Category: Palms and Cycads

Rare & Unusual Tropical Trees & Plants, Flowering, Fruit, Native, Palm, Bamboo, Heliconia, Hummingbird, Butterfly

Palms for Autumn Planting, Part III

The survey of palm species available at Richard Lyons’ Nursery in 3-gal. containers continues this week: Cocos nucifera ‘Red Spicata Dwarf’ is a distinctive variety of the Coconut Palm. It bears vibrantly-colored (orange, not truly red) seednuts on spiky infructescences. The contrast between Dwarf and Tall Coconut Palms is manifested in at least two ways…
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November 4, 2017 0

Palms for Autumn Planting, Part II

Our survey of palms available at Richard Lyons’ Nursery continues with a look at species being grown in 3-gal. containers: Acoelorrhaphe wrightii, commonly known as the Paurotis Palm, is one of the dozen palm species native to Florida. Its home is the Everglades, so in cultivation it likes copious amounts of water. A palmate species,…
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October 28, 2017 0

Palms for Autumn Planting

Believe it or not, southern Florida is beginning to cool down, at least statistically. Our region has endured a very warm summer; we seem to have had temperatures 3-5 degrees above historical averages for months. However, the day-night mean temperature for mid-October should be 80°, down from 85° during the July-August peak.  While we are…
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October 21, 2017 0

Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)

The term ‘Bamboo Palm’ has been applied to several palm species because of their resemblance to genuine bamboo. What each of the ersatz bamboos features in common is multiple smooth stems interrupted by horizontal rings. Over time Chamaedorea seifrizii probably has been the most frequently-cited and dependable of the so-called Bamboo Palms. Chamaedorea is a…
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May 6, 2017 0

Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa)

Almost everyone, whether a plant lover or not, knows the Lady Palm — if not by name, at least by sight — for it is one of the most successful indoor palms in use. Because of its easy adaptability to low light and dry air, it graces interior landscapes in containers of all sizes at malls, offices, hotels and airports.…
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April 16, 2017 0