I bet you never expected those agaves to get that big when you first planted them. Unbelievable! They're starting to take over the bed. And c'mon Jim, Licualas? Don't tell me you're going to put those in the ground. I don't remember seeing those before. I bet those cost a pretty penny. Where'd you get them? Everything else looks great.

I don't think the Licuala would like it here at all-LOL

I did think The Agave would get that big(provided they lived)but not that fast!
The A.Havardiana in right around 30" across!

I was looking at the Parryi and it has put out 7 new leaves already,once they get a little size they are really pretty fast.

I do wish the bed was at least twice as big though so you can check each plant out individually-anyone of them is a good specimen plant.

Some sacrifices gotta be made in Iowa though(-:

I got both Licuala off e-bay,I paid $35 for the Ramsayi and $40 for the Grandis shipped,the thing that surprised me was they each grew a leaf over the winter and are both opening new ones now...I assumed I would be nursing them to spring with one leaf left if I was lucky!

If you keep the warmth up to the Licualas they'll go all year. While they're small they don't need a lot of light, within reason. Too dark and they stay small. A couple of months back I bought 3 ramsayi. They were labelled lauterbachii but they (nursery owners) claimed the labelling was wrong when I said I only wanted ramsayi. I'm hoping the labelling really was wrong. Fairly slow growers, but really beautiful palms.

Rather amazing, but your T.Princeps looks exactly like my Livistona rigida, even the size.

And your WagxFort looks a bit like my Livistona benthami, it's leaflets flop over like that. They're also called Fountain Palms because as the plants get larger the leaflets give the appearance of a cascading fountain.

Fantastic. Are these in the front or back of your house? What do your neighbors think of it? I see an Encephalartos and I believe a Dioon - how are they doing?

This is the front of the house.

I think most of them really like it but I bet few to none have looked very closely...thats when the fun starts(-:maybe 30 palms and 30 cactus and many other things that should not be there-I love the palms but if I had any idea the cacti would grow so fast I may have made the whole middle section a cactus bed because one day soon it will get crowded.

I have an D.Edule'"Palma Soma",C.revoluta,C.Taitungensis and E.Princeps out there...the CT and DE dried out a little this winter but are producing new fronds,the Sago was stored in the basement like a banana,it will look better after it flushes.....you know I took care of that E.Princeps though (-:

Those cacti really are growing fast for you. I remember your pics a few years ago showed more rocks than cacti in that bed and now you can definitely see a lot more cacti and succulents than rocks. Whoever thinks you cant have a lush xeriscape or mix it in with palms and tropicals definitely has not seen your yard!
Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

The cactus flowers are amazing and all your palm look healthy.