The Dypsis is going to be the best bet. The Phoenix rupicola is a mystery..some look great with a smooth trunk,others are almost dwarf palms. I know that Pleasanton golf club has a few P.rupicola that are said to be about a century old. But,they look more like thin CIDP,then the sideways fronded rupicola's in soucal.
And,you can always try Bizmarckia palms,silver or blue Brahea's. And I see silver Med palms on ebay at really great prices. Never seen a single one in the bay area.
Bizz's of all the really exotic palms are the only fast growers of the bunch. Just keep gophers away.
And..majesty palms You had that going fine before.

Stan, I did have a bismarkia ready to go into the ground this spring, but it was killed in our freeze this winter while it was still in the container. I got it from the same palm dealer in Temecula for $15 in a 5 gallon container. I'll have to get myself another one and put it in the ground.

Here in the valley, you may have more luck with the silver mediterranean fan palms. I see them all of the time at Riverside Nursery in Fresno and occasionally at a HD or Lowes.

The Majesty in Chowchilla actually survived the brutal freeze. It got down to 19F there this winter for a night or two! It was defoliated completely, but it's actively growing. I did notice that there was a hole in the trunk that will leave a scar. The area in question was completely dry though, and seemed to have healed by the time I noticed it. I'll keep an eye on it and hopefully it recovers completely within a few months. I can post an update later.

If you want to grow a palm garden in the Central Valley, I highly recommend you start by building a canopy first. Both phoenix rupicola and king palms will sustain frost damage every year unless you can get that overhead canopy going. There are a lot of great very tropical looking hardy canopy palms that won't get frost damage such as livistona and brahea. Livistona nitida, decora and australis and brahea clara are excellent palms to start with that have droopy tropical foliage. Parajubaea torallyi is a coconut look alike that is hardy to 20F and will also grow quickly to give you canopy under which you can grow more tender palms. Sabal uresana is another spectacular palm that thrives in the Central Valley.

Also, if you want to succeed with dypsis decipiens, try to spend a little more on a larger specimen that already has a well defined heel. That way you will know how deep to plant it, i.e. heel above ground so that it won't rot on you during the damp and cold rainy part of the year when the thule fog chills the valley. Also, those little guys might get fried in the Summer heat, but a bigger specimen has a better chance.

Good pointers Axel. I have a canopy on the north end of the house, but unfortunately, two large existing maples had to be cut down because they had termite infestations and now the front yard is completely exposed. The maples were nearing 91 years old from planting. I have some queen palms that will grow much faster and will eventually provide a canopy for the dypsis and king palms, but up to now, they're pretty exposed. I'll be making sure they get a shade cloth until that happens.