I am considering ordering seeds from Coconut Climber on eBay. They have Dictyosperma on there listed as an excellent houseplant. I was also considering a Spindle Palm or MacArthur palm. Which of these would be best for a houseplant? It would be moved outside during the summer and taken indoors during the winter. Can anyone fill me in on the growth rate of these plants? Thank you

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.

Welcome JMLz16! Thats a nice list of palms. That fishtail palm must be a beauty and San Franciso defintiely has a pretty good climate for many different palms. Heres an updated list of my palms... (some of this list was copy, pasted, and updated from the list above) ...... Windmill palm (5) (3 in the ground 2 have been through 2 winters, one has been through its 1st winter now, and 2 are 4 year olds that are still pretty small and are in pots) Pindo palm (3) (one that has been through 2 winters in the ground and one that will be going through its first winter in the ground this year.) European Fan Palm (inground and going into 2nd winter) Blue European Fan Palm Parlor Palm (Triple, 7 years old) Cat palm (2) Magesty Palm (3, one is huge one is medium sized, and the last is small) Queen palm (8 years old from small seedling) Livistonia Chinensis (4 of them, one in ground going into 2nd winter, others in pots) Coconut palms(2) Bottle palm Chamaedorea Microspadix Chamaedorea tepejilote Chamaedorea seifrizii Spindle palm (large potted plant with ringed trunk forming) Sabal Minor (3rd winter in the ground coming up) Foxtail palm Solitare Palm (about 2 feet of clear trunk) I have 19 species of palm trees that are currently living at least 10-15 others that havent made it over the years -Alex