Leaderboard

This always catches my eye...

Not much in the way of exotic or tropical palms, but what is growing here looks really nice. No cocos (Antigua is fairly high up perhaps?), a few old roystoneas, but PLENTY of chamaedoreas (plumosa, woodsoniana, tepejilote, elegans...), a few licualas, and a few archontophoenix.

Pinanga baviensis I think it’s spelled that way . I love this palm

Sabal uresana.

So tall, I almost missed it. Pigafetta elata.

My Coccothrinax borhidiana hybrid really stood out to me yesterday and this morning.

No time to visit the many palmy places as in Long Beach only for a relative’s wedding. I didn’t even have a rental car. However with pressure from a fellow IPS member on the East Coast, I walked the mile from my Airbnb to In and Out Burgers. I read about the history of the chain which features palm decor and most notably crossed palms at each location. https://www.in-n-out.com/history I really was NOT hungry but ordered a milkshake anyway and then got an employee to snap an “I was there” sort of photo. Maybe later this week I will track down the movie that inspired the iconic crossed palms. What other palm themed business logos can you post? Posting does NOT mean endorsement of the business or product.

Always a treat to visit Stan and Jane’s place on the Sunshine Coast. The collection of palms and cycads is incredible, and they always put on a lovely spread for PACSOA. Stan’s Tahina spectabilis has a trunk almost as girthy as a Jubaea. It’s a close call between this and the specimen at Townsville’s Queens Garden for the largest in Australia, but I reckon Stan might just have it.

Chrysalidocarpus Malcomberi showing nice color (and its first ring of trunk) after the leaf base came off

My favorite cattleya in my collection. It’s the one I’ve owned for 35 years and was a noid for many years (after losing the tag) until the successor company of the Rod McLellan Company, Acres of orchids (then located in San Francisco) kindly helped me out confirming its identification. Also some wonderful members of the San Francisco orchid society on Orchid Board were super helpful in researching this and providing leads for me. LC. MOONWIND ‘MT. MADONNA’ (Lc. Eva Shill x Lc. Elizabeth Off). I’ve never seen a lavender one that I prefer over this one; and as we all know, there are so many lavender species/varieties of Catts. Also, very fragrant. Winning at least one award in Japan for fragrance in the late 80’s. Anyhow, after growing it in a 10” wood basket for many years it became unmanageable for windowsill culture and started declining since the media was so old. The center of the media was impenetrable, like a block of dried hay. The leads, rhizomes and leaves all twisted into each other. I spent the last several years isolating and transitioning divisions into clay with only one growth lead per pot. I really like the one linear growth culture as it reminds me of the nineteenth century botanical drawings. Further, I can really appreciate and focus on the condition and beauty of the current lead and blooms. anticipation building:

Dendrobium moschatum

I'd like to see more UHI studies done on the Winter months instead of the Summer months. This is still valuable data, nonetheless.

The tallest Carpoxylon macrospermum I’ve seen in SE QLD. There are larger examples in the Townsville Palmetum.

Burretiokentia hapala setting seed.

A Foxtail with just a bit more class 😂. Normanbya normanbyi.

Beccariophoenix fenestralis looking stunning.

Beccariophoenix alfredii love full sun from the get go, but also do well in part shade.

Reckon that’s the deepest red emergent leaf I’ve personally spotted on an Archontophoenix. I was so mesmerised by it, didn’t think to check what species it actually was.

Not something one sees often down in SE QLD, especially at this size and in pristine condition!!! Marojejya darianii.

Copernicia baileyana.

Copernicia fallaensis.

Photos do not do this palm justice. It simply blew me away and is now on the wish list. Vonitra perrieri.

Mesmerising form of Copernicia hospita.

I’ve only seen one specimen larger than this in Australia (Mark Daish, Babinda). My own seedlings are almost through their second SE QLD winter without skipping a beat so they certainly have some toughness to them. Sabinaria magnifica.

A Syagrus that had us all stumped. S. tessmannii was suggested, but that is a synonym of S. sancona (according to Kew), which is way more plumose. Whatever it is, it’s lovely. Keen to know what others think.

Keep Licuala peltata var. sumawongii out of wind and they look as good as this.

This beautiful garden on the Sunshine Coast belongs to Brian and Yvonne. First up, their 2 Tahina spectabilis!!!

Here's a teaser screen grab / link to info regarding one of the most popular / easiest to grow sps. from Orchid Web. One of those plants you'll never forget seeing once you've seen one in person. *** Picture credit / Information courtesy of / all rights reserved by Orchid Web *** Link to the specific page.. https://www.orchidweb.com/orchids/other-orchids/species/stanhopea-nigroviolacea-syn-stanhopea-tigrina Andy's, Eucagenera CA, Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, ..and / or some of the other bigger, local specialty Orchid growers out there would offer it / other sps. Direct link to the blog i'd mentioned. A shame there aren't any more recent entries.. Would've been interesting to see how this person's outdoor specimens weathered the drought / recent wetter / cooler / wetter winters.. https://stanhopeaculture.blogspot.com/2013/01/stanhopea-temperature-requirements_26.html

Scott is right, these are Trachycarpus fortunei - windmill palm. These are native to extremely high elevations in tropical moist forests in China. Essentially the polar opposite of your climate (never underestimating how unscrupulous the big box stores can be with the stuff they sell)! Since your nights cool off and your winters are chilly, you could possibly make these happy in the perfect conditions. I can all but assure you, however, that in your soil, with rock mulch, against a dark painted block wall, these are not anywhere close to the perfect conditions. You could, however, make real California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera) very happy in your conditions. You might also try Brahea armata - kind of like a California fan palm, but blue. If I had to guess about the watering regimen - aside from the fact you're almost certainly never going to have happy windmill palms in this planting setting - you're probably watering about 1/8th or less of the amount you should. I don't know the rate your emitters are running, but assuming they're 2GPH and you have two per palm, that's 4 GPH. I'd be giving these - even at this size - at least 8 gallons per day in this setting, and even that seems light. Like I said, I'd replace these with an actual palm from the desert.

It's going bonkers right now. Seeds have aborted already, I'm not expecting much or any it's first year tho. T J

Here is our largest Sabal Louisiana…… just a beast. Love this thing and finally seeding which means I will have seedlings to offer of it next year. Been a tank for us.

7 inches (178mm) of rain in a little over 48 hours. What a difference a year makes.

An interesting palm I have grown for about 23 years in containers and in the ground in black sandy soil they are slow in my climate taking temperatures as low as 2 degrees Celsius possibly lower so definitely cool tolerant taking dry conditions but prefers a good drink I just recently planted another one in deep sandy soil they prefer bright shade but will take some sun not hot afternoon sun in my climate if you can get a few plant as many as you can and sit back and watch them grow. Richard

My Bulbophyllum Grandiflorum is getting a couple of new flowers as well. This one is not the most colorful orchid blooms, but the it has a pretty interesting shape and I love the white spots on the flowers.

The deepest green leaves contrasted with reddish cones. Now on the wish list. Encephalartos gratus.

I’ve only ever come across one other example of this palm in Australia (Mark Daish, Babinda). Corypha lecomtei.

Not a palm I intend to grow on my own modest plot, but always appreciate it in others. Caryota gigas.

I nearly went arse over tit into the lake to get this shot. @newcal stood watching with a big smile on his face and @Daryl had his camera ready. Sorry to disappoint chaps 😂. Raphia farinifera.

Mature Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. flavopicta.

Tricky to establish here in the sub-tropics, but there are some around that look great. Here’s one of them. Pelagodoxa henryana.

This Metroxylon warburgii can take a lot more sun that it currently receives, but it looks none the worse for it. Lovely palm.

A tiny fraction of what was growing in this amazing garden, but that’s it for now folks, hope you enjoy the thread.

Chrysalidocarpus mananjarensis.

Chrysalidocarpus sp. Orange Crush never fails to impress.

Certainly lives up to its namesake. Also tough as nails and thrives in full sun. Cyphophoenix elegans.

A victim of their own success in the tropics. So common, not a single soul stopped to admire these stunning palms. Bismarckia nobilis.

Fruiting Lepidozamia hopei.

Gorgeous Satakentia liukiuensis.

Update. Finding a section of corrugated ADS drain pipe of at least 30” diameter proved to be too much trouble or just too expensive for me. So after looking around I decided to use a standard 55 gallon poly drum, at a cost of $15. It’s only 24” in diameter but at least it’s 34” tall. That's after I cut the top and bottom off it. Hopefully it does the trick.