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Licuala sp would all be out of the question if you’ve got Beccariophoenix alfredii getting damaged. Lanonia dasyantha in a very protected spot under canopy up against a house or something…maybe but marginal at best I’d say. Chamaedorea radicalis and C microspadix should work well under some protection. Butia sp. Trachycarpus sp although summer heat might be a struggle for some of them. Maybe give Guihaia argyrata a go if you can find one. Chamaedorea humilis shouldn’t have a problem and some varieties like var argentea and ‘Vulcano’ are quite attractive. Rhapidophyllum, Sabal sp, Nannorrhops and some Brahea species should do well too.

Here’s a front yard near my house with a couple of Archontophoenix that I’ve long suspected to be A cunninghamiana x alexandrae or the reverse. Similar traits to ‘Teracarpa’ above; very large and thick trunk (can see a smaller A alexandrae behind the one of the left if you look closely, even the S romanzoffiana are smaller overall), speckled olive green and brown crownshaft, growth rings all brown with some scales on the upper ones, abaxial surface of leaflets with some silver and no noticeable ramenta that I could see. Interestingly they have the A alexandrae cream coloured flowers. These hybrids tend to lean towards A alexandrae from what I’ve seen.

Almost impossible. There would need to be multiple generations bred to introduce each species into the mix. The chances of it accidentally happening over a minimum of 3 generations is slim to none, also keeping in mind that only a few Archontophoenix hybrids have been documented. I’m guessing these ‘Teracarpas’ are now multi generational (F2, F3 etc) hybrids of only 2 Archontophoenix sp. I certainly see no evidence of influence by A purpurea for example.

Arenga micrantha and Engleri, two species that grow very well here and are also resistant to light frost

Veitchia

There is something there for sure, the exact science iam sure there is an answer for us. Water and cell damage i guess, I guess i should have listened more in science at School! And that little hothouse , give me an acre of one that size and centralis heating with a heated floor, when I win the lottery one for you, and one for me my shout! Richard

Kerriodoxa elegans, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Geonoma atrovirens, iguanura wallichiana var major, Areca vestria red form, sabinara magnifica, reinhardtia gracilis, chamaedoreas are must have, variegated rhapis. Then there are Zamias, Cerotazamias they all compliment palms and there are many of them to collect. Good luck once the palm bug bites you it’s a whole new world of plants!

Nice palm a great example, I might have to try and track a few seeds. Although my summers might be a touch too warm up 42 degrees celcius with hot dry north west winds, you could cool an egg on a tin roof heat, fortunately it only last a couple of days. It’s one palm I havent come across as a collecter!

Surely not too far fetched in Australia Tim? Not sure how many years Archontophoenix sp have been in the nursery trade but almost every nursery I visit, the alexandrae and even cunninghamiana to lesser extent all exhibit different traits of hybridisation. It’s part of the reason I’ve bought all mine from different places including Darwin and Broome in the top end. That said, I’m guessing the alex is known to be quite variable in looks and traits yeah? Here’s two of my known to be ‘albang’ hybrids, both have been grown completely different from one another and seed have come from the same mature grove of alex and bangalows . First one has become very girthy and is only starting its second ring, where as the next has grown exponentially quicker but is quite skinny and different looks and has retained its green on the trunk

New tropicals, I have been going out on limb in that department, and have found a few new varieties of tropical palms that could be worth having a try. Although you’re a little colder than my climate it’s it’s food for thought and worth trying some of them. Especially some of the licuala varieties and lanonias, definitely try lanonia varieties. Iam sure @tim_brissy_13 could steer you in the right direction!

That flush is over a decade old and long gone now, so not much I can do to green that one. Neither this one nor the female in my Leucadia garden were the real Cycas debaoensis. Multifrondis seems to be the best match. Both are still very attractive plants.

The Arenga micrantha in Chch botanical gardens (not added to the last post so as not to delete what I had written again!)

Set them free, go forth and multiply! Richard

You gotta give it a go, if you don’t try you will never know and at least if you try and it fails well you gave it a go!

For all 6 species in a hybrid mix I’d say pretty far fetched even in Aus. True A myolensis is rarely encountered, and not at all in the nursery trade. A tuckeri and A maxima too to a lesser extent. Even albangs aren’t hugely common I don’t think. I’ve heard that even in spots where A cunninghamiana and A alexandrae co exist, unintentional hybrid offspring is unusual. You’re right, A alexandrae is variable and even more significantly appears very different in different growing conditions especially shade vs sun. A cunninghamiana too. Honestly I’d guess even an Archontophoenix hybrid with 3 species in the mix might be unlikely or at least extremely rare. Who knows if anything beyond that is even possible from a compatibility point of view.

Mother Nature works in strange ways, some years I get a heap of Radicalis seeds other years hardly any seeds. You just can’t tell when you will get seeds. But yes height is one factor if all the girls are 5 feet taller the boys are going to have a difficult time, especially with wind being the main pollinater with chamaedoreas.

Full sun in DFW is intense enough to scorch young transplanted trachys pretty easily I would guess It’s still establishing and the squirrel wasn’t helping. Give it time get more roots established so that it can move as much water as it needs to handle full DFW sun and still look good. Nursery leaves never stay pristine for long . The new leaves it grows in the ground will be tougher.

Please join me in celebrating my larger Chambeyronia Houailou for two accomplishments: 1. a dazzling new red leaf 2. one foot of clear trunk Arching green Houailou leaf frames canal Trunk details

@PalmatierMeg got an update?

A.engleri can take up a lot of space as it suckers.

Phoenix Rupicola can take some cold and, in my opinion, has a tropical look. I have one and wish I planted a second. My yard saw 28 degrees this February and it was completely unscathed. A little more cold sensitive, but my Dictyosperma Album var. Conjugatum did great with maybe 20% damage and recovering faster than most of my other palms. The conjugatum variety did significantly better than the standard form.

I've seen Copernicia Alba in St.Augustine although it's been a couple of years. Large Livistonas near the college.

I was in Lakeland the last two years for my son's cross county championships. Seems like a great place to grow palms but you're correct that it has the heat of South Florida but certainly gets colder in the winter.

Thank you, it's evening here so I will look them up now.

Ive never heard of it so thanks for the mention. I need to look it up now! If it can grow in chch (gets colder mins there) it would be fine here, provided it doesn’t mind my generally cooler, cloudier summers.

You're welcome. My personal garden experiences low temperatures similar to what your location could expect annually. The heat during the day is a little oppressive. Feel free to grab ideas from here: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/52296-palms-and-others-of-interest/

Variegated Rhapis excelsa ; 4 inch pot. $85. plus shipping. No sales to CA or TX.

The tropicals and subtropicals are generally pretty good about coming back after a hard freeze, especially with a generous layer of mulch which you're doing anyway. They form the backbone of my garden and I just accept they will freeze back and things will look rough in early spring. I get that others may not want their garden looking that way for a couple months each year. That is a great split leaf Philodendron.

i know this is an old post but finding posts about palms in Sacramento is fun. I have two Maxima king palms in Fair Oaks. I've seen other king palms in Gold River too.

If you have no joy with the seed, sing out and I can send you some seedlings or seed. cheers Richard

I just ordered some 😁

Great looking Cycad Tracy! Try hitting with chelated iron. Should green it up fast! My experience with it is that it not only greens/blues up new flushes but older leaves as well. This is the product I have been using. Best $20 I ever spent👍

@SeaLaVie If you haven't been there, a trip to St. Johns Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve in Hastings, FL will help you picture how the plants will look in your landscape. A few of the CFPACS Members from the area ( @Lou-StAugFL , @Kekoanui , @ChristianStAug , @CodyM, @PalmJuan ) can also share some of their experiences. A few other links of interest: St. Johns Anniversary Celebration St. Johns 2nd Anniversary Celebration CFPACS Summer 2025 Meeting/Tour in St. Augustine, FL The Garden of Dr. John Rossi - Before it Became St. Johns Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve

Butia Oderata , Rhapidophylum Hystix ( Needle Palm) , Trachycarpus Fortunae , Arenga Engleri , Sabal Palmetto(?). There are more , I’m sure. Harry

This system has produced the first snowfall to sea level in central Wellington for 15 years (not settling). It also is potentially going to knock around some sensitive palms in the most of the time frost free Northland and Bay of Plenty regions. Here, I'll take it if it ends up being two repeats of last week, as have weathered that ok, and what will be hit already has been.

Nice to meet you! Good to hear they're doing well for you

Just the tip of the Joey iceberg, with over 1000 of them you soon learn a trick or two with them!

A nice sallaca, variegated lanonia dasyantha, dypsis Pembana all looking good in the garden.

Hey all, I thought I would dredge up this ancient thread to see what has been learned in all these years. I often see some really neat species available, but I am afraid to try them in a Mediterranean climate. So,without a doubt, P. javana, phillipinensis and coronata grow well here in the right spot. The wataniana I had did not make it, nor did the Floribunda offering of phillpinensis “compact”. Are there any other suggestions for temperate tolerating members of this genus?

Here are some detail shots I took today.

Nice one Scott. I'm hoping monostachya will be a more cool tolerant alternative and so hopefully a better grower, once they speed up a bit! Also, have you tried Arenga micrantha? Seems a good alternative to engleri, growing nicely for me now. You might be able to get seed from @richnorm maybe??

Chamaerops humilis cerifera

I’m thinking hybrid. The most recent pics of these palms look more like Cunninghamiana than Maxima. So I’m thinking Maxima/Cunninghamiana hybrid. I don’t have any in my current garden. The 2 I bought and planted at my old yard were very pale to be pure Maxima. When I moved they had a few rings of trunk and did not look pure Maxima.

This is one that I have been able to keep under control. Harry It has enjoyed giving us a garden view over our main bathtub in our master bedroom without the need for a curtain. I planted this over 20 years ago . I bought it from Jungle Music as a Caryota “ something” ( I forget , but rare ) single trunk . I called Phil when it started suckering and he said it got mixed up and is indeed C. Mitis .🙁Last year I cut 3-4 huge , flowering trunks out and thinned the base. There are plenty of younger stems that will be tall enough when the next , older trunks flower. It seems perpetually regenerating . This is one of my smallest clumps , others are used for privacy and are much bigger!

They can get a bit more than anticipated , like Arenga Engleri . Sometimes that’s what we want , privacy or natural screen. They do a bit of self thinning when they flower . I cut the flowering stems out and that keeps them controlled. Harry

My Chambeyronia macrocarpa is putting out a new red frond. Pic taken July 27, 2026.

So I ran feverishly outside my front door to check and hookeri has burnished petioles and Chambeyronia H has green ones @PalmatierMeg I think you have a grand Chambeyronia H !

I delved into my photo archive and came up with images of my younger Chambeyronia. The earliest photos come from 2011 when I planted it. New leaves were part green/part salmon. 2011 2012 2017 2018

Hi Meg, C houailou holds bifid fronds much longer than C macrocarpa or hookeri. The leaflets aren’t as wide and have a bluish hue to them. Mine get a pinkish/salmon color, but no red on new fronds. Here’s a pic of my smallest one with the bifid fronds: HTH’s