Yeah great pics! Your palms look really healthy. And I agree that one of your pindos was probably grown in more sun than the other. Also you are right, that is a staghorn fern. They can get really big in a few years. Everything looks great and ready for the summer.

Good luck!

IslandBreeze, yes I protected the Tracky with a enclosure covered in builders plastic and turned on a light bulb inside it on nights dipping below the mid twenties. Thanks for asking:)

Butiaman, I bought the Sabal in NC in a K Mart on sale in July. It has gown a bit since and I have no room to plant it if it gets very large. Do you have any in pots? I recall you had some, how fast do they grow from this size?

TZ, Thanks for the fast growing tip. How did you learn that? I know nothing about these ferns except they like it warm and moist. I only sprinkle/water it with warm water. Do you know anything else about them?

On the debate on the butia pindos. The longer ones also look just so bluish compared the the other butia. Although it may have been a sun issue, when you see them next to each other, they are different. I will try to take some pictures with them next to each other. The frond shape, color and texture are not the same, yet they both have feather fronds and are clearly butias.

I dont think I really know much more than you about them, but they arent hard to keep happy (the commonly grown ones anyway) and since Brooklyn is pretty humid in the summer, all you have to do is keep it moist when it doesnt rain. Also I was looking for info on them and heard somewhere that some are really cold tolerant (One site says that there are types of staghorn ferns that grow in high elevations in australia that can handle freezes (I think they said 10F) but I cant get any info on it). The only staghorn ferns I know of are tropical, but the common one (which I think you have) can handle very brief durations of 25-30F so they arent as super tropical as they look.

Good luck!

Greg you must be thinking of someone else,I have 4 mule palm seedlings,there growing like crazy.I have about 100 sabal Palmetto seeds im trying to germinate,also 30 pindo seeds.I was thinking, mabey you lucked up and got your hands on two Butia Yata palms.They are a taller,more skinny pindo,and normally look more bluish or greyish looking.Thats just a guess.I wish I could find one close to me,the only ones I can find are in Cali.or in eouope.You will know for sure when you plant them,and see the first fronds produced in full sun :)

I thought the staghorn fern was more cold hardy because they were growing on trees that had been exposed to some of southern Florida's unusual temp drop into the 30s.

Thanks for confirming that for me. I will google it and let you know if I find out more.

Greg
Nice job with your plants!
Your Trachy should have a big year-congrats!

I think that once its older, the common staghorn fern can handle freezing temps pretty well with little damage, but as a precaution I would bring it in when temps re forecasted below 35 (so you might have to take it in for friday morning which looks bitter cold for out area (well at least below freezing) :(

Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement and advice.

Maybe I should not have planted my tracky an extra 5 inches deep last year, because it would have been a little taller. I heard it offers better cold protection.

Butiaman, sorry if I mixed you up with someone else. I hope you get this message. What is the difference between Butia Yata and the pindo I have? I have been trying to research it but there's limited info. If anyone else knows please advise?

Thanks.

I know it's hard to find info. on the butia yatay!It makes no since to me either,they are another butia palm that is just as cold hardy within a degree or two.They are a larger palm,grows up to 35ft tall,more robust looking,with longer fronds,and are useally greyish or bluish looking.I dont know why there not sold,or as easy to find like butia capitata.There are many butia palms,atleast 10 that I have found.I dont know how to put a link on here but check out thses sites for info. on butia yatays.one is desert-tropicals.com/palm/Butia_yatay.html another site compares butia capitata to butia yatay it's plantapalm.com/vpe/photos/rosedownmill/butia_capitata_yatay-rdm.htm hope this helps Greg.I forget to put the y on the end of yatay evertime for some reason,my bad.If you look at the secound site it says they take wet winters,and grow even in clay soil.

Are you kidding me? You can grow these in NY?
Amazing! Do you think it is possible for me to grow any of these up here in New England? Massachusetts? They are beautiful!!!

Mike..;-)

Believe it or not Mike, since its a newer variety that us palm enthusiasts are testing in northern areas, the results a good so far. They seem almost as hardy as tracky's.

Here in the NYC coastal zones they have survived but really need winter protection. What surprised me was that even with minimum protection they survived. Because we're a coastal plain we are a cold zone 7.

You probably can successfully grow one in a protected sunny spot + good winterization. Jim hardy on this site had winterized a pindo palm and it survived a strong winter they just had in Iowa.

Butiaman, thanks for the sites. You have a good eye, I am 90% sure its a Butia Yatay Palm. You made me feel blessed that I bought them at a discounted price. Are they hard to find?

Here's a link to one of my favorite pics of Butia eriospatha(the one I am growing-not quite this big yet)-
the one on the right(-:

Here is a link that might be useful: B.eriospatha

Butia yatay can be a hard palm to find. Sometimes I look for them on ebay just to see how available they are, and they have cheap 3 gallon ones, but most of the time I dont see anything larger than seedlings and they arent that cheap.
Jim, Butia eriospatha seems like a beautiful palm! I think im going to look for them. I was actually look for another palm in the butia species because of the success I had with my pindo and Butia eriospatha looks more tropical and graceful than captatia (spelling?), and even if its a little less cold tolerant, its a nice challenge. I was also thinking about butia yatay, they both seem like great palms!

Good luck!

I like all the butia palms I have seen,eriospatha is a good one also but it's slower growing than butia capitata,from what I have read.Yes greg the yatay is exspensive because they are not as common in the trade as the butia capitatas.All I can find is seeds also for butia yatays.I have been looking in cali.for one,so far all I can find is seeds.I want the yatay because they grow faster than capitatas,and can take wet winters.You know the problem I had with my biggest butia capitata this past winter.I'm not going to give up,I will find someone who sells live plants.

Butia Eriospatha would be a better palm for nothern growers,why I say that they grow slower than capitatas,is they like cooler climates year round.We here in the south have long hot summers.It would cause the eriospatha to slow down growth,that's just what I would think.I could be wrong,I've never tried one.So dont quote me on that.Butia capitatas dont stop growing even in winter,they just grow slower.I hope I cleared that up.Good hunting,If anyone finds a place that sells butia yatay plants,please let me know.

Hey Greg,

Your palms look so healthy!!! They really handled this cold winter very well...Congratulations on taking great care of them!!! Looking good in NYC!!!!

Have a great day everyone!!!

Laura in VB

B.eriospatha is probably the hardiest Butia and at the very least as hardy as any Butia.

It really sounds like a great palm and it never hurts to give it a try!

I dident say there not as hardy as butia capitata,they(butia eriospatha) live in cool climates in there native land.So they might be more cold hardy.I wonder how they would take hot,humid,summers?I would like to try one myself.As I said I like all butia palms.Jim where did you get your eriospatha?The only ones I dont like is the few that dont grow a trunk,butia palms are my favorite palms That's why I chose the name butiaman :)

I wonder how cold hardy Butia archeri is. Its a newer butia to cultivation, but it stays small, so if its as cold hardy as the more common butias, it might be a great palm for people in northern climates because it will never outgrow its protection. It slowly forms a trunk, but the trunk gets pretty wide. I dont think it gets much taller than 6 or 7 feet in an ideal climate. Not too much info on this palm yet.

You could be on to something TZ7.Since they grow slower and dont get really big,you could protect them more,and for longer.The problem with butia palms ,none have really been tested here in north america that I know of.Just butia capitatas.They also cross within the species if grown close enough.They remind me of the Trachycarpus palms,there are so many diffrent kinds people argue over whats what,say a yatay.There needs to be more testing of this species of palms.

From what I just read the B.eriospatha is the most cold hardy, but like Butiaman said where to buy or order them? They have a nice look as well with a more curved palm fronds. It has a striking look.

The Butia archeri sounds really ideal only growing to 6-7ft, it would be more manageable then the others 10 years from now. Even young they look great and add a tropical look. I wonder if its a slow grower. As long as it winterizes well its a candidate.

Considering the other butias are survivng coastal NY winters, we may have found another winner for our northern micro-climates.

Greg I found where you can get some other butia palms,but it's in the U.K. There pricey,check out the 25liter eriospatha,to exspensive for me!It's at ebay.co.uk,Then just type in butia in the search box.There are some seedlings that are not to pricey,check it out.

I found another place that's in the U.S. It's www.tejastropicals.com He is out of alot of palms at this time.He said he would get more in later this spring.I found a butia yatay plant Greg.He wants $15 for a one gallon,he has a few other butia palms also,but most are sold out for now.He also has another palm I've been looking for,phoenix theophrastii.It is the most cold hardy phoenix palm.I just thought I would let you and other people know what I found on diffrent kinds of butia palms.He carries a good assortment of other palms also.I'll have to check back with him in a month or so,to get a three gallon yatay and eriospatha :)

Butiaman
I know you didn't say they weren't as hardy as Capitata(-:

I love them too!
I love ANY palm that is still around in spring after an Iowa winter!

Where do I get most of my palms?(-;

E-bay of course,there are a few for sale on there-
not Eriospatha(that I saw anyway)
I got mine from collector palms-$52 with shipping

Thanks for the info Butiaman. I'll check out the site. I notice the UK is suddenly planting these palms too! I think I 'll have my hands full with 2 Yatays.

I was thinking of planting one in the back of my house where I cracked the cement open about 1.5 feet. I figure it can do the rest as it grows(crack open cement)into the surrounding area, providing it does well. Its an older part of the patio and the house goes up 35 feet offering some significant protection.

Jimhardy, you're always funny. "I love ANY palm that is still around in spring after an Iowa winter!" LOL..ditto me for NYC!

I'm sorry Jim,I thought you were talking to me.When I check ebay all I see is seeds for butia Yatas.I will check ebay more often.I found eriospathas plants on ebay in U.K.It would probley cost alot to ship them from the U.K.So I will wait for Tejas Tropicals to get his in,and keep checking with ebay here.Mabey I'll luck up one day and find a live plant on there.Thanks

Its going to be around 80 degrees all weekend. Time to get those palms out of the green house and into a direct hot sun. I bet your area going to be warm to Butiaman.

An early April sun can get quite strong if the temps soar like predicted. We have had pouring rains and warming temps here in NYC and the buds of the trees are really opening galore!

It's suppost to be *75 tomorrow and *80 thursday then *82 friday.Were still getting cool at night *40 tonight,by sunday it's only suppost to get down to *54.I have been working in the yard most of the day.I planted a needle palm today on my property line,up by the road.There suppost to be a tough plant.Where I planted it, something will have to be a tough plant to survive.It's has no protection from wind,cold,heat,no shade,it's out in the open in all day sun.If it dies I'll just take it back to H.D. and get my money back.I want to test it to see just how tough they are.

Greg how are those Butia Yatays doing?It has been warm enough here that I've had my three 3 gallon pindos out for 3 weeks now.I have them sitting on the south side of my house,which is the front of my house,I've had them setting 2ft in front of the foundation.My front pourch and foundation really heats up from the sun that hits it all day.So all that concrete helps keep them a little warmer at night.Take good care of those Yatays,I want to see how fast they grow this summer,there suppost to be a faster grower than the butia capitatas.They get bigger also,up to 60ft.Mabey I'll know where to get some good cold hardy seeds in a few years,LOL.Good luck with them Greg.

You have some real ideal palm growing weather and they should take off. Here in NYC, the forecasters adjusted our temps down to the 60s due to ocean breezes, but I'll take it.

I like your south facing foundation idea and I bet it works well to see those palms grow faster. It probably adds a few degrees a night as well. I do the same thing. The pics above are all my south facing side. Your right, I notice the yatay's are growing pretty fast in my greenhouse. However, I am placing them outside this weekend and leaving them out since the forecast is safe from cold. I do want them larger, but once they get a certain size I would want to slow them down by leaving the greenhose a little cooler next winter. No sure where to plant them when they get too large in some years, my space is limited, but probably along the back of the house where the sun is.

If you place some small boulders around your needle palm that will sheild it in the winter from harsh temps and if you want strong protection simply place a plastic trash can over it.

My backyard early March.

The left Bamboo tree, pond in middle & under the snow on the right, 2 Yucca Rostrata that didn't get protected

And yes the Italian wall Lizards are back.

I like the italian wall lizard. They are very cool!

I like your pet,Whats his name?Henrey sounds good.We have something like that here but there black with blue tails.I see them warming themself on the concrete foundation from time to time.They move super fast,my cat cant even get them.I'll try to catch a picture sometime.

Shawn, welcome back!

Long time no hear. Great detailed photos. Where can I buy some of these lizards? Do they reproduce? Did your palms make it?

Yeah, I would like to get some of those lizards, but you might need a permit to release them if its even legal at all. They arent native and anything that naturalizes that isnt native usually cant be released. They are pretty large as far as lizards go, and definitely can survive a NYC winter since they may have been in the area since the 1960s. I dont think they can live much farther north than NYC and they seem to stay pretty much on long island (which includes brooklyn and queens), but it seems like it is only in certain neighborhoods. Very interesing little animals.
I always think of the lizards in Disney World Orlando everytime I see any lizard.

Greg, The lizards appeared last year. I don't know how they got to my part of Brooklyn, but they are fun to watch. My wife & I counted 7 at one time this year. We are guesting it's more than that. We do have one next to a log that has no fear of us. We stand about 6 feet from the log and it comes out and looks right at us LOL.

Butiaman, your state gotta have alot of little lizards running around your palms. Maybe in the future the NYC area will be full of nice yuccas, palms & lizards......Maybe LOL!

Tropicalzone, I see you read up on these lizards. I wrote to one of those Wall lizards website. And told them how many lizards I saw, and the guy told me it might be double that amount and the population will grow fast because they breed like crazy.

One would tend to think that we have alot of lizards here,but I have only seen those black ones with the blue shinny tails.We have alot of frogs and toads and crickets.I hate the crickets,they hide in my lantana and eat on my other plants.They even ate on one of my small windmill palms last year.Thank god they dont like pindo palms.We do have copperhead snakes and I hit a nest of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes last year in some tall grass with the lawn mower.I chopped up some babies,but I never saw the mother.Most people think there only in south georgia but we do have them here too.

Yeah shawn, Im pretty interested in them so I read what I could find about them online. They are really used to living in an urban enviorment which might be why they dont have as much of a fear for humans as other animals. They must be lots of fun to watch and since they seem to be in abundance in your neighborhood, you will be enjoying them a lot in the future too!
Butiaman, yeah those crickets are very hungry insects. They ate some of my cannas a few years ago and it took a really long time for them to look good again. I didnt have too many palms at the time so they never ate any of those. I think I remember seening a common garter snake in my yard maybe 7 or 8 years ago, I know there are other snakes in my area, but they stay in the woods and have never been in my yard. Good thing we dont have rattle snakes around here, and good thing the mother snake wasnt there when you chopped its babies! Not sure how protective they are of there young though.

I hope to find some lizards for my "tropicalesk" backyard... LOL. Shawn I need a breeding couple and willing to pay $30. I live on 17th street and just email me if that's OK with you. But I understand you probably can't catch a breeding pair.

We have timberland Rattle snakes here. My friend in Green Lakes NJ had to kill some in his fire wood piles or he would have had dozens around his home. The area is very wooded and rocky.

Diamondback Terrapin Turtles are very common here, and even at JFK airport they are very very common, even delaying flights during there mating season because they cross the runways.
I also saw a very old and large box turtle (it must have been 3 feet wide) crossing the road by me a few years ago. I could only imagine how heavy it must have been.

My back yard & next door. Yes our yards are different, But the Wall lizards like both LOL!

Here's one coming back home to my yard after sun & fun next door.

I think I've gone Yucca crazy!!!

Nice!
Yuccas look very happy!

Wow it really looks tropical I hope you don't mind me asking but where did you get the biggest yucca and how much was it.

I really like those yuccas and of course am liking that wall lizard a lot too!
Very nice yard. You would think a yard with so many yuccas would look like a desert, but I also think it looks very tropical! If you could put a few chirstmas palms in back of those yuccas it would look like miami! Good job and good luck!

Shawn, that is truly amazing and you have excellent sun exposure and I am sure you're enjoying our 89 degree day.

Yes, you have gone yucca crazy, but hey it looks cool! Your garden design is organized and believable, it doesn't look confusing, it looks like AZ. All those plants must provide the lizards with good shelter. What happened to the tracky?

What do the neighbors say (not that it matters) and where did you buy so many yuccas? Aren't they a lot of cash?

Thanks everybody. Statenislandpalm7a I'm surprize you like it. Because compared to some of the Staten Island front yards, my back yard is in the minor leagues.

"Chirstmas palms" Hmmmmm.....

Tropicalzone7 my Neighbor took a photo of some wall lizards in my yard yesterday. I wish I had a camera like his. He zoomed in like he was in my yard. Now I don't know if you would call this breeding but "Man" where is the privacy LOL!! Other Wall lizards are watching.

Greg, the F.trachycarpus is fine. I just forgot to cover it before the big March snowstorm and the leafs had alot of snow bending them down. All my small Waggies made it also.

With all the snow, the waggie behide it had a garbage can over it.

Today without snow.

Wow look at all those lizards!! Looks more like something you would see in the south than NYC! They probably also eat some insects that are considered pests making wall lizards pretty good to have around in the garden.

Good luck and thanks for sharing, your neighbor takes good pics!

That is mating. Glad you did not disturb them:)

Some one posted a picture(the other day) of 2 right after they finished,you could tell because one of their tiny little cigarettes was still burning.

(-;