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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

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

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 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

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

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.

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

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

Lots of rain recently(last 2 months ~20") has brought the palms which are wet lovers alive. They are putting out new leaves and dropping old ones faster than I have seen previously. OF these palms, the satakentias just glow. I have (2) with just under 8' clear trunk and they are getting nice color on the crownshaft as well as that nice dark foliage. These were not damaged significantly in hurricane Milton last october. Ken Johnson delivered these 2 palms about mid 2019 with 2-3' of clear trunk. They have grown 5-6 feet of trunk but more recent growth is most impressive in caliper of the trunk at the bottom of the crownshaft, its ~8" .

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

Now that 7 additional years have passed since I posted this, and the name changed, it seemed appropriate to update the post. The former Dypsis, now Chrysalidocarpus decipiens in my garden have continued their slow progress. The one that I posted above in the citrus pot in 2013 just got its first ring. The older one is still a multi trunk plant far away from any of the trunks showing a ring.

I have 2. Copernicia cowellii and Coccothrinax boschiana. I had to travel to their respective habitats in Cuba and the Dominican Republic to collect the seeds to grow my own. These rarely are available as plants or even seeds as the ONLY location worldwide for mature, seed producing trees, is their tiny habitats. aztropic Mesa, Arizona

In young palms, it would be my hybrids... "Tribear" / Chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos x decaryi "Tribana" / Chrysalidocarpus pembanus x decaryi "Mad Fox" / Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis?) marojejyi In larger palms (20G+)... Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) carlsmithii Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens x onilahensis hybrid Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) decipiens blue (aka "Butt ugly betafaka") Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) hovomantsina Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) mananjarensis ("mealy bug") Chambeyronia houailou Ravanea sambirinensis The rest are mostly Floribunda-sourced. How did I get them? By shelling out a ton of 💸 - over a multi-year quest.

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.

Trithrinax schizophylla is doing well. When I got it as a seedling, over 20 years ago, it was quite rare in So. Calif..

I normally spend my time posting on the cold hardy forum here, but this time I have some pics and info that might be of more interest here. I did a search through the archives here and found that there no pictures on the forum from Guantanamo Bay. It isn't the easiest place for people to visit, but I still thought someone would have beat me to this topic. I had the chance to spend some time a while back US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. While I was there I did take pictures of palms, plants, and wildlife when I could. I will post my palm pics here, and I might post on the off topic forum about other plants sometime soon as well. The quick evaluation of palms at GTMO is that the three most common palms are (in order) Coccothrinax, coconuts, and pseudophoenix. There were also some royals, Phoenix dactylifera, and a few odd and end other species. Here you are:

I picked this one out of my seedlings because it had a little variegation on its first few leaves. But I never expected it to continue on as it got bigger. This morning, I saw a new leaf open and was quite surprised.

My Dypsis Heteromorpha Hybrid and Chambeyronia Hookeri getting the rings! 🤙🏻 -dale

Probably Lepidorrachis and this little Syagrus ruschiana for mine.

And this Syagrus sancona

Chrysalidocarpus Loucoubensis (formerly Dypsis Ampasindavae)

A few more. Apologies for any incorrect IDs, I’m just going by eye. Raphia sp Cyrtostachys hybrid Chuniophoenix nana Chuniophoenix hainanensis Some freaky Chrysalidocarpus hybrid. I’m guessing C cabadae x leptocheilos or vice versa. There were so many Chrysalidocarpus hybrids it seemed like they had a full spectrum of that entire genus’ gene pool. Dypsis rivularis Chambeyronia macrocarpa. All the Chambeys I saw didn’t seem as vigorous as they can be in the cooler tropics and subtropics. Joey altifrons Arenga caudata (?) A group of Syagrus schizophylla Arenga undulatifolia Group of Arenga pinnata Nannorrhops Chrysalidocarpus onilahensis weeping form Sabal minor Livistona carinensis A few Copernicia sp Leucothrinax morrisii Pigafetta Cyrtostachys hybrid Dictyosperma album var conjugatum A row of Lodoicea. All were just maturing just as they start to show clear trunk or even beforehand. They cage the females but don’t bother with the less valuable males (the palms I mean) Deckenia nobilis I’ll keep adding some more photos when I have time and as I figure out some of the remaining IDs.

Chrysalidocarpus Basilongus are almost glowing right now

Lepidorrhachis mooreana, ground planted on 28.06.2011, as a small seedling approximately 15 cm (6 inches) tall. The true trunk shown is 14 cm (5.75 inches) in diameter. Previously I have grow two adults to a trunk height of 75 cm (30 inches) but both died from various causes before producing seeds. They did produce numerous spadices, including immature seeds.

This is an old photo from 2022 of the larger of my 2 Voanioala gerrardii. Tim (realarch) and I are both growing this palm, along with a number of other Big Island palm enthusiasts. I should take a fresh photo, it's a beautiful palm -- basically looks the same but bigger now.

I finally got a sabinara in the ground, with two weeks of winter left it’s time to ramp up planting a few new palms, ones that are new to the collection and i don’t have in the ground. It was raining as I planted it so absolutely perfect conditions to be planting in and well worth getting wet. Five years time things will be looking pretty good with the sabinara in between a darinii and a cycas multipinata for a nice back drop to the magnifica one of my holy grail palms! A few of you will know that feeling of planting such a palm!

Santo Domingo, DR

They seem to be a very popular palm with a lot palm enthusiasts. And for good reason so they are a standout chamaedorea that has a look of there own in the garden, adding that tropical look so desired by gardeners around the globe. With two different forms theres a palm for most spots in the garden anywhere you desire. Easy to grow and propagate a great palm for enthusiasts at all levels of palm growing, a great learners palm right up to a great collectors prize in any garden!

I dont have a rare palm, though in my neighborhood many are rare. I guess the least common palm I have is a patrick schaffer hybrid (BxJ)xJ. I got it as a strap leafer in 2015. It might be very uncommon for florida. I am hoping it gets massive, fingers crossed.

This palmy house is located four blocks from where I live. I believe these palms were planted in 2008. They’ve grown very well over the years. The royal palm had no trunk back in 2008. Unfortunately, you cannot see all the palms around this house. I believe there’s Veitchia species, Wodyetia bifurcata, Wodveitchia, Howea, Roystonea regia.

"Teddy Bear" (chrasalidocarpus leptocheilos) 18 months in the ground gets its ring. Its been getting plenty of rain recently. My large one(25' overall) was decapitated crownshaft and crown in hurricane milton last oct. Got this one as a bare root seedling 4-5" long with root about 6 years ago. I look forward to more teddy bear color in the yard.

Some awesome palms I’ve never heard of in this thread. Most of my palms are rare for central Florida while not rare in other places, but rarest is most likely my Coccothrinax Macroglossa “Azul”

A few of my contenders: Lepidorrhachis mooreana Ceroxylon vogelianum Linospadix apetiolatus, L microcaryus Chamaedorea frondosa, C liebmanii, C falcifera Sygrus harleyi, S cataphracta Basselinia pendulina, B pseudovelutina Here’s the Lepidorrhachis just after I got them. They’ve grown well over winter since.

Mine's also Jubaeopsis affra, I've had it for a couple years and it's still small but was estimated to already be around 15 years old when I bought it. I hope it starts getting more of the golden coloration soon!

These aren't going to impress many but mine is probably a suckering blue Brahea dulcis which I grew from seed off @DoomsDave's palm. Or possibly a variegated Sabal palmetto from @FishEyeAquaculture via @ahosey01.

Yours look great! they definitely love a wet year. When I researched these I noticed that where they come from in Japan, it rains like every other day. They do like a constant flow of water, without being swamp dwellers of standing water. After a record setting year of rain, we have now had 2 years of drought, and despite frequent irrigation and weekly hand soaks, and plenty of potassium and fertilizer, mine are looking a little beat lately. We continue to be behind for the month and year here.

This Bactris major

Some good stuff coming out off this mad scientist germinating laboratory. If you sow enough of them you’re never waiting for them to germinate. Winter has slowed the process down a little, with spring around the corner things will start to move a lot quicker and there’s a lot more to germinate yet hopefully!

The velvety seed pod of Vonitra perrieri

How palmtalk feels to me. Needless to say I feel the most comfortable in this subforum No offence to anyone of course.

planted this in Dec 2018 and it finally has a trunk! IMG_0003.mp4

Come across this orbicularis flowering today in the Coffs Harbour botanical gardens. Not very often you get to see a licuala orbicularis flowering in the subtropical climate.

Your climate is ideal for them. My summer temperatures are a bit higher than yours but nights are similar and my full sun decipiens is vigorous. I have a full shade one too.

Today was quite productive and fun. I potted up 10 seedlings . Harry most still had the seed attached A couple were doubled up as I ran out of containers not a bad haul for about half an hour of fun! Seeds will be sent to @DoomsDave for germination. A huge “ thank you” to Terry and Sevan Sullivan for their generosity. Harry

……and over 5yrs of a stalled thread, I’m going to bring it back to life! Let’s see your H. Indica out there. Mine has been a rocket! Pictures are not even 3yrs apart. Planted out at the end of 2022 as a Floribunda 1G H Indica Red variety. It grows amazingly fast but only keeps 3 leaves before the oldest looks terrible. Admittedly it’s too close to the rock edging but oh well. -dale

I was wandering around the lake on a sunny winters morn and took this pic.

The girth of the trunk on my Caryota gigantic in Carlsbad. It is on a slope so will be very fun to remove after it flowers eventually.

Another Juania to add to the growing list in the UK… but this time in someone’s back garden in southern England! These photos were recently posted by Dr Kevin Spence. Hope he doesn’t mind me sharing them in this thread about the UK Juania! That thing must have been in the ground for at least 10-15 years. Maybe more…

Awww Jason, you beat me to it. Looks like the time for C. basilongus to exhibit a growth spurt. Such an interesting palm. Yours are looking stellar. Tim