What is your palm tree hot take?

June 4

On 6/1/2025 at 3:41 PM, amh said:

I do not care for Bismarckia nobilis. I always thought the species looked great in pictures, but when I saw it in real life, I was very underwhelmed.

On 6/1/2025 at 5:07 PM, PhoenixFXG said:

Agree. copernicia fallaensis is everything Bismarck palm wanted to be. Bismarcks are awkward looking.

in fact I planted a fallaensis even though I knew it would take 2-3 times longer to get to the same size as Bismarck

Bismarckias in florida look a lot better than the texas ones,. As far as bismarckia being less attractive than C. fallaensis, you can say that about 99% of fan palms. What bismarckias do that C fallaensis does do is fast growth, way less susceptivility to nutrient deficiencies, and my white bismarckia is bright in moonlight, lights up the yard, very ghostly. Yeah I'd be lying if I said I like bismarclkia better, C Fallaensis is my favorite fan palm in my yard. I do like diversity int he landscape and my bismarckia is the whitest palm out there, a great companion for fallaensis like my green baileyana. If I were to recommend a big fan palm to a relatively inexperienced grower I would not hesitate to recommend the bismarckia. The cuban copernicias can get K. deficiency and take a year or more to pull out of it. In high drainage soil in a wet climate, an osmotic release fertilizer is almost a must for those cubans to prevent K deficiency, they are the most susceptible to K deficiency of any palm in my yard by far.. Fallaensis is also a few degrees less cold hardy than bismarckia and cold damage will take quite a bit longer to recover with the Fallaensis. If you do buy a bizzie, dont buy the biggest one, buy the one with purple or reddish color on the petioles as they will be more whitish.

June 4

34 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

Bismarckias in florida look a lot better than the texas ones,. As far as bismarckia being less attractive than C. fallaensis, you can say that about 99% of fan palms. What bismarckias do that C fallaensis does do is fast growth, way less susceptivility to nutrient deficiencies, and my white bismarckia is bright in moonlight, lights up the yard, very ghostly. Yeah I'd be lying if I said I like bismarclkia better, C Fallaensis is my favorite fan palm in my yard. I do like diversity int he landscape and my bismarckia is the whitest palm out there, a great companion for fallaensis like my green baileyana. If I were to recommend a big fan palm to a relatively inexperienced grower I would not hesitate to recommend the bismarckia. The cuban copernicias can get K. deficiency and take a year or more to pull out of it. In high drainage soil in a wet climate, an osmotic release fertilizer is almost a must for those cubans to prevent K deficiency, they are the most susceptible to K deficiency of any palm in my yard by far.. Fallaensis is also a few degrees less cold hardy than bismarckia and cold damage will take quite a bit longer to recover with the Fallaensis. If you do buy a bizzie, dont buy the biggest one, buy the one with purple or reddish color on the petioles as they will be more whitish.

I like Bismarckia a lot as I have 3 of them. Unfortunately I just learned that we've had our first confirmed case of lethal bronzing in Bismarckia here in Texas. I'd hate to have that spread to my property.

June 4

24 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I like Bismarckia a lot as I have 3 of them. Unfortunately I just learned that we've had our first confirmed case of lethal bronzing in Bismarckia here in Texas. I'd hate to have that spread to my property.

RGV 10a sounds like they will do well there, as well as in 9b/10a florida I expect. A great palm for uplights on the crown a night, maybe the best reflecting palm at night. And the white color is rarely matched in the palm kingdom.

The fruits on the females(like mine) are quite messy though and they drop 2-3 times a year here. Have not seen them with lethal bronzing here, but sick ones are readily attacked and killed by weevils. I had (2) one was rapidly killed by weevils 5 years ago. Good luck!

June 4

Texas Bismarckia look the same as Florida to my eyes. I like them. I even like the green ones 😆

One palm I can't get behind is Beccariophoenix alfredii especially considering all the "hype" it gets. It looks nothing like a coconut, is not particularly distinctive looking (other than supposedly looking like a fake coconut), so columnar and top heavy/awkward looking, and lacks the "monster wow" power of a larger palm like Attalea or even common Elaeis. It's like a coconut if you took away the bright petioles, emerald green leaflets, and graceful twists/curve of both petioles and trunk.

Plus it doesn't seem to be widely adaptable soil-wise like a coconut and isn't that cold hardy especially in a subtropical 9b/10a context where you can flirt with growing coconuts or many other palms anyways.

June 4

My hot take: I hate Phoenix palms. I used to love them, and thought they just screamed "tropical garden" to me. But Sylvestris and Dactylifera are on every street corner here...but not for too much longer. Lethal Bronzing has spread to almost all areas of Orlando now, and those two species are soon to be extinct in my area. One of my three Sylvestris had all the visual symptoms of LB, so I removed it and pre-emptively trashed the others and my small CIDP. I still have three Roebellini and one Reclinata and plan to keep those.

My biggest problem (other than being overplanted and boring) with Phoenix is the randomly stabby nature. Some thorny palms are easy to deal with, like Butia/Pindo palms or Livistona Chinensis. The thorns are all regularly arranged on the sides of the petiole, are all the same size, and all face the same direction. It's easy to prune and toss fronds in the yard waste bins without getting stabbed. The same goes for agaves. Phoenix, on the other hand, have random thorns going in 11ty billion directions. And the leaves are stabby too. Pruning one without stabs or slices is nearly impossible, and the puncture wounds hurt for at least a full week. Nope, no thanks.

June 4

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

Texas Bismarckia look the same as Florida to my eyes. I like them. I even like the green ones 😆

One palm I can't get behind is Beccariophoenix alfredii especially considering all the "hype" it gets. It looks nothing like a coconut, is not particularly distinctive looking (other than supposedly looking like a fake coconut), so columnar and top heavy/awkward looking, and lacks the "monster wow" power of a larger palm like Attalea or even common Elaeis. It's like a coconut if you took away the bright petioles, emerald green leaflets, and graceful twists/curve of both petioles and trunk.

Plus it doesn't seem to be widely adaptable soil-wise like a coconut and isn't that cold hardy especially in a subtropical 9b/10a context where you can flirt with growing coconuts or many other palms anyways.

I must agree lol .

June 4

@Xenon and @Robert Cade Ross I totally disagree, they are massive and with its spread it looks so jungly. I think why grow an ORDINARY, BORING and UGLY Coconut palm when you can have a Beccariophoenix instead.

As well Florida Bismarckia do look better than Texas ones, I have to be truthful.

@Merlyn I agree with you as much as I try to like Phoenix palms I think they're generally pretty ugly. To me its a desert plant and I like the look of a lush rainforest. And way too stabby.

June 4

@Xenon I have to disagree on the Alfredii...sure they are not identical but they are very similar. The leaflet shape is very similar with the inverted V, the petioles and leaflets drape and curve the same way, the petioles have a similar light tan tomentum, etc. There's also variation within Cocos, some are narrower leaflets, some with more or less petiole curve or leaflet drape, some with deep green and some yellow petioles, and a whole lot of them with perfectly straight trunks.

Where they definitely differ is in scale (Alfredii is maybe 50% bigger in all dimensions) and in cold hardiness. In my area Cocos are an extreme rarity, with only 5 or 6 known ones in the Orlando area. I tried small ones here and both got torched and died with the first winter's frost around 30F. Alfredii took 24.4F with frost and less than 50% leaf damage one winter, and looked great again by mid-April. Another winter saw repeated snow-like frosts in the upper 20s and one weekend with 20+ hours under freezing...and my 5 big ones took minimal leaf tip burn. The below one saw 4 or 5 frosts in the low to mid 30s over this winter...and had zero damage. Unprotected Cocos in the same situation would be mostly or completely defoliated. A Cocos would then look ugly for at least half the year, where the Alfredii looks great in the middle of January.

I think most people (especially most non-palmaholics) would agree these two are quite similar:

Alfredii certainly have a denser, more lush crown. The above is a bit more sparse and the leaflets more rigid. Maybe Alfredii looks a bit more like a slightly broader-leafed version of a Maypan:

And without knowing that one is from Palmpedia and one from my yard, these leaflets are very similar:

The leaf shape, light yellow midrib, inverted V, ripply nature, draping tops, even the insertion point is very similar. The Cocos has a broader width at the insertion point, and the petiole in this case is yellow vs medium green. Otherwise....

June 4

I dunno if this is a hot take or just anecdotal, but when I worry about palms or try to baby them, bad things happen. When I ignore them and just water them when I think about it, they thrive. Same thing with seeds. If I watch them, nothing happens. If I ignore them, they tear through the baggie and cook themselves.

June 4

4 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

Have not seen them with lethal bronzing here, but sick ones are readily attacked and killed by weevils. I had (2) one was rapidly killed by weevils 5 years ago. Good luck!

Thanks Tom. I remember reading about the weevils before. It's always something to be aware of! It's interesting to see the variability in cold hardiness. There are many Bizzies here in the RGV - some took damage from 27°F but most were untouched including my two largest. The smallest one that I grew from seed had spear-pull but grew out of it quickly.

June 4

45 minutes ago, Chester B said:

@Xenon and @Robert Cade Ross I totally disagree, they are massive and with its spread it looks so jungly. I think why grow an ORDINARY, BORING and UGLY Coconut palm when you can have a Beccariophoenix instead.

As well Florida Bismarckia do look better than Texas ones, I have to be truthful.

@Merlyn I agree with you as much as I try to like Phoenix palms I think they're generally pretty ugly. To me its a desert plant and I like the look of a lush rainforest. And way too stabby.

You need to go down south and look at the fat south TX bizzies, not the sad looking ones in Htown 😄.

Sorry Beccariophoenix alfredii looks like an AI-generated generic "palm tree" from a video game to me haha. B. madagascariensis or whatever the "windows" form is called now is more attractive especially when immature. The non-windows form has a more upright and less dense crown that arguably looks more like a coconut.

June 4

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

@Xenon and @Robert Cade Ross I totally disagree, they are massive and with its spread it looks so jungly. I think why grow an ORDINARY, BORING and UGLY Coconut palm when you can have a Beccariophoenix instead.

As well Florida Bismarckia do look better than Texas ones, I have to be truthful.

@Merlyn I agree with you as much as I try to like Phoenix palms I think they're generally pretty ugly. To me its a desert plant and I like the look of a lush rainforest. And way too stabby.

This is probably the best looking Bismarck I’ve seen in Texas so far lol .

June 4

1 hour ago, Chester B said:

I try to like Phoenix palms I think they're generally pretty ugly. To me its a desert plant and I like the look of a lush rainforest. And way too stabby.

Having seen ( ...and barely avoided being a victim of myself ) just how stabby the angry species can be, agree w/ this as well.. Ugly? ..eyh, 🤷‍♂️ ..See plenty of examples of both ends of that spectrum.. A Canary in San Fran or park / garden in S. Cal is an admirable sight.

Here? ..Only the specimens at Boyce come close to " Canary Grandeur " Others, like specimens in the neighborhood? ..look good, but, ..I'd probably choose something else.

Only two Phx sps. i'd exempt from all this would be P. rupicola, ..and yes, ..Pygmys Both can look good / lush ..er' whateveer, . .and aren't a major medical cost waiting to happen, lol..

Pygmys stay small and fill a nice niche in a landscape. Tiny spines = less sacrificing of blood when trimming.

Beccariophoenix ...ugly Not coco-nutty enough?   :hmm: 🤔 🙃 ...Yeahhh, i have to disagree too.. Coconuts are great, where you can grow them, ..and they'll look good of course, ..but, ..Where you can't grow those, but can grow Beccariophoenix? ..wouldn't discourage that -at -all..

Bismarcks are alright, but i get the trouble with em' in some places too.

To each their own  though..

Majesties.... ..My personal " Coconut- alike " choice ...Where ya can't go Coco loco / or grow the really nice stand ins ( Lookin at you Veitchia ) ...but want that kind of look. ...and can grow majesties. :greenthumb:

June 4

I love pygmy dates despite however common and overplanted they might be. Perfect palm for a lot of landscape situations and pretty forgiving care-wise without looking horrible.

A lot of common palms are pretty. I love Adonidia and Chrysalidocarpus lutescens too 😄. One of the first palms that caught my eye as a kid was the foxtail palm. Very few palms look like it (would love to see Normanbya and/or Syagrus sancona catch on in FL).

June 4

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

I love pygmy dates despite however common and overplanted they might be. Perfect palm for a lot of landscape situations and pretty forgiving care-wise without looking horrible.

I just don't like them at all, I wish I did. You are 100% correct they are so versatile and the number of small palms around is pretty minimal.

I used to hate the look of Sabal palmetto "Lisa" but I guess after almost ten years now I have come around to their looks.

Coconuts are still🤮 I hate their scrawny little trunks, and the fact that they rarely grow straight. I'm not a picky eater by any means but coconut is one of the only flavors I can't stand. Coconuts and raisins 🤮

June 4

13 minutes ago, Chester B said:

I'm not a picky eater by any means but coconut is one of the only flavors I can't stand. Coconuts and raisins 🤮

Sorta picky ..and while i love the smell of Coconut flavoring / using it in my hair / on my skin ...Chopped / Shaved / ..." Chunky " coconut meat put in / on -anything- on my plate? ..I've dumped shaved Ice that had coconut flakes in it / avoided boxes of chocolate w/ coconut filled stuff in it..

Rasins? can live with em', but prefer not to...

Tapioca / Kim Chi < anything like that > ? NOPE, I'll happily starve. lol

June 4

The majesty palms reputation was ruined for it being a “House plant “ lol look at these gems 😻

June 4

3 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

This is probably the best looking Bismarck I’ve seen in Texas so far lol .

Those may be the best looking robustas I've ever seen; I've seen a lot of ugly ones.

June 4

10 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

my white bismarckia is bright in moonlight, lights up the yard, very ghostly.

This is a very good description, you have made me appreciate bismarckias.

June 5

2 hours ago, Robert Cade Ross said:

The majesty palms reputation was ruined for it being a “House plant “ lol look at these gems 😻

Yepp... Ruined by HD

..But doin fine in San Jose, As shared in the link below the other day....

SanJoseMajesty2.jpg.7019d3b8be049506e096418355cbee89.jpg

A top ten thread full of " horrible " gems: :lol:

June 5

With Alfredii, full sun and plenty of water in the heat will give you big root system that give you fat trunks and bigger crowns. The wet summers here and dry winters allow for deep, large root systems. This one has plenty of roots far from the trunk and they all get watered to at least 20' feet from the trunk. Alfredii grow deep and extensive roots in the high drainage soils in here if you water the whole area, that might be why they grow well here. Merlyns look a lot like mine, though probably they not in the ground as long. First pic before hurricane milton

then the self cleaning trunk a few months ago.

New Leaves are 4 so far this year, recovery mode from milton is surprisingly fast. They dont look like cocos to me, leaves are less rigid leaflets are longer and weep, and the trunk is thicker. Alfredii is not a good cocos substitute, and cocos are not a good alfredii substitute. And with BA, no worries about falling coconuts hurting somebody.

June 5

17 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Yepp... Ruined by HD

..But doin fine in San Jose, As shared in the link below the other day....

A top ten thread full of " horrible " gems:

This is a palm I wished I had planted out. They have beautiful symmetric leaflet alignments with regular spacing, then the nice self shedding fairly thick trunk. They take a long time to grow and are also susceptible to lingering nutrient deficiencies in sandy soil like the cuban copernicias. I passed on them while having some struggles early on in my florida yard with copernicia nutrient deficiencies. At the time I thought, I need more palms that dont have deficiency problems, not more that do. Then I discovered florikan osmotic release palm fertilizer. which makes fertilization much easier in high drainage sandy soil I regret not planting this one palm species more than any other. I have a neighbor with one that looked deficient for years, seeming justifying my decision, but the last 4-5 years its starting to look look very nice.

June 5

2 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

This is a palm I wished I had planted out. They have beautiful symmetric leaflet alignments with regular spacing, then the nice self shedding fairly thick trunk. They take a long time to grow and are also susceptible to lingering nutrient deficiencies in sandy soil like the cuban copernicias. I passed on them while having some struggles early on in my florida yard with copernicia nutrient deficiencies. At the time I thought, I need more palms that dont have deficiency problems, not more that do. Then I discovered florikan osmotic release palm fertilizer. which makes fertilization much easier in high drainage sandy soil I regret not planting this one palm species more than any other. I have a neighbor with one that looked deficient for years, seeming justifying my decision, but the last 4-5 years its starting to look look very nice.

Agree, as mentioned, missed the boat on getting a few of these in the ground in the past..

Agree too.. would see some struggling there, where i'd had thought life would be easy ..while others planted in seemingly less ideal spots in yards i'd pass looked great. As you mention, sand there could be devoid of enough nutrients in various areas to cause chronic issues.

Speed has always been an 🤔 question. You'd think they'd be bottle rockets down there but, like you mention, ..that isn't always the case.

Self shedding, ( = no annual / biennial maintenance expense ) Lack of any intimidating armour on the leafstalks ( = no poked out eyeball / other serious injury potential ..An added cost i'm sure some add in when trimming armed palm options ) ..and that fat trunk ( = additional attention getter ) are all +'es for these..

Appear dioecious -from everything remember reading, so, in theory, you could have less seed drop issues too ( ..not that the seed is huge to start with / they start setting seed at a young age ) = another plus..

..But yeah, ..a totally awful palm option, ha ha.

June 11

On 6/1/2025 at 8:41 PM, amh said:

I do not care for Bismarckia nobilis. I always thought the species looked great in pictures, but when I saw it in real life, I was very underwhelmed.

Interesting! What about them do you dislike, when you saw it in person? Personally I would say they are one of my top 5 palms.

June 11

On 6/4/2025 at 10:52 PM, sonoranfans said:

On 6/2/2025 at 5:41 AM, amh said:

I do not care for Bismarckia nobilis. I always thought the species looked great in pictures, but when I saw it in real life, I was very underwhelmed.

Each to their own but I’m kind of surprised to see The word underwhelmed used for Bismarckia. If anything, it seems to be one of the species that can transition non-palm people into palm lovers. I’ve seen a lot of people who know nothing about palm’s be wowed by Bismarckia and personally I find the colour and size awesome when grown well. I’ll leave this here - a group of Bismarckia at a resort in Thailand.

June 11

1 hour ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Each to their own but I’m kind of surprised to see The word underwhelmed used for Bismarckia. If anything, it seems to be one of the species that can transition non-palm people into palm lovers. I’ve seen a lot of people who know nothing about palm’s be wowed by Bismarckia and personally I find the colour and size awesome when grown well. I’ll leave this here - a group of Bismarckia at a resort in Thailand.

This scene must be astounding on a moonlit night! I would get my Adirondack chair, and a glass of wine and sit among that grove of bizzies. A little wind even better with the motion in the moonlight! One of the few palms that looks great mid day, edge of the day and on a moonlit night.

June 11

2 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Each to their own but I’m kind of surprised to see The word underwhelmed used for Bismarckia. If anything, it seems to be one of the species that can transition non-palm people into palm lovers. I’ve seen a lot of people who know nothing about palm’s be wowed by Bismarckia and personally I find the colour and size awesome when grown well. I’ll leave this here - a group of Bismarckia at a resort in Thailand.

I have to agree ..to some degree at least. While it was the less common palms i'd see around San Jose growing up ( Kings, a Kentia or two ) and commoner canaries and Washingtonia galore that egged my interest in this group of plants, On my first trip thru Florida ( before moving there the 1st time ) it was a couple of Bismarckia seen that pressed the " that's pretty cool " button..

Definitely one of those massive plants that is sure to garner attention from -pretty much anyone- who sees it.

Could see a view like the pictured scene as being slightly overwhelming ..yet unforgettable, even to those who are already very familiar with em'.

Unfortunately, not every bizzy ends up a perfect example of the species.

Even here ..where many would think they'd flourish with abandon, have seen some great stewards, ..and some really bad examples of..

That can really make or break how admired they can be by the wider, not so palm savy public.. While you'd have to have both sexes for.., big seeds could be a turn off to some as well.

Would still plant a couple if i had enough space just because they're interesting .. .and a unique color.

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

This scene must be astounding on a moonlit night! I would get my Adirondack chair, and a glass of wine and sit among that grove of bizzies. A little wind even better with the motion in the moonlight! One of the few palms that looks great mid day, edge of the day and on a moonlit night.

Agree w/ this too..

June 12

Another take - trees with curves and bends are cooler than straight vertical plants.

June 12

On 6/11/2025 at 10:19 AM, Slifer00 said:

Interesting! What about them do you dislike, when you saw it in person? Personally I would say they are one of my top 5 palms.

I do not dislike the species, but I find it boring.

On 6/11/2025 at 3:02 PM, tim_brissy_13 said:

Each to their own but I’m kind of surprised to see The word underwhelmed used for Bismarckia. If anything, it seems to be one of the species that can transition non-palm people into palm lovers. I’ve seen a lot of people who know nothing about palm’s be wowed by Bismarckia and personally I find the colour and size awesome when grown well. I’ll leave this here - a group of Bismarckia at a resort in Thailand.

I just find the trees to be, meh.

My opinion could just be from seeing unremarkable specimens.

June 12

It's not a great view, but here is the justification for my blasphemy.

June 13

@PhoenixFXG @amh Disagree with the bismarck opinion. Copernicias are beautiful for their dense, spiral/conic/geometric crowns. But bismarck’s are basically the face of blue palms and their stature (when healthy) is hard to replicate. They grow much faster too which is nice most of the time.

@MerlynAnd I agree with your Bec alfredii thoughts. At the end of the day nothing can truly be another thing, and I think alfredii is pretty damn close to coconut besides just being slow and more robust. Coconuts vary a lot too, some have really straight fronds while others have graceful curves. And as you said, the average person probably can’t even tell.

@Chester B For me raisins are like borderline edible, coconut is alright but like to say it’s disgusting is straight up hate 😂. I’m not even sure if this is related to the topic any more though bc most palm fruits aren’t eaten from what I know.

June 13

On 6/12/2025 at 10:24 PM, amh said:

It's not a great view, but here is the justification for my blasphemy.

Well, i'm not surprised of your disappointment if this is what you saw of a bismarckia

June 14

There should be a palm fairy, sort of like the tooth fairy except every time a plant dies you get a seedling or a bag of seeds. @happypalms

June 14

On 6/4/2025 at 5:03 PM, Chester B said:

I just don't like them at all, I wish I did. You are 100% correct they are so versatile and the number of small palms around is pretty minimal.

I used to hate the look of Sabal palmetto "Lisa" but I guess after almost ten years now I have come around to their looks.

Coconuts are still🤮 I hate their scrawny little trunks, and the fact that they rarely grow straight. I'm not a picky eater by any means but coconut is one of the only flavors I can't stand. Coconuts and raisins 🤮

Interesting take. My fondness for palms and tropical plants started when I spent a couple of years living in the Philippines. So, coconuts are the quintessential palm to me, since they were so ubiquitous there. I also fell in love with Manila palms there and D. Lutescens as well.

That time overseas is why I also like green jungle looks more than than desert or Mediterranean styles as well. Though I have softened to those styles some over the years.

I am not picky at all. I still remember playing a pickup basketball game in Lipa Batangas, and grabbing coconuts from nearby trees to drink when our water bottles ran dry. And we couldn't drink the water/juice without breaking off pieces of the shell to scrape the meat out too.

My only coconut dislike is that I fear walking underneath them. I saw several fall very near me when I would be walking on roads and paths and realize I was mere feet to meters from possibly dying from a coconut head wound.

June 14

On 6/11/2025 at 4:02 PM, tim_brissy_13 said:

Each to their own but I’m kind of surprised to see The word underwhelmed used for Bismarckia. If anything, it seems to be one of the species that can transition non-palm people into palm lovers. I’ve seen a lot of people who know nothing about palm’s be wowed by Bismarckia and personally I find the colour and size awesome when grown well. I’ll leave this here - a group of Bismarckia at a resort in Thailand.

Down along the FL turnpike south of here there’s a section with a jillion silver Bismarks mixed with Lantania loddegessii. Makes for a nice scene when the sun is hitting right. Someday I’ll snap a pic of it.

June 14

My hot take is, Pinnate palms look out of place in most of Florida, well really most of the lower 48.

And I disagree about bismarck's. I think they use to have more novelty but now are getting planted a lot more frequently so they have lost their novelty a bit. Also as already mentioned the quality of the palm might be impacting your decision but also how it is planted, it needs plants to contrast around it in my opinion.

I am surprised others were comparing Bismarcks with a fallaense. I always visually compared them with a hospita.

The picture below really showcases the two, the bismarck just looks far more commanding and striking than the hospita. Not saying the hospita isnt nice! I do like both

June 14

8 hours ago, ncimino said:

My hot take is, Pinnate palms look out of place in most of Florida, well really most of the lower 48.

And I disagree about bismarck's. I think they use to have more novelty but now are getting planted a lot more frequently so they have lost their novelty a bit. Also as already mentioned the quality of the palm might be impacting your decision but also how it is planted, it needs plants to contrast around it in my opinion.

I am surprised others were comparing Bismarcks with a fallaense. I always visually compared them with a hospita.

The picture below really showcases the two, the bismarck just looks far more commanding and striking than the hospita. Not saying the hospita isnt nice! I do like both

Nice silver hospita! In my eyes, comparisons are not very close and I dont want a ''substitute" palm. I have a 25' plus tall fallaense and smaller more blueish hospitas as well as a nice white bismarckia. I do not buy-palms for novelty, I like the variation in forms and colors of all palms. I disagree that pinnate look out of place here in florida. chambeyronias, satakentias, royals, archies and many other pinnate palms look very nice here if you are in a warm 9B+ and take care they have the right soil and water/fert. Northern florida is another matter, its too cold for most crownshafts but they grow beautiful butias up there, much better than here in bradenton area. I value palm health over novelty by far. If I cant make it happy I wont grow it. I dont look at palms as individuals but rather as complementary groupings. They can be complementary aesthetically or in a protective sense from wind or cold. I think bismarckia and my fallaensis are complementary aesthetically, both reflect low light well so at the edge of the day you get more illumination from their presence. The bismarckia is a notably larger palm than fallaensis in crown width by about 3-4 feet. Fallaensis only get 20' wide. When you grow them to maturity you get a better picture. of their compolementary nature and spacing needs A very common mistake that most of us make is to not understand the way they grow in or how they look when the crowns are up higher and you are within 30 feet from them. My biggest mistakes planting palms were in understanding spacing. My worst mistake was putting a borassus aethiopum 15' from a beccariophoenix alfredii as both of them grow to 30' +/-wide in crown. I cut the borassus out because it was also within 10' of the house and got a bad frost burn(60% leaves totally burnt). I wished I had put that borassus somewhere else, it was a gorgeous palm, just needs 25' of spacing from house or another large palm. I have been watching people plant all kinds of palms very close for years without regard to mature size, Just like I did in some cases. Pinnate palms are much easier to bunch but some like alfredii are not going to look good when mature if you bunch them. In the wind they will damage each others leaves, leading to a frayed look.

June 14

Is this satakentia out of place? Its a fattie, 8" thick trunk at the crownshaft. Seems like its robust growth says its in the right place.

June 14

I knew I would ruffle some feathers with that comment. Haha!

I guess my mind thinks about the native flora's leaf style and uses that to form whether something belongs.

But with landscapes and gardens, I think of plants like sculptures. You don't buy a garden concrete or steel sculpture because it looks like the native Flora but rather that it creates a focal point.

These are all my opinions of course.

June 14

On 6/12/2025 at 4:24 PM, amh said:

It's not a great view, but here is the justification for my blasphemy.

There are Bismarckia lined roads in Texas too but lately they keep overtrimming them :rant:

Lighting isn't great in this pic but they used to look really cool mixed with Delonix regia

WELCOME GUEST

What is your palm tree hot take?

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