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Spend any time on Palm Talk and it’s zone this and microclimate that, and sometimes you fall in love with something even if your good sense says it’ll never make it. So you plant it and it thrives anyway! Licuala ramsayi for starters! Show us yours!

to say it caught my eye would be a bit of an understatement, i was holding back tears the whole time, Tahina spectabilis thank you @Hilo Jason for the opportunity and photo

Incredible Licuala, Dave! I have a few surprises up here in the Bay Area. All are slow growers but keep chugging along year after year. All were tiny seedlings when planted. Coccothrinax miraguama Geonoma bondariana Satakentia liukiuensis Coccothrinax borhidiana Coccothrinax montana Chamaedorea tuerckheimii Geonoma schottiana Licuala ramsayi

We are very proud of our country. Australians are some of the most friendly people and welcoming with our hearts. Meet an Australian in any country town and they treat you like a friend they have had for life. Plus we love our palms, there are some amazing private gardens out there. We are proud of our gardens and country.

Australia blew my mind. What a country!

Before Hurricane Milton hits i took some pics of a few palms that are looking nice in my South Florida garden (Zone 10b). The yard got hammered pretty bad from Ian in 2022 but i only lost two canes on clustering palms and the garden grew back to normal in one year. Chambeyronia houailouensis Chrysalidocarpus lutescens 'Thai Dwarf' Chrysalidocarpus psammophilus Chrysalidocarpus lanceolatus Adonidia dransfeldii Chrysalidocarpus mananjarensis Pinanga coronata 'Kuhlii' Carpoxylon macrospermum Last one is my oldest son helping me plant a Rhapis excelsa 'KOBAN'

Really got to give a shout out to the IPS Australia superstars who took a bunch of us under their wings last month. We were, of course, unable to attend the Biennial in New Cal due to events there. But folks like Daryl, Phil, David, and others including Hugh, Stan and Jane, and Kris and Kim Kupsch turned our misfortune into one of the best 10-day palm excursions we could have hoped for. My apologies for not getting everyone's last name, but you know who you are! 😍 The warmth and hospitality you folks showed was beyond the pale. The subtropical forests and bursting palm gardens of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales were palm overload - in a very good way! We are so thankful!

Ravenea xerophila, they are so beautiful at night

Another one of my exploratory trips decided to check the area where there were Livistona mariae ssp rigida. A number of years back we were fighting a wildfire and I noticed a lot of the ssp rigida along the river. Always meant to go back and check them out. The upper part of the river was damed during World War 2 because of the huge increase in military personnel. Later when the much larger Darwin River dam was build and the Manton dam became a recreational lake (water skiing, fishing, etc.) Over the ensuing years Mother Nature continued to incorporate and adapt to the new conditions. Creeks running into the dam brought in silt and formed extensive swampy flats which would be inundated during the wet season. Here, along with many other plants, Livistona benthamii took hold and multiplied rapidly. The ssp rigida didn't like the new swampy areas and I've only found a couple of plants further up along the creeks above the dam. Downstream of the dam conditions are much the same as always, although altered river flow rates. Some of those areas I finally got around to exploring recently. Although benthamii does occur downstream, it's greatly outnumbered by ssp. rigida. Carpentaria acuminata also occurs up and down stream, but not in any great numbers. Of course as usual, in the surrounding woodlands there are 1000's of Livistona humilis. First photos are of the single palm I found upstream of the dam. Obviously been there a long time, flowers prolifically, but no recruitment on the ground around it. Downstream of the dam the river runs about 25 kms to where it joins a major tidal river on floodplains. These photos are along a half kilometre section of the river, a few kms above the floodplain. Young plant burned in a recent fire but only lost a few fronds and now has a couple of new ones. Juveniles still with a little red in the leaves, although fading to green. The ones spread by birds into my place seem to hold the red a lot longer.

Actinorhytis calapparia early morning. I planted two of these in one part of the garden, they declined and eventually died. Tried again with two more on the other side of the property and they have thrived. Tim

My Licuala thoana with our gardener for scale. This has flowered a few times and I have collected seeds already but hardly any seeds germinated.

Here is an update on the Cyphophoenix nucele. It’s no longer protected from sun and is pretty exposed to Santa Ana’s when we get them. So not quite as lush looking. All in all though, not too bad. I believe this was planted in Spring 2017 as a small 5 gallon.

But something new that caught my eye…..a couple of new red leafs. Chambeyronia macrocarpa and Chrysalidocarpus decipiens.

Aiphaene erosa.

Silent the afternoon in the garden doing a bit of landscaping. I had 30 cubic meters of good topsoil delivered, the rocks are free lying around by the tonne load. With a bit of hard work you can create an oasis or a mini rainforest with some nice pathways. I will give the soil time to rest then plant when I get a chance too. I have so many new plants it going to be tough choice as to what plant gets planted in the prime spots. I guess it will come down to each particular palms requirement.

A bit over shared but i still love my Chambeyronias. This one popped open this week and grabbed my eye from a distance.

I'm working on the following which I've never done before but hoping for some good traits to be passed on! I was able to make some C. pembanus x decaryi x decaryi which are a back-cross, but have never done a "triple cross". C. leptocheilos x decaryi x pembanus and the seeds are only half developed but look good so far. Pictures attached C. pembanus x decaryi x leptocheilos. Seeds are 1/2" and holding so far. C. lutescens x decaryi x leptocheilos and the seeds are still very small...just pollinated it last week.

Well here is the palm that I first posted about that started this whole thread. (Becarriophoenix Madagascariensis) So I figured I would give an update. If you compare it to the very first post you will see that the very highest leaf tip in that first post was about as high as the top of the white wall behind it. These pics are taken approximately just a little over two years later. Not a rocket by any means, but it continues to be a pretty steady grower.

Here’s one of my Pinanga javanas. I saw them in Kevin Weaver’s greenhouse and fell in love, took one look at the name said “eek!” and bought and planted them anyway. This one’s in my western yard and Andy and Cindy saw it and swooned.

I have a few that I was unsure of when I planted . The reason was the small size and time of year they were planted. My Pritchardia H. Was planted as a very small seedling from my trip to Maui , it went straight in the ground . I was so unsure it would make it I planted it next to that house in the shadiest location I could find . It is now curving out away from the house and finally getting tall enough to walk under The other palm I brought back was a Chambroynia Macrocarpa . Same thing with this one , planted very small , just a sprout! The other one I bought from Phil at Jungle Music in the late 1990’s . It was in a 5 gallon container out in front of the greenhouse . It was an event he was having , one of his sales. When I saw it (expensive for my budget) I didn’t know what it was but I had to have it. I asked Phil what it was and he said “Venezuelan Royal” and “it won’t grow where you live!” What if I protect it ? No , it won’t last the winter. After a bit of back and forth , it came home with me. Phil was shaking his head. Here it is , just as Phil described with a thinner trunk than most Royals. HarryYou can’t see in this photo but the trunk “bottles out” at the base very much like my Archontophoenix Alexandrea . Harry

My baronii is flowering last time it flowered was three years ago. A nice palm that’s easy to landscape with very predictable in growth patterns. Dry tolerant, heat, sun and a bit of cold all seem to not bother it. Certainly looks better with a good amount of water. This plant is about 22 years old I have germinated seeds from it before easily. A good palm to have in the collection quite common in most collections but still an old favourite that deserves more attention.

I planted two Butia odorata, one is green and one is blue. Picked these up for a real deal based on a tip from @Robert Cade RossPlus this awesome Sabal uresana that is 6’ tall. I’ll be planting its twin in the next couple of days. Sabals are courtesy of @Meangreen94z

This probably isn’t impressing to many who live in warmer zones, but the one palm that I had success with despite people telling me the chances of success are limited was a queen palm. It did well and I never protected it. But It was planted on an east facing corner right near a brick wall, so it helped create a warmer microclimate. It’s been a few years and I left the property that it was planted on, but it was a thrill growing that palm in zone 8a/b NC. Now I’m growing two different date palm species and they seem to behave similarly to my chinese fan palm, and die back but come up again in the spring. My Dates of a few weeks ago And I cannot speak of the success since it was recently planted in June, but Arenga engleri will be one of my top “shouldn’t grow here” palm if it survives.

Ramsayi have been steady and solid for me.

Looks good Greg. How ‘bout an update on the Bentinkia? Mine has been a great grower and starting to fatten up a bit. Little to no spotting at all and always seems to look perfect. It’s in an ideal location. Sun until afternoon, then shaded. -dale

Here’s a couple more that grow absolutely flawless in my climate hyophorbe lagenicaulis still amazes me growing well the only surviving one out of ten my bactris gassipaes with 3 meters of trunk that shouldn’t be growing here and Kerriodoxa elegans grows beautiful with no help whatsoever to perfection.

Largest Phoenix Canariensis in Dublin is probably this one at 53N up there... It looked like this in 2009, so has gown a fair amount for 53N in Ireland with barely any sun or warmth (compared to southern England at least)... CIDP are present around the entire coastal areas of England, Wales and Ireland now it seems. Even up at 55N in Yorkshire and Cumbria there are 15 footers now along the coast in places. All of them planted tiny and gradually stacking on size. Slower growth than London and the south coast of England, but still trudging along at a decent enough rate. CIDP really don't need much summer heat at all, just mild winters. Certainly less heat and sun than previously thought, given that there are bigger specimens at 55N in Yorkshire and Cumbria than in coastal North/South Carolina at 32-33N. It really is the freezes (-6C / 20F) and lower that just knocks them back and stops them growing/progressing, as opposed to cool summers. However there are limits. I am yet to ever see a CIDP grow up in Scotland, even in the mildest of spots. They may survive, but just won't grow. Clearly not enough warmth in general and not enough sun. Folks in Texas will tell you that CIDP will come back from -18C / 0F and 240 hours below freezing where they are, and they certainly can, but at higher latitudes with cooler summers you just need those mild winters and you'll get pristine looking CIDP's. No need for any proper heat or sun. Just an absence of severe freezes. Or one 'bad' freeze a decade (no lower than -8C / 17F). Those ones in the Carolina's that survive but never grow get smashed by -7C / 18F every winter and like -12C / 10F every few years. Then the next summer is spent replenishing a smallish/pathetic crown, but not actually growing upwards. As for the Juania Australis at Earlscliffe garden in Dublin, well here is a photo in 2003 and another photo in 2023, showing 20 years of growth... probably the largest Juania in the British Isles and quite possibly the largest in Europe now? It has flowered as well there. Also these palms are no slouches once they start trunking. They appear to rocket away. There is a lot of palm potential in southwest Ireland especially around Cork. Plenty of CIDP lurking there, including some big specimens. I have seen some huge ones on overhead aerial images on Google earth. Also look at what this guy is growing in Dublin as well... He posted this photo recently which clearly shows another hybrid Syagrus (looking terrific) and a Washingtonia there in Dublin. Based off the size of the gate/doorway behind, those are fairly large specimens. Plenty of untapped potential in Ireland no doubt. The British Isles in general are exploding in potential now. Got tons of photos to post from southern England. But yeah, this is in Dublin...

@Jim in Los Altos I’m blown away you’ve managed to grow Satakentia. Didn’t even last the first month through winter when I tried (a long time ago). For me it’s probably Schippia concolor. I didn’t have high hopes for it and it was a bit of an experiment, but it’s basically flawless and consistently pumps out new fronds. I guess like the closely related Coccothrinax, they are quite tough once they get through the seedling stage. Coccothrinax from seed have been really tricky for me.

This garden has so much history. This was the first palm garden I visited after moving to the Big Island in 2012. I was blown away that something like this could be created by private individuals in such a short time. Years later I joined a small group of fence jumpers for a guerrilla tour a month after the epic 2018 lava eruption stopped. The garden was in shambles. Many months of fallen fronds covering everything. Severe vog damage. A dusting of volcanic tephra everywhere. Plenty of dead trees. Extremely sad conditions. The tour Saturday gave no hint of that past trauma. Bob and Andy have poured an incredible amount of work and money into reviving the property. They somehow managed to get it in shape for the IPS tour two years ago and frequently open the garden to the local palm society. They are busy with lots of new plantings, particularly a diverse Pritchardia collection. Anyone planning a trip to Hawaii should contact Bob and Andy to request a private tour. Jason and Bo provided plenty of great photos, but the problem is how to communicate the size of the palms. The Tahina in particular seemed to be calling out to have someone standing next to it for scale, so here is Bob and his new puppy, also named Tahina. Same tree with Karolyn Lundkvist in 2016. You would never guess that between the two photos a massive lava flow erupted less than a mile away for three months.

BuXJuF2 Added some sun protection just in case…

A nice red anthocyanin flush on this hookeri looking rather bright. And what better way to dress up a chambeyronia than with a native vine.

Finally got around to posting an update on my Baronii “Black Stem” from @Darold Petty. Here it is…..

Saw this nice Oncosperma tigillarum and some clumping palm with red stems today in Darwin

Lady Fox Hybrid seeds. Nearly ripe. (The one red one Aborted early)

Wow, six years flew by, happy to report that the Floribunda toko is growing nicely and has entered its “breathtaking” era difficult to measure live palms but i took the tape measure and ladder out to it just now and the youngest full leaf is ~18ft / 5.48 meters.

You know when your a palm addict when you manage to sprout a single Adonidia Merrillii seed while being in Dominican Republic for 3 weeks 😂 I started this seed last Saturday in nothing but a cup of water 😂

It would have to be my dypsis saintelucei, cocothrinax alta and my wantanna sumowongii spindle cross bottle

First time seeing Chrysalidocarpus Nauseosa flowering! one of my favorite palms. Kentiopsis / Chambeyronia Piersoniorum: giant Verschafeltii stilt roots with Rick for scale: Huge thank you to Bob and Andy for opening their garden and to Bo for the inspiration to so many of us

It was a beautiful day and I have to pinch myself when walking through this incredible garden. Years ago when Bo had a website for this garden I would spend hours looking at it from my computer in California and would dream about growing palms like he had. It’s a privilege to live here now and be able to see it in person. Andy and Bob do such an amazing job keeping this legacy garden going and planting new species as well. Here are a few pictures that I took:

Funny you say that, I told him I'd take 10 or whatever the number was and when he got here he was a few short because he said he had given some away to other guys on his route that had big orders. I moved here in '19 and only placed 2 smallish orders with him not even considering it wasn't going to last. I wish I had just bought one of everything, it was all so dirt cheap. You think theres any chance the Decora aren't pure? Mine grows so much faster than any other palm I have. This went in the ground in summer of '21 and it was the same size as the B. Clara on the right at the time (also from NTCHP). And like I mentioned, no dangly tips.

Beccariophoenix alfredii is soaking up second Summer heat today (Californians know. 97 today). I'm tempted to trim some of the lower fronds, but tattered as they may be, they're still green and going to help the palm, going into it's second winter.

A Texas native. Here are a few pictures from landscaping at a local Austin shopping center.

Second Sabal uresana in the ground. Just over 6 feet to the top of the fronds.

I would just wait and give it another year and see if it just needed some time and patience. However, if you don’t want to look at an ugly palm for all that time and the money is not an issue yank that sucker out and put in a prettier well grown one. One thing I have learned in my short time here is we all have different goals when it comes to our approach and decisions to gardening. We all are on our own quest for that perfect paradise, how we get there is going to be a slightly different path for us all.

Daryl O'Connor took a few of us around his neck of the palm woods to see some truly outstanding natural areas and private gardens. All were truly impressive, and Daryl was very generous with his time -- thanks again, Daryl! If I had to choose a single photo to share with palm lovers, this is it -- the Tahina spectabilis in the garden of Stan and Jane Walkley. Look for the guy next to the palm, that's Stan. And no, he is not a small guy.

Given the pencil look, cutting off the leaves to put the palm out of its misery sounds like a viable option. Christopher sounds like you have multiple Queens doing fine so perhaps eliminating this sickly specimen is actually an opportunity to diversity the species in your garden. There is an abundance of species you can grow in Carlsbad. If you nurse this palm back to health, it will retain an unattractive pinch in its trunk here. I vote to euthanize it and open some new planting real estate.

Pretty good for TN!

For me Syagrus coronata. I had put it in to ground only accidentally because It had been erroneously considered of being a picrophylla, a more cool tolerant sp. It has survived all occasional cold spells during the past years, although it looks like sh* after each winter. Good regeneration ability nevertheless. Just a frame with the leaf over the top of my cold frame.

And now