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Bauhinia variegata 'rubra' blooming in a 5g pot at a friend's house yesterday-from seed from my tree. Mine lagging behind this year so no blooms yet.

Mislabeled maybe? The palm in the photo is palmate, Cyphophoenix nucele is not. Tim

Like a lot of tropical fruits,they do ripen quickly. Green one day, black the next! 😄👍 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

@iDesign , I’ve usually taken extra care when bringing palms home from a greenhouse environment , but you probably already know that. I would start with a mostly shady spot , leaving it in its pot for a while , and hopefully getting some advice from those that know that species. The Dypsis palms I brought home from @DoomsDave were more common ( Lanceolata , Basilonga) and Dave was good about giving advice so I planted in a filtered light situation . They are doing well but they weren’t dealing with an environment change . Dave’s climate is similar to mine . The seasonal timing will work in your favor though so I expect you will be successful. That is a beautiful palm , single or even if it splits off later on . Harry on a side note , after thought- Your situation reminds me of a risky purchase from Phil at JM back in about 1998 or so . He had drug out a lovely looking palm , not quite as large as your recent acquisition , actually about half that size in that size container. It was a Roystonia Oleracae ( he referred to it as Venezuelan Royal) . It was love at first sight but expensive . Phil said that it would not make it through a single winter at my place and strongly advised against trying. I had to have it! It was planted as soon as I got home with little protection. It is still going strong and I had no experience or much help. If it’s meant to be…….😊 I know different palm , just thought I would share. Harry

I finished up most of the backyard, and have a LOT of free mulch. This stuff is ridiculously stabby. I spread it all around the main rear and SW beds...I bet the local bear won't like it much! I've started calling this the World's Meanest Mulch(TM). Here's the center backyard before pruning: And after pruning and taking out most of the weeds: There's a Copernicia Fallaensis on the right of center, just behind the Sabal Lisa. It took 100% burn, but just opened up a brand new frond. The small Beccariophoenix Alfredii triple in the center back are probably all D-E-D. Two of three spear pulled with 100% frond burn. I'll probably yank these and replace them instead of waiting to watch them turn to mush. The Encephalartos Gratus (bottom left) and triple Ituriensis/Whitelockii (behind the Fallaensis) provided a good 20+ foot diameter layer of the World's Meanest Mulch(TM). I made it by clipping off the ~10' tall frond and then using the hand pruners/loppers to just knock the leaves off the rachis: I'm impressed by the Fallaensis. The new fan was a growing spear during the cold front, and looks almost perfect. The old fans were burnt, but the stems/petioles are mostly green. There's another green spear tip about halfway up the left side of the below photo. Despite not being super "leaf hardy" the palm skated right through 22.5F...

My interior NorCal/Sacramento suburb garden: Bauhinia bloom bonanza this month. Keeps local hummingbirds well fed (B. candida and B. blakeana). That's a Butia yatay in the foreground.

Germinated Chrysalidocarpus onilahensis sprouts from my tree. Not exactly sure how may are in the bag but my guess would be 75-100. $50 for the whole bag. Shipping in CA only. PM if interested

I had the pleasure of getting a tour of @oliver's garden and thought I would share a few photos of the palms he has growing that survived 2021 freeze and I was able to photograph. He also has a Raphia sp. (sese?) planted next to a resaca so it stays wet. First up Tahina spectabilis.

Dendrobium anosum popped yesterday, and Bulbophyllum falcatum has 3 spikes in bloom

Beccariophoenix alfredii for sure.

My youngest and smallest Encephalartos arenarius is the first one to flush this year.

Mine are blooming too, but almost no leaves after a quick January freeze and no rain since December. Not sure but maybe the same species as yours. Plenty of seeds coming!

I can't imagine soil conditions where organic matter wouldn't be of benefit, maybe in a cactus garden? Humus aids uptake of nutrients by increasing mycorhizal or beneficial fungi, increasing cation exchange, directly physically improving the soil structure and drainage by encouraging earth worms...ie basically brings the soil back to life. Rainforest soils are often a layer of leaf mould humus over leached clay subsoil, and palms, notoriously, like growing in rainforests! I'd say that if you already have the palms planted on mounds for drainage, then mulch can only be a good thing.

Copernicia fallaensis.

Medemia argun. He has a flowering male and female but not getting any seeds yet. He hopes to do some manual pollination as soon as the female is ready. 😊

Coccothrinax borhidiana.

Syagrus stenopetala.

Beccariophoenix alfredii.

Copernicia macroglossa.

Copernicia baileyana hybrid (I think).

Even though planted in way too much shade, my jaboticaba tree manages to produce a small crop every year for a tropical treat in the desert. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

A nice white cat opened just in time for easter! Lightly scented. This one is a reliable spring bloomer that has bloomed 4 years in a row for me. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

Congrats on the good germination rates. There are so many forms of onilahensis it’s hard to say exactly what form it is. The parent doesn’t have the dainty look of a true “weepy” form but isn’t as robust as the other upright form in my garden.

Yes, it was a perfect picture, I didn’t even need to crop it. Not too much rain here in San Diego, but very warm to hot weather all winter long. I believe I had only two morning lows of 44 degrees this whole winter with many days above 80 and even 90 degrees. Pretty unbelievable, even for San Diego’s inland urban areas.

Hi there. Just checked in after quite a while and pulled up your thread first. Jesus, you garden took a real blow but since I "know" your 'palmtalk cv' because of this remarkable documentation I have no doubt that you will keep going with your great work. All the best from Okinawa - Lars

That Medemia is incredible! I had no idea there were any mature specimens in cultivation, let alone any of that size. A second generation of those two palms would be a great achievement. Ryan

He owns 25% of the world's fertile couples.

I live on Atlanta red clay. I had a similar thought many years ago. Organic matter helps a lot here and pine straw on top helps trap soil moisture. Another enthusiast, from the low country of NC, said absolutely NOT where he lives. He said because of the mucky ground up his way, many people plant on berms. It made sense. Every place has different soil issues to contend with.

And in the SW corner I cleaned up another big area of free World's Meanest Mulch(TM). From left to right an Encephalartos Laurentianus, Cycas Diannanensis, Encephalartos Ferox (totally green!), an Attalea Brejinhoensis, and a burnt Encephalartos Hildebrandtii. Not really visible is a Lepidozamia Peroffskyana, just behind the Diannanensis. The stems of a Cycas Multipinnata are barely visible on the right: And after cutting back all the dead stuff, you can see the Peroffskyana looks remarkably unscathed. It had maybe 50% burn and is flushing now. Likewise the Ferox already has a nice flush of lime green leaves. The Hildebrandtii is just getting started on a new flush. The Attalea doesn't look all that great, but has two new spears growing. Both have some burnt tan leaves, but are nice and green near the bottom. To the right of that are a leaf-burned tall Cycas Multipinnata (green stems), Arenga Engleri, Encephalartos Ferox double, a mostly untouched Micholitzii, and on the bottom right a Mast Tree and Dioon Rzedowskii that look like nothing even happened! Both of those took complete defoliation with frosts around 27-28F, but didn't seem to mind 22.5F and wind...go figure! And this is what I mean by spiky! It's a Ferox leaf full of 1/2" long thorns, and easily goes through the rubber gloves:

Last night I realized the boots of my seed-grown Roystonea violacea were ready to fall off. I peeled them away and discovered about 18" of pink/purple trunk. It's the real deal! It is the sole germination success of 20 seeds I bought from RPS 6-7 years ago before customs cracked down on plant material from overseas. See link below for more info on this rare, endangered palm from the eastern tip of Cuba. https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Roystonea_violacea It survived Hurricane Ian last year with only windburn and a 60-degree lean to the south. It has since straightened to almost vertical and replaced damaged fronds so only the boots remained to hide its trunk. In the photos below you can see scars on its crown shaft from hurricane debris. Eventually, it will grow out of that damage. It will be smaller (up to 50') and more gracile than behemoth Roystonea regia. Still a juvenile, however, but I hope I live long enough to see it flower. Roystonea violacea, Cape Coral, FL, October 2023

The first 2 hippeastrums in bloom this year, I have about 100 in the garden

Bringing back this older thread since I was able to join the “Malcomberi hybrid” club. 😎 Was in Josh’s greenhouse (he just had this one), and I’m loving the brilliant white color of the trunk (top covering has some minor marks, but I’m being careful not to touch the base). I set it down to take this photo, but am now debating its final placement. I assume I shouldn’t give it full (California) sun, but can it handle a “mostly sunny” spot? Or should I give it one of my few “mostly shade” spots? I’m pretty nervous about this palm, due to the low success rate by growers near me that are much more experienced than I am. FYI, mine is a single trunk at the moment. Josh showed me two in his garden… one is still single, and one has split. Both were stunning. Thank you for any care info you can offer, esp in regards to light levels. ☀️ Oh, and the white doesn’t wash off in heavy rain, right? I know it comes off if you touch or scratch it, but i don’t need to shelter it from rain, right? (not that San Diego gets much). 🌨️ Really hoping this one thrives. 🤞

2026 update...and yep, still thriving! The overall width on the last several sets of fronds has widened substantially, with them starting to encroach on my Syagrus campylospatha. Also, comparing the trunk height, the new growth appears to me to be emerging several inches taller; last years shows about at eye height on the statue, this year eyebrow height.

Seed grown, beautiful specimen in a 15Gal pot. 8” caudex, ready to be planted. Located in SoCal. $400obo

This big Encephalartos Hildebrandtii also got completely burned. But the Dioon Rzedowskii in the bottom right looks like nothing happened! The Attalea Butyracea on the right side took about 50% damage but should pull through. And after pruning it has about 6 great looking fronds, and a new flush starting on the offset. They flush bronze, so it it hard to spot. Just around the corner one of my big Beccariophoenix Alfredii just opened up a new frond! The tips of the new frond are a touch burnt, but otherwise it looks great! Below it from left to right are an Encephalartos Kisambo with 2 or 3 short fronds in good shape, a Natalensis "Oribi Gorge" with no damage, and a Turneri "Boila" that took about 75% burn. These are the Encephalartos after pruning, with a new flush in an Encephalartos Chimanimaniensis "Choala" circled in the lower left: And this is what it looked like before, with the photo taken from the right side of the above one:

Dry it, chunk it, and use it for smoking ..One of the primary " smoking " woods used in Hawaii.. Waste it for making smores = 👎 when used with Pork, Fish, and /or Poultry.. Quick internet search will turn up a lot of results. Like this: https://www.bbq-brethren.com/threads/guava-wood.99043/ For those w/ them in their gardens, Strawberry Guava is good too..

@ParrotheadVol I'd love to see a full picture of your windmill(s) if I may request.

My little 3 strap-leaf seedling has some catching up to do! 😆 I think he said it's about 25 years from a 5-gal.

Sentiment plays no part in this issue. The State of Florida deems queens to be Class II invasives and discourages their use as landscape palms. Fortunately more and more people are paying attention and seeking palms less likely to inflict environmental damage. One benefit of all the major hurricanes we've experienced since 2017 is that these storms ultimately take out sickly, neglected and aging queen palms. They've been dropping dead ever since Ian in 2022 and are not being replaced. Win-win.

Late march 2026. Goodbye winter!!!

2025 update...still thriving! Looking at last year's pics the trunk does appear to have swelled in diameter.

Nannorrhops Ritchieana ( the Mazari palm ) Phoenix Theophrasti ( Cretan Date palm ) Roystonea Regia ( Cuban royal palm ) Trachycarpus Fortunei ( the Chinese windmill palm ) Acoelorraphe Wrightii ( Everglades palm ) Arenga Engleri ( Formosa palm, Taiwan sugar palm ) Phoenix Robelenii ( Pygmy date palm ) Butia Yatay Wodyetia Bifurcata ( Foxtail palm )

oh, OK.... I went and took a pic.. just shy of 4' diameter at base, maybe 44".

7 footer nearby...

The crown...

(PalmGuyWC @ Apr. 14 2007,20:41) QUOTEI think I have "intimate" knowledge of the Trachs. T. wagnerianus is superior to T. Fortuneii in every way. To top it all, I think it's the prettiest of all the Trachs. It would be my #1 pick of the Trachs. Dick Hey Doug, Dick certainly has the experience and expertise with Trach's. His yard is a study in temperate palms. I think one of the best tips he has given here is to plant Wag's INSTEAD of fortunei's in temperate areas. I think you would be much more satisfied in the long run. Although I have to disagree with you Dick in that among Trach's I think T martianus "Khasa Hills" is the prettiest of the genus. Unfortunately it won't make it in Zone 7. Anyway here is a 17 ft trunk Wag in my front yard mixed with Chamerops and Butia capitata...I think this helps illustrate my belief that the Wag is the most tropical looking of the super cold hardy palms.