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Encephalartos latifrons x altensteinii natural hybrid. This came from Loran Whitlock in around 1980. Loran got a group of 5 plants in Durban at a nursery. I've been able to acquire 2 of them over the decades. This specimen hasn't grown for 4 years, but had tremendous cataphyll spread at the apex. There are rarely, but occasionally, man-made hybrids available; but they always lack the lustrous beauty of these plants from the natural population. 21 leaves this time. This was originally an 8-inch tuber. Now it's 2 feet of stem!

This is a plant that was acquired as an Encephalartos blue arenarius hybrid which has enough horridus that its male cones have looked like horridus. The leaves & leaflets are just starting to harden and gradually will turn blue like the older flush seen under this set of new flushes (main caudex and a couple of small pups).

The nana would have to be one of my favourite small understory palms, so easy to grow and propagate. Very easy to hand pollinate, somewhat cool tolerant, tolerant of a little dry weather. You can predict its growing pattern for the landscaping areas. Perfect patio palm. Will take a little morning sun and just down right beautiful.

Encephalartos Blue Arenarius getting there! -dale

This Chambeyronia caught my eye from the window, they always capture attention and i cant ever get bored by them.

Yes it’s Dypsis onilihanses.

Interesting palm, getting scary big as well. Every year I look at it and go hmmmmm…… Acquired it in a 1 gallon pot in 2019, still no trunk and extremely long fronds. Interesting pinnae arrangement in pairs, thin and long. Dioecious, I doubt I’ll be getting a mate. Too bad, I was looking forward to making my own buttons from the seeds. There is an orange handled full size shovel in one of the photos for scale. Tim

I have adjusted that somewhat. I could do a little more, but let’s see how this setting works. Any more and it starts to get a little too narrow on some devices. I have another idea I’m working on to eliminate the sidebar completely when viewing a post, so that the pics will appear bigger without having to expand them if wanting a larger view. Stay tuned.

Cycas revoluta variegated. I actually don't know if this type of coloring is variegation or chimera or something else. You'll notice the one leaf is displaying half-and-half variegation on one rachis which shoves the plant into more chimera or some other description. It doesn't make marbled pigmentation.The other two I have are variegated, but the Polaroid type that emerges green then gradually turns bright yellow marbling. I'll follow up with images as this one develops -- hah!!

sabal causiarum is the fastest palm in my yard. Water plus heat= over 35' in 15 years. All sabals are a little slow before trunking but in my experience causiarum is faster than any other sabal pre and post trunking. july 2011 it goes into the ground as sabal domingensis(later confirmed causiarum from inflorescences, fruits) then in early summer 2013 then in mid summer 2015, 4 years after going into the ground the leaves lengthened quite a bit. overall height 10' or so In summer 2020 it was well into trunking Today after I removed 15+ hurricane damaged leaves it stands tall, over 35' less than 40' All things considered, it put height on as fast as my fastest of two royals in that time. Bismarckia is also very fast for me. If sabal causiarum is growing slow it probably needs more water and less sun in Arizona. Bismarckia were slower in AZ for me, might be the dry heat slows them a bit. They didnt burn from heat but didnt seem to go vertical as they do here in FL. Bismarckia will be more sun tolerant of arizonas dry heat than any sabal except possibly uresana.

Another bonus is a percentage of seeds have two seeds in them. They would definitely go in your climate. Richard

A few more interesting varieties, a couple of Stangeria eriopsis, along with a few Syzigium boonjee. And the usual palms.

A top little miniature palm, easy to grow they flower pretty well much after a couple years of growing. Cool tolerant growing as far south as Sydney. Somewhat dry tolerant, perfect shade understory palm, patio, greenhouse and mist likely indoors. Very predictable growth pattern and they will fit into pretty well much any space available. The perfect miniature palm. And yes @gyuseppe I shall be thinking of you for a few seeds. And @tim_brissy_13 have tried this little beauty in your backyard refrigerator.

One of the parents and the offspring. I need to get these planted somewhere. Tim

Once again, this Dypsis rosea x mirababilis cross. Great color on this palm. Tim

Horridus

Pure strain Arenarius

Kerriodoxa and chamaedorea, always a favourite.

New to me Everglades palm (Acoelorrhaphe wrightii). I might hold off until next year to plant it.

I do see there is now a Dark Mode in this new version. I haven’t checked, but it should be an option in your profile settings. Somebody give it a try and let us know.

Hi all, Some years ago, this palm was purchased as a seedling, labeled “Dypsis sp. unknown, rare”. Knowing full well that this was a mere marketing ploy, I elbowed other customers out of the way in my effort to grab it before someone else could. In all seriousness, it was very pretty, showing a nice chalky white crown shaft at that young age. It’s a medium size palm, and has kept that attractive white crown shaft. I’m just not sure where the separation point is between the two species. I suspect others are growing this, so feel free to weigh in!

Pinanga sarawakensis and a new leaf opening on the polyandrococus caudescens.

Sorry it took a while, but travel has kept me busy.

Red latania new frond

Crysophilla warscewizianus, Schippia concolor, Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana and a Hedyscepe Canterburyana all doing well.

@Jim in Los Altos Hi Jim I was hoping too see your expertise. This phenomenon is really baffling to me. It's almost like it's a hybrid with another variety of dark green that handles full sun better? I've never seen anything like this on any Cunninghamiana from Home Depot and I've purchased over 15 of them over the last 3 years. Any ideas? BTW, during this season I can see fronds growing before my eyes as I drench them like you would not believe, I see movement of a spear growing or progress opening within a half hour while drenching. Once they get going, you cannot overwater. The warm Feb and March really helped get them going. More water = even faster growth

@sonoranfans great timeline documentation, thanks! I planted a big strap leaf Causiarum in December 2019 and three more similar ones in October 2021. Two are now about the size of your 2015 photo, 6.5 years and 4.5 years after planting. The other two are a bit smaller than your 2015 photo, but getting close. To me, 6.5 years and not trunking is somewhat slow to get started. But that's compared to stuff like Queens, Foxtails, Mitis, Lutescens, etc...which can go from strap leaf to 10 feet of trunk in the same time. Of course that's also why I cut down all 9 Queens 2 years ago, and am about to chop down the last 4 Foxtails in a couple of weeks...too tall too fast! About 3-4 feet of trunk per year is pretty fast, once established and trunking.

Tracy, I’d say for sure it’s crossed with Horridus. Here’s my Are x Hor and it looks strikingly similar and much different than the Blue Arenarius I posted above. Makes me wonder if this is Blue Arenarius x Horridus or a green? I don’t know why but I always assumed it was green. It would appear it’s a Blue Arenarius cross like yours. This is a super good grower for me. 5yrs from a 2” caudex or so. -dale

Just purchased one of these last month from Jeff Searle. Pushing spears lightning fast in half day sun. This spot gets a lot of water

Agree with this...the actual user friendly, or usable space has shrunk significantly, to what end? Feels like there's now a lot more space on the right hand side for what...more ads? Skip to recipe!

Never heard of it before, where is it from what country?

You got me on this one Tim, shes a beautiful lady! Lucky Hawaii growers!

Apologies as I don't get notifications for messages here, for whatever reason. They do seem to grow well and I am on year two for all of these, but they seem quite large for a 1.5-2yr old palm. Can't comment on "long-term" but for me, they seem to be a robust grower. I will be saving a few for myself and need to be careful not to sell them all. Seeds of this one are not easy to come by, and don't come yearly.

Pelagodoxa henryana, brassiophoenix schumanii, Calpytrocalyx benga dawn, Areca catechu, drymophloeus oliviformis, cocos nucifera. All these ones I thought they had a chance and keep on trying. Then you realise it’s no use in on trying so you learn after a while, not to waste your time on trying, you know the signs of cold damage and necrosis on a palm. Yet we tell ourselves it wasn’t the cold and try again, it died due to some reason we tell ourselves. But this is how we learn to grow from making mistakes. It makes for a better grower and the quality of your plants increases!

Certainly appears to be recovering to me. Sure it'll look rough for a little while, but the fact that it still has that much green shows how resilient it is.

My everglades grows like a weed. I've seen several large clumps growing around town (the tall trunks died in the 2021 freeze). Not sure why the wait on planting, should've been planted yesterday !

Wow, that Dioon looks great, thanks for sharing the pics. Im hoping mine does well, it's going to get a lot of heat and sun.

I wondered about Alfredii in the heat. They do great in full sun here, but I live in a swamp. 😁

Nice one. I would think that Everglades palms would be a pretty good fit in the Houston area. Though I suppose they are probably better acclimated to sandier soil. I don't know if they are picky about clay or not though. Good luck with it!

They’re a great palm! A faster prettier baronii!

Here's how it looks from my Laptop ( ..with a few notes ) Straight to the website from a general " Palm Talk " net search in Firefox.. Would have to select dark mode from the options in the lower lefthand corner at the bottom of the page. Duck Duck Go. ( pretty much any website you search for there is instant dark mode, though PT wasn't, for me at least ). Looking around at various site aspects in Dark mode, a few things stand out a bit: Red lettering for user names, against the dark background? ..tough on the eyes.. Can't look at it for more than a few secs. myself.. Maybe changing it to a different color? ...like the bluish green background color of the user ID bubble that draws your eyes right to it. Not so harsh on the eyes, either.. Larger, brighter white font stands out better compared to the ...not so bright? font color. Might work better as the standard size brightness for typed font.. if that makes any sense.. Coming back to the overall page, Circled = IPS banner looks great, but note how, on my screen at least, the letters kind of disappear into the background.. Maybe a larger font size / banner width? Arrows.. = swap the black tones.. Just some user observational feedback, Don't go floggin me for it, lol..

Here’s a volunteer in my garden. Dam weeds they are!

Piccabeen palm in Australia is the common name. And yes the good old Bangalow palm is Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana. It’s a good sales trick, oh i havent got that palm! So if you see a piccabeen palm for sale you already have it!

Looks like a Bangalow to me.

My Encephalartos longifolius is growing both in longitude and latitude with these two flushes.

Big sister or brother is further into the flush so it's leaflets will begin to darken to a deep green as they harden. Which of the two do you prefer? This one or it's sibling across the driveway?

Yellow Poinciana starting after looking like a stick tree:

More Caribbean Garden photos. I'm really pleased how well everything has grown in the past 25 years. I live on a busy street close to a major thoroughfare. I don't want walking or driving lookie loos, and prowling porch pirates to be able to see into my house or scope out the yard. So we live behind a curtain of green. Ravenea xerophila - I've grown this odd but neat palm from a 1g I bought approx 2010. Not remotely trunking yet - SLOW. Raveneas are dioecious but I don't know what sex it is as it has yet to flower. No chance for seeds in my lifetime. They are now almost impossible to find now - one of the downsides of so many more people enthused over palms beyond the "usual suspects". Archonotophoenix (for sure) cunninghamiana (not so sure) bonus points if you remind me what the zaftig palm next to it is (an Ian replacement palm). To the right of the Archo is a Chrysaladocarpus lutescens 'Fused Leaf' Coccothrinax argentata - Florida native palm that is tough as nails. I found this one down toward Naples in 1993. From my research I believe it originates in mainland Florida rather than the Keys. Mainland argentata are very slow growing and stay relatively short. This one blocks the view into our front alcove and the hall beyond the front door. This palm has taken down to 28.5F without a blemish. Coccothrinax sp 01 - I used to have most of my Coccothrinax spp marked but time and attrition messed up my system. They are now part of my canopy Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - It used to be a spiny clumper but frequent stem removals have reduced it to a solitary palm. It does produce orange fruit way up high. It sits in the center of the photo behind the large Coccothrinax trunk Sabal minor 'Blountstown Dwarf' first photo - My original uber dwarf Sabal from PDN and parent to all my Blountstown F1 generation. It has been 12" high x 18" tall for the last dozen years. Comes true from seeds. If you like Sabals or live in an arctic climate, try one. I've read it has been grown in a pot indoors to flowering in a very cold winter Sabal minor 'Blountstown Dwarf' second photo - F1 siblings from my mother palm in a planter box. They have flowered and seeded numerous times. Coccothrinax sp 02 Jatropha podagrica Serenoa repens green form - much easier to grow than the much-vaunted silver form. I have one surviving silver - all the rest did not make it long term. Serenoa repens green form; and above Coccothrinax sp Hemithrinax ekmaniana x2 - I once had 4 but lost 2. I grew them from tiny grasslike seedlings I obtained circa 2009/10 at a Palm Beach plant sale. Neither has flowered nor set seeds. A bitty palm in its own orbit. I have several others planted in my Garden Lot that survived Irma and Ian (a couple met their demise by a Bizzie uprooted by Ian). Another palm that is less common than it once was. Pritchardia thurstonii - Another interloper from the South Pacific but a winner. I almost lost it to mealy bugs a couple years ago but buckets of homemade insecticidal soap later it has bounced back big time. Skip P. Pacifica and try this one instead. To the left is the trunk of the Acoelarraphe Sabal minor 'Wakulla Dwarf' - Native to coastal NW FL about 70 miles from Blountstown. They have similar descriptions but are not at all the same. Wakulla Dwarf is actually slightly bigger but even more: it is slower growing and far less robust than Blountstown. I got less than 50% survival for Wakulla seedlings vs. 90-100% for Blountstown. If you are new to Sabal minor uber dwarfs, get some experience and knowledge before you tackle this one. Coccothrinax alta x2 - I received these palms already planted in an artificial cluster years back (I'm generally not a fan of solitary palms being forced compete in life or death growth match). Palm experts are sometimes divided into 2 categories: Lumpers and Splitters. Lumpers seek to group palm species in fewer and fewer categories and take every opportunity to move them around like checkers on a board. Their lot may be easier once DNA research puts the issue in focus. Splitters tend to stay with a status quo "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". DNA research may make many arguments between them moot. Trust real science not just the opinions of egos lugging around a truckload of degrees and awards looking for the next opportunity to "publish or perish" (academia is not a peaceful place). My point? Coccothrinax alta existed as a separate species for decades and appeared in the first copy of my favorite book: Encylopedia of Cultured Palms by Riffle, Craft, et. al. Then a year or two after I joined PT, the Lumpers glommed onto C. alta and decided it must be subsumed into C. barbadensis, well, because they said so. And, presto!, in the next edition of my favorite palm book: Coccothrinax alta was gone. I don't necessarily agree. I've seen no scientific papers or DNA research that convince me C. alta and C. barbadensis are the - same - palm. So I'm sticking to my original ID until convinced otherwise. Anyway, here is the late, lamented (by me only apparently) Coccothrinax alta