Aging generation of palm enthusiasts

[mppalms]

My guess is that interest in growing plants, including palms, is strongly tied to home ownership.  I always liked the outdoors, but that mainly meant hiking or kayaking or whatever.  Then, I bought a house and found all this dirt I had to cover, as the previous owner hadn't done much.  I started off leaving the landscape alone and growing a lot of vegetables, etc., but fought gophers all the time.  I then wanted to grow more ornamentals, and as I did research, got hooked.

It would be interesting to see the same break-down by region to test the theory.  Generally, home ownership starts a bit later in places like California because houses are *so freaking expensive* here.  (Maybe things were different "back then" when houses didn't start at a half million +.)

Jason

[Palm Hound]

Very cool Bruce. Definitely starting early. The photo is also a good way to see how your palms are growing as well. You could make an annual photo so see your child's (and palm's) growth in the same spot.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I think the votes in the 71-80 category are awesome!  Is there anyone who is over 80?  Someday (if lucky enough) that is gonna be me!  For now I youthfully skew the statistics as a 30 year old.  

I definately agree with the correlation between land ownership and interest in gardening (I hope my interest doesn't expound proportionately based on land size :laugh: )...  But just because one owns land doesn fortell that they will care about whats planted there or how it looks. :ghostface:

[bgl]

Bill,

I'm sure there are +80 year olds. I also believe that the 71-80 age group is underrepresented - maybe because they're generally not on the computer, or checking out PalmTalk!

Personally, over time, I think we'll have to add +90 as well. And it's interesting how your definition of "old" changes over time. I used to think that anyone over 40 was old. Now I realize how wrong I was!  Anyone younger than me (I'm 64) is obviously still young. "Old" is more like 95....

Bo-Göran

[PalmGuyWC]

Bo,

Since he is no longer around, I tired to enter over 80 for Paul Drummond, but we are only allowed one vote and I could not registure in his behalf. Even though he was not a member of Palmtalk, Paul was active in growing palms and keeping the spirit of Palmtalk alive until he passed away at the age of 83 last September.

I visited Paul less than a year before he passed away, and even though I think he lost the ability to use his computer, he was still qute lucid in discussing palms and their culture, and also recounting some of his experiences in the Second World War. His sharp humor and observations still remained the last time we visited. I think he should be counted in this poal, and as you say, probably several others in that age group who do not use computers.

Dick

[Tess]

(mppalms @ Mar. 27 2008,07:38)

QUOTE

My guess is that interest in growing plants, including palms, is strongly tied to home ownership.  I always liked the outdoors, but that mainly meant hiking or kayaking or whatever.  Then, I bought a house and found all this dirt I had to cover, as the previous owner hadn't done much.  I started off leaving the landscape alone and growing a lot of vegetables, etc., but fought gophers all the time.  I then wanted to grow more ornamentals, and as I did research, got hooked.

It would be interesting to see the same break-down by region to test the theory.  Generally, home ownership starts a bit later in places like California because houses are *so freaking expensive* here.  (Maybe things were different "back then" when houses didn't start at a half million +.)

Jason

Jason,

Couldn't agree with you more.  Home ownership is everything.  

I'm a renter, so cannot grow the palms that I would like.  I enjoy walking around my neighborhood and looking at the palms and plantings of the homes around my by building, but with the prices here in Cali, I'll never be able to afford my own place.  I suffer from palm envy.

[bgl]

Tess,

Put the Hilo side on the Big Island on your radar screen, if only longterm!  Home ownership here is definitely affordable.

And Dick,

And let's not forget Pauleen Sullivan, who's past her mid 80s. She is of course one of the true "palm legends" with impressive palm gardens both in CA and HI. The one here in Kapoho, HI, is up for sale, in case anyone is interested in an amazing palm garden. 11 acres with thousands of palms, but still room to plant more! Unfortunately, Pauleen's health has declined to the point where she probably won't be able to visit Hawaii again.

Bo-Göran

[PalmGuyWC]

Bo,

I'm sorry to hear about Pauleens health.....as I didn't know, but there are many others that lived to a ripe old age, such as Teddy Buehler, Lucita Waite, Gurtrude Cole, and Marge Corbin, Florideans, but all who contributed mightly to the Palm Society and what it is today. At one time Lucita was called the mother of the Palm Society and in the early days, the executive secretary was the person who virtually ran the Palm Society, and kept it glued together, and the same for Teddy Buehler. I knew all of these fine ladys and they were all talented and had dynamic personalities. I'm sure there are many others out there too. Let's not forget Natalie Uhl who was the co-editor for many years of Principes. Often times Hal was in some far corner of the earth on expiditions and it was left to Natalie to get Principes together and have it sent out, a momumental task for one person. This was in the days before computers and Natalie only had a mechanical typewriter.

It was under the Presidency of Paul Drummond who through the Palm Society purchased an Apple 2-E for Natalie to work on, a very primitive computer by today's standards, but a vast improvement over her old mechanical typewriter. I once visited Natalie's office at Cornell, and I couldn't believe she worked under such primitive conditions. One would have thought an advanced uiniversity such as Cornell would at least have purchased an electric typewriter for her. Her contributions to the Palm Society were volunteer and her main duties at Cornell was as  a professor and teacher, and reasearcher. Natalie Uhl is truely a talented lady who bounced against the glass ceiling of Cornell Univ, and she is still an associate editor of PALMS.

There are many new members who take the Palm Society for granted, but it wasn't easy in the early years, with limited finances, and a scant workforce, all who volunteered their time and labor.

Ut oh....sounds like I'm on my soap box again, sorry, but I'm sure there are many out there over 80, or who were, who made great contributions to the Palm Society, or who just enjoyed growing palms.

Dick

[feef706]

Im 24 with a ten month old.. I caught her posing next to a queen palm today.. I plan on having her help me in the yard as soon as she's walking.. she already likes cleaning up the oak tree leaves.. I just have to teach her to put them in a bag instead of her mouth..

[BS Man about Palms]

Very Cute!

[_Keith]

So, I am watching Landscaper's Challenge on HGTV, as is my usual routine on Sunday mornings. This morning the featured garden is a couple with a young child. I always hate those as the theme is usually rip out the garden. So, today was no different and went to the extreme, IMHO. The dirt area was replaced by a tan rubberized surface and the play yard was created with Astroturf. And we wonder why young gardeners may be reducing in numbers despite the rise in population.

[amazondk]

Keith,

Did they add any plastic plants to the landscape as well? It is funny yesterday I was just remembering some scenes from when my 25 year old son was about 2 years old in Florida. His favorite pastime was chasing the dog around the yard and he really liked the sandy dirt in the back of the lot. He would end up totally covered with dirt and many times also end up with no clothes on. As he would lose his diaper in the process of chasing the dog through the bushes and the dirt. And, even further back when I was a kid in Montana we would turn mud puddles into bathing areas after a big summer thunderstorm. My mother must have loved it when I came home covered from head to toe in mud. That sure seems a long way from astro turf in the yard.

dk

Edited April 20, 2008 by amazondk

[Moose]

1/2 a century old and my son hates my palms.

[merrillwx]

It turns out I'm the oldest registrant here - I bred palms for about 50 years, but less active now.

Best Wishes,

merrill

[_Keith]

I hope this little guy, 20months old, will take over for me , already has a early start.

Even at 6 months he was out with the palms

Glad someone bumped this old thread with a vote, because I missed these precious pictures. I do hope he takes over for you someday.

Keith

[tim_brissy_13]

I guess I caught the palm bug fairly young compared to most. I've been on this forum and the old one before it for 8 years now and probably started getting into collecting about 10 years ago. I'm 21 now, and i suppose if anything a bit of the initial excitement of palms has worn off; I spend less time in the garden now than I did 5 years ago. There's no doubting, however, that this will be a lifelong passion.

I suppose I'm not surprised by the spread of age brackets represented here. Most people my age that I know are either just starting their working career, still studying, and/or have heavy sporting commitments, so even if they were interested in gardening, making time for it is an issue. In addition, gardening just isn't considered a cool thing to do. I dont know anyone my age who shares my passion, or at least anyone willing to admit it.

[Bennz]

I was in my early 20s when I started my palm obsession, arriving home froma trip to Australia with about 5000 palm seeds. Four kids later and the interest is still there, but the obsession has waned a lot. Now I'm happy with easy palms for my climate, rather than zone-pushing. The children will grow up with palms all around them. If any of them want to take over the farm, they will have to take the palms on too.

[Mark Heath]

I'm 46 and i have allways loved gardening. I got the bug when my wife and i rented our first home together and 7 years later we bought our property and bingo.

Someone earlier mentioned a good idea about giving your children a spot in the yard, that is how it happened for me. My step-father allways had a vegtable garden and one year (when i was 15)he asked if i wanted to do it,,, i have been doing it ever since!

I say, let your children pick a potted palm out of your colllection and help them plant it, and tell them that is their palm.

When i visit my mom i admire the palms/trees that i planted in the yard when i was young.

Sowe the seed!!

[peachy]

Some of my earliest memories are of asking people for cuttings from plants I admired, then taking them home and potting them. My bedroom was always full of plants as was the long verandah on the back of the house. My parents used to give me free rein in the garden as they didnt care if the grass and weeds grew taller than the house. Neither of my siblings is garden minded at all, so I dont know where my passion sprang from. Before getting my first house, I lived in high rise buildings and always had the terraces, and insides full of plants. Heaven knows how many I murdered over the years. When I went back to Zimbabwe, I drove out to see the house I grew up in and still remembered every tree and shrub I planted as a kid even though they were all massive by that time. Making a garden is also making memories and hopefully leaving a legacy for the future.

Peachy

[dalmatiansoap]

Im 35 and Im infested with "green fever" maybe 3-4 years now, have two kids and my son realy doesnt show any interest in plants and my doughter is like every other girl her age, so fare so good

[BS Man about Palms]

What a cutie!

[Palmy]

My mother like gardening to some degree, but my love for palms came natural at the age of like 14 at the same time, joining this forum. I am 20 now. (you have to be under 20 or over 21 in the poll, NO OPTION FOR 20

Lately, I am surprised to see how many younger folks are on this forum. I think thats wonderful to be interested in palms at such a young age. 5 years ago, there were very few young people on this forum (the old forum), now there are a lot more.

[Xenon]

I'm 13, and don't plan on having kids anytime soon...don't have any land either..

Another forum member, JASON M, is 12 though he hasn't been on lately...

Jonathan

Edited November 23, 2010 by Xenon

[JMBreland]

28 here. Got bitten by the palm bug while studying engineering in college when I was 23. You can imagine what happened afterwards! I'm glad to find more young people on the forum.

Like Dick wanted to do for Paul Drummond, I wanted to register for Maxwell Stewart, who's in his late 80s (my guess is 86, 87) and is a palm legend of the northern Gulf Coast. He owns a large property in Mobile, Alabama, full of cold-hardy palms where I had a priviledge of working for and assisting him for three years. He's still in impressive health for his age.

[Moose]

There are some constants in life.

I'm getting older, so is this thread.

My palms are getting taller, BS Man's still in their containers or dead

[BS Man about Palms]

not ALL of them dammit!

[Cindy Adair]

Thanks for bumping this thread as I hadn't seen it. Interesting reading and cute palms and kids! Should we continue the poll or perhaps start a new one to see if it has changed?

[Dypsisdean]

I think it is interesting to note that at least here that almost 3 out of 4 "palm enthusiasts" (73%) are under 50. I wonder what the percentage is in the IPS Membership as a whole, and/or on the Board of Directors. And I wonder what there is to learn from that?

[Silas_Sancona]

Also glad to see this topic bumped. Its always interesting to see how varying stages in life effect a taste for gardening, let alone becoming interested in a specific group of plants.

For me, successfully getting Cucumber and corn seeds to produce at the age of 5 or 6 sparked my curiosity. From then on I was always playing around with seeds of something. It wasn't until around the age of 10 that I started teaching myself about everything which catch my eye. Having family that is Hawaiian, tropical stuff always seemed way more interesting than the Oaks or Redwoods so common to where I grew up. My sister's grandparents always had stuff like Cymbidiums, Epidendrums, and Dendrobiums growing outside on their patio. Have fond memories of visiting Rod Mac's nursery as a kid.

Growing the "cool" stuff started in high school when I obtained seeds of Scarlet wisteria, yes, that weedy nuisance everyone wants to rid the world of. It was this experience, as well as collecting CA. Natives while hiking through the hills around my house, and growing them in my garden that I found that gardening came natural, even if I hated mowing the lawn or weeding flower beds out in the front yard, (someone from school might see me). It was about then that i got a taste of the Palm bug. Perhaps influenced by frequent trips to Santa Cruz during the summer.

After that, id move to Kansas for a few years, where id collect and grow natives, and play around with anything interesting i could get my hands on.

It wasn't until i was living in Ohio and really at a cross roads that i dove into the tropical stuff, starting with Plumerias. My mom recounts stories of me stripping the flowers and leaves off Plumeria she'd brought back from Hawaii when i was a kid.

My biggest accomplishment while in Ohio was over wintering a couple cultivars id picked up on a road trip through Florida, sparked by a life long commitment to seeing the white sand and clear, warm water id seen in countless pictures. That winter saw lots of snow and a pretty nasty Ice Storm. One of these Plumerias had fully developed seed pods at this time. That spring, i successfully germinated most of the seed from it. Most of those seedlings are with me today, and moved to Florida, and back here to CA. with me. The rest of what i have came afterwards, palms included.


Going by my experiences in younger days, id say it was the encouragement of the people around me who shared the interest that helped me "grow" my interest. While life took me in many different directions, coming back to my interest, and pursuing it was something i did on my own. It goes back to those planted "seeds" another member here had mentioned. While i currently don't have kids, i hope to help my Nieces and Nephew develop a green thumb of their own. They're already fascinated by the Carnivorous stuff. I'll get one of them hooked on palms in due time.

I think trips to Botanical gardens, or providing kids hands on experiences with weird looking plants and experiencing that "awe" factor with them helps spark interest in them. Kids remember that kind of stuff. Down the road, they too might choose to grow on the memories. I still hate pulling weeds though. -Nathan-

Edited September 8, 2013 by Silas_Sancona

[Peter Pacific]

I'm 53, if I voted when this thread was started it would have been one category younger! Time flies.

When I was a kid growing up in Naples, Florida, I hated the garden. My Dad would wake me up early Saturday morning to help him cut the grass and I would pretend to be asleep, pulling the pillow over my head. I couldn't think of a more excruciating torture, this was a real punishment. There was school and work and I never gave the garden a second thought.

Bump forty years and found myself living on the rural coast of Guatemala for five years with no tv and no computer. What was I going to do living in the sticks in a simple beach house and two acres of land. I started planting coconut palms and almond trees, the only things that would grow in a tough, hot climate. Then a friend of mine, scottgt, gave me a Triangle palm, then a blue latan and my passion grew from there. The coast has changed a lot in the last ten years. So has my garden.

I don't have kids, but when my niece and goddaughter come over we walk the garden together with the Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms and I show them palm by palm what they will look like when they're grown. One palm that gets every kid is the "oso peluche", the Teddy bear palm, Dypsis leptocheilos. I let them touch the fuzz and there is always an audible "ooooooo" and smiles on their faces. When I see that they've started to loose interest in Tio Peter's palms, we jump in the pool. If, one day, San Miguel del Mar belongs to Estefania and Isabella, I hope the seed I planted will have germinated.

Peter

[smithgn]

I'm 25. I grew up around a few palms (pindos palms) my mom planted and cared for in my first house growing up. I never really manifested a deep interest until a few years ago, but I definitely think that those palms my mom planted I somehow grew an attached, sentimental adoration for them- something reminiscent of my childhood.

[sarasota alex]

In a couple of years I'm going to come back to this topic to switch my vote

[Ken Johnson]

The Moose sure knows when to bump...I see spirits are high here on PalmTalk. I love this place.

Ever see a 90+ year old person plant palms? I have and it is a real thrill!

[Rafael]

When I started here I was btw 31/40. Now I am 41. New class.

But...

My 3 kids seem to begin showing interest on my palms

[Neel]

I just turned 37 and I've been in this hobby for years. However, I didn't really get into full on until I bought my own house about 10 years ago. Land ownership helps. Nobody else in my family is interested and neither are any of my friends...although I talk about to them sometimes and point out rare and usual palms when I'm with them. I do all the other stuff people my age do.. Snowboard, ride motorcycles, etc.

as a matter of fact, we were cruising PCH once on our bikes and that's when I saw the Newport coconut for the first time and almost lost control from staring at it. Even though I grew up not knowing any other palm enthusiasts, coming here and seeing the others does make me feel kinda "normal" knowing there's others out there like me.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Palm collecting it a great pastime, you meet lots of great people, visit lots of garden palm collections.

The only way to ensure the collection continues after you are fertiliser yourself is to get involved with a local botanical garden or 2. The rare palm species will survive with the next generation rescuing the seed for generations to come.

When you do, you get to see growing the palms you do not have room for or are not suited to your soil etc.

Have not given up on the grandkids though. One of them likes to help in the garden. so hopefully..............

Extreme gardening sounds like a good idea Daryl, now if my shovel is strong enough for the field of dreams palms........ i could lend it to you :-)

regards

colin

[LilikoiLee]

So we are in the 18.45% group but plan to be still working in our palm garden when we're i the .43% group! Lee

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Should have voted 5 years ago! I was surprised to see I was in the older 1/2 of the bell curve. Of course my place is perfectly logical, but in my mind I'm about 30. I've been planting palms a long time, over 30 years. Unfortunately I've relocated so many times I've lost track of most of them. Now I'm buying big ole specimens so I can enjoy them instantly. Still planting a few seeds too. Maybe I can stay put until retirement when I can Relo to Hilo and start all over again! Unfortunately, it seems young folks today are less likely to get into gardening meaning our hobby may be entering an age of change.

[LilikoiLee]

This was the most interesting and enjoyable thread I've read on PT. Everyone had such insightful comments and stories about their own journey into gardening and palms. I particularly liked the post that ended with the similie that some kids are Bismarckia and others are Johnson grass.

I was born and raised in Chicago. Although we had a good sized property the only gardening that happened was cutting the grass. I don't remember either of my parents pruning, watering or fertilizing our lilac tree or peach tree. (Although I still remember the wonderful smell of the lilacs and the incomparable taste of a peach you just picked off the tree.)

I left Chicago when I was in my early 20's and lived in Asia for a number years without ever taking serious notice on any plant. I was shocked when I retured home to find my 50 year old parents gardening. It seemed pretty ridiculous to me but there were obviously enjoying it.

Eventually I ended up in Honolulu, and then Kona where I have been for the last 20 years. Somehow (I really can't understand it myself) I didn't much notice palnts - particularly the palms - until about 5 years ago when I was 64. I know that alot of that had to do with being very preoccupied with my career but I still don't understand how I could drive down the road past beautiful palms and barely notice them.

I wish we had some children to leave our garden to. But as many as you have noted above there is no guarantee your offspring will appreciative what you've created and want to continue it. We are leaving our garden to a charity with a stiplution that it be maintained as a garden. Hopefully it will inspire someone else's children to grow and enjoy their own gardens.

[Kim]

It's fun to revisit this thread and read the responses again. I voted before, but didn't post. With a sigh of relief, i see I am still in the same age category for one more year. My adult kids are not gardeners yet, but they are developing an appreciation to the extent that they visit botanical gardens on their own. In their 20s, they are mostly wrapped up in their work and personal life, which is natural. But they have the farmer in their DNA, it's bound to come out sooner or later!