florida Palms and Others of Interest

[Merlyn]

@kinzyjr that gives me hope that I can try Elegans and Acuminata here.  For my place that Christmas 2022 freeze was very similar to the 3 day freeze in 2009/2010.  I had about 20-21 hours under freezing and bottomed out at 26.4...with 2 full days that just barely squeaked up to 50-51F.  I'll have to see if I can find some reasonably priced Acuminata and Elegans and give them a shot! 

[kinzyjr]

On 5/2/2024 at 11:03 AM, Zeeth said:

A recent article in the palms journal actually recognizes S. miamiensis as a true distinct species:

https://palms.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PALMSv68n1p011-013-Sabal-miamiensis.pdf

Thank you.  There is a paper copy of this issue on my bookshelf that hasn't been opened yet, so this evening I'll give it a read.  My choice to label it as a synonym of Sabal etonia was based on the WFO Plant List: https://wfoplantlist.org/

Guess this is another example of "depends on who you ask"

On 5/2/2024 at 7:51 PM, Merlyn said:

@kinzyjr that gives me hope that I can try Elegans and Acuminata here.  For my place that Christmas 2022 freeze was very similar to the 3 day freeze in 2009/2010.  I had about 20-21 hours under freezing and bottomed out at 26.4...with 2 full days that just barely squeaked up to 50-51F.  I'll have to see if I can find some reasonably priced Acuminata and Elegans and give them a shot! 

Good luck with them!  They're both gorgeous.  My nod goes to Carpentaria acuminata here for being less fussy.  A lot of Ptychosperma elegans volunteers from a seed dump of ~600 surplus seeds damped off before they establish.  The remainder are happily growing down at the bottom of the yard amongst the ferns.

Update III: Coconuts:

The first five photos are from the South Coconut Bed.  This area was reworked after the death of my second Atlantic Tall coconut.  The rework was shown in an earlier post, but the full view along with the progress of the trunking Atlantic Tall are shown below.  The young Panama Tall donated by @Plantking165 has also grown steadily.

The view from the west end:

The view from the east end and a full view of the Atlantic Tall:

The Panama Tall baby:

The second most popular coconut in the garden is the Maypan:

The Panama Tall in the South Bed should pick up this year as it will get more sun now that the canopy above it is higher.

After the loss of my Green Malayan, @Plantking165 stepped up to offer a replacement.  It's growing very well now.

My Fiji Dwarf was a question mark as far as cold tolerance.  It shook off Dec. 2022 pretty well and is now pinnate.

This coconut was one of two previously planted behind the Fiji Dwarf.  The other was always unhealthy and perished after Dec. 2022 got a little too cold for it.  The other is now in the back of the garden where it gets afternoon sun.  If it shakes off a little transplant shock, it should be good to go.

[kinzyjr]

The new red zone is ready for the rain (if we ever get it):

[kinzyjr]

Got a few photos of some of the blooms in the garden:

Phoenix reclinata hybrid: Flowers now, seeds on the way, most likely with Phoenix dactylifera or Phoenix roebelenii as the pollen donor since its female counterpart flowered about 2 months ago.

Phoenix dactylifera 'Medjool': The fruit will rot, but there should be a lot of seeds.

Phoenix roebelenii: Maybe the squirrels should develop an appetite for these.  They'd be the fattest squirrels in the world.

Rhapis excelsa: The first photo shows the blooms, the second show runners coming up in the yard outside of the planting bed, and the third shows a stem that was cut in half pushing out a new spear.  The second and third photos illustrate the responses @D. Morrowii received about the invasive potential for this palm.

Coccoloba uvifera (Sea Grapes):

Bursera simaruba (Gumbo Limbo) Blooming:

[D. Morrowii]

They’re trying to escape!

[Merlyn]

Time for some rhizome barrier! 

[kinzyjr]

This is the year of musical palms apparently.  One dies, move another, another starts declining, etc.

A big surprise for me - the Bismarckia nobilis I planted kicked the bucket.  Root damage? Drought?  Who knows.  I got a refund and decided to finish planting specimens of Florida's native palms instead.  The first photo is of the entire haul from Sweet Bay Nursery in Parrish.  Palms are Coccothrinax argentata, Leucothrinax morrisii, and the native green form of Acoelorraphe wrightii.  The lone cycad is Zamia integrifolia.

The Coccothrinax argentata went where the Bizzie was - and immediately finished flowering!  The Zamia is keeping it company until I get a spot cleared for it and it's future companions.  Mind the bed - it has actually been raining here again.

Leucothrinax morrisii takes a spot lower in the garden.

Acoelorraphe wrightii is close by.  All of these will be watched for decline.  If natives have issues, there is something toxic in the soil.

[Merlyn]

L. Morrisii is definitely my favorite thatch palm, they have done great here.  They are still small but growing steadily even with freeze damage.  I'd grow more of them if I hadn't already massively overplanted my entire yard. 

[RiverCityRichard]

That C. Argentata is a beaut! I might have to take a trip to this nursery in Parrish. The growers must have some real patience. My L. Morrisii is half that size and put out a whopping one leaf in the past 8 months

[kinzyjr]

Farfugium flowering in the rain.

[bubba]

This is tire meets the road plantsmanship! Pushing the edges of the zone while growing from seed and from fellow palm grower’s help. This has to be a great adventure! Your hard work will be rewarded. This is a blast to watch. Thank you!

[kinzyjr]

On 7/3/2024 at 9:25 PM, bubba said:

This is tire meets the road plantsmanship! Pushing the edges of the zone while growing from seed and from fellow palm grower’s help. This has to be a great adventure! Your hard work will be rewarded. This is a blast to watch. Thank you!

Appreciate it!  This has been a lot of hard work.  The folks who have contributed seeds, plants, expertise, landscape material, design ideas, and encouragement also deserve a tip of the cap.