Here’s one tough palm the decaryi.

While not the most of cold tolerant palms it will take a fair few degrees of low temperatures. Give this palm plenty of room to grow as they can get quite big. Dry tolerant, I have some in between sandstone rocks on a steep site that is rather dry at times with a lot of sun and heat in summer.

A popular palm, they may be common but the colour of the leaf bases in sunlight is one feature that keeps them coming back into gardens. The triangle shape is another great characteristic that makes them likeable.

I like them and even planted a couple more in the garden today.

I may like my understory Uber super tropicals but for a palm that takes a beating in all sorts of climates, it’s a winner in my garden!

They are almost prehistoric looking ! I have two that I planted a few years apart . They aren’t super fast growing here , but steady . Mine were about the size of your little potted specimen in the photo. I’ve watched them grow over the years and they are so different from the other palms . The fronds maintain the triangular shape by repeatedly opening on the same plane as previous ones . The purple tomentum and silvery color , plus the “strings” that hang down give the palm a very exotic appearance. Harry

A perfect spot for a nap . The wee folk of the garden have claimed this one!

This one is not near as lush as the one I planted in the front where there is a bit more shade.

I found that the shade has benefitted this one . I also figured out , last year , in between rain events is the best time to pull leaf bases off!

This area , out front , has a very diverse leaf type of palms planted close together . Roystonia O. , Chambeyronia M. , Caryota M. , Syagrus R. , and Archontophoenix A. . Throw in a few Howea for good measure! 😊

I do find it interesting that high humidity ( Hawaii ) , tropical is not their preferred environment. They seem to prefer a more temperate or sub tropical home.

This is a species I often collect seeds from locally and grow. They are fine with my dark soil, but I've managed to grow them in pure expanded clay hydroballs and in a concrete pile. They seem to prefer a drier climate. If anyone in the desert or semi-arid areas is looking for something worth a shot, this would be it in my opinion. They have seen mid-20s here with damage, but in a drier climate, it stands to reason they could handle a little bit lower with some leaf damage.

We all like them... except @Than

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

This is a species I often collect seeds from locally and grow. They are fine with my dark soil, but I've managed to grow them in pure expanded clay hydroballs and in a concrete pile. They seem to prefer a drier climate. If anyone in the desert or semi-arid areas is looking for something worth a shot, this would be it in my opinion. They have seen mid-20s here with damage, but in a drier climate, it stands to reason they could handle a little bit lower with some leaf damage.

My climate is transitional BSh to BSk. Köppen classification. I think I have to give a try with this sp outdoors. I grow a potted one for many years in expanded clay mixed with pumice and lava and thrives.

this palm grows pretty well in the arizona desert. Just have to keep the late day sun off it. THe ones I saw out there were more silver of leaf, more greenish grey here in FL. I thought they were more attractive in arizona.

9 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

They are almost prehistoric looking ! I have two that I planted a few years apart . They aren’t super fast growing here , but steady . Mine were about the size of your little potted specimen in the photo. I’ve watched them grow over the years and they are so different from the other palms . The fronds maintain the triangular shape by repeatedly opening on the same plane as previous ones . The purple tomentum and silvery color , plus the “strings” that hang down give the palm a very exotic appearance. Harry

A perfect spot for a nap . The wee folk of the garden have claimed this one!

This one is not near as lush as the one I planted in the front where there is a bit more shade.

I found that the shade has benefitted this one . I also figured out , last year , in between rain events is the best time to pull leaf bases off!

This area , out front , has a very diverse leaf type of palms planted close together . Roystonia O. , Chambeyronia M. , Caryota M. , Syagrus R. , and Archontophoenix A. . Throw in a few Howea for good measure! 😊

I do find it interesting that high humidity ( Hawaii ) , tropical is not their preferred environment. They seem to prefer a more temperate or sub tropical home.

They are a bit prehistoric looking, I could see a dinosaur eating them as snack.

You squeezed those into your garden well. They do seem to like the drier air. Not sure how they would go on the coast with the salt air. I have one at the bottom of my property that’s is moist and not so dry environment, and the ones up the top in the dry sandstone not live it much better than the one at the bottom of the property.

Richard

5 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

This is a species I often collect seeds from locally and grow. They are fine with my dark soil, but I've managed to grow them in pure expanded clay hydroballs and in a concrete pile. They seem to prefer a drier climate. If anyone in the desert or semi-arid areas is looking for something worth a shot, this would be it in my opinion. They have seen mid-20s here with damage, but in a drier climate, it stands to reason they could handle a little bit lower with some leaf damage.

I always pick up a couple of seeds when I see them. I just know they are a good palm for my climate. And a palm is a palm in my opinion, the ones in my drier areas do better than the moist places.

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

We all like them... except @Than

That’s good to know, I will send him some seeds to convert the unconverted able!

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

this palm grows pretty well in the arizona desert. Just have to keep the late day sun off it. THe ones I saw out there were more silver of leaf, more greenish grey here in FL. I thought they were more attractive in arizona.

That’s pretty darn good if it grows in your climate, that’s testimony to how much they will take. My ones in the sandstone area have more colour and are just better looking than the wet areas. There is a picture in the Palms of Madagascar book with a hillside covered in them that looks a lot my rocky area and it seems to the perfect match for their habitat. I like them easy growing for a place that needs to have a microclimate created and they do just that!

6 hours ago, happypalms said:

That’s good to know, I will send him some seeds to convert the unconverted able!

Ha, I had gifted to him once a ready-to-plug-in plant, which he gave away.

What do you like about this dishevelled, un-elegant palm with (ew) gray leaves??

Yucky 😁

2 hours ago, Than said:

What do you like about this dishevelled, un-elegant palm with (ew) gray leaves??

Yucky 😁

Perhaps it’s too tropical looking for your liking, what do I like about them those lovely green leaves 🍃 🌴Or perhaps you prefer those spikes that stab you to death on those frost tolerant Phoenix palms that I loath🤣😂

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Ha, I had gifted to him once a ready-to-plug-in plant, which he gave away.

He must have his priorities out of whack not to love such a beautiful palm with such lovely green leaves, perhaps we should gift him a hybrid palm that will tolerate such unbearable cold weather @Than how could a bloke not love a decaryi palm, send him on a tropical vacation to some exotic island with palm trees swaying in the wind that will convince him to love them. 😁🤣

3 hours ago, Than said:

What do you like about this dishevelled, un-elegant palm with (ew) gray leaves??

Yucky 😁

Instead I like it a lot🌴