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Here is an update on my Ceroxylon quindiuense. The seed collection was in Columbia, 1978, by my late palm mentor, Garrin Fullington. I ground planted it in the spring of 1983. It is a sibling from the same seed batch as the two plants in San Francisco Botanic Garden. I have not found aborted flowers on the ground yet, so the gender is unknown.

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

Boy, I would have to say it’s a Voanioala gerardii from Madagascar. Managed to get a 1 gallon back in 2010. Known as the forest coconut. Tim

This has been a fun palm to watch grow. I planted it in 2012 as a solid dark green 1 gallon. Slowly it became more and more silver on the bottom of the leaves and then started to turn silver on the tops. Now I have to climb on the roof to shoot a pic of the tops of the leaves and they are solid silver only loosing some their color as the leaf ages. Sorry for the Bigfoot quality photo on the first shot.

Geonoma undata, red leafbase form, from the late Dick Endt. (the strong color fades with maturity) I purchased three, but one died.

The late Richard Douglas and Inge Hoffmann, two of my palm mentors, (Richard was more than six feet tall) then three images of my Ceroxylon quindiuense. I don't feel confident about estimating height, but I believe it to have about 35 feet of clean trunk below the leafbases. (10.6 m )

I started planting tiny Rhopalostylis seedlings (bauri and sapida) many years ago. Was worth the wait. Here are some of them.

San Diego, CA, USA is treating her right

The single rarest in the garden would have to be Jubaeopsis caffra. I purchased a seedling from a specialty nursery many years ago that no longer exists.

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.

My Rhapis vidalii which I grew from seed (via RPS). Some of the dried frond tips trimmed.

A view from my deck ! 15 years old and my largest of 4 Lepidorachis.

There is a an undocumented population of Braheas located just 40 miles south of Douglas, Arizona near the town of Esqueda, Sonora. These palms seem to be a variation of the Brahea Calcarea but with a taller trunk and fuller crown. I would also like to mention that these specimens of Brahea are very likely to be more hardy than Brahea Armata considering they are growing in elevations of 4000 or more where winters are extremely more cold than that of the Brahea Armata range. They palms are located in a ranch named Rancho Los Baños - Tierra Chamahua EcoAdventures which appears to have recently closed and has virtually no public access. There are dozens of pictures of the palms in the TripAdvisor page of the ranch online. I thought yall would enjoy knowing of these groves as they might have the potential of being the MOST hardy Brahea of all the genus. Getting seeds from these plants would be amazing but the location is very remote and a known area of high cartel activity.

Admittedly I have been woefully absent on this forum for a while. But I was walking around downtown Oceanside today with an old friend that bought me ice cream for my Birthday today. We opted to walk some of it off after and opted to walk by some of the old city of Oceanside buildings where they had some Rhopalostylis palms... I was very surprised to see a TWO-HEADED one! It looks very much like a sapida I think? Forgive if posted before... but I was thinking it may be the first "rareish" palm I've seen with 2 heads!!

Lemurophoenix halleuxii is probably the rarest palm I have and it’s also the most expensive I’ve ever bought. Purchased from Mark Daish in Babinda, North Queensland. He only had 3 left, 1 was already promised to another, and he wanted the remaining 2 for himself. I kept asking and increasing my price until he caved, or he played me from the start 🤣. Didn’t care either way, just had to have it. I think there’s only around 300 left in Madagascar and one doesn’t come across them often in cultivation (outside of Hawaii that is), although Queensland is blessed with a few. Tahina spectabilis appears slightly less rare with circa 700 individuals in habitat, but far more than that it seems in cultivation. Mine was a gift from Michael Green, which I’ll forever be grateful for.

I planted this C. decipiens fifteen years ago as a five gallon seedling fully knowing I’d be a “old” guy before I’d see much trunk. Do we palm fanatics need patience in our genes? You bet!

Seems like PalmTalk has been a bit slow lately and since I don’t post that much I figured now is probably a good time to post more. So here are a few photos of some palms in my garden. We just came out of the rainy season so most look pretty good at this time. First up is C lanceolata and S yapa to the right. A group of H lagenicaulis Another group but of H verschaffeltii This Pritchardia beccariana got planted last year and replaced a coco palm that got hit by lightning. You can still see the cut off truck of the lightning victim.

I’ll be 75 next June and immigrated from the Netherlands in 1956 at 5yrs old. Been into surfing all over the world, road racing bicycles on and off until 65 years old. Been a Palm society member since 1977, and now I’m on my second go round with my 13 years old garden in the hills of Vista/ Bonsall area of San Diego. I just finished spreading 36 cubic yards of mulch this week myself. I’m growing cycads, aloes, agaves, plumerias, protea, boojums, and of course palms. The world keeps on changing but I’m still the same cantankerous beast that I’ve always been 😎

Really a magnificent palm. Stout, but not overly large, moderate grower, and good color especially after losing a leaf sheath. Prominent basal leaves on extraordinary long fronds add to the picture. Planted early 2012 from a 1 gallon. Tim

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/

I spotted these Parajubeas near our hotel in The Presidio. Beautiful!! Mine in Dana Point is struggling. Enjoy IMG_8662.mov

For a complete collection of photos with IDs, please click here Here are some photos I've taken over the last few days in San Diego, CA! Borassus madagascariensis Jubaea chilensis Chambeyronia hookeri and Ptychococcus lepidotus Coccothrinax macroglossa Dictyosperma album Oraniopsis appendiculata Ptychosperma elegans Syagrus amara Caryota gigas

My second Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens is going to flower. This one has the crownshaft and inflorescence more colorful than the others that are more greenish.

There will be more “palm portraits” with Latin names, but too busy today. Many head home this morning but I am lucky enough to head to Cajamarca with a small group. Yesterday orchids in bloom and dormant were numerous along the road so we happily took a break from the long bus rides. There were many plants which we were happy to even get to the family level of identification. I was told this strikingly yellow plant was some form of mistlestoe. And all ages of Dictyocaryum surrounded us. This baby was low enough that I could reverse the leaf to show off the silver underside. Look at that crownshaft color. Note stilt roots on the left. So many Dictyocaryum palms!!

Seeing all the amazing palms here, I realize I should have posted just my VERY rarest, with photo. So I’ll call it my “mealy bug” - because it’s rare to find one this size in CA, and it was also my most expensive palm…

I’ve just been lucky enough to have a free day in Thailand so made the most of it and headed to Nong Nooch. For anyone who hasn’t been, it’s difficult to describe. Everything is in excess, literally thousands of some rare species not often seen elsewhere. Lodoicea line some of the walkways, multiple Tahina spread throughout the gardens, Copernicia, Borassus, Hyphaene and Bismarckia everywhere etc etc. many hybrids and variegated palms too. The only thing I’d say is that it is somewhat overwhelming not just due to the sheer scale of the place, but also that most palms aren’t labelled. I’m pretty cluey with IDs but I’d say about half or more of what I saw I couldn’t ID to species level. The section where over 1000 species of palms are grown is closed to the public so I couldn’t get in. It was a last minute trip but next time maybe I’ll try to organise a visit in there. Here’s some highlights of what I saw: Medemia argun Corypha lecomtei Locoidea maldivica. Every female is caged (there are now many) One of the main avenues lined with many blue palmate palms. Copernicia hospita, Bismarckia, Hyphaene coriacea, Serenoa and friends. Borassus flabellifer and Corypha lecomtei Serenoa repens silver form Sabal uresana Copernicia fallaensis, Tahina spectabilis and Lodoicea maldivica. What a combination! The same Tahina and Lodoicea from another angle with massive Corypha umbraculifera and C utan in the background. The same Tahina. This one could be up there with the largest in cultivation anywhere. Now that it has reached full girth and crown spread, I’d estimate it’s about the same spread as Lodoicea and maybe 10% less in diameter compared with a really well grown Corypha umbraculifera. It’s got at least 20% on fully grown Bismarckia, Copernicia fallaensis and similarly large palms. It might not seem huge in these photos, but only because it’s surrounded by giants in their own right. Borassodendron machadonis Blue Garden Variegated Copernicia A couple of variegated Borassus flabellifer Variegated Collection Chuniophoenix hainanensis Zombia Hyphaene coriacea Dwarf Areca catechu

The first ring on my California grown Chrysalidocarpus robustus. I don't recall seeing any other big specimens here in California. Thanks to visiting the Big Island I have seen some tall specimens which put my juvenile plant in perspective.

This is published due to the efforts of Dr. Donald Hodel. Effusive gratitude to him ! I have hand pollinated this plant and distributed the offspring as Anthurium sp. 'Loja'. so now the lucky recipients has a true name for the plant. Please don't ask about availability. I have none, however I do plan to hand pollinate again, and the resultant offspring will be ready in 5 or 6 years ! https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2025-11/New Anthurium sp Loja Ecuador Croat and Hodel PALMARBOR September 2025.pdf

I keep forgetting that the name was changed back to Veillonia from Cyphophoenix…..old habits. Planted out from a 5 gallon back in mid 2017. Been a rather slow grower, but seems to be picking up speed lately. Takes forever for the leaf sheath abscission to occur but it’s worth the wait. Tim

A couple days ago we took photos of some of our palms catching up on some last minute growing while the early fall weather is still warm. We started in the back yard facing south and overlooking the Isabelle Canal. We've been blessed by a lack of hurricanes and tropical storms compared the the past few years so what wasn't killed by the likes of Ian has had a chance to recover. Allagoptera caudescens Dictyosperma album Livistona jenkinsiana Livistona drudei Kerridoxa elegans Satakentia liukiuensis Chrysaladocarpus leptocheilos Philodendron Pink Princess Chamaedorea sp Moving west toward our Garden Lot View looking east toward Back Yard Jungle Cocos nucifera Dwarf Red Spicata Twins Sabal causiarium by @sonoranfans after Ian Sabal palmetto variegata Sabal grethereae Chrysaladocarpus decaryi Leucothrinax morrisii Sabal minor Chipola Dwarf Livistona muellerii Coccothrinax sp Borassus flabellifer Syagrus kellyana Pritchardia sp Livistona saribus Pritchardia vuylslekeana

I wanted to start this thread to document myself and others’ plants so post if you got em. There wasn’t that many produced but they are out there. The “Lady Luck” Palm is a cross between Wodyetia Bifurcata x Veitchia Winin so the cousin to the well known Foxy Lady hybrid. I got the plant from Seabreeze / @Josh-O as a 1G a few years back and it’s the first time it was produced. Admittedly I did not plant it out for well over a year but this summer it has grown great and seems to be catching up for lost time. Ideal location in morning sun, watered and fed regularly. Here’s a few old pics along its journey as well as a recent. First pic planted out March 2024. Lets see em. -dale

Chrysalidocarpus Prestonianus dropped a leaf to reveal some color

I have been waiting most of the year for the seeds at Sullivans garden , yes …those huge Decipiens . A trip over there last week told me it was finally time! There were about 20 seeds that had already fallen but were green. My good friend Terry doesn’t live there any more but keeps a house next door . In the rare chance of running into him I decided to knock. I had already been given permission by he and Sevan both but , didn’t feel right just taking them. Terry was there! I showed what I had picked up and he said that they were ripe! They don’t change color like other palm seeds. After looking at all the fruit on the palm he said they are ready for harvest “ take all you want”. Music to a palm collectors ears. I went today and climbed up the ladder to get a few more . I had already picked up the ones on the ground as I was being pelted on the head with more. I was also given permission to take the seedling volunteers that were sprouting up from last year. They came up easily , seed still attached and not root damage . The soil was very easy to work with and these don’t have much root to them when they are small. Harry The parent palm ( one of two), full of fruit! Seedlings from my first visit. Harry

Got this view last week of some of my Lord Howe Island 🏝 Palms from the upper deck.

I visited Karen Piercy's place this afternoon under the pretext of picking lychee. Of course, the real reason to visit was to commune with the jaw-dropping collection of massive palms. I posted a photo of this Corypha umbraculifera a few years ago, but it was even more overwhelming on this visit. The trunk has to be over 4 ft in diameter, maybe closer to 5 ft. Growing in deep Hamakua soil at roughly 1200 ft elevation overlooking the Hilo airport. Now you know why you don't often see these growing in suburban landscapes. Certainly gives Tahina competition as the most massive palm out there. It's probably still decades away from blooming. You may remember Karen and her husband, Dean, as the organizers of the 2004 IPS Biennial to Hawaii and helping again with the tour of the former Carlsmith palm collection during the 2022 Biennial. BTW, I filled my 5 gallon bucket with delicious lychee. That didn't make a dent in the fruit still left on the trees. Oh, the hardships of living in Hawaii...

Two of my Kentiopsis oliviformis are getting ready to bloom for the first time

Thought I'd share a few pics from my yard after a rather chilly winter - the Central Valley of California had a record-breaking fog event from late November through about the end of 2025. Temps stayed in the 40s for 360+ consecutive hours - no freezing, no frosts, just consistently cold and wet with next to no sunshine for nearly a month. Most palms grew right through it, but a few of the more tropical species really hated this - I rehomed a few to warmer (drier/sunnier) climates down south. Here are a few shots from today - everything in growth mode as we're getting 80s and 90s consistently - racing toward the 100s too! In just a matter of weeks winter will be a far memory as we bake in the 100s until we cool again in October. Archontophoenix tuckeri - grown from seed from @DoomsDave. I'm pretty sure you threw a handful of seeds at me during one of my visits to your place. Trunking archontophoenix cunninghamia in the back. Seed-grown howea forsteriana & allagoptera peeking in behind tuckeri. Syagrus rommanzoffiana - nothing special, but I recently did clean up the trunk, which makes it look 10x nicer. A shot of my front yard - the pink Handroanthus is just about done blooming. Below it I have Brahea Super Silver, Brahea Pimo, and closest to the bottom is a Jubaeopsis affra, recoving from an irrigation mishap in summer of 2024. The irrigation timer went offline mid June while we were out of the country traveling, and this whole area went without water for 2 weeks. Jubaeopsis took that personally. It's been slowly recovering from that 'drought' event. Handroanthus umbellatus was in bloom just a few weeks ago. This is Livistona speciosa. I grew this from seed, and gave the rest to folks in Southern California. Does anyone have any still growing? I think some of them may have gone at palm society auctions. Chamaedorea hooperiana - The ficus roxburghii looks so pretttyyyyy in the back with all that new growth Sabal uresana - looking stretched. This thing is slowwwwwwww This is the view out our back door. Arcontophoenix tuckeri on the left. The red amaryllis is an heirloom passed down from a neighbor before she passed. Phoenix rupicola. You can spot the Brahea Super Silver in the background. The silver-ish palm below it is Chamaerops humilis var. argentea. There's a Cycas deboaensis on the bottom right that will need to find a permanent spot. I have a habit of putting plants in temporary spots, then moving them when I decide on a permanent spot. I feel like plants develop much better in the ground than in pots. They also benefit from regular irrigation being in the ground, and I don't have to worry about forgetting to water them in pots. This little corner area is filling in so nicely, and will become very thick with vegetation as plants keep growing. Beccariophoenix alfredii is in the far back. Ravenea glauca is center toward the left. Sabal mauritiformis is off to the right. Cycas revoluta x deboaensis is front and center. Lastly, a shot of a Clytostoma callistegioides flower, and a Dendrobium chrysotoxum which I have in bloom. The Dendrobium is grown inside a greenhouse. The last photo is of my plumerias waking up after a chilly nap. I had lots of rot to deal with this winter. BONUS - see if you can spot the Chrysalidocarps prestonianus... It went into the ground directly as a 4-inch plant from Floribunda some 5 or 6 years ago. Almost forgot the Chrysalidocarpus decaryi as well. Decaryi doesn't like the prolonged cold/wet conditions, but it grows out of damage fairly quickly - and we don't always get those particularly cold/wet winters. Some years we are dry and sunny like the rest of Southern CA.

Nothing better than a day in the bush, checking out the native palms, even a couple of Livistona Australis in the steep sandstone rocky country!

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."

Spent yesterday planting a few LHI palms down here in the sub-subtropics: H belmoreana ×3, Hedyscepe x 4, Lepidorrachis x 8. A few H forsteriana to come later. Weather was perfect for planting, still, overcast, humid and mild - my only regret is that I'm a bit sore this morning!

Here are 2 Allagoptera arenaria planted in the corner of the house. I finally got them to produce seed which are just starting to germinate. P sargentii also producing a bit of seeds. Serenoa repens which replaced another one that got too big and out of control. C proctorii Pinanga javana. This one is too exposed to the sea breeze but is hanging in there. Carpoxylon macrospermum. This one has grown well in this climate.

Been awhile since a thread for this genus of rather elegant palms from western Pacific islands. Feel free to post any images and observations you’ve experienced. I’ve got three species and five individuals growing in the garden. C. samoense is by far the more robust and for this reason, planted in the open space behind the property. Digging a hole wasn’t possible because of the shallow soil over almost solid rock, so the potted specimens were just placed on the on the surface after removing the bottom of the plastic pot. Super aggressive roots enabled them to anchor and penetrate fractures in the rock. Here are a few C. samoense photos. Tim

Excited to finally see a flower on one of my P. torallyi. This one is 18 years old from germination.

I would say my hemithrinax ekmaniana copernicia curtissii and copernicia rigida....

I’ve posted about this palm before. Definitely stoked I decided to buy it. Sold to me as baronii “black petiole” which isn’t to be confused with Dypsis baronii “black stem” but is still a gorgeous palm that I look forward to watching grow. Two leaf bases fell off yesterday revealing some rings.

Here it is, and it’s me for scale, Yike enormous!

I planted this palm tree in about 2005 from a 15 gallon container. This is its third year to flower. the other two years were far from spectacular. This year's flowering is a little better! I thought I would share. The shots were taken this morning an hour after sunrise. When I went out for my morning walk, while drinking my cup of coffee the palm was screaming at me to go back inside the house and grab your camera before the suns lighting changes!!! Enjoy, Randy PS one shot facing the back of my house, just because!

Fifteen old leaf bases finally falling away on this eighteen year old P. torallyi’s fattening trunk. This one was planted as a small two leaf seedling. This one has never set seed but a number of dried up immature inflorescences were hiding behind the fallen away leaf boots and they fell off as well. The palm is pushing a very visible fresh inflorescence now. Maybe this one will actually produce something.

Got my annual order of palms from Floibunda today and the plants exceeded my expectations as usual. Experimenting with some new (to me) species besides some that have already done well and I’m repeating them in the landscape.