Texas Palms

[Robert Cade Ross]

Kings and a happy Meyer lemon tree  

[Robert Cade Ross]

New dactys being planted in Houston today ! From ground works farm 🤩

[Robert Cade Ross]

2 minutes ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

New dactys being planted in Houston today ! From ground works farm 🤩

On grey street ^

[Xenon]

17 minutes ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

New dactys being planted in Houston today ! From ground works farm 🤩

Hey they ripped out those hideous Sabal palmetto and replaced them with dates! I'll call that a win lol 

[Robert Cade Ross]

14 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Hey they ripped out those hideous Sabal palmetto and replaced them with dates! I'll call that a win lol 

Haha you got your wish 🫣🤣

[Ben G.]

I drove past some nice CIDPs in North San Antonio today. I was in the car with a coworker on business, so I couldn't stop to get a picture. I noted the location though. I found a couple pics on Google maps though. They are at NW Military Highway and Calle del Oro.

Here they were in 2020:

And after a rough winter in Feb 2023:

Today they looked perhaps nicer even than in 2020.  They are noticably taller now. While they probably don't have quite as many leaves in their crowns now, they are well trimmed and have no yellowing in their lower fronds.

[Xerarch]

11 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Kings and a happy Meyer lemon tree  

How come your Meyer Lemons aren't bird pecked to tarnation like mine are? The grackles won't leave them alone!

[Chester B]

I’ve never had anything bother my lemons either. Never seen a grackle outside a parking lot.

[Fusca]

13 minutes ago, Chester B said:

Never seen a grackle outside a parking lot.

Consider yourself blessed!  This time of year they really like hanging out in massive groups and making a lot of noise.  Before rain started yesterday they had whitewashed the grass underneath my mesquite in the front yard!  😆

[Robert Cade Ross]

11 hours ago, Xerarch said:

How come your Meyer Lemons aren't bird pecked to tarnation like mine are? The grackles won't leave them alone!

lol I don’t know tbh I only water and occasionally fertilize my fruit trees the fruit is on it’s own till harvest. 🫣

[jwitt]

Grackles are a great Texas treasure! They bring out that Texas fall color! True story from Lubbock!

[jwitt]

Moral to the story 

Don't park under a live oak. Those Texas trees can hold a thousand birds.

[Meangreen94z]

Update from Pearland. The heavy rain and occasional cloud cover since May have led to incredible growth for several palms.

Copernicia alba, Butia , Livistona nitida:

Sabal uresana:

Phoenix theophrastii ‘Golkoy’ .  Incredible growth this year. I put one of these in ground west of Austin and have 20% of the size after a hot dry summer :

Parajubaea torallyi x Butia

Mule palm (Butia x Syagrus):

Copernicia alba #2 , same age but more shade:

Livistona decipiens and Ravenea rivularis (Majesty):

Queen:

Phoenix sylvestris :

Beccarriophoenix alfredii :

King palms(Archontophoenix):

Hyphaene petersiana:

Medemia argun:

Puya:

Beaucarnea recurvata:

Bismarckia nobilis:

Chamaerops humilis var. argentea:

Livistona australis :

Chamaedora radicalis 

[Keys6505]

1 hour ago, Meangreen94z said:

Livistona decipiens and Ravenea rivularis (Majesty):

Is that Decora one of the ones NTCHP brought down to Houston in bulk a few years ago?  Looks just like mine, not exaggerated with the droopy ends like most of them I see.  Do you know if these develop those traits later or, if this is a NTCHP tree, just genetics?

[Meangreen94z]

2 hours ago, Keys6505 said:

Is that Decora one of the ones NTCHP brought down to Houston in bulk a few years ago?  Looks just like mine, not exaggerated with the droopy ends like most of them I see.  Do you know if these develop those traits later or, if this is a NTCHP tree, just genetics?

Yeah, in the end he was selling them for $8, probably what the 7 gallon container cost. He gave this one for free since I had a large order. Ironically it has outlived most of what I paid for , and out performed everything. It barely showed any damage in high teens the last 2 winters.

I really miss having him around. He grew just about everything that would work in Texas, and his prices were dirt cheap.

[PA-TX2024]

On 10/4/2024 at 5:26 PM, Robert Cade Ross said:

New dactys being planted in Houston today ! From ground works farm 🤩

They should do that in San Antonio too.

[Keys6505]

17 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

Yeah, in the end he was selling them for $8, probably what the 7 gallon container cost. He gave this one for free since I had a large order. Ironically it has outlived most of what I paid for , and out performed everything. It barely showed any damage in high teens the last 2 winters.

I really miss having him around. He grew just about everything that would work in Texas, and his prices were dirt cheap.

Funny you say that, I told him I'd take 10 or whatever the number was and when he got here he was a few short because he said he had given some away to other guys on his route that had big orders.  I moved here in '19 and only placed 2 smallish orders with him not even considering it wasn't going to last.  I wish I had just bought one of everything, it was all so dirt cheap. 

 

You think theres any chance the Decora aren't pure?  Mine grows so much faster than any other palm I have.  This went in the ground in summer of '21 and it was the same size as the B. Clara on the right at the time (also from NTCHP).  And like I mentioned, no dangly tips.

[Xenon]

I think these super upright L. decora look weird too...almost like a cross with L. nitida (?). It wouldn't be that unusual if the seed source was FL since these are often field grown and installed together in the landscape. 

[Dwarf Fan]

Left & Right: C. radicalis (Non-Trunking) (John Fairey Garden) 

Center: Mule (Burgundy Trunk) (Erik Brown)

 

B. paraguayensis X Monty (Patrix)

Butia X Lyto wedd (Patrix), C. radicalis (Non-Trunking) (John Fairey Garden), S. mexicana (Volunteer), Mules, C. radicalis (Trunking) (Jungle Music Palms),  C. radicalis (Non-Trunking) (John Fairey Garden)

Left to Right (Top) P. reclinata X P. canariensis or P. roebelenii???, Arundinaria tecta, Sabal minor

Left to Right: (Bottom) C. microspadiix, C. radicalis (Non-Trunking) (John Fairey Garden), Canna X generalis ‘Orange Punch’, Syagrus comosa, C. radicalis (Non-Trunking) (John Fairey Garden), Syagrus comosa, Trachycarpus fortunei ‘Bulgaria’ (Plant Delights Nursery)

[Meangreen94z]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

I think these super upright L. decora look weird too...almost like a cross with L. nitida (?). It wouldn't be that unusual if the seed source was FL since these are often field grown and installed together in the landscape. 

 

1 hour ago, Keys6505 said:

Funny you say that, I told him I'd take 10 or whatever the number was and when he got here he was a few short because he said he had given some away to other guys on his route that had big orders.  I moved here in '19 and only placed 2 smallish orders with him not even considering it wasn't going to last.  I wish I had just bought one of everything, it was all so dirt cheap. 

 

You think theres any chance the Decora aren't pure?  Mine grows so much faster than any other palm I have.  This went in the ground in summer of '21 and it was the same size as the B. Clara on the right at the time (also from NTCHP).  And like I mentioned, no dangly tips.

I know he was heavy on Australian species. He had just about every species of Livistona, Macrozamia, etc.  I believe the bulk of them came from RPS, but he did get seed from elsewhere.

In habitat it looks like Livistona australis does overlap partially along the eastern coast. I found a few that look like ours on iNaturalist listed as decora

[Robert Cade Ross]

Any suggestions as far as palms to use to help fill in these empty spots ? Preferably some hardy ones now as all these are rated for 9A temps minimum. Z9b Alvin  

[Xenon]

11 minutes ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Any suggestions as far as palms to use to help fill in these empty spots ? Preferably some hardy ones now as all these are rated for 9A temps minimum. Z9b Alvin  

 

You need some green fan palms to contrast the Bismarckia. I think some shrubby/multi-planted Livistona chinensis would look nice. Throw in a Livistona saribus or two. Acoelorraphe wrightii? Maybe a few Lytocaryum hoehnei once you get some overhead shade from the Bismarck/queens. Maybe some blue Sereona repens near the queens to echo the Bismarckia 

[Robert Cade Ross]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

You need some green fan palms to contrast the Bismarckia. I think some shrubby/multi-planted Livistona chinensis would look nice. Throw in a Livistona saribus or two. Acoelorraphe wrightii? Maybe a few Lytocaryum hoehnei once you get some overhead shade from the Bismarck/queens. Maybe some blue Sereona repens near the queens to echo the Bismarckia 

Taking a road trip to central Florida next April I’ll pickup some blue S.R as large as I can afford haha and a few others you mentioned.

[Chester B]

15 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Taking a road trip to central Florida next April I’ll pickup some blue S.R as large as I can afford haha and a few others you mentioned.

Why not buy the Serenoa here?  I've seen them for sale, I got one this spring.

[Fusca]

22 hours ago, Keys6505 said:

Funny you say that, I told him I'd take 10 or whatever the number was and when he got here he was a few short because he said he had given some away to other guys on his route that had big orders.  I moved here in '19 and only placed 2 smallish orders with him not even considering it wasn't going to last.  I wish I had just bought one of everything, it was all so dirt cheap.

You think theres any chance the Decora aren't pure?  Mine grows so much faster than any other palm I have.  This went in the ground in summer of '21 and it was the same size as the B. Clara on the right at the time (also from NTCHP).  And like I mentioned, no dangly tips.

I'd bet that it is a hybrid and it looks great!  I remember reading a post from someone who had a Livistona decora x mariae who claimed that it was the fastest palm in his yard.  My decora from Joseph hasn't been slow but it's nowhere near the size of yours!  The nitida that I got from him in 2020 isn't quite that size either and it's one of my fastest growers.  I really miss him and wish he was still in business.

[Chester B]

18 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I'd bet that it is a hybrid and it looks great!  I remember reading a post from someone who had a Livistona decora x mariae who claimed that it was the fastest palm in his yard.  My decora from Joseph hasn't been slow but it's nowhere near the size of yours!  The nitida that I got from him in 2020 isn't quite that size either and it's one of my fastest growers.  I really miss him and wish he was still in business.

I have a rigida x decora and its super fast.  Was a 3 gallon with 6 fronds when I planted it 6 months ago on April 8.  It now has 18 fronds plus a spear about to open.  All the fronds when it was planted have just about browned off and have been removed.  Its 4 feet tall today.  No drooping tips yet.

I miss NTCHP as well, I did buy quite a few palms from him too that are still at my old place in Oregon.  I did bring a Trachycarpus princeps down here with me that came from him as well.

 

 

[Fusca]

6 hours ago, Chester B said:

I have a rigida x decora and its super fast.  Was a 3 gallon with 6 fronds when I planted it 6 months ago on April 8.  It now has 18 fronds plus a spear about to open.  All the fronds when it was planted have just about browned off and have been removed.  Its 4 feet tall today.  No drooping tips yet.

Is that palm from Charlene's seed?  I think she had originally thought they were mariae x decora (I wrote it backwards in the last post) but more recently thinks it rigida x decora.  Either way it's a cool hybrid.  My first seedling from her seed (RIP) had a nice red color but its younger sibling is all green still.

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

Is that palm from Charlene's seed?  I think she had originally thought they were mariae x decora (I wrote it backwards in the last post) but more recently thinks it rigida x decora.  Either way it's a cool hybrid.  My first seedling from her seed (RIP) had a nice red color but its younger sibling is all green still.

Yes it came from her. I had a whole bunch but skipped watering and killed them. 

[Dwarf Fan]

Butia x Syagrus coronata/Queen

This palm has just pushed above the fence in the last month of growth and is really starting to pick up some speed! 

[Robert Cade Ross]

23 hours ago, Chester B said:

Why not buy the Serenoa here?  I've seen them for sale, I got one this spring.

I want big ones . And I haven’t seen any available here outside of flamingo gardens in Galveston and tbh those were horrible quality. 

[Dwarf Fan]

On 10/6/2024 at 8:30 PM, Robert Cade Ross said:

Taking a road trip to central Florida next April I’ll pickup some blue S.R as large as I can afford haha and a few others you mentioned.

11 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

I want big ones . And I haven’t seen any available here outside of flamingo gardens in Galveston and tbh those were horrible quality. 

How big of a size are looking for?

If you are ever out this way in Corpus Christi I have one that I am not going to plant in ground that is several years old in a 3 Gal grower pot, it might be considered blue-green to purists but it sticks out like a sore thumb and looks way too blue among all my green palms. Once I got a green S. repens I compared the two and ended up putting the green one in ground instead. You can have the blue one for FREE if you are down to come pick it up.

[Fusca]

On 10/7/2024 at 11:58 PM, Dwarf Fan said:

Butia x Syagrus coronata/Queen

This palm has just pushed above the fence in the last month of growth and is really starting to pick up some speed! 

Nice palm!  It's a bit close to the fence though.  Your neighbor will get to enjoy the fronds once it gets bigger.  It'll be interesting to see how it grows.  Coronata is a little less cold hardy than romanzoffiana and doesn't grow as fast but it might perform similar to a standard mule.

[Dwarf Fan]

4 hours ago, Fusca said:

Nice palm!  It's a bit close to the fence though.  Your neighbor will get to enjoy the fronds once it gets bigger.  It'll be interesting to see how it grows.  Coronata is a little less cold hardy than romanzoffiana and doesn't grow as fast but it might perform similar to a standard mule.

HaHa great eye for detail Fusca! Yes, it is exactly 18” from the fence on BOTH corners to the dead center of the Palm. My reasoning is that I have never seen a standard Mule with a trunk diameter larger than 3’ in width, so by the time the Palm matures if my calculations are correct I will have just a few inches (or less) between the trunk and the fence on both sides.

Why push it so dangerously close to the fence you ask? The price for living on a small Island near the beach is square footage for backyards is at a premium, so I have a VERY narrow backyard it is just barely wide enough to eventually put in a narrow pool (hopefully if the economy ever gets better). So, to open up the narrow backyard (and leave as much room for a pool later on down the road) I have gone with what I would describe as a “property line perimeter planting strategy”. My goal is to eventually create a “perimeter jungle” that has a backbone of between 50-100 different palm species and is filled in with tropical vibrantly colored flowers and some other cool colorful random and rare plants. I have a good sized front and side yards that will also be part of the “perimeter jungle” but I have focused about 90% the last 2 years on the backyard and maybe only 10% on the rest. I spend most of my time in the backyard so that is the space I am hyper focused on at this stage.

[Fusca]

17 hours ago, Dwarf Fan said:

HaHa great eye for detail Fusca! Yes, it is exactly 18” from the fence on BOTH corners to the dead center of the Palm. My reasoning is that I have never seen a standard Mule with a trunk diameter larger than 3’ in width, so by the time the Palm matures if my calculations are correct I will have just a few inches (or less) between the trunk and the fence on both sides.

Why push it so dangerously close to the fence you ask? The price for living on a small Island near the beach is square footage for backyards is at a premium, so I have a VERY narrow backyard it is just barely wide enough to eventually put in a narrow pool (hopefully if the economy ever gets better). So, to open up the narrow backyard (and leave as much room for a pool later on down the road) I have gone with what I would describe as a “property line perimeter planting strategy”. My goal is to eventually create a “perimeter jungle” that has a backbone of between 50-100 different palm species and is filled in with tropical vibrantly colored flowers and some other cool colorful random and rare plants. I have a good sized front and side yards that will also be part of the “perimeter jungle” but I have focused about 90% the last 2 years on the backyard and maybe only 10% on the rest. I spend most of my time in the backyard so that is the space I am hyper focused on at this stage.

Understand - tiny lots are the norm for new construction and especially coastal areas.  You'll just have to deal with fronds pushing up against your fence and eventually fronds hanging out over the fence.  Hopefully your neighbors are nice and the palm will keep its flowers on your side of the fence!

[Robert Cade Ross]

Spent the night in Galveston and I found a very large 2013 present Bismarck survivor.  I promise it looks so much better in person the lighting was horrible lol . There was a slightly smaller one next to it that died in 2021 according to google map street view . Peep the new queens and Bismarck’s  

Edited October 10, 2024 by Robert Cade Ross
Typo

[PA-TX2024]

Surviving Robusta in New Braunfels looking healthier than ever. Sorry for the camera quality. CIDPs are getting their shape back slowly and are looking better than ever.

[Robert Cade Ross]

Beaumont Tx today probably slightly closer than Katy for reference? Saw a few dozen queen seedlings coming up from two parents that died in 21 after 16° 

Edited October 12, 2024 by Robert Cade Ross
Na

[Xenon]

The front yard is growing...Sabals no longer the strappy things I planted in February 2022 🤩 

Sabal causiarum

Sabal guatemalensis 

Bismarckia planted in the spring 

[Robert Cade Ross]

15 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Beaumont Tx today probably slightly closer than Katy for reference? Saw a few dozen queen seedlings coming up from two parents that died in 21 after 16° 

lol I can’t spell (colder ) not closer * 

[Robert Cade Ross]

25 minutes ago, Xenon said:

The front yard is growing...Sabals no longer the strappy things I planted in February 2022 🤩 

Sabal causiarum

Sabal guatemalensis 

Bismarckia planted in the spring 

🤩