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Which palm introduced you into the palm hobby?

Brandon39.5

By Brandon39.5
in DISCUSSING PALM TREES WORLDWIDE

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Xerarch Grand Master

Xerarch

Posted
Posted

The palm that started it all off for me was Washingtonia filifera. Traveled through St. George Utah as a teenager, stopped at a gas station and couldn’t believe my eyes. Palm trees in Utah? What? It triggered an immense curiosity, how is this possible? What are the minimum temps these can take? What species are these? What other species can take similar temps etc.  I’ve never looked back since. 

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Corpus Christi, TX, near salt water, zone 9b/10a! Except when it isn't and everything gets nuked.

Cindy Adair Grand Master

Cindy Adair

Posted
Posted

All of these stories confirm how much I enjoy the community of people here on Palmtalk.
 

We are a diverse group in so many ways yet share our passion for these plants which unites us across the world. 
 

I have puzzled a bit to search backwards in time and figure out the pathway that ultimately led me to my 15 acres in the mountains of Puerto Rico. 

Palms did not bring me here, but I recall seeing Cyrtostachys renda and Areca vestiaria in various botanical gardens and being in awe. 
 

There were a few cold hardy palms in my yard in VA and I liked the tall Trachycarpus that did fine in snow, but was more interested in the cacao in my greenhouse.
 

When I planted my first sealing wax palm (costing $20 and maybe 5 gallons, already showing that classic red stem from a nursery here) I had already found PalmTalk. 

Many books and IPS journal and PSSC back issues and Floribunda orders and FL trips and IPS trips and gift seeds and orders from PT vendors and new friends from all over the world, I am completely smitten. 
 

Dawn will break in about 30 minutes and I am eager to continue many outdoor projects.

Sitting around in retirement is not for me! 

  • Like 9
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Cindy Adair

dalmatiansoap Grand Master

dalmatiansoap

Posted
Posted
On 1/19/2024 at 4:10 AM, DoomsDave said:

Over time I’ve given away palm seeds — anyone find that helpful for their addiction?

The most common was Chamadorea radicalis, but there were others.

Represent y’all !

Sure it helped here 🤩😂

IMG_20240121_163917.jpg

IMG_20240121_163956.jpg

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Merlyn Grand Master

Merlyn

Posted
Posted

For me the palm obsession started when I began removing ~45 huge water oaks and pines from my lot.  They had reached 35+ years and 70+ feet tall and were starting to die.  With new large clear areas I needed to fill it with...something that was not grass.  I had white and orange bird of paradise, some flowers, and then I discovered Bottle and Spindle palms and a cheap Sylvestris at a local nursery.  I spent about $1000 in plants in early 2018, picking up all the common ones like Livistona Chinensis, "Areca", a small Canariensis, a couple of Phoenix Reclinata hybrids, a couple of Queens and Pindos and two Bismarckia. 

What really kicked it into high gear was finding this forum while trying to ID one of the Phoenix hybrids.  That's when I discovered there were 1000s of palm species and not just the 20 you see around the Orlando area.  I call my wife my enabler, because about 4 years ago she looked into the backyard and said, "It looks kind of sparse."  Well....I fixed that!  :P

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Harry’s Palms Grand Master

Harry’s Palms

Posted
Posted (edited)

Reading these accounts of how it started for a lot of folks makes me feel right at home. I am a "collector" type person anyway and my palms are no exception! I was out , in between cloud bursts , and just enjoying the garden. I had no idea how things would turn out as I planted them as babies and now..... To think it started back in 1990 with a couple of queen palms!!

IMG_3657.jpgyesterday with my Pritchardia that I brought home from Maui , many years ago as a seedling! It makes a great umbrella, if you are to stand in one place!

Edited by Harry’s Palms
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Fusca Grand Master

Fusca

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 1/18/2024 at 9:10 PM, DoomsDave said:

Over time I’ve given away palm seeds — anyone find that helpful for their addiction?

The most common was Chamadorea radicalis, but there were others.

Represent y’all !

Absolutely!  :)  I've been at least attempting to germinate palm seeds on a somewhat regular basis since the 90's from seeds I collected myself on various trips but your seeds opened up doors to several species that I had never heard of.  I have at least 5 different species of palms that I've grown from your seeds - C. radicalis is already in the ground and Tritrinax acanthocoma is currently getting acclimated to the sun before getting planted.  It's the second palm from the right in the first photo.  Last 2 photos of the C. radicalis aren't recent and I should consider planting out a few Coccothrinax barbadensis (dussiana), Brahea dulcis, and "Franken Brahea" soon!  Thanks again for your generosity!

IMG_20240122_140740.thumb.jpg.202d94fbfaf10a1211caf2a153a63b2e.jpgIMG_20200601_165616.thumb.jpg.e8d0bb0faa2dc2d3fe7a3ef3dbe3d993.jpgIMG_20221022_124834.thumb.jpg.1197b7d26456b5aec63fda3c5ac8b63b.jpg

Edited by Fusca
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Jon Sunder

DoomsDave Grand Master

DoomsDave

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Absolutely!  :)  I've been at least attempting to germinate palm seeds on a somewhat regular basis since the 90's from seeds I collected myself on various trips but your seeds opened up doors to several species that I had never heard of.  I have at least 5 different species of palms that I've grown from your seeds - C. radicalis is already in the ground and Tritrinax acanthocoma is currently getting acclimated to the sun before getting planted.  It's the second palm from the right in the first photo.  Last 2 photos of the C. radicalis aren't recent and I should consider planting out a few Coccothrinax barbadensis (dussiana), Brahea dulcis, and "Franken Brahea" soon!  Thanks again for your generosity!

IMG_20240122_140740.thumb.jpg.202d94fbfaf10a1211caf2a153a63b2e.jpgIMG_20200601_165616.thumb.jpg.e8d0bb0faa2dc2d3fe7a3ef3dbe3d993.jpgIMG_20221022_124834.thumb.jpg.1197b7d26456b5aec63fda3c5ac8b63b.jpg

AH! That warms the cockles of me' heart as a Scotsman might say . . . . 😍

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Let's keep our forum fun and friendly.

Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

DoomsDave Grand Master

DoomsDave

Posted
Posted

Ah, the Turn of The Century! Planes falling out of the sky (feared) and my friend from law school married a real estate lady who suggested I go house hunting, to find a forever home for palms and me. 
 

So I did. I sought the shy and elusive Wild House, affordable but with a bit of land,  like half an acre. For the Palms! I looked at a lot of properties, mostly in OC but also in LA and Riverside, including: a marble foyered palace in Riverside with an acre and a half; a small place in Whittier on an acre; a seven bedroom three bath 1920s Spanish Mission Revival monstrosity in Pico Rivera on half an acre; this literal rock pile in Upland on an acre and a half; and on and on. 
 

After 9-11 I had a gigundous palm sale and the screaming mob cleared the nursery (well, sorta) many beckoned by adverts on the old timey version of palm talk. 
 

And I kept hunting. Saw some crazy houses, like one with a twenty by 200 retaining wall, a dumpy dive on three acres above what looked like Fred Flintstone’s gravel pit, eight contiguous lots in East LA. Real estate agents got annoyed with me. 
 

And then, one day in La Habra. . . .

  • Like 5
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Let's keep our forum fun and friendly.

Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

flplantguy Mentor

flplantguy

Posted
Posted

I have been trying to figure out when and why i latched into palms, but I have seen them in one version or another since childhood in California.  What tipped the balance into a new obsession is seeing the colors and varieties possible in species from the tropical and subtropical areas like Madagascar. I blame all of you lol, but am also thankful for the added purpose in life that I needed before. Between orchids and palms I want to help save some species that would be in dire straights otherwise.  It's not a bad way to focus your life and much better than other "addictions" people have.

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D. Morrowii Veteran

D. Morrowii

Posted
Posted

Its funny I lived in So Cal for the first 46 years of my life. I was aware that palms trees were a thing and I always had an interest in gardening but it never clicked for me while I lived there. For whatever reason once I moved to Florida I started planting more but it still took another 6-7 years before I found palms. Lately I’ve been working in So Cal quite a bit and the landscape looks completely different to me now that I have this interest and a little bit of knowledge about palms. It makes me wonder what else I’m missing lol

Thanks for sharing all your stories its been fun reading them!

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tarnado Enthusiast

tarnado

Posted
Posted

I was visiting a fellow Peace Corps volunteer in 'Aouînât, a village off in the hinterlands of Mauritania; beyond the village was a grove of Borassus aethiopum just towering, phenomenal trees of staggering size that were used for everything - mats, thatch, fibre, food, and just making a sense of place. I also visited the date palm grove at the campement at Tichit in Mauritania, a really majical place nestled in huge cliffs.

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avb Community Regular

avb

Posted
Posted (edited)

In 1988, I was participating in the Baja 1000 which had the finish line in La Paz that year.  I had been looking for palms to plant in the yard of my new home in Laguna Miguel, and was planting king and queens along with a Cycas revoluta.  After I got to La Paz, I opened the door of the pickup and nearly fell out because I was so tired after chasing our for 24 straight hours from Ensenada.

I gathered myself up, looked around, and I was shocked to see a fan palm with blue leaves.  My first thought was that I had to get one for my new garden.    It was the only one I saw the on whole trip.  When I got back home, I remembered a house in my old neighborhood that had a big collection of palms, and I thought the owner would probably know where I could find a blue leaved fan palm.  

I stopped by the palm house a few days later,  and found the owner hosing his driveway off.  We introduced ourselves and found I was talking to world famous Ralph Velez.

He said he didn't have time to talk to me, so he grabbed an issue of "The Palm Journal" and handed it off to me and said that I could find almost any palm I wanted in it.  I soon found myself at a nursery in Fallbrook gathering up several exotic species, including a Brahea armata, to try in my new garden.  

I had to sell my house in 2013,  and left my collection there when we moved.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by avb
Grammar
  • Like 3
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Alan Brickey

happypalms Grand Master

happypalms

Posted
Posted
On 1/21/2024 at 9:06 PM, Cindy Adair said:

All of these stories confirm how much I enjoy the community of people here on Palmtalk.
 

We are a diverse group in so many ways yet share our passion for these plants which unites us across the world. 
 

I have puzzled a bit to search backwards in time and figure out the pathway that ultimately led me to my 15 acres in the mountains of Puerto Rico. 

Palms did not bring me here, but I recall seeing Cyrtostachys renda and Areca vestiaria in various botanical gardens and being in awe. 
 

There were a few cold hardy palms in my yard in VA and I liked the tall Trachycarpus that did fine in snow, but was more interested in the cacao in my greenhouse.
 

When I planted my first sealing wax palm (costing $20 and maybe 5 gallons, already showing that classic red stem from a nursery here) I had already found PalmTalk. 

Many books and IPS journal and PSSC back issues and Floribunda orders and FL trips and IPS trips and gift seeds and orders from PT vendors and new friends from all over the world, I am completely smitten. 
 

Dawn will break in about 30 minutes and I am eager to continue many outdoor projects.

Sitting around in retirement is not for me! 

To move from a place that has snow to Puerto Rico would be a wise decision in my life that’s for sure if you start a palm nursery there’s always something to do 😄

  • Upvote 1
qalsua Newbie

qalsua

Posted
Posted

Hello! Last year, I moved to Jacksonville from Huntsville to attend college. I had never seen palm trees before coming here. On the very first day of arrival, I saw the Sabal palmetto, and it immediately caught my attention. They were so beautiful and exotic to me.

  • Like 2

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