I have been writing a lot of posts lately on the various flowering plants I have growing in the garden. Being a palm guy first, I think it is only fitting that I should do a post on that subject. It was easy to choose the palm tree to write about this week because not only…
Cuban palms in Southern California
By now I am sure you have either heard or read about the historic change in relations between the United States and Cuba. In celebration of this long overdue thaw between our two countries, I figured I would blog about the various Cuban palms found growing in my garden. Last time I checked, Cuba had 81 indigenous palm…
How to make a Mexican Fan Palm attractive
So let’s get the tough part out of the way first. The part where I offend some people. It was bound to happen at some point in this post, so let’s just get it over with. I personally find the Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta) to be one of the least attractive palm trees in the…
The cultivation of Clinosperma macrocarpa seedlings
This is the second of two blog posts that are being published to showcase an article that was written by myself and another palm lover; the article was intended for the Palm Society of Southern California’s quarterly journal. As I stated in the first post, an unscrupulous treasurer robbed the PSSC coffers and left them broke. So the journal is…
The de-lidding of Clinosperma macrocarpa seed
This week’s and next week’s blog post are going to be a bit different for me. Some might find them a little too content heavy and scientific. So I will just warn you now. A while back I was asked to write an article for the Palm Society of Southern California’s quarterly journal. A fellow palm lover and…
Palm tree growing tips: Mounding
This will be the first post in an ongoing series that will be dedicated to palm tree growing tips. I remember back when I first started growing palm trees and tried doing research on the subject, a lot of the advice I am going to share wasn’t readily available. Much of it I had to experience on my own. Over…
Transplanting a Dypsis leptocheilos (Teddy Bear Palm)
Back in April I posted about the transplanting of a Jubaea chilensis from my good friend’s garden to my own yard. During that transplant I also moved two Dypsis leptocheilos at the same time but did not post anything about it. Due to all the other blog material that has been loaded since, I really haven’t had time to document…
Transplanting a Jubaea chilensis (Chilean Wine Palm)
A large Jubaea chilensis (Chilean Wine Palm) is one of the Holy Grail palm trees in the plant world. I have seen an exceptional specimen sell for $30,000. Why would a palm tree garner that much attention or command that type of price tag? For starters, it is a slow-growing palm tree. It can take two…