Leaderboard

In 2015 while I was working in california I bought some patrick schaffer hybrids. I was inspired by the gardens of the fathers of butia hybrids DIck Douglas(NorCal) and Merrill Wilcox(FL). I wanted some jubaea genetics in my yard but best knowledge said pure jube would not be happy here. My favorite patrick hybrid, the one that I did not give away, was a (Bx J)xJ. I had a coupole BxJ from patrick and this one just looked different, even as a small seedling in a 4" pot. It is a BxJ mother tree pollinated by a jubaea. I had it in a small 7g container for years and then upgraded it to a 20 gallon in 2020. I feared it would not deal with florida humidity and wet soil so I kept it in that 20 gal pot and infrequently watered it. I tried to give it away, no takers from the coconut and adonidia crowd in my neighborhood. I even offered it here on palmtalk, surely a nice cold tolerant hybrid would work somewhere up in northern florida or there abouts, no takers. It grew slowly over the years and a year and a half(?) ago I decided I didn't want a palm prisoner in a container so I decided to put it in the ground in a dry spot where I had removed an invasive ficus benjamina I had mistakenly planted. Well, it seems as if the palm just loved this winter and pushed out a bunch of new growth. It grows faster in winter. I also have a BxJ with 3-4' trunk that is a nice palm but this one has a symmetric beauty that I love. Now I am very happy I didnt give it away. Its not a fussy palm, I planted it in a spot where it will intercept cold NE winds off the nearby pond Anybody else have a butia, Jubaea, or syagrus hybrid out there, I know Patrick made a bunch of different hybrids, show yours if you have one.

1. Hyophorbe indica 1.5 gallon size 2. Burretiokentias koghiensis 15 gallon 3. Caryota gigas 5 gallon 4. Butia eriospatha band size 5. Brahea clara 5 gallon 6. Brahea edulis 15 gallon 7. Brahea elegans 5 gallon 8. Coccothrinax barbadensis 15 gallon 9. Coccothrinax crinita 5 gallon 10. Cryosophila stauracantha 15 gallon 11. Dypsis baronii 5 gallon 12. Dypsis heteromorpha 5 gallon 13. Dypsis pembana 5 gallon 14. Kentiopsis olliviformis 15 gallon 15. Prestoea acuminata (montana) 5 gallon 16. Rhopalostylis baueri 15 gallon 17. Roystonea oleracea 15 gallon 18. Syagrus coronata band size. This is a small sampler of the over 200,000 palms & cycads we have at our Nursery. I think we offer the largest species selection of any Palm or Cycad Nursery in the western U.S. Visitors welcome. We give individual attention. In business in Encinitas, CA for over 40 years. Mail orders done almost daily. Delivery available on most items. And, by the way, creator and early developer (along with assistance from other IPS members) of this PalmTalk Blog multiple decades ago. Phil Bergman Owner Jungle Music Nursery 1111 Urannia Ave, Encinitas, CA 92024 Phone: 619 291 4605 Email: phil@junglemusic.net Website: www.junglemusic.net

They generally transplant very well, even with a small root ball. Spring would be a good time for the move or now if temps are reliably mild. The palm will be quite heavy so be ready for that. You’ll need to water it daily for a few months while it replaces lost roots.

Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Another 12 months and I reckon the large Tahina will have a full crown. Smaller one also coming good now.

Went there today to get another round of 14 bags of mulch (need about 70 bags total for the front yard as I go section by section with the spring mulching on days off). …… didn’t see the Old Timer. Someone made off with him.

Try 10 more. You are right on the cusp. Maybe one will be strong enough

These are great palms for South Florida. Not too big, not too fast, tolerate our dry and wet conditions, tolerate sun and heat, but also get a very nice deep green in the shade.

That’s awesome Stacy! Right after I moved to this house in 1997 someone walking by noticed all the palms I was planting from our old house . He said he had some “prickly” type palms on the side of his house that he was gonna cut down but if I wanted them I could take them . They had about 2’ of trunk , two together. I literally had to get on my butt and dig as the slope was so steep . Lost a lot of the roots but managed to get them home . They didn’t even flinch , started growing almost immediately. Those will make someone happy in their new home. Harry Here they are now , greeting me as I come through my gate on the side of our house. I think of that day , 29 years ago , digging them up and dragging them UPHILL to my little Toyota pick up. When they get tall , no “prickly “ , it’s all overhead! Harry

Come down ye can dig up some volunteers and pick up seeds --- tree droppng load s of seeds. I dont go on this sidt too oftern

I have a 10' mexican fan palm that I want to transplant...but not if it's going to kill it. I dont hate where it's at, but it's in the back corner of our property. I want to put it right in front by the porch if possible. So my question is would it transplant well? Has anyone ever done it or read about it? I know the nurseries transplant them. Is it too much work without a skidsteer? Any tips would be appreciated! I hope y'all like the drawing I made....

We can get pretty wise sometimes….

We plan on having President Dave Hall, longtime vendor Farnsworth Farms, @kinzyjr, and @PalmBossTampa at the booth to assist everyone. We'll have canopy, umbrellas and a cart to help you stay dry while shopping and on the way to your vehicle in the event we get a rain shower. For anyone that pre-ordered plants, we'll have them at the booth ready for pickup. We also look forward to a pilot with our new electronic payment system. See you all there!

He would do mail orders as well, you would have loved some the stuff he had in rare varieties of palms!

I tried a butia a few years ago and covered it on cold nights. It died but my pot grown palmetto survives to this day. I wish butia were equally as cold hardy as sabal palmetto but it hasn't been my experience. I've killed two butias and pretty much have given up on them. I may try one again. 🤔

I cant help but notice the evolution of the logo in the top right corner from page to page. Theres something different about it on just about every page. I love the idea, I just personally cant get behind the use of AI. Regardless, the information in the document is very informative and has a good layout.

Had the pleasure of meeting Steve, and buying a few plants. Great guy with Killer deals! Don’t miss out!

One thing lost in this discussion about tropical palms and foliage in cold events is the amount of heat in the particular climate. Notwithstanding this February 2026 cold event, the average February temperature at PBIA was 64.82 degrees Fahrenheit for this admittedly cold event. Of course, the Koppen/Trewartha classification for tropical is an average temperature during the entire year of not less than 64.4°F. This is the PBIA weather underground site for the month of February: https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/us/fl/west-palm-beach/KPBI/date/2026-2 The average temperatures for the months of January 2026 and December 2025 were 67.01°F and 71°.84°F, respectively on the weather underground site for PBIA. The average temperature in the month of December 1989 at PBIA on the weather underground site during that cataclysmic event was 57° 48. F. The following months in January and February 1990 averaged 66.37°F and 70.04°F, respectively. It warmed up quickly after the devastating 1989 event. https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/us/fl/west-palm-beach/KPBI/date/1989-12 The closest and most reliable weather underground station in Palm Beach is Device One-KFLPALMB 251. During February 2026, it registered an average temperature of 67.8 F. with an ultimate low of 38°.3 F for the month of February 2026. https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KFLPALMB251/table/2026-02-28/2026-02-28/monthly

You won't have any trouble with a borhidiana,no matter how you plant it! The purebred and it's hybrids are some of the hardiest of the Coccothrinax species. While the purebred is slower growing, both literally grow like weeds, slow but steady, even in the harsh conditions of the Arizona desert. First pic is a purebred, second pic is a hybrid. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

This certainly was a "unique" event. The focus for the killing freeze of long-term tropicals seems to run along the coast from about Cape Canaveral to somewhat north of Jupiter and including the metro of Orlando. The corridor between the coast and just west of 95 where people zone-pushed successfully for years is pretty devastated here in the PSL area. Out west of 95 the tropical stuff dropped off dramatically before the freeze so that area shouldn't have been so affected. I don't have first-hand knowledge of the effects of the freeze north of Ft Pierce so I am making an educated guess about the northern extent. The barrier islands around here have significant damage, but most of the palms look to recover eventually. Port St Lucie proper looks like a war zone. Many of the people who planted these tropicals put them in, and then never properly cared for them. I worry there will be dead vegetation standing for years. It is way to early to say, but my early bet is that 80% of coconuts and Adonidias are toast other those on the barrier islands. Royals are already putting out new fronds but will take a while to rebound. The looming question is whether this cycle is in the early innings or not. The Feb. 1-3 event was not our only trip into the low 30s and mid-20s this year. We had three other events into the low-mid 30s this year, as many as the past 6-8 years combined at my place. To make matters worse for us personally, we've dealt with a constant stream of visitors from up north, who wanted to escape their own horrendous winter. So they have witnessed this carnage first hand and have been constantly giving us unwanted sympathy. I came upon my sis -in-law walking around the yard documenting the carnage to her phone to be disseminated to the rest of the family! All I really want to do is deal with the mess, but to be polite, I have to sit outside with them while they soak up the sun and look at the disaster in our back yard. Even when I take them to the barrier islands the damage is everywhere, you just can't escape it. I have one more group coming in March, the husband just called and in a grave voice asked how the yard looks. I said "it looks dead". My wife and I agree, no visitors next year or maybe ever! Right now my plan is to wait and watch, keeping the palms watered and eventually apply a light fertilization. Some of the Adonidias are defying death right now, even pushing out new, albeit heavily damaged fronds, but I'm not optimistic about a total recovery. My Wodyetias now look like they will pull through, but no guarantee. Ironically, my wife pressured me into cutting down the only palm we inherited when we bought the house, a Syagrus that would have been the one palm that would have survived unscathed. She wanted it removed when she became fixated about the danger in a hurricane because she read that they fall on houses. There are seedlings everywhere in my yard from that tree that I took out 5 years ago. I intend to relocate those seedlings and let them develop as may to fill in for the dead palms. When she realizes what they are, I will tell her that she can chop them down to her hearts content when they become a danger. I hope younger people will continue to zone push. I will enjoy watching the progress. My plan is to create a new landscape on the cheap, resilient to drought, wind and cold. Then there are all the diseases...

Here’s an honorable mention in Oak Island, NC. The area is pretty palm friendly, with wild palmettos and some established Washingtonia and CIDPs. It’s on the Oak Island Golf Course, along with 4-5 others this size. The golf pro seems to think these were planted in the mid 80’s? Approx 7-8 feet of clean trunk.

A few smaller palms that are on their way to bigger pots and the garden one day in the future!Dypsis lantzeana licuala pelata var sumowongii Heterospathe minorclinostigma samoense linospadix monostachya

Lovely to see the 3 x Medemia argun doing ok in the gardens. Hoping they will go on to produce a breeding trio.

Colin Wilson gave me a small Hyophorbe indica "Red form" to donate to the gardens. I kept that one and instead offered this larger example that was ready to be planted.

I donated my largest Jubaea chilensis because it was bursting to go in the ground, but I wasn’t ready to plant it. Appears to be settling in well.

Oh man. The AI did a good job. I'm digging it up tomorrow

Merc had contacts all around the globe plus local ones as well. He did get stumped a bit when they changed the import laws, meaning a lot of home grown contacts couldn’t send their seeds, but he got around that in a legal manner through different logistics. You don’t need a lot of infrastructure Merc was just a suburban backyard germinater, but he had the setup!

Good little Merc haul there, the adscendens seeds he got from me, good to see they fell into great hands. And a few other varieties you got there came from a couple of other contacts Merc had, you know both of those contacts, so some home grown contacts there!

I’ve never dug one up that size but it will be a bit of work and very heavy. They transplant well and are quick to rebound . Someone in my neighborhood literally ripped a small one out of the ground and left it in a 5gallon bucket in my courtyard in case I wanted it . I really didn’t but I appreciated the gesture and stuck it in the ground at the bottom of our hike . It took off like a rocket . Harry

A few more, most of these were germinated seed from Merc 3-4 years ago. Pritchardia martii Chambeyronia houailouensis Livistona alfredii A pair of Burretiokentia koghiensis Chrysalidocarpus sp ‘Baby Red Stems’ Lanonia dasyantha Chamaedorea adacendens Chamaedorea linearis Coccothrinax barbadensis (dussiana) Chamaerops humilis ‘Vulcano’

I'm gonna try Banrot on my plumerias. I'm near 100% confidence both died at least to ground so will try to save the roots. I trimmed back to where I saw whitish tissue but black is showing up on the trunks. Sad, one was pretty large and had deep red flowers. Have you had succes with Banrot?

Sad trombone noises.

I feel the same way. Mother Nature has given me quite the nudge this year to do just that. Lowes, Home Depot, our Water Utility and the local Garden Centers will not be happy.🤑

The climate has always been changing and always will be changing. It would be really unusual if it stayed the same. Humans will continue to adapt as they always have. It appears humans typically fare better when the earth is warmer but there will always be plenty of natural disasters regardless of the direction the earth's temperature. I just try not to get to worked up over it because it's out of my control and we all represent a tiny sliver of the earth's history. There are many different cycles and variations constantly at play like the earth's tilt, wobble, solar output, volcanic activity, etc. Heck, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga volcano eruption a few years ago sent a massive amount of water vapor into the atmosphere which likely had a material effect on the earth's temperature. If you've never heard of "The Year Without a Summer" I highly recommend looking it up and reading the book about it...fascinating stuff.

An interesting challenging plant you have chosen to grow indoors. Never tried them indoors, but they grow very easily outdoors.

Fishlips in Port Canaveral has some pretty untouched adonidia facing East. More evidence the wind was one of the biggest offenders.

Indeed a (possibly) once in a lifetime buy here on the West Coast! Thank you again for helping me snag THREE of them! One sadly didn’t make it, but the other two are doing great. 🎉

Friday update from New Smyrna Beach on the barrier island...... Will post photos next time. Looks like my Pandanus is done. To be honest - it's taken some pretty big hits from 2 hurricanes in previous years so hasn't really been the Pandanus it once was, anyway. Still sad to see her go. I'm a little more optimistic today seeing some green remaining in the center bud areas of most all my palms. Including the 3 big Coconuts. I gave them a liquid feed a week ago and just now hit everything with a granular. I truly think it will help. I'll hit them again with some Banrot this weekend. So far they've gotten 2 Copper fungicide treatments and on the Coconuts only a Banrot drench very early on. Regardless of what survives - it's going to be ugly for a couple years, that's for sure!

Is that the one you downloaded from the Internet? 😆 Just kidding. Congratulations! Do you have to renew it every 4 months??

Christmas palms looking good. First is a triple trunk version. Red circles are the sharpie line growth in 3 weeks. The other is a larger double trunk one that had no protection.

I thought I'd update this topic with a few photos of our new Nursery Location at 1111 Urania Ave, Encinitas, Ca 92024

I have one that is just about at planting size. it seems to enjoy the climate here.

I steer clear of the politics of climate. This is my "safe place".

I say this all the time. Most of the rain totals for the year come from just a small number of very heavy rain days and tropical events. Other than that it’s hot, sunny and dry. Half of the “rainy seasons” are very dry with little rain during that season. When you look at Florida (and Cuban/Carribean) Palms, most of them have evolved to be very drought tolerant due to these natural climate characteristics. Some are even naturally fire-tolerant. Without multiple tropical storms and hurricanes during the year, the drought conditions overall dominate, and push us into drought, and trigger wildfires.. Last year, there was none. These are often huge systems effecting most of the state, and dousing us with a week of heavy precipitation, with only small areas being subject to the storm force winds. I don’t understand the debate about global warming sometimes. It’s pretty obvious, as we don’t see woolly mammoths, wooly rhinoceros, and saber tooth tigers and dire wolves, running around North America these days. Huge glaciers have carved mountains and lakes in the US, and receded. Climate change defines the planet over millions of years. I find it amusing though, that every drought, every flood, every hot day, every cold day, every blizzard, every tropical storm and lack of tropical storm, on a momentary scale, is used as evidence of a political crisis by the National News and the Weather Channel.

Encephalartos hildebrantii flushing in the garden today.

It’s a wonderful joy planting a couple of palms. And even better in remembrance of one the greatest palm germinaters that I have know. So a couple of Mercs palms went into the garden today, a ravenea hillbrandtii and a hypohorbe indica red form along the driveway in a prime viewing spot for that extra bit of remembrance!

I was gonna bust out the "graphic design is my passion" meme but ngl that's actually not bad lol.

To all the people in life who said I'd never amount to 💩, well, it turns out you were right. But I do have a state nursery sellers license now.

Sabine and I are very happy for you, congratulations, John.

That seems to be a good deal . From what I’ve read , they are slow growing palms . That one has some age to it . Harry Edit: our Lowe’s , here , is pathetic for palm selection . You folks in Florida have a great selection. If you find a spot for it , I would grab it.