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Another old frond removal today. This one is particularly special as it's the only solitary maroon leaf, red vestiaria I've ever been able to find. And believe me I've looked.

I don’t think these are Adonidia.

If you’re after a beautiful easy growing palm, look no further than the dasyantha. They seem to love whatever iam doing to them. A beautiful understory palm. I have a few in dappled light to deep shade to morning sun and they all seem to love growing in these conditions. They will drink as much water as you give them and a little tolerance to mild dry conditions if you miss a watering. I love them super easy to grow and not too bad on the eye, the poor man’s mapu is definitely worth growing. I even lucked up with a variegated variety from a seed batch I germinated.

For reasons, unknown, this elegant palm does not receive much attention or admiration. I decided to take some shots today of ordinary specimens here in the hood:

I’ve got these young Geonoma undata seedlings from seed collected at an elevation just over 7,000’ (about 2,000 meters) in Columbia and I have them in a shady location outside at ground level and am wondering if a heat mat would be beneficial to them. My December-January typical high-low temperatures are between 65-40F. Would adding 15 to 20F degrees to their soil, particularly at night, be good or not? Darold, I bet you know.

A few intresting varieties of palms caught my eye, as watered away! Dypsis rosea Rhapis nanzanishiki Dypsis tsaravoasira synecanthus warscewiczianus I

Absolutely beautiful, keep looking for more single stem beauties I say. I just managed to germinate a stack of them, I will keep an eye for the elusive single stem!

A few more, here’s a close up of a frond I showed in the last post for growth comparison. then this one The visible trunk form a distance 😍

Archontophoenix!

March 4, 2026 This was a very warm winter, constant heatwaves with temperatures in the 80’s. I only ever used the AC 3 times last summer and I used it with this last heat wave when it got to 90f. This big one shot out a new frond. It’s getting really wide. There was a night where it got to like 44f since I last posted and you might be able to see the bronzing on the older fronds if you look closely. This yellow one is looking really good I think. I have been pumping it full of fertilizer constantly…I think it responds to that. Ever since late January, the White fly for the most part stopped attacking this one. I think that means it’s very healthy because of all of the heat and fertilizer because white fly attack weak plants. I should probably plant it soon in ground. I just have no idea where such a big plant could fit. It might replace the inga in the front. This one has had constant issues with white flies. It’s not growing much but that is what it did last year too.

One of my favorite palms, but here, only 1 or 2 of mine are going to make it. The rate of death here after the last event will be roughly 9 out of 10. The good thing about them is they are easy to replace.

John , you’re gonna be fine once it catches on and you’re selling more. Spring is right around the corner and folks will want to buy plants , reducing your inventory problem . Hopefully a balance will occur. 🙂 Harry

Picture of a mule and also a coconut queen which is a little harder to find!!

Chrysalidocarpus loucoubensis sowing some color after a frond drop. Tim

The ‘ole’ Chrysalidocarpus paucifolius, aka ‘orange crush.’ Love the scale that growing in almost solid rock dictates. Tim

Dypsis louvelli Dypsis lantzeana Calyptrocalyx benga dawn

Hyophorbe indica green and red forms planted as a double showing off a nice contrast of colour.

Licuala orbicularis in the Coffs Harbour botanical gardens.

January 14, 2026 Before the Santa Ana winds comes in usually is the coldest temps of the year where I’m at and these last few days got down to mid 40’sf. Last year that same event brutalized my coconuts but this year the damage is very minimal. It’s kinda hard to see, but there is some spotting and leaf burn on the older fronds especially. Unfortunately, the biggest coconut is extremely close to the powerlines now. My advice to people is assume that your coconuts will be as big as a date palm. We’ll see how that goes. This coconut looks probably the best but it actually got an extremely bad white fly infestation. I smothered it in insecticide and will keep doing that when it comes back. This coconut might look ugly but I think it has a lot of potential. It is infested with white fly but I smother it with insecticide.

Ok, sorry for the delay. Here are recent photos of my Geonoma undata, Dick Endt provenance. I planted these palms in year 2001. The color is not so bright now as when the palms were young. The pinkish color is exposed at first then darkens to maroon at maturity and to chocolate as the frond dies from old age. The petioles hold their color better throughout the frond lifespan. Don't get too excited about the spathes, they are surely not viable and likely won't even open !

After several revisions, I’m excited to share my ongoing PDF guide to cold hardy palms. This has been a long-term project and will continue to evolve as I learn more and gather new experiences. Feel free to share it anywhere by posting the link to the document — that will always point to the latest version for when I update. I am still working on some more pages in time. I truly appreciate all the support, knowledge, and friendships from this forum over the years. My goal has always been simple, help others enjoy and succeed in this hobby as much as I have. Hopefully this information will especially help others new to the hobby. While the design is AI assisted, all photos and text dictation are from my experiences. While I am aware there are a few errors still, let me know what you think TNTropics Cold Hardy Palm Guide https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w9-43MjGhgyQyqgVeQoWXU69GvRGLpdU/view?usp=sharing

I'm in no rush. Check my Instagram and YouTube, it's packed and I'm fixing to add 30 more Colocasia bulbs and another 8 seedlings in there. I was told to seal them in Tupperware and leave them alone and basically check them in a year so that's where we're at. I don't remember if I got them in May or September but we got time.

I hope so. Because I just came across a deal I can't say no to. Once things can go outside and stay outside I'm fine, and if I was physically ok enough to drag everything out and back in I'd be fine - but if I was that physically ok I'd be working and would definitely not be this involved anyway

A surprisingly pleasant 85F at 5:32PM.. Immediate forecast, thru the start of next week at least, looks locked in.. More breeziness tomorrow though. Beyond that... some interesting ( but fun to glare at ) " scare - cast scenarios " being tossed around in the model runs today related to the potential return of the heat later on, ..particularly, today's 18z runs from the GFS, AIGFS, and EC - AIFS.. *** Keep in mind: this far out, while each is something to watch over the coming days, NONE of these particular model run outcomes are to be taken seriously. **** Important reference points, particularly for the AZ low desert cities: 582mb heights = Surface /2m temps generally landing somewhere in the 80s ..maybe a few 90s. 585mb heights = Mid 80s / more 90s.. 588... Widespread, " Somewhere in the 90s " kinda heat, isolated / widely scattered readings reaching 100 possible. 591... Upper 90s likely / 50%+ chance of widespread 100s / Some possible 100+ readings. AIGFS = ..The tamest: Relatively flat ridging across the Southwest / Troughiness over the Pac N.W. helping to keep the ridge subdued.. Would get warm of course, but nothing too crazy.. GFS = Middle of the road: Building ridge but still somewhat subdued ..thru this run at least.. Warm, ..about to where we've been so far, maybe a touch hotter. 588mb heights centered just to our west / southwest rather than overhead. EC - AIFS = What the heck is this model seeing: STRONG and pronounced ridge w/ 591mb heights slung over Eastern AZ / Western NM / and TX, and far Northern MEX.. 585mb height line reaching the SF Bay Area / Salt Lake City area. = Would be pretty early to see such a strong ridge develop over the area. Surface temps in this scenario from both Tidbits and Pivotal reach / breach 100F locally. Should this particular thought become reality, and we saw temps reach / exceed 100F, it would occur a few days earlier than the date it actually occurred, March 26th, 1988. 100F also represents the hottest reading ever recorded in March. ..We'll see which ..if any.. of these scenarios lies just beyond the reliable forecast horizon.. That said, ...the way this year has started off, can't toss this outcome / something close to it in the dumpster just yet, either.

I bet they do better than expected. The warmth in your climate in Lakeland will overcome that cold event. Best

It improves your chances if the north is colder but hardiness can be fickle!! Correlation vs causation and all that. An example of not purely genetics reason is a tropical species might be in a microclimate or heat island that simply allows it to survive better than a spot over where it may struggle. I make 'plant location and climate' one of my selection considerations myself.

20 minutes!

I should've started this in January. Well another week pushing Texas further into drought, but it looks like things are going to change this coming weekend, at least for me. Currently predictions are showing rain on Saturday and into at least mid next week. Get those spring gardening tasks done, as it it looks like things are going to get muddy.

Mazat my 'Mitleid' for the second specimen😮‍💨

Time to move to the tropics and forget about the darn cold weather holding you back, I could lease you a greenhouse, but then I will be in the same boat as you!

Just to clarify, the female is the rather commonly grown Ravenea glauca. The uncommon plants is the male, Ravenea julietiae. I have seedlings of Ravenea glauca from past years because I have both male and female of that species. Today I collected a little pollen from the Ravenea julietiae and tried dusting some flowers on the Ravenea glauca female. It won't develop full fruits with seeds unless the flowers are successfully pollinated in my experience. So I will collect more pollen and try dusting again over the next few days. We will see if the glauca develops fruit.

If that is the only way to get seed from the lonely female , and you are up for it , go for it. I don’t do any of that here in my garden , but it isn’t because of ethics ….I’m lazy!😂. If I get seeds , it is all Mother Nature , let her do the work. Harry

Why not do it. Sounds like a fun experiment and if any seeds are produced please put me in line.

About 13 ft. tall. I saw this one in a residential area west of New Orleans. I suspect it is a native remant specimen that was there before it was reclaimed swampland.

I think the coldest its got in 20 years was 28 degrees. Now this would be a statement

Alfredii are reliably hardy to upper 20s, with variable burn around 25...and maybe serious damage and/or death below about 23. Butia are a bit hardier for sure. Mules are in the same range (generally speaking) as Butia. A super silver Butia would be pretty cool. Alfredii get to HUGE frond diameter if allowed to grow to a full crown (like 50ish feet), but can also be trimmed to a more "shuttlecock" shape. So part of your decision may be shape and final size too. One other you could conside is a Jubaea, Parajubaea or a Butia x Jubaea hybrid. I think all grow really well out there.

Licuala ‘mapu’ inflorescence. Tim

Seed season started so there will be a lot of new photos! Also, I'm working on an encyclopedia/gallery with my photos, i invite you all to check it out: Butia yatay - PalmSeedlings Butia yatay | Jelly Palm

7/21/2025 It has been much cooler than usual for this time of year and not any heatwaves for quite a while. The coconuts have been growing much slower or maybe I’m imagining it, not sure. The tree behind my coconut looks very happy and healthy and I’m wondering if it’s roots are taking the coconuts fish fertilizer haha

April 28, 2025 This one is still recovering from winter. It was never the fastest growing but I remember it being the most untouched by damage until all but 1 fronds died off. It doesn’t look right because the dead fronds never grew out how they were supposed if you look back at the February posts. Here is this one you can compare to the previous pics to see how fast it is shooting out new fronds. Planning how I can make this area rat/pest proof bc I don’t want it to come all this way and get killed by some creature haha

September 9 2024 update The highest temp I’ve ever recorded (by a lot) was yesterday at 103f previously I’ve only ever seen maybe mid 90’s during a heatwave. The cocos didn’t seem to mind but my cherimoya is burnt up and mangos loved it. I gave away my yellow potted coconut to a neighbor to plant, it was looking really really good and tall😓 My first coco has become somewhat pinnate. The fronds look strange almost like a fan palm in that they aren’t very long like all my other cocos. This is the only one from Hawaii. It’s taller than the shadow of the wall so it is no longer north facing. It might be slow growing but I really like this one particularly. These two getting bigger, I think they’re particularly fast growing. This one is finally looking good, maybe it didn’t like the winter. Virtually all my coconuts have received the same treatment, except the ones that were still in pots I brought indoors during the storms. This one is my second biggest, it is growing, just nothing like the one next to it. This one is getting more and more height and thickness rapidly. Looks to be about 8 ft tall now. I watched a video about Thai coconut farmers, and they said that they only choose coconut sprouts that grow at a certain accelerated rate, I think this might be a good genetics coconut like that. I’ll try to close off the greenhouse somewhat once the trunk is fully outside and over the greenhouse bc I would like to get some use out of it and maybe the coconut could enjoy a bit warmer area around its roots atleast for another year.

July 29 2024 update This coconut has produced its first frond with some frond separation (pinnatation?) These types of fronds seem to be softer and longer. I replaced the hedge next to it with small baby mango trees so it gets a lot more sun for now. It’s getting tall enough to reach the sun in winter solstice. Remember the mirrors?🥹 These 2 newest cocos are steadily growing just they’re so young it will be a while. They have the most potential however as they’re very full sun and the sky is their height limit. I’ve learned coconuts hate having their fronds bent from the hose and you can see right where I shoot it and I shoot gently so something to keep in mind to keep them beautiful. This coconut was already the fastest but it seems to have sped up even more recently. I have to leave for a few days for work and I’m certain it will be touching the 7ft roof around when I get back. I just bought this greenhouse and it’s great for seed germination so I’m going to try to somehow elevate it another 2 feet…somehow. I only helped it a tiny bit but otherwise it produced its first fully pinnate leaf. 10 months from first sprout 🌱. A great coco for someone like me that wanted immediate results. This coconut is getting fat but not tall. It’s like all the other and growing but not blowing me away. It is a bit close to the other coco but I hope long term this won’t be an issue. Maybe long term a coconut hammock? I try not to give too much opinion and just state what I’m noticing but both these yellowish cocos seem much happier and more beautiful now that we’re in the hot season. The others I never noticed and more (or less) frond damage just these two yellow ones. The one in the ground is looking better but still so ugly. Since it is small and out of the way I’ll let it do its thing for another year but then she’s gotta go if it’s always going to be that ugly. The potted one is looking more mature and pretty, I’ll up pot it soon. It’s fat coco roots are pushing out the drainage holes.

Every time I see Syagrus schizophylla mentioned, I want to post again and again these incredibly ancient specimens:

Such a fascinating palm. I've never been so hopeful of success with raising seedlings as I am with this species. So far they're doing great but it's winter of course. I'll NEVER let them dry out as suggested. Any other suggestions or comments would be appreciated. I really want these to survive and prosper!

Richnorm is correct about the root texture and volume. When I imported my three plants from Dick Endt the small plants would barely fit into a "1-gallon" cylindrical pot. (15cmx18cm or 6x7 inches.)

The roots on these are very fibrous - bit like a tree fern - so individual pots may be preferential and also a relatively large one. You cannot miss a single watering. Absolute thrip magnets so want to see a bit of weather. Hard work if you want to keep them at their best. If you want to experiment with a heat mat it may be better to put them in a clear plastic bag so they cannot dry out. Good luck!

6,561’ = 2,000 meters but I was just rounding figures. These seeds were collected above 7,000 feet according to Jeff Marcus who collected them. They’re not RPS stock. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how they handle my climate. I’m 45 miles south of Darold but that’s enough to make for a different climate. Jeff told me that the mother tree had lots of red in its crownshaft but not to the degree of Darold’s.

Good to know Darold. They’re not on a heat mat and never have been but, since their place of origin has a narrow temperature range mostly in the low to mid 60s, day and night, I thought keeping the soil at those temperatures at night might be beneficial. I’ll forego to mat.

Step away from the heat mat, now ! And Do Not Ever let the medium dry out. (Advice from the school of hard knocks)