Just a suburban Bismarckia nobilis

[happypalms]

Spotted this beauty opposite the mother in laws house! Iam always palm nutting about it to her! You know Sue this palm is……

[Las Palmas Norte]

Man, these really stand out with visual impact.

[happypalms]

8 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Man, these really stand out with visual impact.

That one is a fine example of a healthy Bismarck that’s for sure. There is one in my city  of Coffs Harbour in the middle of a four way intersection (we call them roundabouts for not having to give way in a circle ⭕️ intersection) and driving down the road with it in the middle is pretty amazing it definitely stands out!

[Hillizard]

I guess my Bismarckia has a few more years of growth before it matches the one you've pictured! 😀 Behind it are the scorched leaves of a Hakea laurina that hates our recent heatwaves.  And to the left is a leaf of a Bauhinia macranthera ... that loves heatwaves!

[SeanK]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

That one is a fine example of a healthy Bismarck that’s for sure. There is one in my city  of Coffs Harbour in the middle of a four way intersection (we call them roundabouts for not having to give way in a circle ⭕️ intersection) and driving down the road with it in the middle is pretty amazing it definitely stands out!

I'm confused how there's one "in the middle" if it is not a circle. Perhaps a photo this weekend?

[JohnAndSancho]

I need one of these even though I'd have to keep it in a pot. You can have a pretty pot, little future Bismarck. I won't stick you in a Coke bottle. 

[happypalms]

52 minutes ago, SeanK said:

I'm confused how there's one "in the middle" if it is not a circle. Perhaps a photo this weekend?

Yes it’s a circle in the middle with four sometimes more exits, it keeps the traffic moving and you give way to to the right, its  kinda first in rule has right of way, they work if other drivers know how they work first in best dressed thing. They plant large gardens in them. This is the actual roundabout in question.

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, Hillizard said:

I guess my Bismarckia has a few more years of growth before it matches the one you've pictured! 😀 Behind it are the scorched leaves of a Hakea laurina that hates our recent heatwaves.  And to the left is a leaf of a Bauhinia macranthera ... that loves heatwaves!

It all begins with a juvenile palm. Hakea Laurina comes from the sand plains so a hot dry environment, they need super good free draining mixture.

[happypalms]

32 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I need one of these even though I'd have to keep it in a pot. You can have a pretty pot, little future Bismarck. I won't stick you in a Coke bottle. 

You need two not one John. Then just put it outside in a sunny spot in a container.

[JohnAndSancho]

7 minutes ago, happypalms said:

You need two not one John. Then just put it outside in a sunny spot in a container.

Buddy if it wasn't for these damn cats I would have got the bigger Uhaul truck and brought everything from Texas. But you're right, actually the carport is wide enough that 3 or 4 would look great in like 25 gallon pots. Then 2 more for the front of the house. 

[Hillizard]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

It all begins with a juvenile palm. Hakea Laurina comes from the sand plains so a hot dry environment, they need super good free draining mixture.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm hoping my Hakea can still recover and then I'll add more sand to the potting mix. I have an H. salicifolia in the ground that's done extremely well.

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Buddy if it wasn't for these damn cats I would have got the bigger Uhaul truck and brought everything from Texas. But you're right, actually the carport is wide enough that 3 or 4 would look great in like 25 gallon pots. Then 2 more for the front of the house. 

Too many kitty litter trays hey and not enough room for palms hey. Yer either side of the steps or door entrance, we gotta get you growing outside!

[happypalms]

20 minutes ago, Hillizard said:

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm hoping my Hakea can still recover and then I'll add more sand to the potting mix. I have an H. salicifolia in the ground that's done extremely well.

Basically don’t overwater Australian native plants, my wife grows quite a few tricky ones and good old palm watering me kills them. So keep them dry.

[Tyrone]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

It all begins with a juvenile palm. Hakea Laurina comes from the sand plains so a hot dry environment, they need super good free draining mixture.

That’s what I was going to say about Hakea laurina. They will take heaps of heat but need excellent drainage. That being said I’ve got a couple here planted by the previous owner in pure gluggy clay (he never amended the soil, just parted a clod of dirt and then in it went) and they are doing surprising well, even in our wet as winters. But then they do come from winter wet environments but just not in clay. 

[happypalms]

30 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

That’s what I was going to say about Hakea laurina. They will take heaps of heat but need excellent drainage. That being said I’ve got a couple here planted by the previous owner in pure gluggy clay (he never amended the soil, just parted a clod of dirt and then in it went) and they are doing surprising well, even in our wet as winters. But then they do come from winter wet environments but just not in clay. 

I’ve killed to many native plants by overwatering them. A good composted pine bark river sand with blinker ash or perlite almost a lite sort of succulent mix I find is best and free draining. I now stay away from the wife’s native plants as I complain she never waters them enough Mr palm hose waterier here has to water! I know why she doesn’t water them like palms let native plants dry out not super light containers but dry. 

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

Too many kitty litter trays hey and not enough room for palms hey. Yer either side of the steps or door entrance, we gotta get you growing outside!

I've got a little thread of a months worth of work, most of it involved digging up 30 years worth of Bermuda grass entangled with gravel. I go out for about an hour or so until my body starts to crap out on me. I'm not a big fan of Bermuda grass, and if someone offered me free lawn care for life if I grew Bermuda grass, or a thousand kicks in the crotch... No question. Crotch kicking. I'm not terribly familiar with the metric system, so I googled. Anyway 10-15cm roots, under the grass, into compacted gravel, and it's all been here since 1990 and there's of course bricks and tree roots and this damn Wisteria in here too. 

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I've got a little thread of a months worth of work, most of it involved digging up 30 years worth of Bermuda grass entangled with gravel. I go out for about an hour or so until my body starts to crap out on me. I'm not a big fan of Bermuda grass, and if someone offered me free lawn care for life if I grew Bermuda grass, or a thousand kicks in the crotch... No question. Crotch kicking. I'm not terribly familiar with the metric system, so I googled. Anyway 10-15cm roots, under the grass, into compacted gravel, and it's all been here since 1990 and there's of course bricks and tree roots and this damn Wisteria in here too. 

I hate to  say it get the roundup herbicide out of the shed and spray the bejeezas out of it killing it stone dead, some weeds you just have to spray!

[Slifer00]

13 hours ago, happypalms said:

That one is a fine example of a healthy Bismarck that’s for sure. There is one in my city  of Coffs Harbour in the middle of a four way intersection (we call them roundabouts for not having to give way in a circle ⭕️ intersection) and driving down the road with it in the middle is pretty amazing it definitely stands out!

Oh, I thought it was a latania loddigesii...?

[JohnAndSancho]

42 minutes ago, happypalms said:

I hate to  say it get the roundup herbicide out of the shed and spray the bejeezas out of it killing it stone dead, some weeds you just have to spray!

I went caveman with the cultivator fork and ripped it all out. Great cardio. What little is left I can rip out by hand, and where the Wisteria pops back up it's easy to rip out of the ground now too. I've got 3 more bags of mulch and a bag of gravel for my French drain just waiting for me to finish planting plus of course most of a bag of soil to fill in the low spots and add nutrients. It's actually good soil under there. I've got another handful of Sabal babies and waiting on some sprouts to grow. I've also got tons of Sabal Mexicana sprouts I might just plant and see what happens. Mostly Sabal Bermudana since that's what I germinated first, but I don't wanna fill the whole bed with the same thing, you know? I guess I could put the Trachies in there. This time next year I'll be drowning in Sabals. 

[sonoranfans]

Very adaptable palm, they grow well in the heat soaked(90+ days a year over 100F) sonoran desert, and also in humid subtropical florida.  Their only requirements to look their best are heat, good drainage, and direct sunlight.  They do not need to be coddled with fertilizer as their natural habitat is pretty much devoid of micronutrients.  They do need water but are quite drought resistant.  They are very common as public landscape trees here.   I have seen some boron deficiency in water logged low spots.  Water logged soils devoid of oxygen will cause pH to swing alkaline and the boron natural to the soil will not be bio available.  I followed one fresh public planting down the road that recovered from a pretty freaky boron deficiency, circular leaflet shapes of stunted leaves.  It took a couple years to recover but now I cant tell it was ever deficient.  

[Palms1984]

I agree with you.  It’s a very adaptable palm.  I’ve read and seen some really nice specimens in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Here’s a specimen in Union City, East Bay of the SF Bay Area. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

On 7/25/2025 at 3:05 PM, happypalms said:

That one is a fine example of a healthy Bismarck that’s for sure. There is one in my city  of Coffs Harbour in the middle of a four way intersection (we call them roundabouts for not having to give way in a circle ⭕️ intersection) and driving down the road with it in the middle is pretty amazing it definitely stands out!

Sounds like we need a pic of that one. 👍

[happypalms]

11 hours ago, Slifer00 said:

Oh, I thought it was a latania loddigesii...?

Iam pretty confident it’s a Bismarck and a healthy one at that!

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

Very adaptable palm, they grow well in the heat soaked(90+ days a year over 100F) sonoran desert, and also in humid subtropical florida.  Their only requirements to look their best are heat, good drainage, and direct sunlight.  They do not need to be coddled with fertilizer as their natural habitat is pretty much devoid of micronutrients.  They do need water but are quite drought resistant.  They are very common as public landscape trees here.   I have seen some boron deficiency in water logged low spots.  Water logged soils devoid of oxygen will cause pH to swing alkaline and the boron natural to the soil will not be bio available.  I followed one fresh public planting down the road that recovered from a pretty freaky boron deficiency, circular leaflet shapes of stunted leaves.  It took a couple years to recover but now I cant tell it was ever deficient.  

There just one solid tough palm, tolerant of all kinds of hardship. Give them attention and they flourish, plant one the right spot and you never have to touch them looking just as good as any well tended one. You don’t see much boron deficiency in my area which is a good thing. As you say sun heat and water and away they go!

[happypalms]

14 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Sounds like we need a pic of that one. 👍

Iam onto it asap!

[happypalms]

57 minutes ago, Palms1984 said:

I agree with you.  It’s a very adaptable palm.  I’ve read and seen some really nice specimens in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Here’s a specimen in Union City, East Bay of the SF Bay Area. 

Some nice palms in that picture. You can see how tough they are most in full sun enjoying the heat! There still a very popular palm with landscaping companies, and most home gardeners.

[Palms1984]

This pic was taken by the Union City Civic Center.  I was very surprised how many species of palms were planted around this pond.  Unfortunately, none were labeled.
 

Here in San Diego, CA. lots of Bismarckia are being planted in commercial businesses.  I see them in many gardens, but most are small lots and Bismarckia becomes a giant.  

[happypalms]

12 hours ago, Palms1984 said:

This pic was taken by the Union City Civic Center.  I was very surprised how many species of palms were planted around this pond.  Unfortunately, none were labeled.
 

Here in San Diego, CA. lots of Bismarckia are being planted in commercial businesses.  I see them in many gardens, but most are small lots and Bismarckia becomes a giant.  

You see a lot of palms planted like that around small lakes in public parks. And you see a lot of Bismarckia in the high end shopping areas and the top end real estate areas. 

[Palms1984]

On 7/26/2025 at 3:26 PM, happypalms said:

Iam pretty confident it’s a Bismarck and a healthy one at that!

Yes, Latania would be a very difficult palm to grow in the San Francisco Bay Area. The winters are too cool, although very mild and frost-free in many areas.

[happypalms]

19 minutes ago, Palms1984 said:

Yes, Latania would be a very difficult palm to grow in the San Francisco Bay Area. The winters are too cool, although very mild and frost-free in many areas.

If you could get one in a frost free area it would grow I think. While I don’t know the climate I may be mistaken, it certainly would be slow in the cool weather, but worth a try I will try any palm, just giving it a go until it’s pretty obvious they won’t grow. You just never know!