Texas Palms

[MarcusH]

My Mexican fan palm is really taking off as well as my California fan palm in front of the house this year.The other ones in the back do well too but  don't show the kind of performance like the ones in the front do.  That's why I show you guys these two champions today. Unfortunately I had to cut 4 fronds off that were still green but trimming and cutting the grass around it was a pain in the butt. By the way I also bought an agave,  labeled as an Ovatifolia but I can certainly say it is not an Ovatifolia.  I asked a friend of mine and he gave me two different names of what it could be.  I like to hear more opinions  . 

[Fusca]

10 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

I live in Texas since late 2021 and this is the first time driving down to the Valley. I hope to see SPI within a year . For some reason I always end up going to CC but now I say 2 hours on top of the ride is well worth it.

Hopefully you'll have time to stop by and see what all I am growing on your next visit to the RGV!  🙂

[5am]

15 minutes ago, MarcusH said:

I live in Texas since late 2021 and this is the first time driving down to the Valley. I hope to see SPI within a year . For some reason I always end up going to CC but now I say 2 hours on top of the ride is well worth it.

If you can come back down on Dec 13 there will be a free IPS / PSST tour of the palms at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Unfortunately the registration page asks for a  code that I don’t have but I’m planning to show up regardless. 

[MarcusH]

12 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Hopefully you'll have time to stop by and see what all I am growing on your next visit to the RGV!  🙂

I'll take the time and I really appreciate the invitation.  I'm looking forward to see your palm collection and meet you in person. 

[MarcusH]

7 minutes ago, 5am said:

If you can come back down on Dec 13 there will be a free IPS / PSST tour of the palms at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Unfortunately the registration page asks for a  code that I don’t have but I’m planning to show up regardless. 

I hope I can make it 

[Cindy Adair]

The registration code is a mystery to me but it will be fixed!
 

The Director most likely to help is already in Peru for IPS travel. 

The working link will definitely be posted on PT and very sorry for the delay!

[Ben G.]

1 hour ago, MarcusH said:

My Mexican fan palm is really taking off as well as my California fan palm in front of the house this year.The other ones in the back do well too but  don't show the kind of performance like the ones in the front do.  That's why I show you guys these two champions today. Unfortunately I had to cut 4 fronds off that were still green but trimming and cutting the grass around it was a pain in the butt. By the way I also bought an agave,  labeled as an Ovatifolia but I can certainly say it is not an Ovatifolia.  I asked a friend of mine and he gave me two different names of what it could be.  I like to hear more opinions  . 

They are growing fast Marcus! Washingtonias in full sun certainly grow quick in the San Antonio area (and most anywhere warm enough I would bet)

I spent all of July in Cuba for work, and my washingtonia had grown noticeably by the time I got back back in early August.

[JeskiM]

3 hours ago, MarcusH said:

My Mexican fan palm is really taking off as well as my California fan palm in front of the house this year.The other ones in the back do well too but  don't show the kind of performance like the ones in the front do.  That's why I show you guys these two champions today. Unfortunately I had to cut 4 fronds off that were still green but trimming and cutting the grass around it was a pain in the butt. By the way I also bought an agave,  labeled as an Ovatifolia but I can certainly say it is not an Ovatifolia.  I asked a friend of mine and he gave me two different names of what it could be.  I like to hear more opinions  . 

I am pretty sure that is an Ovatifolia. I have a few cultivars that have the "cupped" / "wavy" leafs like that . "Vanzie" and "Kraken" are  varieties that have leaves just like that ... especially while still small. The pic I included is one of nine.

I'll try to get a better pic tomorrow.

-Matt

[SeanK]

4 hours ago, MarcusH said:

It's amazing to see how the world of palm trees change between 2 to 4.5 hours of driving, away from San Antonio.  You go from California fan palms to Royals.  You Jon, have an amazing collection of palms and you're blessed to live in an area where you can grow all these incredible plants and trees. I would have Queen palms all around my house if I would live down there .

I have seen the same just by watching YouTube. Guys walk around for an hour holding a camera.

Starting Naples  --> Fort Myers --> TSP  is like three different worlds. You can also see the local economics.

[Robert Cade Ross]

19 hours ago, MarcusH said:

It's amazing to see how the world of palm trees change between 2 to 4.5 hours of driving, away from San Antonio.  You go from California fan palms to Royals.  You Jon, have an amazing collection of palms and you're blessed to live in an area where you can grow all these incredible plants and trees. I would have Queen palms all around my house if I would live down there .

That’s how I feel living 40 minutes from Galveston & Tiki island lol . Wasteland here and a moderate 10A makes a huge difference going from fried robustas to queens & a handful of royals and Norfolk pines 💔

[Cindy Adair]

22 hours ago, 5am said:

you can come back down on Dec 13 there will be a free IPS / PSST tour of the palms at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Unfortunately the registration page asks for a  code that I don’t have but I’m planning to show up regardless. 

Try this link please! It looks good to me.

https://members.palms.org/RGV-Weekend-Biennial

[Cindy Adair]

Very important!

Everyone must sign up.

Everyone must RSVP to be sure that there is sufficient seating and food. 

Those who have not registered won’t be admitted for this event. 

[Cindy Adair]

Lots more information above including the phone number of a Director who can help. 

[Hu Palmeras]

On 21/2/2024 at 14:29, MarcusH said:

Oye, ¿quieres retarme? Podría enviarte un álbum completo de palmeras muertas de San Antonio, jaja. Las palmeras muertas son un símbolo de San Antonio. 

Marcus My friend. Very cool palm🌴🌴🌴💪💪

[Ben G.]

While I was out of the country in July, I left my 9, year old in charge of watering my potted plants for me. She did a pretty decent job, but leaving a child to water my plants during the hottest part of the year was bound to lead to some casualties. 

I ended up losing about a half dozen small phoenix dactylifera, and several one year old washingtonians. My saddest loss was my little nannorrhops though.

I did have some good survivors too:

Radicalis had one totally brown frond and the damaged one you see, but it is recovering quickly.

Seedling radicalis survived as well.

Little CIDP took a big hit, but survived root bound in a black pot in Texas in July 🙂

Left to right; mule, sylvestris, dactylifera, sabal sold as causiarum, but I think is domingensis.

Fishtail got sunburned but could have been worse.

Chamaerops, washies, fig and pomegranate cuttings.

I was surprised that my pygmy dates, that need to be reported pretty badly, were unscathed. Mule also went undamaged.

Lastly, my seed grown golden cane is looking good overall. 

 

[Hu Palmeras]

3 minutes ago, Ben G. said:

Mientras estuve fuera del país en julio, dejé a mi hija de 9 años a cargo de regar mis plantas en maceta. Hizo un trabajo bastante bueno, pero dejar que una niña regara mis plantas durante la época más calurosa del año inevitablemente causaría algunas bajas. 

Terminé perdiendo media docena de pequeñas fénix dactylifera y varias washingtonianas de un año. Sin embargo, mi pérdida más triste fue la de mi pequeño nannorrhops.

También tuve algunos buenos supervivientes:

Radicalis tenía una fronda totalmente marrón y la que ves dañada, pero se está recuperando rápidamente.

La plántula radicalis también sobrevivió.

La pequeña CIDP recibió un gran golpe, pero sobrevivió con las raíces enredadas en una maceta negra en Texas en julio 🙂

De izquierda a derecha; mula, sylvestris, dactylifera, sabal vendido como causiarum, pero creo que es domingensis.

Fishtail se quemó con el sol, pero podría haber sido peor.

Esquejes de chamaerops, washies, higueras y granadas.

Me sorprendió que mis dátiles pigmeos, que es urgente informar, salieran ilesos. Mule también salió ilesa.

Por último, mi caña dorada cultivada a partir de semillas tiene buen aspecto en general. 

 

Very good work, my friend. And let me tell you, you have some very nice palm trees.

[Ben G.]

I have been pretty impressed with the growth of Phoenix dactylifera. I have grown some from seed that are about a year old. Most of them were kept in pots that were entirely too small until very recently.

I put one in the ground in the spring, and I kept another one in a bigger pot. Those two have grown pretty fast in just one year from seed.

Those of you who have grown more phoenix that me...is this pretty typical? Or are these growing faster than average?

[Hu Palmeras]

If they're fast, you have to put them on everything. Date palms are beautiful.

[Chester B]

15 hours ago, Ben G. said:

I have been pretty impressed with the growth of Phoenix dactylifera. I have grown some from seed that are about a year old. Most of them were kept in pots that were entirely too small until very recently.

I put one in the ground in the spring, and I kept another one in a bigger pot. Those two have grown pretty fast in just one year from seed.

Those of you who have grown more phoenix that me...is this pretty typical? Or are these growing faster than average?

I'm finding Phoenix to be pretty fast growers in Texas, much faster than I experienced previously.  I have noticed CIDP here have narrow trunks (relatively) compared to the slow growing ones in Oregon, the same as Trachycarpus.  I have a sylvestris and canariensis in the ground that have doubled to tripled in a few months.  I do have one small Phoenix acaualis that is still strap leaf that is slow growing, but they are a dwarf.

[Hu Palmeras]

Phoenix palm trees are beautiful. I have some date palms, and they warm my heart when I see them.

[Ben G.]

On 9/12/2025 at 9:34 AM, Chester B said:

I'm finding Phoenix to be pretty fast growers in Texas, much faster than I experienced previously.  I have noticed CIDP here have narrow trunks (relatively) compared to the slow growing ones in Oregon, the same as Trachycarpus.  I have a sylvestris and canariensis in the ground that have doubled to tripled in a few months.  I do have one small Phoenix acaualis that is still strap leaf that is slow growing, but they are a dwarf.

That's interesting. Now that I think about it, I don't see any trachycarpus around this area with thick trunks either. I hadn't paid close attention, because many of the trachycarpus in the San Antonio area tend to look heat and drought stressed. When I think about it though, they do have pretty thin trunks.

Your weather in Houston might be pretty miserable for a lot of people, but it is a great climate for a lot of plants. I am not surprised that Phoenix are growing well for you. We certainly have a long enough growing season to get good growth each year.

[thyerr01]

I saw this Phoenix recently in EaDo with a crop of fruit. It clearly wasn't set back by our bug freeze last winter.

[Ben G.]

That is pretty impressive after the snow and cold that hit Houston last winter. Even the number of friends is surprising. I would have thought it would have lost more fronds after all that.

[Hu Palmeras]

Down at the foot of the palm tree you can see the suckers (shoots)

[Xenon]

2 hours ago, Ben G. said:

That is pretty impressive after the snow and cold that hit Houston last winter. Even the number of friends is surprising. I would have thought it would have lost more fronds after all that.

Tons of Phoenix look like that around here. Even in the colder outer 'burbs. The southwest suburbs (high concentration of people from South Asia) especially are full of seed grown date palms 

[_nevi]

On 8/26/2025 at 8:12 AM, MarcusH said:

At least we have a lot of natural seashore without miles of lined up hotels but I hear what you're saying.  We can't redirect the Mississippi River just like that.  

The Mississippi influence is a myth, because sediments are dispersed well offshore the Gulf. The problem in Texas is mainly local Texas rivers (e.g. Brazos, etc), and destruction of sand bars (shipping lanes) that otherwise would limit exchanges.

Check out this river surfing video in Hawaii. You can see how natural sand bars can block river flows (allowing clearer waters), and the differences made after destruction.

 

[Hu Palmeras]

Muy cool my friend🌴🌴💪

[JohnAndSancho]

On 9/6/2025 at 7:40 PM, Ben G. said:

Well, my small Trachycarpus takil (that had not grown at all in the 18 months since I dug it up before my move to TX) finally gave up the ghost. 

I am not a big fan of regular fortunei due to the messy looking fronds. On the other hand, wagnerianus can look kind of awkward as they get taller because their leaves are so small and stiff. 

I have some space though close to a wall that faces ENE that I wanted to plant some fairly small palms that will not be bushy at the base (looking for minimal blocking of sprinkler heads) I already had one hybrid waggie x fortunei, so I bought another one to replace the dead takil. Trachycarpus grow more here during the winter than the summer anyway, so it is a good time to plant them.

New hybrid:

Hybrid planted last fall:

They don't look like much now, but I am looking forward to watching them grow over the years.

Are these from Teddy? I've got some of this hybrid seed sprouting and a regular Fortunei in the yard from him. 

[Robert Cade Ross]

My papaya is getting out of control 😆😆

joey avocado will be planted in this area hopefully in march & of course the lovely Bismarck showing off.

Edited September 17 by Robert Cade Ross
Na

[Robert Cade Ross]

Galveston island today 

humid and palmy  @Xenon there’s a slight shift in pre 2021 vibes  with lots of new plants. The Norfolks will be nice in 10 years or so ? 

[5am]

53 minutes ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

Mule? Are they still relatively young? That doesn't look so big as I've been afraid of mine getting.

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, 5am said:

Mule? Are they still relatively young? That doesn't look so big as I've been afraid of mine getting.

Matt, I'm pretty sure those are Phoenix roebelenii hybrids - pretty nice!  Interesting cycad in picture #20.

[5am]

1 minute ago, Fusca said:

Matt, those are Phoenix roebelenii hybrids - pretty nice!  Interesting cycad in picture #20.

Roebelenii hybrids? Woah! That was totally unexpected. They have a great silhouette.

[Xenon]

 

1 hour ago, 5am said:

Roebelenii hybrids? Woah! That was totally unexpected. They have a great silhouette.

Those are definitely mules 🌴

Yesss bring back 2009 Galveston @Robert Cade Ross! I want towering royals and cook pines, Ficus jungles with aerial roots, and holy grail Carpentaria 😆🌴🌴Imagine just stumbling into this 🤩

 

[Fusca]

13 hours ago, 5am said:

Roebelenii hybrids? Woah! That was totally unexpected. They have a great silhouette.

I knew I could get Jonathan to respond!  😆

[Robert Cade Ross]

Some palms I saw in a Pearland apartment complex including a couple of freeze annihilated Everglades palms lol.

[Hu Palmeras]

Very nice photos. Great palm trees, my friend.