Here we go again - creating Pepe'ekeo Palm Paradise

[RainforestCafe]

@Hilo Jason Those pictures are awesome! I love how you make boundaries and borders with the rocks, but it's very natural and "informal" in a way. It's also crazy to see how fast everything has grown for you. That front entrance to your place already looks great and it's only been a few years!

[CB Lisa]

Thank you for posting this last batch of updated pictures. Hawaii or not, soil or not, your progress and the size of your palms already is truly mind boggling and impressive! Add to that the landscape design, rock walls, house….what an achievement! Always looking for inspiration to keep moving forward and your amazing progress very much provides that! 👏👏👏 

Mahalos for sharing! 

[Hilo Jason]

14 hours ago, tinman10101 said:

hey jason. sorry if this has been asked before but i was wondering how you water your palms. i dont recall you explaining any irrigation system so i am assuming, most if not all your garden is left to the elements of  natural rain.  regardless, thanks for keeping this thread alive.  i always get overly ecstatic watching your property transform and makes me want to someday take that jump to HI.  

cheers

tin

It’s all rainfall. No irrigation at all. We average 120+ inches a year so we’re good to go. Although it has been a bit on the dry side for the past couple of months. But that is typical here this time of year. 
 

I planted 4 Cyrtostachys Renda today and my wife and daughter helped me haul 5 gallon buckets over to give them a good soaking once they were planted. That’s the last time I will ever water them, hah! Planting 7 more tomorrow and I’ll do the same. So yeah, everything gets a good soaking when planted and then it’s up to nature to take over! 

[Hilo Jason]

14 hours ago, RainforestCafe said:

@Hilo Jason Those pictures are awesome! I love how you make boundaries and borders with the rocks, but it's very natural and "informal" in a way. It's also crazy to see how fast everything has grown for you. That front entrance to your place already looks great and it's only been a few years!

Thank you! 

[Hilo Jason]

5 hours ago, CB Lisa said:

Thank you for posting this last batch of updated pictures. Hawaii or not, soil or not, your progress and the size of your palms already is truly mind boggling and impressive! Add to that the landscape design, rock walls, house….what an achievement! Always looking for inspiration to keep moving forward and your amazing progress very much provides that! 👏👏👏 

Mahalos for sharing! 

Thanks for following along on the creation of this garden. So happy it can be inspiring to you! 

[Tracy]

On 1/23/2025 at 1:20 AM, Hilo Jason said:

I was thinking about this post and pictures that @Tracy took a little less than 2 years ago and wanted to update with similar photos taken today

Wowza!  It is amazing how quickly things have grown already.  The entryway with concrete poured and house in the background were just concepts when we were there.  You have created a wonderful oasis there.

[Hilo Jason]

A couple of “before and after” pictures of palms that caught my eye this evening:

First up is a Chrysalidocarpus Hovomantsina Hybrid. First picture in a pot was taken a little over 3 years ago when it was planted:

these next photos were taken this evening:

 

[Hilo Jason]

This next one is a bit of a mystery. When Floribunda has a “?” on the tag, then you know you have a mystery.  It kind of has a Chrysalidocarpus “sp Bef” meets Ambositrae meets “Black stem (without black on the stem)” type feel to it. 
 

First picture is 2 years ago:

 

And these next pictures were taken this evening:

[flplantguy]

11 minutes ago, Hilo Jason said:

This next one is a bit of a mystery. When Floribunda has a “?” on the tag, then you know you have a mystery.  It kind of has a Chrysalidocarpus “sp Bef” meets Ambositrae meets “Black stem (without black on the stem)” type feel to it. 
 

First picture is 2 years ago:

 

And these next pictures were taken this evening:

Whatever that is it has some amazing color combos!  The salmon bud to dark (like chocolate?) petiole with the fuzz between is something pretty cool, like a lastelliana or leptochielos is in there somewhere too.  Not that i know much about that other than they are super cool lol.  I hope you get viable seed some day on it!

[realarch]

14 hours ago, Hilo Jason said:

A couple of “before and after” pictures of palms that caught my eye this evening:

First up is a Chrysalidocarpus Hovomantsina Hybrid. First picture in a pot was taken a little over 3 years ago when it was planted:

these next photos were taken this evening:

 

Interesting looking palm Jason, at this stage it looks like a lot of different things.You can tell the ‘hovo’ in it, but then lacks the overall bulk especially in the trunk. Looking forward to the next couple of years to see the changes.

Tim

[Tracy]

19 hours ago, Hilo Jason said:

And these next pictures were taken this evening:

 

A very attractive palm Jason.  My first thought was Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae x rufescens.  I'm sure there are plenty of other combinations that might theoretically resemble your palm, but that is the combo that my eye sees.

[Hilo Jason]

A few new plantings to share on here. I’ve been working on weeding and cleaning up my New Caledonia planter to make room for some new plantings. As some of the original plantings in this area are now trunking, it’s created some new space to plant more so I went shopping for some rare species to add. 
 

on the left is Basselinia Tomentosa (red seed) and I believe Jeff Marcus thinks it might end up being Faviera, based on the label that was in the pot. On the right is Basselinia Velutina. 
 

above is the Velutina planted out and below is the Tomentosa. Not much to see now but I like documenting these when planted so I can look back and track growth rates. 
 

And then the last planting of the day is Pinanga Declinata which is along my driveway so I will be able to see it multiple times a day. 
 

thanks for looking. More new plantings soon, just have to move a pile of rocks first so I can work on a new planter area next to the house. 

[CLINODAVE]

Palms and a dog, pretty darn good!

[Hilo Jason]

Seeds galore!!!

I bought the above palm as “Malcomberi hybrid” but as it’s matured and now set seed I think it’s Chrysalidocarpus Prestonianus, which is fine with me. 
 

Below is the first ripening seed on my Robusta Hybrid. I had a Robusta hybrid in my previous Hilo garden and these seed are about double the size of that one. I’ll try to germinate some and see what happens. 
 

 

And below are the first flower spathes pushing out on my Burretiokentia Koghiensis. Not even trunking yet and pushing flowers? 
 

[Hilo Jason]

A few new summer plantings that just went in the ground this week. 
 

Now that I actually have some canopy and protection, I decided to get a couple of Joey palms in the garden:

 

Joey Magnicia on the left and Altifrons on the right. 
 

 

Altifrons planted (above) with my loyal companion Suubi in the background. Magnifica planted below:

Then for some sun plantings, up first is a Pritchardia Martii in my Hawaii / Pacific Islands planter:

overgrown 1 gallon plant above, planted out below.

The last new planting for now is a Lemurophoenix that I’ve had in a pot for years. These seem to hate being in pots (at least for me) so I’m hoping it gets happier in the ground. Sadly this spot only opened up in my Madagascar planter because I recently lost a trunking Chrysalidocarpus Infanadiannae. Some sort of fungus took it out.  Hopefully this Lemurophoenix thrives in this corner spot. 
 

[palmfriend]

Jason,

What a progress! As probably mentioned more than once, the speed of growth of some of your palms is simply unbelievable. 

You definitely did the right thing when starting this new garden not just for you, no, for us as well! Thank you so much for keeping us updated. 

 

All the best -

Lars

[tim_brissy_13]

On 7/6/2025 at 4:55 PM, Hilo Jason said:

A few new summer plantings that just went in the ground this week. 
 

Now that I actually have some canopy and protection, I decided to get a couple of Joey palms in the garden:

 

Joey Magnicia on the left and Altifrons on the right. 
 

 

Altifrons planted (above) with my loyal companion Suubi in the background. Magnifica planted below:

Then for some sun plantings, up first is a Pritchardia Martii in my Hawaii / Pacific Islands planter:

overgrown 1 gallon plant above, planted out below.

The last new planting for now is a Lemurophoenix that I’ve had in a pot for years. These seem to hate being in pots (at least for me) so I’m hoping it gets happier in the ground. Sadly this spot only opened up in my Madagascar planter because I recently lost a trunking Chrysalidocarpus Infanadiannae. Some sort of fungus took it out.  Hopefully this Lemurophoenix thrives in this corner spot. 
 

Shattering about that Chrysalidocarpus ifanadianae Jason. If it’s the one you’ve posted photos of previously it was one of my absolute favourite specimens posted on this forum. Great choice for a replacement though that Lemur should look great there. 

[Hilo Jason]

On 7/7/2025 at 4:39 PM, tim_brissy_13 said:

Shattering about that Chrysalidocarpus ifanadianae Jason. If it’s the one you’ve posted photos of previously it was one of my absolute favourite specimens posted on this forum. Great choice for a replacement though that Lemur should look great there. 

Yeah I had posted photos of it a bit and it was showing that vibrant purple color on the crownshaft.  I was very sad to lose it and tried for months to save it. Oh well, hopefully the Lemurophoenix is happy there. They seem to dislike sun when young and I have a lot of sun, so we’ll see. 
 

[Hilo Jason]

I just realized that I never posted photos of the planter I created right up against the house.  This was finished in March after the last of my rock was moved out of this area.  The grass and driveway is lined with 3 dwarf Areca Catechu and then in the bark planter area there is a solitary Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens, 3 Coccothrinax Macroglossa and a Kentiopsis Piersoniorum (this was planted a few months prior).   Special thanks to Mike Merritt for the Coccothrinax.  Cuban and Carribean palms are almost impossible to find here on the Big Island so I was very happy to find these that Mike grew from seed! 

[Hilo Jason]

And here are some updated photos from the garden to show how things are growing this summer.  

First up is Rocky 2 with a couple of Kentiopsis Pyriformis: 

Then on the opposite end of this New Cal planter, a couple of Chambeyronia Houailou: 

Oenocarpus Distichus: 

Chrysalidocarpus Hovomantsina Hybrid:

Madagascar Day Geckos seem to love the flowers and the orange color on this solitary Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens:

 

[Hilo Jason]

I am growing 2 types of Chrysalidocarpus Sp Mayotte.  I believe the larger one is a hybrid and it looks like a cross of with some sort of Madagascariensis type:

And then the other type that I think might be more true is this one which is also a really nice looking palm.  Almost like a beefy Cabadae look, but has some nice whitish fuzz on it.  I have a few of each of these and these were all 4" plants about 5 years ago!  

[Hilo Jason]

Chrysalidocarpus Leptocheillos flowering a lot and getting thick!  I don't think I've seen another quite this large at this size.  Deep soil along with plenty of water and heat at this garden:

Madagascar planter filling in!  

Another look at a Chrysalidocarpus Sp Mayotte Hybrid (in the back) with Chrysalidocarpus loucoubensis on the right:

Chrysalidocarpus Ovobontsira (or at least what was sold as that):

Chrysalidocarpus Robustus at the corner of the Madagascar planter: 

 

[Hilo Jason]

This is the first planter I worked on about 4 years ago: 

Chrysalidocarpus Robustus Hybrid:

Heterospathe Barfodii:

Chrysalidocarpus Prestonianus Hybrid (2 headed and first time flowering):

Chrysalidocarpus Lastellianus that is getting ridiculously large (I wish I had something to show scale) and a Chrysalidocarpus Malcomberi Hybrid behind it:

[Hilo Jason]

Out front on the road, the Bismarckia has really taken off this year: 

Closer look at all the trunk bifurcating that has happened on this Chrysalidocarpus Malcomberi Hybrid:

Chrysalidocarpus Sp. Lafazamanga: 

[Hilo Jason]

Another look into the earliest planter I worked on:

Chambeyronia Houailou on the left, Cyphophoenix Nucele on the right: 

from left to right, Kentiopsis Oliviformis, Chrysalidocarpus Sp Ambanja, Chrysalidocarpus Titan:

Overall shot that includes some of the Pacific Island planter area with different types of Clinostigma and some dwarf Coconuts in there too.  

Thanks for looking! 

[Hilo Jason]

A few new plantings from this past week after we got some much needed rain. 
 

First up is a “holy grail” New Caledonia palm - Cyphokentia Macrostachya. I’ve had this for many years and dug it out of my previous garden and had it in a 15 gallon pot. I planted it about a year ago next to my house but it was never happy in that spot, I think it was too much sun. So I dug it up again and got it back in a large pot, under some shade cloth.  It pushed a good amount of new growth and I found a nice spot in my New Caledonia planter. 
 

in the ground:

planted in between Kentiopsis Pyriformis and Chambeyronia Hookeri:

Next up is a Pritchardia Napaliensis:

This one below is Chrysalidocarpus “Giant Baronii” that I got from Mike Merrit and he received the seed from Madagascar via an Australian collector many years ago. It’s been in a pot for too long and unfortunately when planting I accidentally snapped the largest of the 3 plants. Here’s what it looked like before that happened:

Last one is Chrysalidocarpus Psamophila (from seed in my former garden):

Thanks for looking. More soon hopefully. Just need more rain! 

[realarch]

2 hours ago, Hilo Jason said:

A few new plantings from this past week after we got some much needed rain. 
 

First up is a “holy grail” New Caledonia palm - Cyphokentia Macrostachya. I’ve had this for many years and dug it out of my previous garden and had it in a 15 gallon pot. I planted it about a year ago next to my house but it was never happy in that spot, I think it was too much sun. So I dug it up again and got it back in a large pot, under some shade cloth.  It pushed a good amount of new growth and I found a nice spot in my New Caledonia planter. 
 

in the ground:

planted in between Kentiopsis Pyriformis and Chambeyronia Hookeri:

Next up is a Pritchardia Napaliensis:

This one below is Chrysalidocarpus “Giant Baronii” that I got from Mike Merrit and he received the seed from Madagascar via an Australian collector many years ago. It’s been in a pot for too long and unfortunately when planting I accidentally snapped the largest of the 3 plants. Here’s what it looked like before that happened:

Last one is Chrysalidocarpus Psamophila (from seed in my former garden):

Thanks for looking. More soon hopefully. Just need more rain! 

Just WOW Jason!

Tim

[Tracy]

22 hours ago, Hilo Jason said:

Thanks for looking. More soon hopefully. Just need more rain!

Thanks for the update.  I missed some of your posts during summer so had a lot to catch up on.  It is just amazing how great everything looks and the speed that everything has grown!  Like Tim said... WOW.