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This Spring’s annual order from Floribunda has arrived! Three one gallon Basselinia glabrata, two Pinanga coronata, two Cyphophoenix alba, and three 4” container Prestoea montana. Are are robust and big for container size as is usual.

It’s nearly 13 years since I had the great fortune to first meet the legendary ( and extremely generous) Tassie Troy and I thought it’s time to pay homage to all those who have helped me , and those in the Palm pantheon , like Darrold and Colin and Jonathon, who visited in the early days ( when there were only tiny plants) and didn’t wonder, at least out loud , if anything would ever eventuate. Here are a few pictures .There are around 25 species including 12 of chamaedoria. Some like the big baueri , trachycarpus and forsteriana are hard to depict . Nothing can keep up with the torallyii. Of course all 4 Lord Howe Island palms love it here in Hobart. Mike

Congratulations! I got my spring order from Floribunda about 10 days ago. My container garden was decimated by Ian and last winter's nights in the upper 30s. For future orders I am sticking to Floribunda and sellers I know on PT. TIP: If a palm seller peddles stuff with outdated scientific names or cutesy meaningless monikers consider red flags raised high. 'Nuff said.

Capada palm

Trachycarpus princeps

Wallichia densifolia in the garden!

A little chelyocarpus

sure looks like one that has been left in the pot too long. THis is a good palm to save as it is unhappy but has developed plenty of roots. Dry air roots are hard to keep happy. If you can cut the pot off without cutting too many roots, I'd get it int he ground and keep it moist. It does appear to be needing water pretty badly, the leaflets are closed up a bit. Get it in the ground and it will appreciate the luxury of wet soil. Here is my largest hospita

This is my old F1 woodii x natalensis I got from Cynthia Giddy who made it in SA. My cycad log says 1985 acquired for $60. Cynthia was visiting Hermione Stover in California and brought with her hundreds of these bare rooted in bundles of 3, like cigars. All had been treated with her signature petroleum dip, so they largely failed. Mine I washed off and soaked and rinsed many, many times, but it still smelled of petroleum. Well, here's the plant today with 3+ feet of trunk growing 20 leaves. You'll notice the characteristic folded- hands leaflets among the lowest leaf bases -- a trait directly brought from pure woodii.

One of my Royals is almost ready to get her first ring

With winter approaching it’s time to start slowing the watering down. This will hopefully stop the dreaded winter strike rate on seedlings. Just the greenhouse for them in the microclimate I have created there. And try to water on the warm days so the foliage drys out before nightfall. Also no fertilising either, the metabolic rate will be down on a lot of tropical palms that’s for sure. So there on there own for winter we shall see how many casualties we get!

Random corner in Friendswood...pretty old

Accepted 😍

Hey who’s a croppin now Jim, I know the feeling very well, keep them coming, I wanna see more!🤣

One of the densifolia I have is in the understory and it seems to like the dense understory tolerant of low light. While the other one is very bright light conditions. A very tough palm, that tolerates dry conditions. And cool conditions, along with I will drink whatever water is available palm!

A few in the collection getting a bit of attention! Dypsis lantzeana dypsis ambositrae dypsis rivularis carpoxylon macrospermumrhopalosytlis baueriJohannesteijsmannia Altifrons Areca vestria red formCrysophilla warscewizianus

Beccariophoenix Madagascariensis

Eugene

Smaller F2 natwood sending out a few new ones. I’ll take a couple update photos of the larger ones tomorrow along with some f2 trans woods.

Looks like Sabal Yapa

$60.00 was a significant amount for a bareroot small plant back in 1985 even though it sounds like a bargain for an E natalensis x woodii. It is a beauty and I'm curious if it pups much? My F1 horridus x woodii female is probably around 25 years old based on its size when I got it, It has one large pup, and two or three newer small pups, one of which is just beginning a flush. It thrives in the full coastal sun, even though it has become more filtered at times during the day as my palms have grown. I have 2 more seedlings of backcrosses of male and female F1 horridus x woodii, and the one in the ground in full sun is just pushing out flushes off to the side of the main flush, so it appears that one will have 3 caudices from a very young age. The main caudex on the older plant is clearly showing that it will flush as opposed to cone again; she's taking a little rest after pushing out 3 cones last year. I'm ok if she just gives me a nice big flush this spring. Here is the flushing pup, and main caudex but you can't see the flush about to emerge from the main caudex.

Yes. Bels thrive in Hobart, Tasmania .Here are a couple of ours.

They look great, as usual! Best self made holiday is the day the box arrives.

Nice haul, @Jim in Los Altos!

Very surprised and delighted to see it flower before clear trunk.

Just a couple of palms and exotics gor the garden. aphelandria sinclairianaCalyptrocalyx flabellatusalpunia rugosadypsis NM

I must admit the mex fan palm was the first palm that got me into palms. Being in LA they were everywhere, I remember watching sunsets and seeing them create the iconic skyline that people think of when they hear California. Over time though, much like the syagrus, I definitely don’t prefer them. The one palm that won my heart, and has still my admiration is the Canary date. The orange seed pods are still gorgeous.

Bactris gassiapaes, Chambeyronia watermelon and a rather well dressed moth.

Coconuts on the beach on windy day:

It’s always evolving the garden forever changing with the seasons!

Hey guys was hoping someone could help ID this palm i think its a Copernicia hospita . let me know what you think. Thanks

Flowering Oraniopsis appendiculata at the Royal botanic gardens in Sydney

Totally alien like male flower! And yes they did change there, but to me it will always be a densifolia.

Funky flowers too. And they get big! Now Arenga oblongifolia I believe.

Why only one, a dozen of each more like it!🌱

The change in the season with winter approaching, and it’s very dry at the moment for the garden.

They do prefer the seasonal change liking the cool conditions, as they do grow at higher altitude than fosteriana.

Anyone have one growing in full sun conditions? I currently have one growing in full sun. I didn't know where else to put it. I'm hoping mine will do OK in the long run, but for now I see it doesn't love the full hot sun days.

Sad - the end of an era. 🙏 It looks like it is up to us and the other I-4 denizens like @Plantking165 to keep the dream alive. We still have the former Smashburger coconuts too, at this point. I took a short ride to see if any of our long-term Adonidia merrillii are making a comeback. I did spot a few, but some of the other larger ones in the area are in doubt. It's hard to make out the new, half damaged fronds, but they have a shot. The bottle palm on the left and the Traveler's Palm on the right next to them is recovering as well.

The cause is usually Boron deficiency. It's difficult to find this element to purchase. But, if you get old fashioned "Borax Soap" in the can, it'll work. It's made with the main ingredient being boron. Water the tree well. Then apply the Borax soap, maybe a small handful. Scatter it around and rake it in. Then water for a few minutes. I've had the problem on two or three palms and they all corrected the leaning in a month or two. Sorry, but I didn't take photos. Phil Jungle Music Palm Nursery, Encinitas, CA `

I can never grow it in enough proper sun in Arizona due to the summer heat and other harsh factors. So it's never at its best for me even growing in strong light, but dappled shade.

Couple more coming in. Encephalartos Green Arenarius is always a great grower for me. Encephalartos Princeps from another grower is the 2nd. -dale

Beautiful photos all! I enjoy seeing the mature specimens as I only know these as indoor plants. I’ve been growing two indoors over the past 12 years, with summers outdoors in northeast US. They are cumbersome indoors and don’t easily give way to household traffic and furniture, unlike the more flexible, and elegant forsteriana. I do like the pronounced arc of fronds, and given enough space they can be fully appreciated. Indoors, these would look nice in an art gallery or similar wide open space. Here are some photos of mine. They are too large for upstairs living spaces now and spend their winters under lights in the dungeon basement, sadly.

C. mossiae s/a `San Andres' An original division from Waldor last summer; first time blooming for me.

I would say a slice is cleaner than a pry. Every situation is a little different. The cleaner and smaller surface area you can disturb the better. I’ve seen guys use all sorts of different sealants/fingicides. Even quickrete…

Ceratozamia zaragozae x hildae

Pleurothallis ornata

Cattleya mossiae coerulea 'Blue Bird' x C. mossiae coerulea 'Herrerae' Watering day in the orchid room, so glad to find this cattleya in bloom: also, the color really intensified on that vanda I posted a few days ago.

I haven’t seen any of our Kentia with this issue lately. I started collecting in 1990 and remember seeing a few around with this issue . There were a couple down on lower Main Street by the Mission that were almost as bad as this Queen in the picture . I know Pauline was aware of it as I talked to her son Terry about it at one point after seeing a couple of leaning Kentia’s . My go to palm guy in those days was Karl ar Ventura Green Thumb nursery and he said there was no definitive reason found just theory. Harry