Two palms in the garden that have been slow growing in a dry hot part of the garden on the edge of the forest line. I do think it’s time to give the sancona a good feed and as for the armarta it’s on its own to tuff it out. Both are 23 years old in the ground basically on the edge of the garden with no irrigation or attention over the years. The sancona is starting to get a trunk after a lot of years so I think it might be time for the irrigation to installed and a good handful of mulch with some ferts. Time to put those grow skills to use I think.

I cannot speak for the Sancona , I’ve never grown one or even seen one as far as I know . The Brahea Armata seems slow compared to here. Maybe it prefers a more arid environment. Mine in about 28 years old from a small 10” pot and starting to pick up speed. It gets full sun with weekly irrigation. Harry

‘One of the slower palms in my collection . About as slow as the Livistona Chinensis behind it. It’s cousin , Brahea Edulis , which is about the same age is many times faster , which is curious to me 

This is about the same age as the B. Armata! . I can no longer reach the leaf bases to pull them off and I’m just about 6’ tall. I have to use my pole saw to cut dead fronds. Interesting to see the difference within the same genus. Harry

my syagrus sancona died twenty years ago in winter, brahea armarta was eaten by the red palm weevil

47 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I cannot speak for the Sancona , I’ve never grown one or even seen one as far as I know . The Brahea Armata seems slow compared to here. Maybe it prefers a more arid environment. Mine in about 28 years old from a small 10” pot and starting to pick up speed. It gets full sun with weekly irrigation. Harry

‘One of the slower palms in my collection . About as slow as the Livistona Chinensis behind it. It’s cousin , Brahea Edulis , which is about the same age is many times faster , which is curious to me 

This is about the same age as the B. Armata! . I can no longer reach the leaf bases to pull them off and I’m just about 6’ tall. I have to use my pole saw to cut dead fronds. Interesting to see the difference within the same genus. Harry

Couple of nice ones there Harry beautiful. I have planted 30 silver lady palms about 20 years ago and of that batch of same seeds only one has stood out as a natural winner leaving the others behind. And that palm is absolutely gorgeous. None of the others even look like getting a trunk yet. So some palms just hit it off and others just hang back for whatever reason. 
Richard

39 minutes ago, gyuseppe said:

my syagrus sancona died twenty years ago in winter, brahea armarta was eaten by the red palm weevil

If ever there was a collection of palms that has been descimated it is your collection I feel for you gyuseppe on losing so many palms it must be devastating.

yes Richard I started in the 80's. I experimented with all the palms I could grow, luckily there was rarepalmseeds, I bought the first seeds from them in 1999, before that I collected seeds in botanical gardens in Europe

Lol, your climate does not support good growth of Brahea armata, which needs a much drier environment.  A specimen sprouted naturally in a pot from discarded seeds, which gets baked every summer. It is about 5 y.o.

Brahea armata of course needs full sun, but also regular irrigation. In my experience, they are not as drought hardy as one would expect. Yes they survive, but often look like crap (in SE Queensland at least).

I’ve grown quite a few over the years and can tell you they love good drainage and water (in a sub-tropical climate). I sold most of them, but kept one, which is around 5 years old. It’s a stunningly beautiful palm, on par with the most silver Bismarckia. Irrigated with overhead sprinklers every day.

9 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

yes Richard I started in the 80's. I experimented with all the palms I could grow, luckily there was rarepalmseeds, I bought the first seeds from them in 1999, before that I collected seeds in botanical gardens in Europe

Perhaps you could retire in Hawaii and live out that dream of a tropical palm paradise. 

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Lol, your climate does not support good growth of Brahea armata, which needs a much drier environment.  A specimen sprouted naturally in a pot from discarded seeds, which gets baked every summer. It is about 5 y.o.

It’s in a dry place with great drainage, perhaps it was just a runt seedling. But for some reason it just never grew. I might have to persuade @Jonathan Haycock to part with his only beloved one he has left. 

52 minutes ago, Jonathan Haycock said:

Brahea armata of course needs full sun, but also regular irrigation. In my experience, they are not as drought hardy as one would expect. Yes they survive, but often look like crap (in SE Queensland at least).

I’ve grown quite a few over the years and can tell you they love good drainage and water (in a sub-tropical climate). I sold most of them, but kept one, which is around 5 years old. It’s a stunningly beautiful palm, on par with the most silver Bismarckia. Irrigated with overhead sprinklers every day.

It is in a sunny spot not full sun but definitely sunny and hot. As you say they a bit of moisture with good design pretty confident it has had enough moisture over the years to maintain good growth. It’s just one palm that never grew. One would suspect a normal healthy seedling would have grown by now after such a long time. 

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

It’s in a dry place with great drainage, perhaps it was just a runt seedling. But for some reason it just never grew. I might have to persuade @Jonathan Haycock to part with his only beloved one he has left. 

I will be dropping mine in the ground at some point Richard, but have some B. clara "Icy Blue" popping that I'd happily share with you at some point once they've established. According to RPS, B. clara is "more vigorous, faster growing, and better adapted to warm humid climates." Kew has B. clara listed as a synonym of B. armata, but PalmPedia states it is " likely a natural hybrid of B. armata with B. brandegeei."

2 hours ago, Jonathan Haycock said:

I will be dropping mine in the ground at some point Richard, but have some B. clara "Icy Blue" popping that I'd happily share with you at some point once they've established. According to RPS, B. clara is "more vigorous, faster growing, and better adapted to warm humid climates." Kew has B. clara listed as a synonym of B. armata, but PalmPedia states it is " likely a natural hybrid of B. armata with B. brandegeei."

No worries, at least I can still say I have one in the collection. They might be one palm that doesn’t like my soil. Synonyms are one thing or another Mother Nature works in different ways. 

The ones around here ( not that many) seem to be doing well albeit very slow . Mine was about the size of @Phoenikakias ‘s potted one when I got it . I had a nice one by our pool at the old house . I dug it up , VERY CAREFULLY , and moved it here but it sadly died within a few months. I purchased the one I have now at a hardware store and it has never given me any trouble . No fertilizer but south facing warm , arid environment . Harry

7 hours ago, happypalms said:

Perhaps you could retire in Hawaii and live out that dream of a tropical palm paradise. 

without going too far, still in Europe in the Canary Islands, where the cost of living is lower than here, many Italians live there

6 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

The ones around here ( not that many) seem to be doing well albeit very slow . Mine was about the size of @Phoenikakias ‘s potted one when I got it . I had a nice one by our pool at the old house . I dug it up , VERY CAREFULLY , and moved it here but it sadly died within a few months. I purchased the one I have now at a hardware store and it has never given me any trouble . No fertilizer but south facing warm , arid environment . Harry

I do remember planting it as a tube and it just sat there for about ten years going what the heck have you done to me.

Richard

3 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

without going too far, still in Europe in the Canary Islands, where the cost of living is lower than here, many Italians live there

Sounds good to me iam in.🌱🤣

On 4/29/2025 at 11:36 AM, Harry’s Palms said:

I cannot speak for the Sancona , I’ve never grown one or even seen one as far as I know . The Brahea Armata seems slow compared to here. Maybe it prefers a more arid environment. Mine in about 28 years old from a small 10” pot and starting to pick up speed. It gets full sun with weekly irrigation. Harry

‘One of the slower palms in my collection . About as slow as the Livistona Chinensis behind it. It’s cousin , Brahea Edulis , which is about the same age is many times faster , which is curious to me 

This is about the same age as the B. Armata! . I can no longer reach the leaf bases to pull them off and I’m just about 6’ tall. I have to use my pole saw to cut dead fronds. Interesting to see the difference within the same genus. Harry

yes, it seems like the palm trees enjoy seeing us from above. Sabine (5ft 8in) laughs every time and says “you see, they easily overtake you in height”. as I am a gentleman, I don't have the last word.