Places to buy Palms in Florida?

[MDPalm]

hello. My first post here.....

I was considering a quick trip to Florida to pick up some palms, I was most interested in some Christmas Palms, Foxtails, etc. - more tropical than cold hardy. I was hoping to not have to drive all the way to south Florida and was wondering if anyone knows of some places to find these palms in more northern/central Florida at a decent price? I was looking for a huge nursery or grower who would easily sell to a non-wholesale customer.

Thanks!

[aztropic]

Easiest thing would be to check a few big box stores.You may not have to drive far at all as I've seen various common tropical palms like the Christmas,Foxtail,Spindle,and Bottle imported in the ocean city area. Stop at a local store and have them do an inventory check of surrounding stores.

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Dave-Vero]

The big box stores tend to have palms that aren't exactly hardy where the store is located. I think I can find a good landscape nursery in the Ormond Beach area, and a number of retail nurseries in Brevard County (Cape Canaveral and south) have good selections of not-so-hardy palms. The county also has a small growers.

If Brevard doesn't suffice, there's growers in Martin County and in the Loxahatchee area of Palm Beach County.

Christmas, foxtails and of course bamboo palms are easy to find. For indoor gardens, it's hard to beat the various Chamaedorea palms.

You might also think about bamboos. At least one grower in Martin County sells a lot of bamboos for indoor landscaping--atriums and such.

[Jeff Searle]

If all possible, please support your small business owners. They would not only be more than happy to help you with any questions, but they deserve the business the most.

[MDPalm]

Thanks for the replies. I have been to the big box store in Berlin, the closest to Ocean City (I am assuming we can't mention the name here?) the past 2 years, maybe I didn't go early enough in the season but I didn't see any Chrsitmas palms. I did manage to get one small foxtail that looked pretty bad, but they did discount it and it's looking good now and a roebelenii 2 years ago. They did have a small selection but mostly cold hardy or majesty plams. Also been to the stores in Rehoboth but did't see much other than the cold hardy blue pots. Over the years I have been at most big box stores south of Baltimore and east of DC without seeing much.

Last year I did see a large Christmas palm in Annapolis but they wanted $300 or 400 for it! They used to carry smaller ones years ago but i haven't seen any for years. Last week I even visited some big box stores in VA Beach and didn't see anything there either, but maybe its too early.

There is a local place on Kent Island and they also sell in Annapolis that sells more tropical stuff but they are usually expensive and I figured why pay $150 for a palm tree when I can spend a that in gas and buy one for half the price in Florida.... and maybe a few others as well.

I am trying to put together a list of places that I might want to visit in Florida. I was hoping to be able to stick around Palm Coast but didn't really expect to find too much around there.

[Bill H2DB]

Home Depot in the Daytona/Ormond area does usually have tropical palms .

They even carry Coconuts sometimes , which are short term plants in this area .

They even keep a few Mangos etc around . They also are not hardy here .

The store near the Daytona Int'l Speedway is close to I-95 . I've not been to the store

in Palm Coast , but its only another 30 miles to Daytona .

A good ( I've heard ) local style nursery in Palm Coast/Bunnell is Gospel Gardens .

[Palmdude]

Like Jeff said, stay away from the big box stores and support growers like him for example. I can tell you that a trip to Jeff's place is well worth it, especially if you're looking for more tropical stuff, he's got it all! There are also loads of other great places in south Florida with fantastic prices on some killer stuff. I drive iver to that coast just for that purpose, Redlands is a great spot too, and check out Derkos too if you get a chance, Jessie's garden is worth the trip alone but yeah stay away from the BB stores and support local growers!!!!! Keep the money in the family!

[Cocoa Beach Jason]

You should find what you are looking for everywhere from the Orlando area to points south thereof. I can't speak about points north of there.

[PalmatierMeg]

If you are driving 1,000 miles to go palm shopping in FL, spending time & $$ in chain BB stores seems like a waste of both to me. Go for the palm shopping trip of your dreams and visit top notch nurseries like Searle and Redland and, to quote Dooms Dave, be prepared to swoon your heart out. There is a world of tropical palms beyond Adonidias and coconuts.

[Palmdude]

Meg speaks the truth

[ErikSJI]

How about I tell you how to get the palms not to far from you with out the drive. Message me. As I might know people heading to your area.

[Beach palm]

I have seen all the species you mention and more at the st. Augustine Home Depot on us 1. This store is about 45 minutes north of ormond beach. It is about 10 minutes inland of I-95. The "smaller" growers mentioned definitely have more of a selection than the box stores. The box stores are typically cheaper.

[Jeff Searle]

The "smaller" growers mentioned? Compared to who / what?? That's pretty funny and makes no sense.

True....our selection of palms can't even compare with a big box store.

False....box stores are definitely not typically cheaper. Their selection of 5-10 species of palms are always more money than what one can expect to buy from local nurseries. At least down here in south Florida.

[_Keith]

Who would drive hundreds of miles to go to a big box? Go see the experts like Jeff. Learn from pros, make connections, make friends. Have fun.

[mnorell]

If you make a trip for yourself out of visiting Fairchild and other wonderful gardens in South Florida, you will kill two birds with one stone. See the species in those gardens that you're not familiar with and that might be good candidates for your greenhouse, then go visit the wonderful south Florida growers mentioned above for those weird and wonderful species that catch your eye. Their growing grounds are a beautiful experience in themselves. Also take a browsing trip down Krome Avenue and the surrounding streets in Homestead for the more common tropical items, including the odd heliconias, aroids, orchids, etc. that you will find here and there. It's like being a kid in a candy store. And there are a lot of truly "little guys" in the Homestead area who have been hurt badly by the slow economy of the last years and are just barely holding on...and your purchases of even those more common items may make a very real difference to their livelihoods, as small as those dollar amounts may seem. In many of these places you will find beautiful "trash trees" such as Ptychosperma elegans and Adonidia for unbelievably low prices, far lower than prices at the Big Box stores. And hidden in those many square miles of growers are a lot of wonderful and interesting people and much of the character of southeast Florida, worlds away from the neon glitz of South Beach or the high polish of Coral Gables and Coconut Grove. You will feel like you took a quick drive to some magical growing ground in Central America.

Then go visit Jeff and the others for some of the really magical palms, slow-growing palms like Cyrtostachys and the likes, and also the various Licuala that can stay small enough to enjoy the confines of a greenhouse life and will delight you for years to come. Remember that if you're planting in-ground in your greenhouse, keep ultimate height in mind. You may have to kill those Adonidia, Ptychosperma elegans, et al. after a few years as they will quickly smash through your roof! Even what you may think of as a slow-growing species like Hyophorbe verschaffeltii will be up against your ceiling very quickly if you put it in a greenhouse environment in the ground. I have one that is now at 15 feet overall after three years in the ground from a three-gallon plant here in this outdoor greenhouse known as the Florida Keys. Sticking to clustering species in any tall-growing palms will allow you to thin out tall canes as smaller ones come up to take their place.

[MDPalm]

Thanks for all the tips on places to go. It seems south Florida is the place to go, I was hoping to drive a day to central Florida, stay for a day or two, then drive back in a day. But heading to Miami would probably take an extra couple of days and you have probably given me more places to check out than I can do in 2 days!

I definitely would like to visit some place that knows about and likes talking about the trees and not just somewhere where an employee rings you up and sends you on your way.

I will have to make a list of all the suggestions, see where they are and see what if I can make it happen.

Thanks!

[Hilo Jason]

Just thought I would chime in here as well and encourage you to head all the way down to the Miami area and check out Jeff Searle's nursery, Redland and many others. Just driving the streets around Homestead is a treat for me. And Fairchild is worth the trip alone and easy to spend an entire day in. I made the trip 3 times over a 2 year period all the way from California and everytime was worth it. Not too mention the friends I made there in Florida along the way. Such great experiences.

[Palmdude]

Or you could hit up Floribunda and have some amazing stuff delivered right to your door! I say do both! Florida would be more of an adventure and you can view large specimens at some of the nurseries to see what the little guys will turn into and guaranteed you'll fall in love with more palms than you might ever have room for

[Beach palm]

The "smaller" growers mentioned? Compared to who / what?? That's pretty funny and makes no sense.

True....our selection of palms can't even compare with a big box store.

False....box stores are definitely not typically cheaper. Their selection of 5-10 species of palms are always more money than what one can expect to buy from local nurseries. At least down here in south Florida.

Smaller growers as in not the typical large corporate nursery as opposed to a ma and pa grower like Searle, Redmond, and others that tend to specialize in hard to find plants. Each type of grower has their place in the marketplace. The quality depends on the growers but the ones mentioned are among the best I have seen. I have purchased from both of them many times and I am sure I will in the future. The quality of plants at HD tend to be very good upon receipt but fall off dramatically over time due to neglect and inappropriate spacing at the store. I have been buying palms and other exotics in south Florida since the mid 1980's. While I rarely purchase plants from HD their prices are lower for comparable plants at the local nurseries typically. HD prices are typically at the wholesale level for many of their plants. You just don't get the selection at HD. If the original thread question were to be answered from a standpoint of where can I get the best selection at the best prices and quality the answer would be clearly to go to the upcoming south Florida palm sale at Fairchild tropical gardens. If a few palms want to be purchased with the least effort I would say try HD in north Florida. Even the jacksonville stores that are north of st. Augustine probably have many of the palms in question. I would rather see you buy palms from HD than no palms at all.

[Palmdude]

I talk to people in the garden section of HD and hand them my friends cards who grow locally, their prices ARE lower than HD and they have a far better selection. I encourage people to support their local economy and keep the money in the community rather than handing it over to a big corporation just to have the money disappear. I have bought a few palms there though myself that were ridiculously cheap, like Triple Roebelinis with 5' of trunk for $89, couldn't resist that deal for several of the projects I was working on at the time, but I do support my friends locally as much as possible.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Palmdude

[MDPalm]

Stopped by the HD in Berlin, MD just outside OC. They have a bunch of palms in. Most of the standard stuff that you would see at any HD up this way in the summer but they did have some Roebelinis that were about 5' OA for $99. They had about 5 small bottle palms for $40 which I thought about but didn't buy. Not too many cold hardy blue pots though. They did have some adonidia palms but were way too expensive.

These were about 5 foot.

[MDPalm]

These were about 3 foot but I just couldn't spend that much for something so small.

[redant]

If you do make it to FL stop by my place on the way through. I'm not a nursery but do have 2.5 acres of palms to stroll through and have plenty of parting gifts...

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/37882-many-freebies/

Don't really know how you keep them alive in Maryland though.

[doranakandawatta]

Rick,

Welcome on Palmtalk,

Then, I am sorry If I am making wrong comments since I am not living in US, but if you're really fond of palms, you may consider more palm species collectors and growers than shops like Big Box you mention. In Europe too we can find imported 5 or 6 common species in these kind of shops (like IKEA) and most of the time they don't survive.

I feel that more and more in the horticultural industry, plants are consummation's products they sell, you buy, and buy again...

And if you consider palm species collectors and growers, you forget the distance, you don't hope to get big plants immediately.and maybe you order the species you selected where they exist;

It happened to me that I ordered palm seedlings only 20'000 km away from where I planted them, and I am more than satisfied, I am enthusiastic!

I may do it again.

I am sure Palmtalk forum and community members 'll help you to discover more than coconuts and the species which can make you happy in your garden or greenhouse.

+:

Don't forget palms are growing quite fast...

[spockvr6]

In Europe too we can find imported 5 or 6 common species in these kind of shops (like IKEA) and most of the time they don't survive.

I have purchased a bunch of Dracaena at Ikea (for something like $1.50 each!?!?!?), immediately planted them outside and they have grown to be 6-8 ft tall in 18 months! Im not sure what variety they are (they look to be the common red margined ones) but they are robust.

[spockvr6]

Smaller growers as in not the typical large corporate nursery as opposed to a ma and pa grower like Searle, Redmond, and others that tend to specialize in hard to find plants. Each type of grower has their place in the marketplace.

I think this is true. For the common stuff......that is generally the realm of the big box store (in most areas of FL). The smaller specialty guys generally have little to no interest in growing Queens, Washingtonias, Petra Crotons, etc.

However, in the major growing areas of FL (which are limited), then even the small guys beat the big box stores on pretty much everything. 3 gallon plants (Crotons, Cocoplum, Silver Butonwood, etc) are $5 on Pine Island, while just 10 minutes away at Home Depot in Cape Coral, they are $10. Some of the prices Ive paid for plants/palms down there boggles my mind. It seems they would have more $ in the pot, water, and fertilizer than what the end product is being sold for

[Palmdude]

I Love Pine a Island for many reasons! Palms, plants, fishing/boating and especially mango season that I'm already salivating thinking about!

Back on topic, you'll have more selection on the other coast and many of the wholesale nurseries will let you in to buy a few palms if you give them a call first.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Palmdude

[tikitiki]

Its more than just buying palms. It's great to get out see the state and find other gems these growers have that you'll never see anywhere else. take a drive meet the people on the board buy plants. The education you'll get from these guys will be worth the trip.