Kentia in Florida

[Tyrone]

When we were there in May, there was not a lot of belmoreana seed on the island. Rats were having a field day in the belmoreana areas.

The nursery is geared for forsteriana. If they're not interested in belmoreana then Hedyscepe and Leppidorrachis are even more out of their proposed direction. It's a shame. I got a card off the new owners so I should send them an email and apply some polite pressure. 

When the rat eradication program starts next year and wipes out the rat population you should start to see belmoreana seed come back in force in the next 5 years or so. By then it should be easy for the nursery to source what should be plentiful seed by then. Once they see belmoreana sales go up they may try Hedyscepe and Leppidorrachis once again. I'm hopeful.

A few things I noticed is back when LHI was full swing into forsteriana seed export they planted out fields of forsteriana. They didn't do that with belmoreana or the other two (obviously because mountain species don't do too well at low elevations- they once had a large Hedyscepe at the nursery but it just died suddenly. They didn't have any Leppidorrachis growing at sea level either). 

Also when speaking to some of the islanders and the new nursery manager they are under the impression that all of the palms on the island can't take any frost, which isn't true of course. Howeas on mainland Australia are a southern coastal palm and don't like too much heat. Hedyscepe and especially Leppidorrachis are definitely a far south coastal palm for mainland Australia, Tassie and New Zealand, but the islanders know nothing about growing these palms as they can't grow them at the settlement. A lot of tourists reportedly buy Kentias and take them back on the plane to inland frosty environments like Orange in NSW and then complain that they're little 4 leaf seedling didn't survive -6C in full sun. So combined with the fact that the LHI authority won't sell seed of the rarer species, and at the end of the day from a conservation point of view, they don't want to see wholesale seed export to hot areas where none of the seedlings survive at the expense of the wild ecosystem on the island not regenerating due to seed export, you can sort of see their point of view.

So I'm hoping that when the rats go, the island will be flush with seed and then maybe small amounts of seed of the rarer ones will come out of the island. My thoughts are that Howea belmoreana should start to be exported alongside forsteriana as well. Also there are lots of endemic flora on LHI that suits the cooler parts of the world that the nursery isn't even touching yet, but could if there is a market.

[Walt]

Back in the early 2000s I bought a small Howea forsteriana from a palm mail order company called Green Escape. It grew well for me in a pot, and I had it placed under my front entryway where it didn't get any direct sunlight. After about a year or so in the pot I strategically planted it on the southside (shaded side) of a clump of red bay trees that prevented my howea from getting direct sun, and it also provided a degree of frost protection. It did well there and grew several inches of trunk -- before the ambrosia beetle infected my red bay trees with the laurel wilt disease, and the trees died within a few weeks time. I cut down the bay trees which exposed my howea to full sun. The palm burned up (leaves) and died. I think the Green Escape company went belly up just like my howea, as I tried looking them up to no avail. I think they were located in S.E. Florida as I recall calling them and asking if I could visit their location and buy from them, and they told me no, that they only sold by mail order.

[Jim in Los Altos]

9 hours ago, Walt said:

Back in the early 2000s I bought a small Howea forsteriana from a palm mail order company called Green Escape. It grew well for me in a pot, and I had it placed under my front entryway where it didn't get any direct sunlight. After about a year or so in the pot I strategically planted it on the southside (shaded side) of a clump of red bay trees that prevented my howea from getting direct sun, and it also provided a degree of frost protection. It did well there and grew several inches of trunk -- before the ambrosia beetle infected my red bay trees with the laurel wilt disease, and the trees died within a few weeks time. I cut down the bay trees which exposed my howea to full sun. The palm burned up (leaves) and died. I think the Green Escape company went belly up just like my howea, as I tried looking them up to no avail. I think they were located in S.E. Florida as I recall calling them and asking if I could visit their location and buy from them, and they told me no, that they only sold by mail order.

Green Escape was a small mail order palm business in Boynton Beach, FL. When the owner died from cancer several years ago, his family ended the business. I only have one palm in my yard from there, a Livistona saribus. The business was well rated at the time. 

Edited December 25, 2018 by Jim in Los Altos

[Walt]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Green Escape was a small mail order palm business in Boynton Beach, FL. When the owner died from cancer several years ago, his family ended the business. I only have one palm in my yard from there, a Livistona saribus. The business was well rated at the time. 

Thanks for that information. Sorry to hear about the owner.

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Green Escape was a small mail order palm business in Boynton Beach, FL. When the owner died from cancer several years ago, his family ended the business. I only have one palm in my yard from there, a Livistona saribus. The business was well rated at the time. 

Back in the early 2000s I bought a small Howea forsteriana from a palm mail order company called Green Escape. It grew well for me in a pot, and I had it placed under my front entryway where it didn't get any direct sunlight. After about a year or so in the pot I strategically planted it on the southside (shaded side) of a clump of red bay trees that prevented my howea from getting direct sun, and it also provided a degree of frost protection. It did well there and grew several inches of trunk -- before the ambrosia beetle infected my red bay trees with the laurel wilt disease, and the trees died within a few weeks time. I cut down the bay trees which exposed my howea to full sun. The palm burned up (leaves) and died. I think the Green Escape company went belly up just like my howea, as I tried looking them up to no avail. I think they were located in S.E. Florida as I recall calling them and asking if I could visit their location and buy from them, and they told me no, that they only sold by mail order.