Awesome pics of the palms and especially those citrus!!! I have terrible luck with citrus. My washington Navel orange WONT grow so next year I WONT bring it in! I actually think Im just going to put it in the ground next spring and protect it for the winter and if it dies Ill be okay with it! Those lemons are much bigger than any grocery store! The meyer lemon tree I USED to have made lemons about 2x the size of a golf ball sometimes.
Your dog is very cute! Penny is a great name!
Good luck! Hope all the palms make it through the winter with no problems. Did you bring anything inside yet. I brought about half of my plants inside today because its going down to the low to mid 30s tonight. The house is getting crowded VERY quickly!
-Alex

Hi TZ,

Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, the plants do crowd our space. Been there :)

I am leaving most of the plants out for now and working on my greenhouse enclosure within the next 2 weeks. The greenhouse will keep them warm. Its chilly for them while outside I agree, but most plants can handle some cold nites especially the palms. Its suppose to stay 35 or above, so they should be OK as days rebound into the 50s.

Try purchasing a ponderosa lemon tree they are fairly easy and no matter what end up giving fruit. This year was odd, after the warm spells this fall and tropical rains the lemons just became super giant drinking up the warm rain waters. One is as large as a palmelo (however they spell it?).

Thanks from penny too!
Greg

Wow Greg the lemons are giant unfortunately my Meyer lemon died this year and in my care i only got 2 lemons in 3 years

Looking good, especially those bowling ball lemons. I have moved most of my potted stuff inside. This weekend, the Palm fortresses go up.

Everything looks great Greg.....
your dog needs some sunglasses are just a mean m*** ****** ******(-;

Yeah, those lemons shocked me too! I hear you, my meyer lemon is so finicky this year. Poderosa lemons are worth trying.

That's right Jim, Penny is the Royal Palm Garden Guard! Just try picking a lemon and she'll alert the whole courtyard:)))

Hey Greg,

Everything in your yard looks great!!!

Are you sure that isn't a grapefruit mascarading as a lemon?
You do realize that halloween was yesterday!! LOL...
What a barbarian sized lemon!!!
I could make alot of things with those lemons!!!
Just a few minutes ago, I brought in my lemon (Myers) and I lifted it by the base of the stem...guess what...it pulled from the base of the pot...most of the root ball is intact so I will keep my fingers crossed..I can't believe that happened..then I see your huge lemon...talking about feeling a little sour at myself!!! LOL...

Hope all is well with you and your family...Penny looks very happy...I bet she is well taken care of...Time for a treat for Penny? ...YES....!!!

Take care everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Laura wrote-

"Are you sure that isn't a grapefruit mascarading as a lemon?
You do realize that halloween was yesterday!! LOL...

Yea,not April fools!

That is a seriously big lemon!

Thanks. Its truly a lemon - look up poderosa lemon AKA Citrus Limon. I have grown many lemons on this same small tree for years. I bought it years ago on line from Logees.com. Its in their tropical plant section.

It is a true giant and the biggest one that ever grew thus far. It's size just went crazy during the warm 70* nites that we had tropical storm showers and we were stuck in that humid air mass along the coast for about 6 days and then the same weather pattern repeated a week later. When it was over, wala - almost bowlingball size lemons? The pot was soaked and the lemons went wild plus I did through some citruis fertilizer in a month ago but figured it washed out by now? That fertilzer has not really helped my meyer lemon much.

Laura, I am sure your meyer will be well.

Jim, don't be so jealous of my world's record lemon...LOL :)))

Hey Greg,
That's some major lemons.You could make tons of lemonade or more lemon meringue pies than you could eat.What do you use them for mainly?The Pindo in the pot looks very healthy.How are the two you bought for $5 dollars each doing.Did you plant them in the ground?I hope there doing good for you.The windmill looks good also.I found some lemon trees at HD that are cold hardy to *5F,I cant remember the name of them.They had some major thorns on them,that's the only reason I didn't buy them.I didnt see any thorns on yours,maybe it was just that variety that had thorns.Penny looks like a good guard dog for your garden.My mother had a poodle when I was little and she didn't back down from anything.

Hi Butiaman,

How are you and your butia palms? I think you mentioned you'd post a pic of the one planted in the ground soon.

The butias I bought in south FL for $3 each and drove up to NY are both in pots. That was one of them, didn't it get huge!!! They are growing fast in big pots. One is growing much faster than the other and the only difference is the clay pot? Maybe b/c they like their soil to dry-out more.

You said they were Yatay Jelly Plams and I appreciated that you identified them. I already have a butia pindo that's not as bluish planted in the ground. It is growing fast but slowing now b/c of cooler temps in the 40s and 50s. I still need to figure out where to plant the Yatay's because living in the city my yard is very small by your standards:)

You're right, the poderosa lemon does not have much of any thorns but my other citrus do. My wife makes killer lemon squares with them and we use the lemons on seafood too. A friend uses the rind when she poaches fish and it gives good flavor. You can grate some of the thick rind into recipes that call for a dash of lemon. They are uniquely tart and more effective in lemon recipes. Meyer lemons are sweeter and great too.

Hope to hear back about your great garden.

Greg!!! I had such a headache right now and all I could do is look at your beautiful pictures!!!!!!

What the heck? That Ponderosa tree? I got one at Logees too and it is not that big!
How do you care for yours..Please tell me...What did you feed it? Where do you winter it? What kind of mix do you use? Any pointers....You probably asaid this somewhere, but please let me know if you can..I really want to know..I ahve 6 of these, and they grow so stinkin slow for me..Healthy, but very short...

Thank you so much... Cute pooch by the way...

Mike

Hey Greg,
That B.Yatay has really grown since you got it.I remember what both of them looked like when you first posted pictures of them.Do the Ponderosa lemons have viable seeds in them?I have 3 B.capitatas planted in the ground and 1 B.Yatay in a pot.I have a few new palms planted in the ground and in pots.My wife says I've gone palm crazy,LOL.I've been vary busy today bringing in the potted plants.It's going to below freezing here at night for the next 4 days,28 tonight,31 Saturday,32 Sunday,Monday our lows start to warm back up above freezing,thank God.This will be a early freeze for us,we normally don't get below 32 till the end of November.Here are some pictures of a few new palms I have.Good to hear from you again,hope everything is well with you.
Here is the B.yatay.Notice how fat the trunk is and how long and far apart the fronds are.The old fronds got broke off some from the pot being so top heavy and blowing over in high winds.
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This is a close up of the fat trunk,almost twice the size of a B.capitata of the same age.
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Another view of the same palm.
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Here is the picture I think your talking about,It's a B.capitata.Planted the last of September.Notice the thinner trunk.
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Here are a few pictures of my biggest C.humilis.

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I love the color of this C.humilis cerifera.

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I'll post more pictures later.

Love those Butia pix. Now I have three of them--two in containers and one in the ground. The two containerized ones I just got last winter on eBay. They started growing FAST as soon as I planted them up and grew them IN THE BASEMENT under florescent. They spent the Spring, and summer outside and are now really robust--still outside. Some people say they are slow but I think they show really decent growth if happy! If a smaller Chamaerops makes it through the winter, I'll plant a big one I have in a container. This is another one that has a reputation for being slow but, man, they seem really robust too even proper conditions. (sun and heat). I don't think a Ponderosa lemon will come true from seed. They are really a hybrid of a true lemon and Citrus medica (citron--a.k.a. 'etrog') Used to grow one and gotta get one again--they're not really that hard to grow. Gone through lighter frosts but not heavy freeze here and extended forecasts look like I can squeeze a few more weeks out of the containerized palms and citrus still outside.

njoasis,
The cerifera has actually been planted there for 2yrs now,I just love the color of it.I have one bigger in a pot that I will wait till next spring to plant.I also have a smaller one planted in the ground,this will be its first winter outside.The green Chamaerops I planted in the middle of October.Pictures dont do it justice.I have 4 more I will plant in spring,and yes the cerifera is very slow growing but well worth the wait with that color.The green ones for me so far grow pretty fast.The Butia you have might be a B.Odorata.They normally grow slower and is a stockier palm.They don't get quite as big as a B.capitata,or the biggest of the species B.yatay.There is so much controversy over the Butia palms now.Some say what was sold for so many years as B.capitata is actually B.odorata.I get most of my Butia palms from a guy who specialises in them.It is very hard to tell the different Butia palms apart when there small.Some of them are hard to tell apart even full grown.Yours looks very healthy and happy to me,what ever kind it is. :)
Randy

Hi Guys,

Thanks for getting back to me. Its that time of the year again! Yikes temps at night are dipping. Yup, wive's and friends are right - we're palm crazy.. LOL.

Myermike, BIG TIP - Water with WARM (75-80 degrees) water when temps are below 55*, the poderosa is easy to grow and slow but very regular at growing lemons. I graduate it every few years to a slightly larger pot and loosen the roots and compacted soil a bit(only in Spring warm weather). I water it regularly and let it dry out a little between waterings except when fruiting. I use just plain citrus fertilizer for trees I bought in FL and winter it in a greenhouse that is cool at nite (39* - 50*) and warming during the day (65 - 80*.

Butiaman,

Thanks for the pics. Your palms all look strong. The one butia in the ground should really take off next year and you'll have a BIG Butia beauty and some fruit by year six!I bet your hyped up about it. I wasn't sure if the trunk looked thinner or why? The butia in the pot is beefed up too. I will post some better pics of mine soon.

The experts say that the T.fortunei is best suited for our region of the U.S.I can grow drier climate palms here at least in my yard better.I don't amend the soil.Everywhere in North GA.I've been has red clay soil.The soil in my yard is gray looking in the front and the two sides,my back yard soil is practically black.Greg,I found a picture of a forest of B.yatay palms I thought you might like to see,average age of palms is 200yrs old :)

Thanks, that is awesome to see. Where is it?

I love it.

Butiaman,

Maybe you can trying digging out a 5 foot whole and placing in some regular sand that may be bought at HD. The sand they sell to mix in cement is fine by itself and I have used it. Its a cheap way to make planting mix and throw some top soil in too. I bet it works great.

Our soil can get sandy here a foot down but it is muddy on the surface 8 inches in the Spring.

Greg,
That picture of the forest of B.yatay palms was taken in Argentina(El Palmar)National Park.Cool picture,Butia palms as for as the eye can see.What I meant by the experts saying that T.fortunei is best suited for our region is our soil and climate and rainfall is just about exactly the same as where they grow naturally.I don't need to add sand to my soil,at least in the front and side yards.My soil drains to good,that was the problem for the Trachycarpus palms.16 feet down under my soil is solid granite rock,I live on top of a big granite hill.I cant plant anything in my back yard anyhow.I have 4 pitbulls in a 6ft fence.I've tried to plant stuff back there and they will tare it up,even pull it slap out of the ground.The only thing back there is a Red Oak tree that's probably 150yrs old,it's huge.The back of my house faces north,no good for palms anyhow.I do add Palm Tone and Superthrive in with the soil when I plant a palm.I use both about every 2 months from May to September also.Plus I foliar feed them with Neptune's Harvest,fish and seaweed fertilizer every weekend.I have 3 T.fortuneis,1 T.wagnerianus.I ordered a 3 gallon T.princeps yesterday.I haven't had a problem with any of the Trachycarpus palms this year since I started using the Superthrive.It makes palms grow like crazy :)

You have it down to a science, amen. Cool, they are all B. Yatay's. I wonder what sort of animals thrive in that forest? Thanks for all the ideas. I never tried Palm Tone and Superthrive since they seem to do well in my back yard. I bet they'd benefit. I haven't seen it in the stores up here. I use a general palm fertilizer.

Occationally when I have clams or oysters I save the shells and dry them outside and then crush them into a gravel-like powder and sprinle it around the palms for some elements. I notice a lot of old shells in the soils where palms thrive in Florida.

Greg,
That Superthrive is a vitamin and Hormone solution for plants,you use it with your fertilizer.Far as I know the only place to buy it is from various websites.Here's one.
http://www.superthrive.com/gallon.html
The shells puts calcium in the soil,it gives more but I cant remember what else.I'm sure it helps with drainage also.I try to use only organic fertilizer and fungicide and other products in my yard.I do the same thing but with egg shells.I've found my plants seems more healthy and have less fungi's diseases and pest problems since I switched to all organic products.I wondered myself what kind of wildlife lives in a forest of B.yatay palms,maybe Lemar's.I don't know what kind of animals are indigenous to Argentina.I would have to be something that could climb good to get to the fruit of such tall palms.I would love to see that park in person,flying over in a helicopter,that would be very cool. :)

Hello Greg,

You can usually find superthrive in Walmart (gardening section) and most local nurseries carry it. Ask them to order it for you...Sometimes they put this where it doesn't belong because they have no idea what it is!!!

If you can't find any and you don't want to order a gallon size...wow..that would take me quite a few years to use!!
then, I will send you a bottle... : )

Also check around your area that sells Hydroponics...they usually sell B-1 and superthrive, seaweed and fish emlusion.

I use superthrive on all of my plants/trees everytime I water..also seaweed and fish only during growing season...it can smell like a bad fish canning place if you
water inside.

Man...I could have alot of lemon cakes/tarts/squares with all of those beauutiful lemons!!! Great Job, Greg!!!

Let me know...I'll be glad to pick up some for you!!!

Laura in VB

Hey Laura,
I'm mad,you didn't tell me about Superthrive!I'm just kidding,your the one who told me about Palm Tone.Heck you gave me my first bag of it,plus more.I couldn't find Superthrive in any stores around here,walmart,Home Depot,Lowes,or any nursery.I have to order the Palm Tone off Amazon.com,that's the cheapest place I found online.I complained enough at Lowes to the manager that if the sell palm trees they need to sell a palm fertilizer,now they stock it.They have one by Osmocote and one by Miracle Gro.Now only if I could get them to stock Superthrive and Palm Tone.The website I gave to Greg is the best one that shows what Superthrive is and what it does,and the medals its won.
Greg,
That website page just shows a label on a one gallon jug of it.If you go to the bottom of that page you can go to home and order whatever size you want or they have a free trial offer there also.That page just shows everything about it real good.Nobody told me about it,I read where people were talking about it on another garden forum,and what it does for palms,heck all plants.Hope this helps. :)

Superthrive is sold on e-bay and you can usually find free shipping,
a 2oz size will last quite a while as you only need a few drops per gallon.

Hello Randy!!!

I thought that I told you....see, you weren't listening!!!
LOL...I probably thought that I told you, but My mind plays tricks on me every once in a while : )

Superthrive and B-1 are must haves for me. They are very helpful when I root plants and also for keeping plants from being in shock when I transplant them especially (B-1).

Like Jim mentioned, you can also find this on E-Bay...check it out...

How is everything in GA? Hope all is well with you/family and dogs(babies)!!!

My potted palms are still outside along with my large Agave. The temps have settled down quite a bit so I have left them outside for the time being...They will probably come inside in the next week or two. That way my son will get poked by the Agave (and not me!!)

Everything else is inside..quite the jungle in my house!!

Take care everyone...

Laura in VB

Hey Laura,
I just got back from looking for more Superthrive,Walmart,Lowes,Home Depot,or Ace Hardware around here don't have it.When I asked people who worked there if they had it they all said "what".None of them had ever even heard of it.You must have a really good Woolly World up there,since they stock it.Nobody here even stocks the Palm Tone,they have every other kind of Tone,but no Palm.I don't remember you saying anything about Superthrive,but I might be wrong,I forget things myself,we all do it from time to time.See I was trying to get some today because my T. Princeps should be here tomorrow.I wanted to soak it in a gallon of water with Superthrive before planting it in a pot.The plant is being shipped bare root.Oh well I will order it off ebay or amazon and water it with it when it gets here.Laura I have no complaints with you, much as you have helped me,I would be crazy if I did,LOL.I'm doing good,my house looks like a tropical jungle also.I think I have plants in every room of the house and I still have about 15 more outside that I will have to bring in before long.Oh I have puppies again,8 of them. :)

Hey Randy,

Let me know if you want me to send some to you!!

Yep, I think all of our houses look like the jungle!!!

I was wondering about "puppies" LOL...that's why I said babies in the other post!! I had this feeling that some little paws might be on the way!!!

Congratulations!!! Let's see pictures : )

Laura in VB

Thanks everyone for that great tip on buying Superthrive and palm tone. I plan on buying some and using it as directed.

I wonder if it would boost my meyer lemon to bloom and fruit more than the 5 lemons it has. We are having a warm up here and the palms are still growing. Laura and Randy, your southern areas must really be nice and warm by evening!