Best palm tree nursery in Orlando area?

[NickJames]

I live in Daytona Beach. Can anyone list some good local palm nurseries? I said Orlando area in title, bonus points if close to Daytona. 

[kinzyjr]

14 minutes ago, NickJames said:

I live in Daytona Beach. Can anyone list some good local palm nurseries? I said Orlando area in title, bonus points if close to Daytona. 

Here are a few:

Lindley's Garden Center (New Smyrna Beach - ask for Jerry Luedeke for palms): http://lindleysgardencenter.com/

MB Palms:

https://www.plantant.com/nursery-availability/1005451/mb-palms

https://www.facebook.com/MBPalms/

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/17050-mb-palms/

Green's Nursery:

http://www.greensnursery.com/

 

I'd personally suggest attending some of the local plant sales.  Since the Spring Plant Sale at Leu Gardens is only a month away and you get free admission to one of the best gardens in Central Florida that weekend, I'd highly recommend that : https://www.leugardens.org/plantsale2020/

If you want to see some nice gardens and happen to be free Saturday, March 7^th, 2020 -  your are cordially invited to the CFPACS Meeting:

Central Florida Palm and Cycad Society Spring Meeting 2020

[Merlyn]

I'd second Kinzy's suggestions.  I picked up most of my "common" palms at Greens, like Queens, Butia, Phoenix, L. Chinensis, etc.  A lot of my "uncommon" palms came from MB Palms, others from eBay, Etsy and the Leu Gardens sale. 

Occasionally La Fleur Nursery on 46 has decent palm prices, but most of what I buy there are accent tropicals like Philodendrons and things.  Moreno nursery on 46 also has some good stuff but is usually more expensive than La Fleur.  Lukas in Oviedo has the best selection but is 2x the cost of MB...and sometimes their palms don't look all that healthy.   

[pj_orlando_z9b]

MB palms (they're always at the Leu Gardens plant sale in March too) and Lucas. Both are the few in Orlando that carry alfredii. 

[donalt]

MB Palms has a large selection of the most varieties and most healthy and yes prices! Love going there!

[NickJames]

Thanks all. I stopped at Lukas yesterday. I’ll make an appointment to check out MB Palms. 

All of the better looking trees at Lukas seemed to be across the road in the employee only area!?

Did see a couple nice ones on the retail side  

 

[Merlyn]

If you want a big Arenga Engleri then Lukas had several overgrown 30g pots behind the greenhouse.  I think they were $250 each and pretty massive for the price.  If you want a smaller one try messaging PT member ChuckG, I think he still has one 3g or 5g pot he'd be happy to sell.  That palm would be very hardy in the Daytona area.   Here's the Arengas at Lukas:

[NickJames]

On 2/15/2020 at 12:50 AM, kinzyjr said:

Here are a few:

Lindley's Garden Center (New Smyrna Beach - ask for Jerry Luedeke for palms): http://lindleysgardencenter.com/

MB Palms:

https://www.plantant.com/nursery-availability/1005451/mb-palms

https://www.facebook.com/MBPalms/

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/17050-mb-palms/

Green's Nursery:

http://www.greensnursery.com/

 

I'd personally suggest attending some of the local plant sales.  Since the Spring Plant Sale at Leu Gardens is only a month away and you get free admission to one of the best gardens in Central Florida that weekend, I'd highly recommend that : https://www.leugardens.org/plantsale2020/

If you want to see some nice gardens and happen to be free Saturday, March 7^th, 2020 -  your are cordially invited to the CFPACS Meeting:

Central Florida Palm and Cycad Society Spring Meeting 2020

What should I expect at the Leu Gardens sale this weekend?

[kinzyjr]

25 minutes ago, NickJames said:

What should I expect at the Leu Gardens sale this weekend?

Looks like just about everything.... MB Palms will be there and a ton of other vendors with bromeliads, roses, orchids, ferns, caladiums, etc.  See attachment.

Plant-Vendor-List-for-Publishing-1.pdf

[NickJames]

22 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Looks like just about everything.... MB Palms will be there and a ton of other vendors with bromeliads, roses, orchids, ferns, caladiums, etc.  See attachment.

Plant-Vendor-List-for-Publishing-1.pdf 548.13 kB · 6 downloads

Thank you!

[Oviedo_z10b_lol]

FYI, I was at my parents’ in cocoa on Sunday, and decided to stop by Rockledge Gardens... and they had a whole lotta nothin’. Other than a couple nice big screw lines (which seemed a pretty good price at $125), they didn’t carry any palms one couldn’t pick up at the BBS. 

Hopefully they’re just waiting to get in some new stock because I had higher hopes for that place. 

[PalmX]

Has anyone been to Ken's Palms? He seems like a fun guy to chat with. Not sure the quality of his plants though. His prices seem great compared to what I have around me.

[NickJames]

Leu Garden plant sale canceled 

[Reeverse]

On 3/11/2020 at 1:13 PM, PalmX said:

Has anyone been to Ken's Palms? He seems like a fun guy to chat with. Not sure the quality of his plants though. His prices seem great compared to what I have around me.

I've been over to see Ken a few times. Super nice guy and always has good deals. I dont think hes doing much this year yet though. He usually gets trucks from homestead weekly 

[kinzyjr]

On 3/11/2020 at 1:13 PM, PalmX said:

Has anyone been to Ken's Palms? He seems like a fun guy to chat with. Not sure the quality of his plants though. His prices seem great compared to what I have around me.

Welcome to PalmTalk!  I've met Ken.  He's a really nice guy.  He used to carry a decent selection and has a few videos on his YouTube channel. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/sallyminky

[RedRabbit]

7 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Welcome to PalmTalk!  I've met Ken.  He's a really nice guy.  He used to carry a decent selection and has a few videos on his YouTube channel. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/sallyminky

Looks like he mostly just carries the big box stuff, but at a discount. Is that correct? We could really use someone selling rarer stuff in Central Florida.

[kinzyjr]

6 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

Looks like he mostly just carries the big box stuff, but at a discount. Is that correct? We could really use someone selling rarer stuff in Central Florida.

Mostly.  You're not going to find something like Medemia argun or even a Cryosophila there.  He is mostly carrying your standard stuff for a warm zone 9 or 10 - Roystonea regia, Dypsis lutescens, Ravenea rivularis, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Adonidia merrillii, Wodyetia bifurcata, Veitchia arecina and usually carries Cocos nucifera. 

After the Jan. 2010 freeze, our local big box stores stopped selling coconuts since they had a lot of people buy those small $10 seedlings and come back complaining that they died in a record-long freeze.  So I went over to Ken's place and he had large coconuts that had some damage from the cold.  He was willing to sell me one that was roughly 10 feet in overall height for $40.  At the time I had a Kia Spectra, so hauling it in the car would have been a chore.  I ended up buying some smaller stuff and holding off on the coconuts until I could figure out where to put one.

I imagine it is difficult to make a living selling rare palms.  Since they are rare, the seeds are usually relatively expensive compared to common palms.  Then there is the germination rates, both in terms of speed and the percentage that end up being viable.  Then after they germinate, some of the seedlings won't make it due to damping off, genetic defects or other problems.  Once they are on their way and growing, then you have to maintain them until you can sell them.  Every day you keep them is an invitation for disaster, be it fatal diseases, freezes, hurricanes, plant thieves, etc.  A few years down the road when they are ready to sell, you have to recoup the money for your seeds + time and effort + make a living.  Then there is worldwide competition from internet sources and shipping plus the general public is not typically looking for these particular species.  After all of that, you end up with a relatively small market to sell in for a product you had to practically age yourself 5-10 years to create.  For the folks that do it, a tip of the cap to you!

It's not an enviable paradigm compared to something like information technology consulting, where you typically do a consultation, a preparation period, an implementation, a support period, get paid (usually pretty well), and move on.

[Dave-Vero]

Daytona Beach can get seriously cold, so it's prudent to not get too adventurous.  

Leu Gardens cancelled its plant sale this weekend.  The garden remains open to visitors. 

 

 

[Steve in Florida]

I wanted to stop by MB Palms and called first thing in the morning.  He said he doesn't sell to the public and wasn't interested in my crappy little order of a dozen three gallon silver saw palmettos.  I am fortunate to have more respectful nursery workers in North Florida.

[RedRabbit]

44 minutes ago, Steve in Florida said:

I wanted to stop by MB Palms and called first thing in the morning.  He said he doesn't sell to the public and wasn't interested in my crappy little order of a dozen three gallon silver saw palmettos.  I am fortunate to have more respectful nursery workers in North Florida.

I had the same experience with him. It’s such a shame there aren’t other options in central Florida.

[kinzyjr]

1 hour ago, Steve in Florida said:

I wanted to stop by MB Palms and called first thing in the morning.  He said he doesn't sell to the public and wasn't interested in my crappy little order of a dozen three gallon silver saw palmettos.  I am fortunate to have more respectful nursery workers in North Florida.

18 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

I had the same experience with him. It’s such a shame there aren’t other options in central Florida.

My last interaction with him was similar.  Called about an order, was told not interested, interacted with another member of CFPACS that picked up a similar sized order, figured it might be just me, but this confirms it isn't.  The CFPACS 2021 Summer Meeting was held there and we all bought a lot of stuff, but that will be one and done for me.

Probably wouldn't hurt to leave feedback in the Grower Ratings section as well: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/17050-mb-palms/

[Gottagrowemall]

Tommy Ganz in Ormond Beach is outstanding. His company name is ormond palms and botanical company. He has literally everything tropical. Royals, coconuts, Montgomery, arecas, and so much more. I buy from him for my personal collection and wholesale for my own small nursery.

[South Carolina palms]

Since we’re on this topic I’ll be driving down to Tampa in a couple weeks can someone recommend a good nursery around there. Looking for a 15G Queen and a 15G Royal palm. 

[South Carolina palms]

On 2/15/2020 at 12:27 AM, NickJames said:

I live in Daytona Beach. Can anyone list some good local palm nurseries? I said Orlando area in title, bonus points if close to Daytona. 

And to answer your question Leonardis nursery in St Augustine is great. I got a 7G king Alexander there not to long ago 

[RedRabbit]

2 hours ago, South Carolina palms said:

Since we’re on this topic I’ll be driving down to Tampa in a couple weeks can someone recommend a good nursery around there. Looking for a 15G Queen and a 15G Royal palm. 

I’m not aware of any good nurseries in Tampa. There are a couple in St. Pete and Largo that might have a few unusual things, but there aren’t any rare palm nurseries in Tampa Bay currently.

[kinzyjr]

3 hours ago, South Carolina palms said:

Since we’re on this topic I’ll be driving down to Tampa in a couple weeks can someone recommend a good nursery around there. Looking for a 15G Queen and a 15G Royal palm. 

For a Queen Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) you can check the big box stores and they might have 15G.  I haven't seen Royals (Roystonea regia) available in big box stores here, though they probably should be. 

Give these two places a buzz and see if they have what you need:

Sunscape: https://www.sunscapeinc.com/field-grown/

Plant It Palms: https://www.plant-it-palms.com/

[Fishinsteeg234]

@South Carolina palms while you’re in Tampa, I highly recommend taking a walk through Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum, if you have never been there before. This park is just for observing though, no plant sales. You won’t be disappointed seeing some nice specimens. 

[RedRabbit]

12 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

For a Queen Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) you can check the big box stores and they might have 15G.  I haven't seen Royals (Roystonea regia) available in big box stores here, though they probably should be. 

Give these two places a buzz and see if they have what you need:

Sunscape: https://www.sunscapeinc.com/field-grown/

Plant It Palms: https://www.plant-it-palms.com/

I’d cross Sunscape off the list. They’re a mess, I’ve tried ordering palms from them and waited a month only to find out they never bothered to place the order. 

Discount Palms and Plants in Largo is the place I’d try first, but I’ve never visited their nursery so I’m not sure how good it is.

[Deej]

On 3/11/2020 at 4:04 PM, Johnny Palmseed said:

Unfortunately this place has been on a downward spiral for the last 10 years. I had high hopes when they were redoing the layout and they added some features like the shade cloth and planted a bunch of palms. But the economy was dropping off and I think we had a bad cold snap which killed off some stuff. I think they got hit hard and never really recovered. We used to go a lot and now hardly ever. 

I went by there around august 2023, and they still had nothing special. I remember them being a lot better almost 20 years ago. It’s still a cool place for kids to check out but the local Lowe’s had a better palm selection.

[Johnny Palmseed]

8 hours ago, Deej said:

I went by there around august 2023, and they still had nothing special. I remember them being a lot better almost 20 years ago. It’s still a cool place for kids to check out but the local Lowe’s had a better palm selection.

Yes 20 years ago it was very good. Of course, it’s not the original owners anymore. They sold it in 2022 and moved on. We were there a few days ago and it looked like they were trying to fix up some stuff like building new plant stands but the plant selection was minimal and was mostly old stock. And the prices! Oh man were they high. I was looking at fertilizer and soil amendments and was shocked. $25-30 for a bag of potting soil, $55 for peat moss, $13 for a bag of Black Kow? The products were premium name items like Fox Farm and Fertilome but are generally available at Ace for much less. And I don’t consider Ace to be a discount store. The plants are more difficult to compare prices but for example I saw a croton trained into a tree form that was about 5-6’ tall that I would have guessed would be $50-75. It was $155 and it wasn’t like it was exceptional quality. The “head” was basketball sized and the “trunk” was about the thickness of a finger. I really hope they turn this place around because there’s no other store like it in the area. It still has potential but I think it will be a tricky road due to the pricing. You can’t just keep increasing prices without increasing value.

[Deej]

11 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

Yes 20 years ago it was very good. Of course, it’s not the original owners anymore. They sold it in 2022 and moved on. We were there a few days ago and it looked like they were trying to fix up some stuff like building new plant stands but the plant selection was minimal and was mostly old stock. And the prices! Oh man were they high. I was looking at fertilizer and soil amendments and was shocked. $25-30 for a bag of potting soil, $55 for peat moss, $13 for a bag of Black Kow? The products were premium name items like Fox Farm and Fertilome but are generally available at Ace for much less. And I don’t consider Ace to be a discount store. The plants are more difficult to compare prices but for example I saw a croton trained into a tree form that was about 5-6’ tall that I would have guessed would be $50-75. It was $155 and it wasn’t like it was exceptional quality. The “head” was basketball sized and the “trunk” was about the thickness of a finger. I really hope they turn this place around because there’s no other store like it in the area. It still has potential but I think it will be a tricky road due to the pricing. You can’t just keep increasing prices without increasing value.

Seems like that’s happening everywhere, a lot of people moving to these places and buying everything and raising all the prices and running them in a different manner. Sad that it’s happened to such a cool place but having new owners definitely explains a lot! Maybe they will read this thread and do something about it!

[SeanK]

I used to suggest Rockledge Gardens, but locals tell me pricing is high. Incidentally, I searched Serenoa and found nothing.

https://shop.rockledgegardens.com/subdept/1/trees-palms