This past sunday, 2/1/09, I took advantage of the beautiful 62F temps to get out and head down to the United States Botanical Gardens. While down town, I also made it a point to go by the National Air and Space Museum to visit the palms that have resided there for the past 8-10 years. I also encountered some "new" ( or new ER) plantings in my visit.

Here are some of the photos:

Trachycarpus Fortunei in front of the National Air and Space museum. I believe this and all the other palms in this very large "planter" have been there for 8-10 years. This palm is mostly hidden from view from the street during the warm months as it is surrounded by a forest of Musa Basjoo that come back each spring, and usually grow as tall as, or taller than the palm. It is about 15 feet tall, and in my opinion needs to be "cleaned up" just a bit. It appears it has been several years since it last went to seed. This palm is unprotected, however it is on the south side of a HUGE building that is a couple city blocks long.

The view from across Independence Avenue.

Two larger Rapidophyllum Hystrix right next to the large Windmill. Also farther down you can see a "grove" of larger Sabal Minor.

View from the opposite end of the huge planter. Closest to the camera is the "grove" of larger Sabal Minor. Im not sure how many plants are in it, but I would guess somewhere around 15-20. Its pretty thick. In the distance is the Windmill. There are Sabal Minor seedlings spread all over the place, and in many of the near by planters as well. There are also Needle palm seedlings mixed in. Some of the seedlings appear to be at least a couple years old now and a few that are starting to produce fan leaves. You can see in the foreground all the babies. They look like large blades of grass, and those are just the ones that sprouted close by the mother plants.

This is at the corner of 3rd St. and Independence Aveneue, SW. It is just outside of the new "National Garden" section of the US Botanical Garden. It is a group of 5 Rapidophyllum Hystrix, varying in size from medium to large. I was here this past summer, and do not remember seeing these palms. The National Garden section is still relatively new ( 2 years or so) so they may have been there for just about that long, but probably not any longer. They even look like newer plantings to me.

Close up of one of the Needle Palms from above. This one stands about 4 to 4 and 1/2 feet from the top of tallest leaf to the ground. You do not often see the "trunk" of these palms, and this one appears to be even more rare as it is a single trunk with no apparent "pups" or suckers.

This Sabal Minor is one of the smaller ones in another "grove" that is at the corner of 1st and Independence Ave. SW. Note the label. In particular, the distribution. I am not sure that is entirely correct, as these palms I believe are native as far north as eastern North Carolina. There are large stands of these, and the individual palms are very large, in eastern NC, on the coastal plains, and in forests.

A wider shot of the "Grove" from above. There are about 8 in this "grove". None of these are as large as the ones that are in front of the National Air and Space museum however.

Lastly, a lone Trachycarpus Wanigarus in the "childrens garden" section of the US Botanical Gardens. It is in one of a few outdoor sections that lie between some of the smaller conservatories that surround the large central conservatory. It remains unprotected. This palm has been there approximately 3 years. These outdoor areas were re done after the entire gardens underwent massive renovations about 3-4 years ago. In another outdoor area, there are many more palms and Yuccas. There are even Saw Palmetto (Senora Repens) growing outdoors unprotected for several years now.

For the rest of the pics, see the link below

Here is a link that might be useful: Downtown Washington D.C. Palms