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Here are some of the more colorful palm trunks in my Northern California garden. Post yours please! Howea forsteriana Rhopostylis baueri Archontophoenix purpurea Chambeyronea macrocarpa Archontophoenix myolensis Chanaerops costaricana Rbopalostylis sapida ‘Chatham Island’ Rhopalostylis baueri Rhopalostylis baueri Chrysalidocarpus decipiens Wodyetia x Veitchia Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti Howea forsteriana Chambeyronia hookeri Euterpe edulis Archotophoenix alexandrae Phoenix roebelenii Caryota urens R. sapida Hedescepe canterburyana Chamaedoea tepejelote Bentickua condapanna Dypsis rosea Chamaedorea species Euteroe edulis ‘Orange Crownshaft’ Chamaedorea elegans C. radicalis Livistona australis

Sending good Wishes to have Merry Christmas with a safe & creative New Year, to Palm Lovers to the North, South, East, and to the West of greater Miami and the Redlands. We are preparing to plant 100 Palms at the soon to open "Bailey Botanic Garden" this Holladay Season. "Three generations of Baileys, planting a Bailey Palm on Christmas day 2024, everyone got their hands dirty, even baby Lilly."

Troy’s Ropalostylis thread got me thinking about the Chatham Island form. The photo of me with the huge one is from back in 2010 or thereabouts. The next one is taken today with my 2nd generation offspring grown from seed at my home. I planted it in 2012 from one gallon pot.

Üdvözlet minden pálmafa-rajongó társamnak, Szeretném bemutatni mediterrán kertünket, amelyet 2008 óta építünk és szépítünk. Télen a pálmafákat lefedjük és fűtjük, kivéve a kint az utcán álló Trachycarpus fortunei-t. Gyula, Délkelet-Magyarország. Normális esetben USDA 7b zóna, de az elmúlt 8 évben 8b lett.

12 years ago I planted this palm and for some odd reason it bifurcated about 5 years ago

I planted this Rhopalostylis sapida that was collected from seed near Auckland NZ as a small seedling 15 years ago. It's fronds are very upright in growth habit compared to my 4 other Rhopalostylis. This year it flowered and set seeds for the first time.

Posting a few photos of my Parajubaea torallyi. I planted this palm about 15 years ago from a 5-gallon pot. It currently has about six feet of clean trunk and it’s about 25+ feet tall. This time of year, I tug on the old leaf sheaths to see if any of them are ready to come off. If they're ready, they pull off easily. However, if they aren't, no amount of pulling will remove them. It’s not unusual to find Arboreal Salamanders (Aneides lugubris) under the old leaf sheaths as shown in the photo below. I'm in the San Francisco bay area.

Trunk Height. Jun-2020 14", Aug-2020 36", Dec-2020 48", Jul-2021 62", Oct-2021 74", May-2022 80", Sept 2022 92", Dec-2023 104", May-2025 134" Today estimated 13' trunk ----- 2022 Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un0O0tfCKos 2019 2025

A Kliene update. 17C 12/31/2025 @ 2:31pm I pray everyone is well. Here's my update. May God bless you all. God willing next year, I won't be a stranger. (It took me a lot longer to rotate the video than it was to record it) Happy New Year! new year 2026.mp4

Well, I'm only just getting started with my new garden, but here's a few starters. Chrysalidocarpus Baronii - greenish, yellow with a hint of white trunk, juxtaposed with late fall leaves. Chrysalidocarpus Ambositrae Chrysalidocarpus Decipiens

Upon request by the owners and IPS president Andy Hurwitz I am posting information about a one of a kind legacy property available for sale in Hawaii. PT is not normally the correct venue for real estate ads, but I believe when you read more you will see why an exception is made here. Although memories of my visit there in 2022 will forever be etched in my mind, please address inquiries to the owners, not to me personally. Please see information and photos from the owners: A New Chapter for Casa de Las Palmas We purchased Casa de Las Palmas in 2017 from the estate of legendary nurseryman Jerry Hunter. Jerry was the owner of Rancho Soledad Nurseries in California, Palms of Paradise in Hawaii, and Mount Soledad in Pacific Beach. Dubbed the "Dean of California Landscape Architects", he held license #33. His designs are found throughout the San Diego area, including San Diego Zoo, Balboa Botanical Gardens, and a host of other public and private venues. Along with collecting and hybridizing many new plant varieties, he built the first plant tissue culture laboratory in San Diego. Casa de Las Palmas was Jerry's private Hawaiian retreat. Over the course of 35 years, Jerry transformed seven acres of upper Hilo farmland into a true garden masterpiece, creating a magical realm of exotic palms, waterfalls, meandering lava-rock paths, water gardens, and flowering tropical plants. Now over 45 years since planting began, it's a vast and mature botanical collection of rare palms, cycads, philodendrons, bromeliads, anthuriums and orchids. We have been honored to be the caretakers, but the time has come for us to move on, so we are offering the property for sale. Before we list it on the open market, we want palm and garden lovers to know it is available, in the hope that we can find a custodian for the future. The property has a 2-bedroom, 2-and-a-half-bathroom house with a separate apartment, and potential for additional dwellings. We currently do private garden tours, film shoots, and small events, and there is plenty of room to grow a successful business here. We had the delight of hosting IPS members for a lunch and tour during the 2022 Biennial in Hawaii. Please do contact us if you would like any further information. Irene Francis & Lars Woodruffe 646-338-7882 irenefrancis@hotmail.com https://houseofthepalms.com/

It sure feels good , it looks like Mother Nature is going to soak our gardens . It has been quite the dry spell here since the deluge in November. I have been holding off on watering the last few days because the weather calls for a lot of rain to fall in our area. The last rain event delivered about 10” of rain over 3-4 days . The palms and flowers looked so happy. Then it turned dry and warm with high pressure dominating our weather. THAT is about to change. In my area it should start late afternoon . Los Angeles and south to San Diego will see rain by evening 🤞. Our Northern California neighbors have had flooding inland , unfortunately , and the burn areas down here may be evacuated . So with a watchful eye , I am embracing the chance of rain. Harry This is what we woke up to ! No rain yet but my sailor instincts ( and old bones) tell me it is imminent. Got me a new rain gage , I retired my hillbilly gage( empty cat food container)😂. Harry

Trying this again in the correct post about palm trunks. Chrysalidocarpus pembanus Chrysalidocarpus robustus (2 photos) Chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos Cyphophoenix elegans Cyphophoenix nucele

This is an old image of mine, grown from a 1-gallon start.

The last month of endless "Tule Fog" (radiation fog) in California's central valley has done some damage to marginal plants, despite temps not dropping below 40F except for two instances when we dropped to 39F. From November 21st, for more than 3 weeks, we did not see the sun, and temps did not exceed 50F. We were stuck in an endless cycle of lows in the low 40s, and highs in the high 40s, paired with 90% humidity. Everything wet, everything cold, no wind. Just stagnant, cold, wet air. 365+ consecutive hours of it. I think we broke a record this year for the most consecutive hours in the 40s Fahrenheit AND the longest fog event in recorded history for this area. While most of the state had clear skies and warm weather, we were under this 400-mile long stretch of cold fog. My plumerias are wrecked, I'm seeing dead tissue and rot at the tips. Most palms seem ok. Here are some winners and losers from that type of cold spell - frost free but cold and wet. Chrysalidocarpus mananjarensis - second winter. Seems to be ok with prolonged cold and wet. Chrysalidocarpus "Blue Decipiens" (which i understand is one of the "ugly Betafaka) has no issues with it either. Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae looking great as always Syagrus sancona - really thought this would be ok with extended cold and wet since they're grown extensively at high elevation in Colombia... Gaussia gomez-pompae seems ok with it. Tiny bit of spotting. Brahea pimo spotting pretty extensively The big loser, roystonea regia. Despite being well within this species' temp range, the prolonged "refrigerator-like" conditions really wrecked it. Sunnier and drier conditions are coming back so hopefully this pulls through. Might bring it indoors. Lastly, a shot from my friend's front yard just ABOVE the fog at around 1700 feet above sea level. 70s and sunny there, and just 3 miles downhill, 40s and visibility less than 30 feet. If anyone wants to read more about the phenomenon, here's a good link: https://weatherwest.com/archives/43605 Anyone else in the valley seeing similar damage?

Chrysalidocarpus Leucomalla dropped another leaf and features a unique yellow that is almost glowing.

December 2025.

Wish you a merry Christmas. Here’s Houailou and Hookeri in the background (two, look closely!) after our rainy Christmas Eve. Maybe share a nice palmy Christmas picture, even if the palms are indoors….

Burretiokentia vieillardii. Tim

Chrysalidocarpus prestonianus showing some colorful fruit.

I think you've gotta make your own connections...there are people posting here from all over the world and after a while you figure out who posts stuff relevant to your situation and you hook into that community. As for scientific names...have a look at this current thread to understand why most of us prefer them

In the very first photo are Clivia Lilies. Not exactly ground cover though. They love a cool to mild climate and will tolerate an occasional hot spell. Bloom time is early Spring.

I started this addiction of mine during covid and I'm hooked, still planting away even though I dont have the space so I cut away concrete to make more land. My wife thinks I'm nuts but supports my alot better habit compared to others out there.

A nice foggy day most of the day in my area. Had a lot of rain relatively speaking in November and the temperatures really haven’t dropped too much so far, so everything looks pretty darn happy. Dictyosperma album var rubrum, with the standard form and conjugatum at its base.

C. Decipens splitting again. Started as a double then split to four trunks below ground level. Two trunks have split at about 50cm above ground. The photo shows a shared fused leaf A new spear has developed on either side of this leaf

2 pics from yesterday and 2 from today. I love this dypsis Mt. something or other

Dypsis rosea

It had sped up a bit only after I had buried next to it a mastiff dog🙄! If it were a Caribbean sp, I'd say it needed some dose of voodoo magic, but it is actualy from the West Coast. I like the bright reddish fiber around leaf bases.

For Tim Merry Xmas

For those who did not know. I've grown this Chamaedorea Elegans directly in the top of my aquarium for a couple of years now. It's done great! It's a great way to grow out those small grass tuffts they sell for cheap at the box store.

My Chambeyronia’s first inflorescence! It has gotten spathes before but they usually just fall off. Harry

And in thirty years those seedlings will look like this. I planted this one as a small seedling.

I've not shared anything with you folks before, simply because I haven't had anything to offer. I was not born with a passion for palms. We (my wife and I) fell into this peculiar and fascinating world quite by chance. Like anything, the more you learn, the more interesting things become. That said, all we have to offer you is our experience managing a legacy garden. Irene & I bought Casa de Las Palmas on Hawaii Island in 2017. The garden was the tropical fantasy world of the late San Diego nurseryman Jerry Hunter. Mr. Hunter was successful. He’d started his company in the 1950's, and was the 33rd licensed Landscape Architect in California. He'd been involved with the design of San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Balboa Botanical Gardens, among many others. He had the first tissue culture lab in Southern California. His parents had been the go-to people on the west coast for begonias. He was essentially American plant royalty. He figured out that if he grew his tropicals in Hawaii and shipped them to California, he'd be ahead of the competition. He built a nursery in Hilo and bought the land for Casa de Las Palmas. It would serve as his home away from home, and as a showroom for his wealthy clients. Construction of the garden began in 1981 on almost seven acres of upland pasture. The volcanic clay soil was not suitable for planting juvenile plants, so untold tons of cinder and rock were brought in, and the landscape shaped and molded into what we see today. Most of the planting was done into cinder mounds. For the design of Casa de Las Palmas he worked with the local landscape architect Brian Lievens, whom he would task with sourcing some of the rare plants from east Hawaii's growers. Brian was gracious enough to provide us with the original planting plans of the garden which are now laminated and framed on the lanai. These exquisite plans (like a cross between a complex wiring diagram and an artwork) were how we learned about the palms in the garden. We spent endless evenings cross referencing the botanic names with The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Being a nurseryman from San Diego, Mr. Hunter had a crew of extremely hard working and talented Mexican men build the garden for him. A swimming hole was hand-hewn under one of the waterfalls. A delicate stone foot bridge was created over the stream. We were told that the lava rock paths took three years to complete. And the scale of plantings were nothing short of colossal. The kind only a successful nurseryman like Mr. Hunter could even contemplate. We were lucky enough to apprentice under one of the original employees, Cristobal. Without his dedication and care we would never have got off the starting line, our ignorance would have been absolute, the garden would have fallen into chaos. I recall how early on we planted a dwarf papaya on a cinder mound next to a Metroxylon amicarum and Dypsis carlsmithii (now Chrysalidocarpus carlsmithii), much to Cristobal's unspoken, but obvious, distress. Shortly afterwards a large palm leaf fell and destroyed the papaya. We took this as a sign that the garden requires a certain amount of respect. Since then, staying true to the intentions of the garden has been something we work hard on. When we plant, we consider the design. Perhaps we plant a Alocasia zebrina underneath the Caryota zebrina to mimic its petioles. Perhaps the Pinanga distitcha should be planted near the Licuala mattanensis “Mapu” to mirror their mottled leaf forms. Constant working in the garden reveals new insights every day. Sometimes it's like garden archeology, discovering a long-overgrown path or a rare plant languishing under piles of fallen leaves. Sometimes it's a lesson in design - realizing that most of the plants in an area share undulating leaf forms or that the color scheme is quite deliberately rigid. Casa de Las Palmas has evolved from a carefully orchestrated young garden into a mature ecosystem. Plants have produced progeny and plants have died. The blueprint has gotten a little more fuzzy. Many of the palms are too big to groom now. Everything fights for light, air and nutrients. It has become naturalized. Pretty soon we realized that the nutrients the garden demands couldn't be met by chemical fertilizer. It was just too expensive. So, we looked into goats. We now have six gelded males rescued from the butcher's block and fenced on a neighboring paddock we own. They provide plenty of manure for the garden. Their poop doesn't smell much, is hard and breaks down slowly and can be flung from a shovel in showers through the dense plantings. The plants love it, but we do supplement weak or needy palms with a special palm fertilizer as needed. Legacy gardens are by their nature equal parts demanding and rewarding. They offer those of us new to gardening an incredible learning experience. We certainly don't have the kind of money, manpower or knowledge required to create something so remarkable from scratch. But like buying a beautiful, world-weary house, after a lot of work, you can enjoy something unique, grand and magical. Really for us it is the magical spell that Casa de las Palmas puts you under, one that removes us from the world and enchants us, that makes this legacy garden so very special. Lastly, I'll leave you with three things of note that we have learned: Map your garden. Don't make it too big. And don't go planting Clinostigma samoense down the driveway...or any heavy crownshaft palms for that matter! com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.kix.editors.clipboard?uuid=ecbeebc8-9124-4c8d-9ebd-e5cbdce7e26b

Happy new year everybody. A small update of my coconut palm in Cyprus. It's still alive for another winter. I increased the water in the summer and it started to make a difference in the growth.

If you’re interested in observing some very tall Windmill palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) in the Sand Hills ecoregion, check out Gullys Nursery in Southern Pines, NC. Some of the ones there were 25ft + and looked really well.

Wishes for a merry Christmas to everyone! Not quite the color exhibited in Dave’s picture, but a wonderful sunny morning in between storms. Couple that with the fact that I’m rarely home in the morning, and it’s pretty nice.

All belong to Sabal genus. A maritima, two blackburniana and an unknown specimen, probably palmetto (because it dies quickly in clay soil!). All of them together S maritima Sabal blackburniana x2 (whatever this invalid name stands in current case for) And finally the unknown specimen

Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana. Looking stellar this morning. Tim

Just adding to pogobob’s thread about this NewCal palm. Looking good after a frond drop exposing another inflorescence. Handsome palm. Tim

Chrysalidocarpus Robustus with shoe for scale.

It's this time of the year again, when my garden becomes full with eery ghosts.

Caught my eye that albeit 1/3 the size as when originally obtained, my Joey appears to have adjusted to frequent very dry periods. Perhaps it will still eventually bump into the adjacent K elegans.

I want to put out there that Caryota Urens are very dangerous when they get big. Do not wait for them to flower….cut them down when they get large. I had been warned by @DoomsDave but after posting on here and talking to my tree service , decided to wait for the first inflorescence. DON’T DO IT! We had a nasty Santa Ana wind event following a good amount of rain. That is all it took . This morning I got a text from my neighbor “ your palm fell over! . It was straddling her driveway , her husband had already left for work and his brand new truck would have been crushed! I guided her out of her driveway so she could come and go. My small electric chainsaw won’t help with this one. Harry we got lucky with this one! Harry

With some logistical arrangements and the kind work of @palmtreesforpleasure Mr Colin Wilson. He has arranged for some plants to be sent to Tasmania. So iam kindly donating some Arenga engleri, a jubea chiliensis and some lepidozamia peroffskyana. This is all I can think of at the moment thay will survive the winter freezer in Tasmania. I have also placed in box some gifted plants to @Jonathan his holy grail palms 2 calmus muellerii and 3 black petiole baronii. These will go into his garden. So good luck to all involved in making it possible for the botanical gardens in Tasmania to get a few plants into there gardens. Oh and Jonathan who better not kill the baronii in Siberia!

Anytime of the year for a Chambeyronia, cheers to all!

Nice color on the first new leaf from our little C. ambositrae, purchased from @Darold Petty a couple of months ago

So, this post is inspired by Tracy’s C. prestonianus seed bounty. That time of year eh? Tim