and cold hardier species - planted in our south facing back yard that backs onto a freshwater canal. It survived Hurricane Ian and I'm hopeful it will survive winter in Cape Coral. Not a chance in h*** I could have planted our lipsticks.

Richard, cataractum does not form any upward growing trunks. The leaves are similar to this one though.

Yes I don’t want them, I have bigger fish to fry do to speak, to many to grow just not interested enough in them. Good news I have a home for them already in sunny Tasmania with a request for them, @Jonathan can have as many as he wants! Richard

You need new stock coming behind the old stock. I have a few varieties of palms from when I started the nursery that are not to my liking anymore with the new rarer varieties pushing out some old stock, these ones will be the pioneer plants, getting planted for canopy and microclimate, giving the more rarer exotics a happy place to go! Richard

No worries I will do! And why where at it here’s a few new pics of the Chambeyronia both flowering together. Except this time the bees are working both palms, the hookeri and macrocarpa!

Let's fast forward to today, where it's in the 50s, and her highness was brought inside as usual. We spoke of fertilizing, but found this thread, and we shall wait until March-ish. She looks bigger than the op in 2022, but she looks....burnt and not so green. She lives outside receiving indirect sunlight, and she has a dedicated irrigation line as of 2 weeks. Prior to that her watering and fertilizing was scarce. Her soil is the same as from 2022. Does she need new soil perhaps? A bigger pot that's transportable? Some fertilizer or food now? Thank you Miami

72F at 10:52AM ..headed for?? 78F suggested, but already running a couple degs. ahead of yesterday around the same time so, We'll see what that translates to around 3 / 3:30PM. Yesterday, once again, PHX exceeded the suggested / forecast high w/ a high of 81, which tied a record, and sits among the earliest, first 80F readings of any given year.. Not to shabby Rest of hood is also running warmer than yesterday at this time as well.. S.Cal check ( Just about 10AM PST ) ..Also not too shabby, lol.. In a nod to earlier thoughts ( ...from the GFS / other WX Models ) regarding " something interesting " spinning up in the tropical East Pacific, chances may be low, but, are enough to garner some headlines. https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/extremely-rare-storm-could-form-this-weekend/ar-AA1Udrpd?cvid=69684aca8c03498688ed131b78f4d9fb&ocid=DELLDHP Looking at recent runs of the same models, whatever might form out there looks weak, and brief ..weaker than had been suggested earlier in the weak. Regardless, .....if.... a " sub " - tropical system does manage to form, it would be quite a rarity, esp. for this early in the year.. Back to state 48, Looking toward the weekend ahead? = More of the same ..here, across S. Cal ..and even up into the Bay Area where spots like Santa Cruz could enjoy a couple days in the low 70s.. Pretty sweet for " January "

I've attached NWS Miami forecast numbers so you North Floridians might not feel quite so bad. Sealing Wax Palms, Pigafettas and all the zone 10b/11 zone pushing stuff no likey 43. My forecast low on Tampa's peninsula tonight is 38F. When the impactful fronts clear the entire state and bring down the chill, the temp differences aren't so remarkable north to south or east to west. We're all in one big, happy, cold family 🤪🤣. The left hand column are tonight's forecast lows

Good genes with that plant. Gonna be a killer multi in 5yrs+. Love Ambositrae. -dale

Cattleya ‘Imperialis’ - treating me to a 2nd blooming In 2 months. And one of the blooms measures 7.25” across!

Hopefully a long thread with lots of photos. 🌴🤞 My young Areca vestarias - another plant that “doesn’t grow here” and are currently hiding in the house- say hello. 👋 Not sure what compels us to zone push… but it’s pretty fun when someone manages to defy the odds.