Huge Palm, Cycad & Tropical Plant Sale

[Phil]

It was nice seeing some of you at the Nursery in the past day or two. Pictured below, left to right, are NakaB, MattyB's brother in law Jeff, and MattyB. Apparently Matt has convinced his family members to also grow palms and brought Todd by yesterday.

So, you might ask, what did Jeff pick out. Well, he got two plants. A nice approximate 8 foot Chambeyronia macrocarpa in a 15g container (below) and a very chunky Archontophoenix maxima in a 15g.

I also enjoyed seeing Paul Denton and Shon and a few others. Below is a picture of a couple of Alocasia. Customers do like the companion plants to go with their palms.

[MattyB]

Yeah, my brother in law is getting the bug now. I also picked up a Heterospathe glauca upon Jessie's "just get it" recommendation. Everytime Jessie dosen't even try and describe a palm to me and says, "just get it" I've never been dissapointed. Past winners include Kentiopsis pyriformis, Veilonia alba, and Ravenea sp. giant. All of these have done well and are my favorites.

[paulgila]

wow,matt,the same thing happened to me!

oh yeah,we were both there at that exact same moment & both bought an h.glauca...

a trip to jungle music is always fun,talk to the staff & other customers,wander the aisles & look at the great plants,rinse,then repeat!

often times it is nearly impossible to choose from so many well-grown palms(but i always manage to narrow it down to 1 or 2--or 3).

[Phil]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the kind comments. It was fun seeing everyone.

You know that when you have a camera and get a bit bored, you take pictures. So, what about cute "little" cycads. Some small cycads (not all) tend to like filtered light and almost serve as a substitute for dwarf Chamaedorea species. Or, if added in addition to the Cham's, give a nice variety to the garden. The Zamia below is a hybrid we produced that has a very cool wide leaflet and is quite pretty. I would predict its mature height to end up at about 18 inches.

An alternative would be Ceratozamia mocrostrobilis. It's got small, wide leaflets and typically doesn't get over 2 to 3 feet. Also note the brown-red petiole, typical of this species.

Or, a very rare and unusual Ceratozamia with extremely thin leaflets: Ceratozamia zaragosae. Some might think it's a bit scrappy, but boy do people search it out this species. It's almost impossible to find. It can take sun in coastal areas.

Closeup of zaragosae leaf

Palms next time.

Phil

[Jeff Searle]

Hi Phil,

Zamia's are my favorite group of cycads, so I was wondering what the parents were of that one you just showed with the wide leaflets. It's very nice and reminds me of a Ceratozamia.

Jeff

[Phil]

Jeff,

It definitely had furfuracea in it. I'll go back to my notes to see the other partner. Sort of cool, huh?

Now for a few palms.

Raphia farinifera is a large leafed pinnate palm. There are multiple people growing Raphia here in So Cal. You don't see it offered for sale that much and hardly ever see photos. That's why I thought a few pictures would be good. In the first shot below, you see Shon (from this List) standing next to a 15g plant. It's about 8 feet tall.

The next shot is a closeup of the trunk.

The last picture is a closeup of the leaf. Note the tiny spines on the margins of the leaflets.(highlighted by reflected light). This helps identify Raphia. Raphia is is a genus you can identify even if blindfolded by touching the leaves. Copernicia are sometimes like that as well. Burretiokentia koghiensis would be an example as well, but here you'd be touching the base of the crown. I'll show some Koghi pictures next to demonstrate this.

I wonder if all the Dypsis Boys ever grow Raphia?

Phil

[Phil]

I mentioned Burretiokentia koghiensis. Below are a few pictures I that I took in habitat in New Caledonia. The nursery photos will follow.

And a few domestic shots. I think this one's from Moderator Dean's Encinitas garden. Dean, if this is correct, where did you get it, how big was it when planted and when did you plant it?

Nursery plant to follow.

Phil

[Phil]

Burretiokentia koghienis. This one's about 3 feet tall in a 5g. We also have 2g and 15g sizes.

Here's a picture of the base of the plant. It don't know if you can see from this photo, but juvenile B. koghiensis have a distinct triangular base to the crownshaft area. If you feel it, it has three sides and blindfolded you could distinguish it from B. hapala and B. vieillardii but touching this area.

And, here's another Zamia leaf for Jeff Searle. He's almost been growing plants for almost as long as I have. You can see how the beauty of Zamias really makes them champions in our minds.

Phil

ps: Sale doesn't go forever. Drop by or contact me soon. Open Monday-Saturday. 20% Discount applies to mail orders as well.

[BS Man about Palms]

Great pix again, Phil. If I'm a "Dypsis boy", yes I have a Raphia. Also, I think that is Pogobobs garden, not Deans....

[pogobob]

I mentioned Burretiokentia koghiensis. Below are a few pictures I that I took in habitat in New Caledonia. The nursery photos will follow.

And a few domestic shots. I think this one's from Moderator Dean's Encinitas garden. Dean, if this is correct, where did you get it, how big was it when planted and when did you plant it?

Nursery plant to follow.

Phil

Phil, the last 2 kogies are photos of one of mine, not Deans. Your seedlings have grown well because they are Pogo Kogies! Plenty more where those came from

[Phil]

Bob,

Now that I examine the photo, I see the brown wooden fence and remember that these shots were probably taken about 4 years ago in your garden. How could I forget shots from your famous New Caledonian garden? In case others don't know, Pogo's collection of New Caledonian species is superb and one of the best in So Cal. His garden has been on tour several times.

Another thing: If anyone want's to know prices, here's the link for all of our prices. It's our pricing database and includes essentially all the palms we have. For cycads, go to the "buy cycads" button at the home page. As most of you know, we sell palms by the container size (no upcharge if you find a big one) and have done so for over 30 years. Our prices are always posted at our Site.

Price List Palms

Now for some palm stuff. A ways back seeds became available of a very white Nannorrhops ritchiana. They are very nice looking. Here's a few shots of 1g size. I have Nanorrhops in basically three colors: green, grey and this white leaf form. These are from 3 different seed batches. Different locality habitats have different degrees of glaucous wax. Obviously the ones below have a lot. I recently learned that there are Nannorrhops in Southern Yemen near the ocean. I was told this by a person who visited the habitat. They also occur in Pakistan. For those of you who like Serenoa, you are aware of the different colors from green to white-blue. I think it's the same with Nannorrhops. I hope you enjoy.

Another showing its suckering nature.

Phil

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I love that little Zamia (and I could care less about anything other than palms most of the time!) that you predicted to be 18 inches... Thanks for keeping your sale thread going Phil. I hope your sale is going well...

[Phil]

William,

Wow! A palm guy that likes cycads. Cool.

The nice thing about shade tolerant cycads is that any garden has room for them and they (IMO) always make the "palm garden" look better. I'll show you some photos of Ceratozamia leaves taken from plants in our nursery. Just as we've seen in Dypsis, with Ceratozamias there is still a lot of work to be done. There are plants that look different, but are called the same thing. Sometimes, the lumpers might say "they are all microstoribilis" or "mexicana", or something like that. But, a discerning eye sees differences. Check these out below. They are all just "Ceratozamia species". When looking at the leaves, concentrate on the shape, length, width, margins and color of the leaflets. Look at the petiole color, size, and if it's armed with spines. Look at the arrangement of the leaflets and the overall shape and length of the leaf. Like palms and their flowers, cycads are ultimately grouped by their cones. But, we can study what we see in front of us to get an idea of what we are looking at. The more one looks, the more one sees the differences. Maybe one of you will help us name more Ceratozamias, Zamias and Dioons some day.

Phil

Ceratozamia "species": All from plants in about 5g size, all are Western Hemisphere cycads, all are from the Nursery, and all are a bit different.

[Phil]

Sorry, but I couldn't post more on the last posting.

So, here's two more Ceratozamia "species" below. If we were talking Malagassy palms, they'd just be "Dypsis species".

And, a Ceratozamia "hildae-looking" plant. This one has the look of hybridization.

And, now for a Ceratozamia mexicana. There are variations in the appearance of this species.

And, the leaf of a more classical Ceratozamia microstrobilis

Finally for today I want to make one more comment. I'm not showing all these photos hoping that one of you will actually come and purchase all of these plants. That has nothing to do with it. That, of course, would be nice. But what I'm trying to do is expose the few readers who actually come to this thread to species and plants they might not normally see or think about. Seriously, who seeks out Chuniophoenix, Raphia, or wierd Ceratozamias? I've tried to diversify photos enough that this can actually be an education thing. For this reason I do appreciate feedback so I know people are actually viewing the pictures.

Phil

[BS Man about Palms]

You post the pictures Phil, I'll look with enthusiasm. Pretty simple recipe really.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

<~~~~ actively seeking a Raphia at the moment BTW

[Don Little]

Great Shots of the nursery Phil. I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to make it down yet, going to the sales is always one of my highlights. How much longer will you be offering the plants at 20% off?

Don

[Phil]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the feedback. I've always wondered if BS, Man About Palms. dreams about palms while he sleeps. Does anyone have conclusive information about this? Bill, thanks for your support. And William, Raphia? It is an impressive palm. Once in Hawaii I saw a "small" one with about 15 leaves 25 feet long going straight up. And Don, if you don't make it down today, just mention in the near future that you want the discount and I'll honor it. I'll extend this to the rest of you. Because of the Sale's success, I'm thinking about extending it. We've shipped off over 50 big boxes of palms and cycads in the last ten days alone. This is very labor intensive. I don't really love doing it, but it does get species to people who could otherwise not have them. Also, it gives the Ag Inspector job security because he's doing so many inspections on the plants we ship.

I have a customer in a colder part of the country. He loves cycads. For over a decade he's been buying from me and he finally sent me some pics. His sunrrom is very impressive, archictural looking, and has that "Southwestern" look.

Phil

[freakypalmguy]

Excellent photos Phil.

That Cycad sunroom is really cool and he has an amazing collection. Looking at the size of some of his pots compared to the size of some of his plants is wild. Huge Cycads in tiny pots.

Keep up the great work.

Matt

[MattyB]

Uhhhhh, Shon step away from my Raphia in the 15 gallon!!!!!!!!!! I've been eyeing that thing for a while now. If I don't end up getting it I hope it goes to a good wet home because that's a large Raphia for CA from what I've seen. We just don't see them that often.

[Shon]

No worries Matty I was just in that picture for scale. I won't brag about the Veillonia alba I found today. I guess that 20 hrs a week I spend going up and each ailse is starting to pay off.

[Phil]

MattyB,

It is true that Shon found a very nice one gallon Veillonia alba today. Since I had promised more palm photos, this afternoon I got out my camera and was ready to go when Shon came by the nursery.S up. So, here's his plant:

Veillonia alba, 1g. I would estimate it was about a foot tall, probably on it's fifth or sixth leaf since germination and about 2l/2 years old or a bit more. They aren't the quickest guys on the block.

A little closer shot

Now a closeup. You can see some of the color in it's stem and crown.

Phil

[Phil]

So, when Shon had seen that I had taken a picture of his palm, he said "Phil, there's a great Cryosophila albida in the greenhouse". He shot off and a few minutes later came back. When I looked at it I said "It's not very big". I've had much bigger 15g than this before. Shon then said "But wait. Check out the white color on the back of the leaves. It's gorgeous". He was right, it is nice and I don't think I've seen a good photo lately showing this stark white contrasted against the green leaf.

Cryosophila albida, about 3 to 4 feet tall.

Here's Shon trying to show the back side of the leaflets. You can tell they are white, but it's just not showing it as well in this photo as it actually is.

Let's get the light right and move on in. But, it still doesn't quite show it.

Now this is the ticket. White as snow. The Star Palm.

Phil

[paulgila]

matt you dont need another raphia.i just gave you one that has thrown 1 stunted,miniscule leaf in a year is is soft & spongy at the base.

[palmislandRandy]

Phil, Keep on posting pics, I need the edgemacation! Thanks!

[Phil]

Speaking of color on the back of leaves, there are certainly a lot of species of palms with this. One could ask why does a palm do this? Glaucous white color on many genera of plants is from a wax formed by the plant to prevent dessication. It can usually be wiped off to show green. This is the case with the previous Cryosophila. But, why the underside of the leaf? Could it be protection against insects which often feed oF the underside? Is the underside more susceptible to water loss? Does it attract pollinators? Or, is it just for the enjoyment of us palm guys and an aid to taxonomists? With all the obstactles in the field, perhaps Mother Nature felt sorry for the field biologist and helped him on his way. Well, I think it was just for our enjoyment. That's the answer. So, with this in mind, I'll show a few pictures below to test your knowledge. Some might get it right off the bat and Shon can't respond. What species do you think this is? it's in a 5g pot.

Phil

[Phil]

Wow, I'm perplexed. All day and not one answer. Is it so obvious that no one wants to spoil the game? Or, is it so esoteric that no one knows for sure? Or, do you need hints? When someone gets it I'll explain a dead ringer on ID'ing it.

Phil

[BS Man about Palms]

Parajubea?

[Phil]

Bill,

Reasonable guess. But, a Parajubaea has those really long strap leaves when juvenile; sort of like a Syagrus. The plant above doesn't have this. And, look at the color itself on the first picture. Is it white or sort of rusty colored? (that's a hint, #1)

Phil

[BS Man about Palms]

Oraniopsis ?

[Phil]

While others are still thinking over their answer to the above, I'll post a few pictures of Beccariophoenix madagascariensis "windows". This one's in a 15g at the Nursery and is about 10 to 12 feet tall. Believe it or not, we've got a few in boxes outdoors and they made it through the Winter of 07 (25 degrees). As most who have visited us know, our plants see at least 35 degrees (or colder) every winter and transition outdoors quite easily if they're from the greenhouse. And, our greenhouse is very open and well ventilated, not a "hot and sticky" greenhouse. I think this also makes for ideal transition.

Beccariophoenix madagascariensis "windows"

A closeup of the trunk. It's quite old with a six to eight inch base.

The leaf

Leaf closeup. Note the closing off of the openings in the leaf as it goes toward the outer margin. This creates the "windows". Another species with this type of windows is Reinhardtia gracilis. With the Beccariophoenix eventually the windows are lost as the plant becomes fully pinnate.

Phil

[Phil]

Bill,

Very good. You snuck that in while I was preparing the Beccariophoenix pictures. Yes, it's an Oraniopsis apendiculata. The back side of the leaves is definitely a rusty-silver. In the right light, it reflects an orange-brown color at you. That's a dead give-away. Now, I'll show the front side of the plant and it is just plain green.

Oraniopsis apendiculata, 5g

Phil

[Phil]

There's a palm that is quite nice and solves a problem for that difficult location. It's Ptychosperma schefferi. It's interesting because its trunk is very thin and it doesn't get overly tall. It is perfect for a location where you need a thin plant in a narrow planting area. It's crown of leaves is small. It's definitely smaller and skinnier than a Foxtail. It can take filtered light or perhaps full sun if you are Coastal.

Ptychosperma schefferi in a 15g, about 10 feet tall

Leaf

Closeup showing leaflet tips

Trunk

Phil

[Phil]

I promised Jeff Searle a ways back that I'd make more comments on the beautiful Zamia leaf that I posted. It aroused his interest as it should have done. Zamia gentryi is from Ecuador and is almost never seen in collections. It is similar to Zamia roezli, another South American species. Z. gentry has long, lush green leaves about 2 meters long and a one meter caudex when mature. The trunk is usually prostrate (laying on the soil). Even if you're only a palm lover, you have to appreciate the beauty of this cycad. This might be one of the few around of this species for sale. It's seen 35 degrees in the greenhouse (or possibly a bit cooler) and looks great. It likes filtered light. It would be nice if I had the purple-red cones to show you as that is the definitive way to ID cycads, but it hasn't coned as of yet. Please enjoy as you might not see another picture of this for a very long time.

Zamia gentryi in a 15g pot at the Nursery:

And a closeup of the leaflet:

[Jonathan]

No more Phil.....I cant stand it any longer...I'm gonna get the first plane outa here and set up camp in your nursery!

I'll live on humid air and palm vapours, I'll renounce Darwin for Lamarck and grow more palm-like everyday; eventually you'll cease to notice that I'm human, till one day I'll be potted up into a 10g container and Bill 'BS Man' will take me home on a weird ladder like contraption....

....think I better lay off the old Hunter Valley Semillon....but when you're confronted with CIDP, Bangalows and Trachycarpus in every nursery, well, you get kinda wistful.

[rukiddingme]

Zamia gentryi in a 15g pot at the Nursery:

Phil:

What is the cost of the Zamia? Went to your site and there is no price shown. Thanks in advance.

[Phil]

Jonathan, that is funny. Your comments made me laugh. And Ruki, the Z. gentryi is the only one I have and I've been growing it for about 15 years. The sale price is $1200. This may seem high, but it's no more than one would pay for the same age Jubaea or Howea. And, it's a thousand times more rare. Old cycads are never cheap. To put it into perspective, that's about what I paid two plumbers for a 4 hour repair of my sewer line a few months back. Zamia muricata this size are about a quarter of this price and look very similar.

Now for a few more pictures.

Trithrinax campestris is an interesting palm because it is blue, suckering and quite cold hardy. For those in tropical areas, one might say it doesn't have that pinnate beauty of their other palms. But, for those in cold areas, this is another species that they should consider. It's a bit slow growing but a sturdy plant. The one below is in a 5g container and about 4 or perhaps 5 years old. Wow, what a contrast from the Zamia I just showed! But, not everyone lives in Miami, Honolulu or other warm spots.

Trithrinax campestris.

Trithrinax campestris, closeup of base

Phil

[rukiddingme]

The sale price is $1200. To put it into perspective, that's about what I paid two plumbers for a 4 hour repair of my sewer line a few months back.

Now I know why plumbers are so freakin expensize...they are all cycad collectors!!!!!!

[BS Man about Palms]

No more Phil.....I cant stand it any longer...I'm gonna get the first plane outa here and set up camp in your nursery!

I'll live on humid air and palm vapours, I'll renounce Darwin for Lamarck and grow more palm-like everyday; eventually you'll cease to notice that I'm human, till one day I'll be potted up into a 10g container and Bill 'BS Man' will take me home on a weird ladder like contraption....

....think I better lay off the old Hunter Valley Semillon....but when you're confronted with CIDP, Bangalows and Trachycarpus in every nursery, well, you get kinda wistful.

The rig is ready and waiting....

[MattyB]

Phil, the growth rate you get is outta control! I got a Veilonia abla from you, from that same batch, back when they were just put up into liners and have little bifid leaves. Now, mine is working on it's second pinnate leaf. Yours looks like it's working on it's 5th. Dang, dat boy good!