Hello, I am open to suggestions for interesting palms and plants for my yard, zone 9b. My bamboo (bambusa gracilis, bambusa maligensis, bambusa eutuldoides) and mule palm (x butyagrus nabobandii) did well during our winter freeze. My Beccariophoenix Alfredii had extensive frond damage but is growing well now. Looking to add a number of palms and plants and would be interested to learn of some new options, thank you.

If you want to try a palm with a crownshaft, then I think Archontophoenix cunninghamiana MIGHT be OK, with occasional damage, like your B. alfredii. There might be some Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus options too. Hopefully some of our many Florida members will comment further.

Edit: How big was your B. alfredii, when it got bitten?

Butia Oderata , Rhapidophylum Hystix ( Needle Palm) , Trachycarpus Fortunae , Arenga Engleri , Sabal Palmetto(?). There are more , I’m sure. Harry

6 minutes ago, awkonradi said:

If you want to try a palm with a crownshaft, then I think Archontophoenix cunninghamiana MIGHT be OK, with occasional damage, like your B. alfredii. There might be some Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus options too. Hopefully some of our many Florida members will comment further.

Yes, I would love to have any palm with a crownshaft. Unfortunately, several neighbors have lost king palms and one royal over the past year. The royal was 20 foot when planted and my neighbor acknowledged he was pushing. He did a great job protecting it over a few years time but after he sold his home last year it was done in by the cold.

Dypsis decipiens (manmade palm) could be high on my list. I will look further, thank you!

8 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Butia Oderata , Rhapidophylum Hystix ( Needle Palm) , Trachycarpus Fortunae , Arenga Engleri , Sabal Palmetto(?). There are more , I’m sure. Harry

Thank you, excellent choices. I do have a couple sabals and they are rock solid. I may put a cluster in the back near our marsh.

Pindo is excellent, still working out where it would fit. Needle, windmill and arenga are great choices I can work into some natural looking areas.

@SeaLaVie If you haven't been there, a trip to St. Johns Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve in Hastings, FL will help you picture how the plants will look in your landscape. A few of the CFPACS Members from the area ( @Lou-StAugFL , @Kekoanui , @ChristianStAug , @CodyM, @PalmJuan ) can also share some of their experiences.

A few other links of interest:

• St. Johns Anniversary Celebration

• St. Johns 2nd Anniversary Celebration

• CFPACS Summer 2025 Meeting/Tour in St. Augustine, FL

• The Garden of Dr. John Rossi - Before it Became St. Johns Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve

47 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

@SeaLaVie If you haven't been there, a trip to St. Johns Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve in Hastings, FL will help you picture how the plants will look in your landscape. A few of the CFPACS Members from the area ( @Lou-StAugFL , @Kekoanui , @ChristianStAug , @CodyM, @PalmJuan ) can also share some of their experiences.

A few other links of interest:

• St. Johns Anniversary Celebration

• St. Johns 2nd Anniversary Celebration

• CFPACS Summer 2025 Meeting/Tour in St. Augustine, FL

• The Garden of Dr. John Rossi - Before it Became St. Johns Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve

Outstanding, Kinzyjr. I have not been to the Botanical Garden here, thank you for the idea and links. Lou was kind enough to give me a tour of his garden a couple years ago. It was wonderful and I was happy to see pictures of the tour of homes here last summer as I was on vacation during that time. I will reach out to the other members. It seems I have good deal more to find which is why I asked the forum. I may need a larger yard!

1 hour ago, SeaLaVie said:

Outstanding, Kinzyjr. I have not been to the Botanical Garden here, thank you for the idea and links. Lou was kind enough to give me a tour of his garden a couple years ago. It was wonderful and I was happy to see pictures of the tour of homes here last summer as I was on vacation during that time. I will reach out to the other members. It seems I have good deal more to find which is why I asked the forum. I may need a larger yard!

It's a little bit of a haul, but our Fall Meeting is in Orlando near Leu Gardens. A bunch of us are going to head to Leu after the meeting. That will give you more ideas and a few of the St. Augustine folks will be there. There will be people the entire length of the state there, so you'll get a pretty wide variety of climates and experiences.

CFPACS 2026 Fall Meeting - Orlando, FL

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

It's a little bit of a haul, but our Fall Meeting is in Orlando near Leu Gardens. A bunch of us are going to head to Leu after the meeting. That will give you more ideas and a few of the St. Augustine folks will be there. There will be people the entire length of the state there, so you'll get a pretty wide variety of climates and experiences.

CFPACS 2026 Fall Meeting - Orlando, FL

Thank you, that is quite the home garden. I'll know if I am able to attend once my kids' school and sports calendar gets set this next month.