Thanks Dean,RR. I appreciate that. Its a balance this far north of whats doable and not seen in everybody else's yard . This is the bay area, 37n,and north of Santa Barbara these are not common- at all. There isn't a single larger Howea in town that I've ever seen.
Now that I think of it,even Agave americana variegata has mostly disappeared from yards in the bay area. Talk about "fallen out of favor".