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Woke up to the alarm going from the security cameras, so in a pair of jocks raced out the door half asleep, and there was this palm theif going hell for leather shoving palms in her trolley faster than Donald trump’s tariffs going around the world. I don’t know who got more of a surprise, the palm pilfering fingers froze up in shock at some raving palm nut standing there in his jocks half asleep or me seeing this google eyed palm nut helping herself to the finest palms know to man kind. I mean come on I had heard of rumours on palmtalk about a heist, apparently possum peachy and her accomplise California @Harry’s Palms sitting in the getaway truck had plotted a hit unknown to me but iam sure others where in on it, butter fingers @gyuseppethe Italian connection iam sure was involved, he has some good connections to move such goodies abroad @Than @Phoenikakias, and some local connections @Jonathan and @tim_brissy_13 had orders in for anything that would live in refrigerator. But I shrugged off such a brazen attempt. California Harry was heard yelling hurry up will you, but then I heard him say quick grab that one as well. I mean how much can koala 🐨 bear! An international hit right from behind the scenes, with the mastermind of the operation going hell for leather at it. I have put up a picture of the said palm pilfering person involved. So any information is greatly appreciated, as the authorities just said good luck catching her we been waiting for years to catch her, she keeps alluding us. And she had a possy of pekinese dogs as protection foaming at the mouth sent charging at me! Just let it be known that the peachy possum gang and the head Don @palmtreesforpleasure the mastermind behind such a brazen attempt have all been put on Santa’s naughty list, where watching you lot🌱🤣

Howea forsteriana is one of my favorite landscape palms. I planted several small ones throughout the years. These are some of the ones in the front yard. They become very dramatic in the wind and since coconuts are impossible here, these are about as close as you can get as a Cocos impersonator.

Lies all lies. I spent the whole day at Mass. Peachy, (foully maligned and deeply wounded)

Anywhere there are handsome millionaires, not so handsome billionaires and hordes of sycophantic queens, I'll be there !!

No supplemental heat for the past 3 winters (this one included).

Peachy was at my house, the whole night !

Photos today following the ice storm. Low this morning got down to 22F, and the high got to 32F. Washingtonian robustas: Washingtonia filifera: Sabal uresana

Looks like the worst winter for a long time here in Northern Virginia. Been subfreezing for days and the weather map shows 5 more single digit nights yet to come with predicted nights thereafter in the low teens. Last winter we only had two nights in single digits and that fried almost all my 12’ Trachy’s fronds. I can only hope the tree doesn’t die after this extended round of serious winter. I lit up the crown days prior to the onset of this blast along with the upper trunk with incandescent Christmas lights and added a bit of burlap to the crown for insulation to try to keep that area alive, but a weak effort I’m afraid…If it survives this, it’ll be one for my record books. The Brazoria behind the Trachy will get defoliated as well. Its trunk is lit up and wrapped in a thick layer of burlap up to the crown. Both trees have been in-ground since around 2014 and never faced anything like this. This is also the first winter since the 2014/15 planting of the needles that I’ve seen their segments fold shut. It’s a slight reaction occurring at the outer reaches of the fronds but something different for them. The Medi is covered as usual and has a ground blanket of hundreds of lights with the hope that the rising heat they create will be enough…again this winter is a first…but the fronds aren’t showing any bronzing yet and when that shroud gets lit up by the sun, it really hauls in a lot of radiated solar energy, thus moderating the subfreezing sunny days a bit. The unprotected McCurtain beside it will get the ultimate test and I’m anxious to share the results because I think it will pull through this with little to no damage. We’ll see. The only positive out of this is that the days, though subfreezing, are sunny and the big Trachy, Needles and Medi shroud get a good blast of sunshine for a good portion of the day. Not to mention we haven’t lost any electricity! Sure hope I don’t lose any of these troopers! Hope all affected out there make it through this with as little damage as possible.

oh and here is a pic of my ravenea rivularis. I have four of these and they look ok

Where I grew up there were only Washingtonia and Phoenix canariensis palms. When I attended UCSB in Santa Barbara, CA I was stunned and intrigued to see Howea forsteriana ground planted outdoors as a landscape plant. Now, all these years later, I have about 15 plants on a garden 8 meters wide !

Only 22°F in my yard this morning . Dramatically higher than the 15°F predicted a few days ago . I unwrapped all my palms in Lago this morning. Some didn’t get any protection, including the Brahea armata pictured above .

Always a wonderful sight to see Howea in a collection or even stand alone. They do very well in my climate . We are now seeing them grace industrial buildings where my shop is . I have a few that I have grown from seed. Harry These were rescued from a mall tear down several years ago. They were in very rough shape , burnt to a crisp. They had just started to trunk.

Ravenea glauca shining in summer!

They can grace my garden anytime!

@gyuseppe @Phoenikakias and @Than the European connection she blurted it all out faster than a rat up a drain pipe. Sobbing as she confessed saying I had nothing to do with it, well the security footage tells another story!

I admit it but it was @Phoenikakias's idea! I was dragged into it!

Richard, it's true that I said I was coming to steal all your precious palms, but I have nothing to do with it, I'm good for nothing, I'm all smoke and no roast! 😥

With great joy it was my pleasure to have you visit happypalms, after all your our matriarch of palms, the grandmother within the Nan we all wanted. I bet if we went nana peaches we got spoilt with ice cream got to do what we wanted never had to ask for biscuits and got to stay up late, there where no rules only our loving grandmother! It was a hot humid day and there was no stopping this lady she spotted the greenhouses and knew exactly where to go. Talk about an eagle eye for the good stuff, this lady knew her palms and many a noneclature lesson was bestowed upon me, like the matriarch she was, I thought for a minute iam going to be writing a hundred times I must pronounce Caryota and licuala correctly, and won’t be catching the bus home until it was written out. We both had a wonderful time, knowing that love of palms was boiling in our blood, the knowledge of palms known, the passion in her eyes for palms were like a child in a candy store. One could see the excitement the adventure of it all and best of all the love of palms. Thanks for visiting @peachy it was a wonderful experience and a day etched in my memory! Peace love and happiness Your friend Richard @happypalms

It should be fine, although we have some cold lows coming this week. This is a pic from about 24 hours later. I’m def glad the fronds rebounded back.

Well , stand by . This was just a practice run with basic recognizance . We now have mapped out the greenhouses and camera angles. Peachy now knows the lay of the facility . Harry

Falsom prison blues is the only song she will be listening too! ☝️

Rio Rancho, NM z7b

While catching up on farm maintenance after an amazing IPS adventure in Peru, I spied two garden gifts. My only Licuala sallehana v. sallehana has two flower spines. It bloomed once before without making seed but maybe this will be the year? I would like a group of these! Nearby I see that my Geonoma pauciflora is also trying to reproduce. Any gifts of surprise flowers/fruits from your palms recently?

Year 6 for the sabal Mexicana. The smaller is sabal palmetto 4 year seedling (trap cylinder) all were wrapped this past Friday 1/23 OKC 7b. Not to often do we get 8-9” of snow and rarely does the snow stick around for days. Hoping to unbox the sabal Mexicana in a few days

Yes, Washingtonia filifera var robusta (formerly W robusta)

Astrocaryum murumuru. This spiny baby is well out of poking range but, a nice looking palm. Tim

I remember cycling through Isla Vista and seeing the large Kentia Palms planted near the apartment buildings. Even back then( 70’s) , long before my obsession with palms , I knew they were special! Harry

K here are some pics of the damage. We were under a hard freeze for about ten hours last night and for about sixteen the night before. Didnt get ice but temps went to 23.5 F on my thermometer here at West Houston/Westchase area. First pics are of three queens I have, small. Then strelitzia nicolais (giant bird of paradise), then areca palms (they are alive at the growth points) and last but not least a cat palm. Not sure how that one is doing. Leaves look a bit darker than before and they have that smell of rot... time will tell. I will update.

In a month or two, we will read about the "warmest winter on record". Guaranteed

Buttomed out Between 21 and 22° F . Downtown was probably a bit warmer. Not bad at all. If we don't get a more severe cold front we would have a zone 9a winter for the 2nd time in a row. Come on baby .

23F this morning in E Katy Higher than the 21-22F NWS forecast from 10pm. I'll call it a win! 26F near Uptown

Forecast for last night ended up being way off. NWS predicting 30F and we bottomed out at 37F. Whole thing really a non-event here in Brownsville. Over in Mission it looks like it's down in the upper 20s.

Now your talking my possum, trippin’ in all that jewellery! Richard

More like The Bronx, Bethnal Green, Saint Denis and not to offend Kim too much, Lincoln Park.

My Carpentaria

An old favourite of mine, even if it’s in a subtropical climate.

She’s already pleading insanity!

Of course, always follow senior's (but not senile) advice!

I am 'Robyn' Hood and will give my share to local botanical garden.

It didn't look far on the map ! Curiosity has been killing this cat for quite some time so why not take a wee Sunday drive down to Halfway Creek ? I took the dust covers off my Miracle of Swedish Engineering, put on my Souvenir of Oodnadatta pure Irish Linen apron (made in China) grabbed a wondercloth (as seen on TV) gave it wipe down, chucked on some slap and hit the road. Me who only drives to the supermarket (0.8 klms) once per week at a maximum speed of 40 klms per hour, found her flustered little self facing 360 klms of freeway with a 110 kph speed limit. EEK. I am so glad I had a manicure the night before as my finger was very busy on that trip. All those Land Cruiser and Electric Buzzy Car drivers are so rude to sweet little matrons on the road and apparently quite envious of my stately Volvo. Of course I am too polite to mention the paupers who have to display their poverty by driving a Kia. (ugh) So I finally arrived at my destination, drove carefully up the little bush track (thanking providence that I have AWD) and found myself among the palms. Oooh la la. Rather than vulgarly announcing my presence, I took a little wander into the nearest greenhouse with my big handbag open in anticipation but was surprised by a nasty little camera hidden in there. Naturally it was all a mistake, I wasn't stealing any palms, I just put them in my bag for safe keeping. Richard found it wiser to believe me than to prosecute. He apologised for mistaking me for a common floraklept and I said sorry for pulling a switchblade, (hey it's dangerous for ladies out there) and we embarked on tour of the most amazing palm collection I have ever seen. I had to keep asking names as there were so many I have never seen before and a few I haven't even heard of. Even his Chamadoreas were huge. The he showed me another greenhouse the size of Grand Central Station, packed to the rafters with baby palms of every species know to man. Start saving up people as in a couple of years this part of the world will no longer retain the palm desert status it currently holds. But don't just wait till then, it is well worth a visit with a well padded wallet for purchasing a plethora of rare and gorgeous palms. You too can say pooh Pooh at those palm privileged people in Far North Qld. A big thank you to my host Richard for a better day out than any of my weddings, and thank you to those clever people in Gothenburg who thoughtfully included an enormous palm carrying area when designing their wonderful vehicles. I did not shop for palms, I pillaged ! What did I buy ? Well I will put up photos at a later date just to keep you hanging ! Peachy, palm purchaser and recent convert to motoring the proper way.

A true gentleman never tells……….🤫

Wait for the sequel! Richard

I've got seedlings of both Syagrus oleracea and picrophylla and would be happy if either one turned out like @Cindy Adair's! 😊 Here in South Texas L. saribus looks better with some shade. Here's my green petiole form.

I knew you were involved, never trust a Californian again. I suppose all the booty was headed for the black market. Going too unsuspecting buyers who knew nothing about the origin of said palms. Better yet straight into your garden. Iam sure @DoomsDave must have had a personal interest in such a heist, putting you up too it! From now on any sweet eye lid bating ladies are banned from such a nursery!🤣 Richard

@Skenny, I wouldn't worry about exposure to 28°F. If there's a a heavy frost predicted I would cover it with a frost cloth or a sheet. My Phoenix roebelenii is about the same size as yours and mine has endured 27°F unprotected for each of the last 4 years. No frond damage except one year it had a spear-pull but quickly grew out of it.

Nothing in my yard took any damage except for the outermost, oldest leaf on my Cocos looking a little spotty. Biggest surprise to me was probably that my Bulnesia arborea and my Senegalia polyacantha covered in new, green shoots didn't have the slightest hint of wilt or leaf dieback. Ultimate low was around 30F.

Actually I think you’re probably right Richard. S oleracea and S picrophylla have at times been considered one and the same species, but picrophylla distinguished by its smaller orange/brown fruits which this appears to have. I would say that because there are only a few fruits that they may not be fully formed so I’m not sure we could be 100%, but agree very likely S picrophylla.

Syagrus picrophylla, and Tim’s on the money saribus!

Cold hardy palm trees in Dallas zone 8a at 15F after sleet storm. 🌴🥶

Couple of nice ones there. I just love sallehana palms. But the most surprising thing for me this week was my wallichia distichia flower. Totally amazing and two flowers this time round.