I sent you an email thru gardenweb because I didn't see an email address for you. I don't have much luck getting email thru the site so please email me at denisedelong at comcast.net

This is a very old thread but palm nutritional deficiencies are still around so hopefully this will help someone else with the same problem in the future. Judging by the photos and based on the explanation that nothing else is wrong with the new leaves, they are just coming out smaller, my best bet is that this is a mild N deficiency. This would cause new fronds to come out small and closer to each other on the trunk (less space between fronds). The older fronds may appear less green to yellow. If I can see right, I think the lower fronds on the foxtail palms seem a little less green and have a darker yellowish hue. And by the way, there is no such thing that if a palm is grown in more shade and moved to a sunnier spot it will start having smaller fronds. Scientifically makes no sense and I have never seen such a claim from an authoritative source. This usually works with other plants, like heliconias and gingers, which may get taller in a shadier spot because of trying to get more sun. It doesn't work like that with palms though. Here is a photo guide on most common deficiencies in palms: https://discover.pbcgov.org/coextension/horticulture/pdf/commercial/Nutrient%20Deficiencies%20of%20Landscape%20and%20Fieldgrown%20Palms%20in%20Florida.pdf

Guys. Just a suggestion- you might want to make sure you know what the species is, prior to pilfering the seeds from another country. There are CITES permits required for the international exchange of many species. Not to mention, this is exactly how devastating diseases like PLY are transmitted from one location to another. If it is classified as an endangered species, and you are caught taking them across international borders, the penalties are very severe. It is a crime, under any circumstance, to remove seeds, or living plant tissue without a permit from the host country. In fact, depending on the species, it can even be illegal to do so within the country, much less taking it across international borders. If caught, you will most definitely have a bad day at customs, almost definitely end up in jail, if not slapped with a huge fine, and possible imprisonment.

Artiew, Very few Australian native palms form clumps but you could try Ptychosperma macarthurii (Macarthur Palm). It is a clumping palm from Cape York, it is very attractive and will form a screening effect. Also Hydriastele wendlandiana is a native clumping species from North Queensland. It grows mainly in swampy areas so appreciates a lot of water. I have one and it is growing very well but it is not as thick a clumper as P. macarthurii. With regard to your bromeliads, I have over 200 varieties of broms in my garden and they hardly ever (some never) get fertilised. Neos in particular seem to produce a better display if grown harshly. The flowers will naturally dim and the mother plant will produce pups and then eventually die. Andrew.