The 22nd Annual Spring 'Ganza - Under the Dark Clouds

[Palmarum]

- 10:18AM - Sunday mornings, of both weekends, are more laid back than the other two days. Customers like to take their time, relax, and stroll through as if visiting a botanical garden, often with a morning beverage in hand. This was more apparent on the second weekend as activity continued to be slow and the few customers in attendance had so much of the sales area to themselves. One such attendee was browsing along the side road, coffee in hand, as he was checking out a 7 gal. Anthurium faustomirandae. It was one of several brought out of the shadehouse to fill empty spots along the side road. (B) A familiar track... probably left behind by a Searle. Upon checking the fluid left inside, it was cool, nearing warm to the touch. I would say the track was left 20 to 30 minutes prior. It was done at full speed, almost at a run... most likely startled or surprised by something.

- 10:23AM - "Hey, I think this is it." A landscape plant gets pointed out as one customer catches up to another. Gazing down the main road, I began to try and gauge the difference between how many customers were arriving versus those that were departing. (B) An inventory inquiry emailed the night before was confirmed when I arrived in the morning. It was followed by a phone call, in which I relayed the availability of a few palms, including this 15 gal. Itaya amicorum. I still like to call it the "Licuala of the New World". It seems to get collectors excited if they weren't already familiar with this monotypic genus.

- Another item on the late night wish list, a 15 gal. Hydriastele beguinii var. 'Obi Island Form'. There were only one left of either palm, so out came the flagging tape as I knew the collector was going to get them. This super popular variety has single-handedly reignited a strong interest in the genus Hydriastele.

- 10:27AM - During my initial walk through in the morning, I was welcomed with another red leaf surprise. Often passed-by or ignored by enthusiasts, a 7 gal. Roscheria melanochaetes was doing its best to attract attention. It is another monotypic member of the Seychelles Six, but this species doesn't seem to get the fanfare or interest enjoyed by the others. It is slow growing and might only feature a new red leaf twice or three-times a year. Having the new leaf timed with a sale is incredible luck.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:28AM - The new leaf still had a couple more layered segments and leaflets to unfold. This would be the point of most intense color. Also, this is the most red as I've seen for a R. melanochaetes, as sometimes it's a lighter shade of pink. I kept turning the palm around to get different angles of light on the new leaf.

- I photographed the palm in detail. Here are a few more photos taken without flash to show how the red color appeared in person... (C) And one more, showing a close-up of the armed internode rings and the base of the trunk.

- 10:34AM - Selecting your favorite palm comes with some serious decision making. Jeff guided an excited customer down the sidewalk to the lone specimen of a Hybrid Sealing Wax Palm, Cyrtostachys sp. 'Hybrid'. The enthusiast had heard about the hybrid and its history from elsewhere and traveled to the nursery on the last day of the 'Ganza in the hopes of possibly getting one. He was excited to see one in person, as the best shot I got was of him waving his arm around. The palm is not cheap and was the only one out for sale, so he had a decision to make.

- 10:46AM - The two palms flagged via a phone call (posted above) were on their way to the parking area. Their new owner had arrived as scheduled and gathered them up in a hurry. They look bigger when sitting on a trailer. (B) Their new owner, collector and Forum member Jeff Hunter (Kaname-kun) came prepared. He had several large plastic bags ready to wrap the palms with. The trailer was brought to the rear of his car, then the fun part began...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:49AM - The Itaya amicorum was first, getting its leaves carefully folded upright before getting wrapped with the plastic bag. It was tied with a series of connected slip-knots. Jeff has certainly done this before, as he then guided the palm, head-first, into the back of his car. (B) The Hydriastele beguinii var. 'Obi Island Form' was next, getting wrapped and tied in a similar fashion before being placed in the car next to the Itaya. Within a couple minutes both palms were loaded and on their way home.

- 11:00AM - The decision was made and sealed with a piece of flagging tape. The Cyrtostachys sp. 'Hybrid' was headed to a new home as well. (B) Wait.. where did the Roscheria melanochaetes go? I was just taking pictures of it a half hour ago. I went looking for the palm and found it; where else but sitting in the holding area. The new red leaf had done its job. A customer snatched it without any hesitation.

- 11:07AM - The customer was no doubt a rare plant enthusiast. Within minutes, the R. melanochaetes was joined by a 7 gal. Ficus dammaropsis that was selected without a second thought. I carried it over and dropped it on the cart as the customer went off in another direction. The customer had chosen a special palm that they had kept with them during their visit...

- They had grabbed a 4-inch Licuala mattanensis 'Mapu' from the tables and were carrying it around like it was a newborn baby. Precious indeed. They didn't add it to the cart until they were ready to head out. It found a secure spot for the ride among the roots of the R. melanochaetes.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:08AM - The customer on the left was trying to have a conversation with Travis on the right, but Travis's kids Kylie and Carson were making it difficult. They bring coordinated chaos to a new level. (B) Travis gave me that "Ugh, why kids..." expression as they took their traveling carnival down the road. 

- 11:10AM - 11:27AM - I followed the rare plant order all the way through to the checkout, answering questions where I could. An unusual & spontaneous but welcome selection of exotic plant material. They ought to improve any garden or collection. (B) Typical scene of Sunday afternoon as most of the customers were along the main road while...

- 11:27AM - 11:35AM - ... a few others were in the shadehouse checking out the palms. The selection among the tables had thinned out, but still held quite a few species to choose from. (B) A couple read up on the Dioon edule before selecting one.

- 11:53AM - Signs of the growing outbreak were upon us. Complete with smile, Larry takes a moment to pose with one of the new accessory items of the year, a set of gloves. It was not that far off from when masks would join the ensemble. (B) The sale continued with steady attendance. Lunchtime was coming soon and I was waiting to see how it would affect the crowd.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:56AM - Remember the Post Tour from the first Friday? Think of the photo featuring the Jade Vine, Strongylodon macrobotrys, pergola halfway through the evening. It was showing the single developing bloom. Well, it had since matured and opened over the previous week. It was collected and brought to the nursery to showcase the 3 gal. plants as part of the display. The mature bloom was glowing in color, with numerous turquoise bracts and was as large as the trellises.

- One remaining Fiddle-Leaf Fig, Ficus lyrata. These large plants made instant shade trees. They were part of that Super Bowl party decoration that included the Mystery Citrus. (B) Another shot of the Syagrus amara, showing the entire height. A small tour seemed to be going on further down the road.

- 12:05PM - Waiting on lunch, I meandered through the landscape area behind the BBQ. I tried to get a vertical shot up and through the canopy belonging to the Mauritia flexuosa. (B) On the opposite side, a Licuala cabalionii has since reached maturity and then some. There used to be more plants in cultivation, but they seemed to have vanished. Got to remember to collect seed from him. This is a direct cousin to Licuala grandis and is basically described as the split-leaf counterpart to that species.

- 12:22PM - Food! Lunch was served.. by us... for us. Travis fired up one of the grills and began to cook the remaining hamburgers and hotdogs. There were not many left. (B) Dumbo2 was waiting for any to drop. She probably has several buried in the area.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:10PM - Customer traffic remained the same through lunch and into the afternoon. I didn't notice any late day jump in attendance. One cart was parked for a moment as its owners checked the area further down for Flowering Trees. It held a diverse mix of plant material. I see two leaves poking through on top that belong to a 3 gal. Aiphanes minima. The small-leaved shrub on the left with the purple flowers is a Bush Clover, Lespedeza thunbergii 'Gibraltar'. The ginger in the center is a Pinstripe Ginger, Alpinia formosana. That is a 3 gal. Bay Leaf, Laurus nobilis, on the right with the hang tag. The unmistakable bromeliad in the foreground is Neoregelia 'Ardie'. There are plenty of other plants stuffed in there as well. (B) The owners of the cart, two long-time collectors, moved ever so carefully through the selection, checking every plant. They kept finding stuff to get and space in the cart in which to put it.

- 1:20PM - 1:40PM - Fueled by several rounds of Cheetos and Hawaiian Punch, Kylie Searle decided to go through one of the cartons of expended sign cards. She was reading the names as she flipped through them one at a time. That carton held mostly Palm cards; of which species' groups had sold out. It was empty before the sale opened on the first Friday morning. (B) Outside by the holding area, the afternoon was becoming heavy with conversation. I am sure most of the topics included the growing pandemic. Andrea talks with the customers on the left, as Darryl Windham of the Naples Zoo, gave Jeff an update as to the situation on the west coast.

- 1:44PM - A friendly group of customers make their way through the shadehouse. Their banter was interesting as they threw plant ideas back and forth at one another, like a tennis match with palm names. Their cart held a Jade Vine, Strongylodon macrobotrys, in front with a large Anthurium faustomirandae in the rear.

- 2:23PM - Time for a personalized guided tour. (B) On the right, Kylie and Carson took it upon themselves to guide the family on the left around the sales area. The customers knew what they were after, but Kylie did a good job suggesting other plants.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 2:27PM - Under Kylie's direct influence (lower right), the boy began to pull the cart loaded with Dwarf Clusia, Clusia rosea cv. 'Nana'. He was making headway even without Kylie's instructions. It took him a while, but he got the cart all the way to the checkout.

- 2:28PM - The second Sunday of the 'Ganza was almost over. In the last ninety minutes or so of the day, the activity level began to slowly wind down. Many of the staff, volunteers and customers began to gather up front in the shade. We had at least one customer in the sales area and one or two others in the checkout when closing time came. All in all, it was a great second Sunday, much busier than expected with the pandemic closing in around everything.

- 3:20PM - One of the last palm purchases of the day, the second 7 gal. Salacca magnifica that was pulled after the first one sold early in the first weekend. Time had begun to slow down by this point. In the waning moments of the day, carts and plants slowly moved to the checkout as conversations took over. We began to get the sense that plant sales and palm-related events were going to be postponed or delayed indefinitely due to the pandemic.

- In the last shot of the day, Kylie, Carson and Travis ride through on their way back up front. They were getting a tour of the old paintball field that was behind them on the right.

 

It is hard to put the sale into perspective with everything else that was going on. The escalation of the outbreak into a pandemic happened in parallel to the two weeks of the Spring Extravaganza. Each day was a collection of news reports mixed with plant sale activity. We did manage to pull the sale off just in time, as most businesses, schools, locations, etc. were closing in the coming week. It seemed the plant world in South Florida, as well as plant-related life everywhere else was going to be put on hold for a while. The nursery had planned to attend Tropiflora's Spring Festival during the first weekend of April, but that was cancelled. We found out on Monday, the following day. Then, the second Naples Zoo Sale had been planned for the second weekend in April, but that too was cancelled. We found out as soon as Darryl arrived and told us that the Naples Zoo had closed due to the pandemic.

It seems that online gathering places, such as Palm Talk are going to be the palm and plant bastions for the time being. I had a couple of interesting conversations lately involving the possible creation of palm-related events that were doable during the pandemic. One of which was a 'drive-through' garden tour, where you stayed in your car. I am sure as things begin to go back to normal, however long that will be, plant-related activities will return. Until then, let the weeding and potting-up begin...

 

Ryan

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[Jeff Searle]

On 4/14/2020 at 9:00 PM, HtownPalms said:

If I lived ANYWHERE near this place I would be completely broke. What an amazing selection of beautiful palms! 

Thank you so much. I try....

[Jeff Searle]

From the entire Searle family, staff, friends and volunteers who helped, we thank all of you that came out and supported us. And many thanks to Ryan for the countless hours that he spends in putting this adventure all together. See you in October!