South Florida Palm Society Spring Sale 2009

[Palmarum]

- 11:45AM: This customer took serious palm collecting to new heights. I just about managed to get him to break a smile by the time I took this photo.

- 11:46AM: "It's Pez!" FM. Jerry Pezzeminti (Pez) strolls by the booth with palm in hand. It looks like a Hydriastele beguinii.

- 11:47AM: With assistance, Dominique slowly gets the large palm load to the register tent. A minute after this photo was taken, it all fell over.

- 11:59AM: A barrow full of coontie. Sounds like a song title. SFPS Treasurer George Alvarez transports a wheelbarrow packed full of the Florida native cycad, Coontie, Zamia pumila, up towards the holding area.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:02PM: The wonders of the Forum never cease to amaze me. It allows people from all over to meet in one place and to discuss everything palms. It also notifies members of events and presents them with an opportunity to attend, which would otherwise might not even happen. Forum members are now attending events more often, even when traveling long distances; like how FM. Tom Walsh (tew) did when he traveled all the way down from Maryland to visit Montgomery and all of us South Florida palm fanatics on this Saturday. I had to be in at least one photo, so I reluctantly handed over my camera to Jeff so he can get a photo of me holding on to the Acanthophoenix rubra and with Tom in front of the booth. After many messages and posts online, it was finally a great pleasure to meet Tom in person.

- 12:04PM: Jerry grabbed this Pritchardia sp. on one of his trips through the sales area. I think it was one of Ellis's plants but I didn't get close enough to get the species. Lunch time was upon us, so the register saw a good flow of traffic as customers bought plants, lunch tickets, and tour tickets.

- 12:08PM: I knew, as soon as I saw this Copernicia fallaensis on Friday, that some one would be buying it on Saturday. It was featured prominently in Betty Ahlborn's booth and had an incredible price on it. I waved at it as it rolled on by.

- 12:40PM: The period of time after lunch saw a different crowd. As some of the early bird Forum members left, more arrived to take their place. FM. Kyle (tropical1) also made a long journey to be with palms and palm people on this day.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:55PM: I did not hear a single complaint about the weather all weekend, as the sale did manage to see moderate temperatures. It was very, very dry though and we had yet to see any significant rain since November. In the full sun section of the booth, Jeff Searle describes the approximate size of a palm to a customer.

- 12:57PM: Time to dish out the Benjamin's. Andre puts his haul together and pays at the register, with friend Danny next in line behind him.

- 1:00PM: SFPS President, Vendor #80, and FM. Tim McKernan (Tim McKernan) manages not only his booth, but oversees the sale itself. I think he is signaling the customer 'to bunt'.

- 1:01PM: Next, it was Danny's turn to pay for his new additions. The customer behind him with glasses is wondering if there is anything living in his hair.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:01PM: The parking lot was immediately next to the sales area, making transport of person and plant very easy. This has always been one key benefit of having the Spring Sale at Montgomery B. Center.

- If this photo doesn't say "Rain please" nothing else will. Volunteers had to periodically douse the area with the hose to keep the dust down.

- 2:16PM: Kyle makes one more run through the booth before deciding on what to get.

- 2:20PM: Before departing, Kyle takes a moment to talk with Jeff about anything and everything while holding onto his new Ravenea krociana. Oh, and FM. Scott Cohen (Scott Cohen) was there too.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 2:47PM: The latter half of the afternoon was very slow. The tours were going just about non-stop so many customers were taking a tour while the sales area was devoid of people. We took this time to relax and hang out under our respective portable shelters. Jeff Searle converses with FM. Ron Kiefert (moose knuckle) and long time collector and FM. Dan Keys (DAN KEYS).

- 3:13PM: Time for BBQ. I put in some volunteer time assisting the operation under the food tent, shuffling food to hungry visitors. Luckily for me it was the slow point in the day. Before closing up shop at around three-thirty, the 'spoils' of volunteer work didn't go to waste and were divided equally among volunteers and raccoons.

- 4:21PM: The end of Saturday was here, and there were a few minutes remaining until the registers would be closed. A little last minute hectic activity was seen in the sales area, with a few large purchases heading to the parking lot via the credit card machine. Dominique assists one customer with his large order of Lady Palms and one rare oddity, courtesy of Betty Ahlborn's booth.

- 4:22PM: One of the last palms sold on Saturday, was Betty's large Ravenea hildebrandtii, another nice palm with an equally nice price tag.

Saturday ended on a slow note, but would Sunday be the same? stay tuned...

Ryan

[BS Man about Palms]

- 11:35AM: Some customers come even more prepared than others.

Ryan

Wow. Thats just crazy stuff there in that picture.

[chrisstrog1]

Ryan,

thank you so much for all the pictures !

Chris

[freakypalmguy]

- 11:35AM: Some customers come even more prepared than others.

Ryan

Wow. Thats just crazy stuff there in that picture.

You think that's crazy, I've heard some do that then drive two thousand+ miles afterwords, now that is completely looney hmmmm...

[BS Man about Palms]

Yep, they're looney alright.

[Palmarum]

- Sunday, 8:55AM: The morning of the second day of a palm sale gives vendors an opportunity to restock certain species if the need was apparent. The need wasn't really there this morning. Sunday mornings are often the slowest time all weekend; so no one, customer or vendor, were in a hurry to get to Montgomery.

- This time of the day is spent spacing out plants, if there was more space, and checking on signs, plants that might have fallen over, etc. When that was done, vendors could be seen doing some shopping of their own and looking for the elusive donut. Mmm, donut... Arriving at this moment were vendors and Forum members Betty Ahlborn (pdleft) (#46) and Kitty Philips (palmmermaid) (#46). They were just entering the sales area on the right as I was shooting away.

- 8:56AM: Zooming out from above, this photo shows the front half of the sales area. Some of the booths looked the same from Saturday morning, while others did not. I decided to browse and check on the general appearance of the booths before the sale opened. I had to find something to do. Plus, you never know when you might find that 'unlisted special'.

- The front of Steve Stern's booth was packed full of nice plants, and I had to take a closer look at his tables to see what he had left of the rarer species.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:56AM: Vendor #25 Carol Graff's booth might look small, but she has repeatedly brought rare and unusual, one-of-a-kind palms for years. She has been a vendor for longer than I can remember. Her reputation for sneaking in that one rare plant has always warranted a good search of her booth. You have to check every tag and every pot.

- 8:58AM: The selection of different coconut palm cultivars can be daunting to the newcomer, but Dave Romney has always been around to explain the differences. On the right side of his booth, there are rows of Coconut Palm cultivars and varieties, some of which are very unique to his collection and can not be found anywhere else.

- Mark Katz, vendor #22, was having a blow out it seemed of certain species. His booth was cleaned out fairly well by the end of the day on Saturday.

- 8:59AM: There were a few distinct palms missing from Ron Croci's (#66) booth as of opening time on Sunday. When I went back this morning to check on them, they were gone. His booth still looked full from this point of view.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 9:06AM: The browsing continued well after the sale opened at Nine. I found myself in Claude Roatta's booth again looking at his stock of unusual palms. This Welfia regia was on full display with a new emergent crimson frond. The color of red almost matched the table cloth the palm was sitting on. I remember seeing this palm in habitat while in Costa Rica. Feels good to be able to say that.

- 9:41AM: The morning continued slowly, with only a few customers and the remaining vendors and volunteers arriving. SFPS Director Lenny Goldstein prepares the remaining giveaway palms for the days' customers. The Society also had quite a bit of seed to be handed out as well.

- 9:42AM: A palm book is a dead giveaway when spotting a palm enthusiast at a sale. Two of them rather.

- 10:11AM: Time for breakfast #2, or was it #3? FM. Ron Kiefert (moose knuckle) appeared in the tent with a bounty of partially frozen blueberry danishes. They were very good, and thawed quickly in the growing heat. Jeff and I each had one, while Dominique thought we were food crazy, after eating these and donuts earlier. There is often good food to be shared among palm vendors, not to mention the afternoon bottle of wine and cooler of beer.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:30AM: Time for the ever popular vendors meeting, which usually happens around ten in the morning on Sunday. Brandishing his trademark cherubic smile, Vendor #31 Albert Livingston sits between one of his newest employees and Vendor #84 and FM. Linda Talbot (Linda Apriletti). They are waiting for the meeting to begin while chatting with the other vendors.

- 10:31AM: SFPS Show Chairman and FM. Bill Olson (Bill Olson) began the meeting as soon as the vendors made their way to the food tent and found comfortable places to sit. He spoke about certain topics including the sale revenue from the day before, attendance figures in way of food and tour tickets sold, and future society activities.

- 10:50AM: The gathering of vendors broke soon after the meeting was over and we scattered back to our respective booths. Soon after the meeting, I was standing in front of the booth and spotted familiar FM. Jerry Behan (Jerry@TreeZoo) heading into the sales area.

- 10:51AM: The activity at the sale started to pick up the closer we got to eleven in the morning. This carried Gaussia sp. was the first significant palm movement I witnessed all morning long. This is typical of most plant sales, as customers are usually doing other things in the morning hours; church, breakfast, or they're just not in hurry to go anyway until lunch time.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:52AM: The slow pace of the morning seemed to take forever to pass by, so everyone found other things to keep themselves occupied. Dominique was the only person with a cart for the entire sales area and even she had extra time to pose with a palm leaf, using it as a halo. I carted plants at sales for years, and I clearly remember being busy non-stop all day even when I was one kid of many for the weekend. Those were the days...

- 10:57AM: Well it is Eleven o'clock, where is everyone? It was so quiet I could hear vendors' conversations sift through the booths and echo down the sales area.

- 10:58AM: I took the time to get some bonus photos of different things I felt were worthy, plus I took recommendations of what vendors wanted to see photographed. Vendor #71 and FM. Bob Johnson (Bob Johnson) poses with his award-winning Chamaedorea stolonifera. It won the award for Best Pinnate Palm.

- 11:10AM: As I was photographing the sales area, I caught a glimpse of the parking lot as a few cars started to trickle in. Customers began to arrive at a steady rate and started to filter through the booths. At the back of the sales area, customers look through Ronnie Croci's [white hat] (#66) selection of palms and large cycads.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:10AM: Fort Roatta. The large tent put up by vendor #67 Claude Roatta to cover his booth was very inviting. The nature of the darkened interior draws people in to see "what could be in there", similar to flea markets and antique shows.

- 11:13AM: She's at it again. I caught Linda fondling this Mt. Lewis King Palm, Archontophoenix purpurea that was at the front of Jeff's booth. She can't keep her hands to herself.

- 11:16AM: The earlier batch of customers wasted no time in getting plants to the registers and to the holding area. The shopping seemed to be contagious. One customer would grab a palm while another collector was putting one of the same species in their cart. The MBC employee on the left might be familiar to those who were in Costa Rica for the Biennial last year. That is Judy Kay, a.k.a. 'Judy #1' from Bus #4.

- 11:17AM: This trio of customers took up residence in front of Jeff's booth for a short while. The one on the left with the brown hat is taking a long look at the Basselinia gracilis that is partially hidden on the front table.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:17AM: The man, the legend, the vendor. el Presidente Tim McKernan gets ambushed in front of his booth by Dominique who had walked away with my camera.

- 11:21AM: That trio that set up camp in front of Jeff's booth began to attract a crowd.

- 11:23AM: A customer's bounty on route to the holding area, headlined by a nice sized Old Man Palm, Coccothrinax crinita.

- 11:31AM: One of Albert Livingston's workers escorts this robust Cuban Petticoat Palm, Copernicia macroglossa, to the register tent. It was nice seeing some of the larger, heavier material heading towards the registers on a Sunday.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:31AM: The customer getting the Copernicia macroglossa had to grab a few more things before she was ready to pay. There is always room for one more.

- 11:33AM: On certain occasions, customers will skip the holding area and start making a pile right in front of the registers. A not uncommon behavior, but it can sometimes annoy other customers who feel they are trying to reserve the next spot in line. In addition to the tall Pinangas, this pile includes a nice Areca vestiaria var. 'Maroon Leaf' and a variegated Lady Palm.

- 11:34AM: Albert wanted a photo of him and his crew in action as they were preparing to load this large Cabada Palm, Dypsis cabadae. They seemed less than enthusiastic.

- 11:35AM: In one swift motion, it went up into the back of Albert's truck on its way to being delivered.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:36AM: During one of her runs, Dominique carefully places a spiny Zamia furfuracea in the backseat of this customer's rather expensive looking car.

- 11:38AM: The register tent saw a brief rush at this point in the day. Luckily, SFPS Treasurer George Alvarez and Volunteer Carol Olson were manning the operation with experience.

- The customer with the brown hat made the decision to get the Basselinia gracilis after all. He carried it up to the tent and gently placed it on the table.

- 11:39AM: The customer with the stash near the table departs for his vehicle. The half inch of top soil in the parking lot was super dry and was creating a good dust storm whenever a gust of wind blew through or when a car drove by.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:40AM: Volunteer Carol Olson looks the Basselinia gracilis up and down and then snips off the end of the tag for the happy customer. For those who may not be familiar with society and group sales, each plant at the sale is labeled with a two-part tag. The bulk of the tag remains with the plant and contains the name and vendor information, while the end is easy to tear off (usually) and contains the price and vendor number. At the end of the sale, the tag ends are sorted by vendor number and the totals for each vendor are figured out. A percentage is then deducted from each vendors' total and a check is mailed out promptly (usually) for the remaining balance.

- 12:25PM: Even show plants may be purchased, if the price is right, or if they are even for sale; customers may buy them for the fact they won an award. Vendor #67 Claude Roatta won an award for this large Iriartea deltoidea which he entered into the show at the last moment Friday evening. Now it is destined to be a part of a customer's collection.

- 12:42PM: All sorts of carts and wheeled objects get pressed into service for plant sales. Even a small hand truck can move a few three gallon plants around. The palm on the left looks like a Bentinckia nicobarica and the other two resemble Ptychosperma spp.

- 1:43PM: The society maintained an information table at the sale entrance to both greet and educate customers. Volunteers take turns at the table, handing out literature, offering free seed or plants, and answering loads of questions. It was now SFPS Director Tim Blake's turn to take a seat and handle the masses.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:43PM: When your booth is neighbored with another, sometimes you find yourself next door selling plants belonging to your neighbor. It happens, as the grouping of plants flow from one booth to another and often mingle by this time on Sunday. It is often hard to see where one booth ends and another begins, minus the change in tag color. Tim McKernan's booth was to the right of ours so I became familiar with his red-tagged plants through the course of the weekend.

- 1:47PM: The line at the registers was just about to poke out from the edge of the tent at this time on Sunday, a good sign in the way of sales.

- 1:48PM: A brief snafu with the credit card machine may bring the sale to a halt, but it is fixed quickly.

- 1:49PM: Tim Blake, water boy. Tim traded his time at the table for time with the hose. The work keeping the area damp had to remain constant. Send rain if you have extra.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:49PM: Some customers shop with their eyes so much they forget what vehicle they used to get to the sale. This customer purchased a large Pigmy Date Palm, Phoenix roebelenii, with the need to get it home somehow. They did not need to go far to get home, so they opted to just lodge the pot in the trunk.

- 1:50PM: The afternoon flurry began to wind down by Two o'clock. It got close to that time where we start thinking about trading and those last minute purchase ideas.

- 1:56PM: Many customers took advantage of the bounty of free seed and information available at the front table. Lenny had a answer for every question.

- 1:57PM: The population of cars in the parking lot started to dwindle. I kept an eye on the lot to get an idea of how many people were coming and going. The slowness of Sunday afternoon was coming again.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:57PM: I was trying to capture all of the lot in a single shot, but was not able to. I was in need of 'height' but I wasn't finding anything to stand on nor was I going to grow a few more feet instantly. Tim continued the fight against the dust while Bill went to check out the flow of traffic.

- 2:04PM: The staff at Montgomery were more than gracious with their time and equipment. When the society needed something, it seemed to pop in out of nowhere very quickly. On the other side of these cars, I photographed something very interesting that I would have wanted to show you, but I know I wouldn't have been allowed to post the photos, so maybe next time...

- The parking lot in this area contained vendors' vehicles as well as customers' cars. There was still a decent crowd still walking around at Two in in the afternoon. Tim could have offered to wash the dust off cars, for a small fee.

- 2:09PM: Sunday afternoons usually see more homeowner traffic than collectors, but a few oddities managed to get sold at this time of the day. Often we see the more common, cheaper landscape palms being sold at this hour, versus this rarer three gallon Basselinia glabrata (Alloschmidia), which was on its way home.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 2:18PM: When first time customers arrive at Montgomery, they are often surprised that the center was actually here. A few will go on to say that they have lived down the street for years and had no idea this place existed. The center is not open to the public, so many customers have driven by with no knowledge as to what was going on behind the fence. The Spring Sale gives many the opportunity to find out what is in here, and to learn more about palms. Lenny captured the attention of everyone in front of the table. He stood up so he could broadcast better.

- 2:20PM: There are those select individuals out there that can tell a story and describe an adventure better than most. Vendor #4 William Olson [on the left] has extensive traveling experience and uses it to both inform and entertain customers. I will often see the same group of customers around him for a long time and I know they are getting a good story.

- 2:29PM: The time for 'wheelin' and dealin' and last minute impulse shopping was upon us. Vendors started to do some trading back and forth while others took advantage of any incredible deals. Vendor #46 and FM. Kitty Philips (palmmermaid) carts an over-sized Spindle Palm, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, back to her booth. She got it for an unbelievable price.

- 3:28PM: The afternoon continued its transition to slow mode. With an hour left in the sale, we were wondering what else there was to buy or trade for. The weather was great for a plant sale and we figured that could have also drawn people to do other things this weekend.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 3:29PM: The inevitable finale of every palm sale includes the fun part of loading every thing left at the end of Sunday. A loading plan was devised by Show Chairman Bill Olson and he took turns informing all the vendors on what order they would be bringing their trucks into the sales area. I use the word 'plan' lightly as it doesn't always turn out to be so organized. I looked over the booth and wondered if it would all fit into the trailer.

- 3:43PM: In one of my last trips through Claude's booth on Sunday, this palm caught my eye. In previous trips through the booth, I automatically ID'd this palm as a Roscheria melanochaetes from a distance and didn't think to look at it any closer. When I happened to be examining a nearby palm, I noticed this palm had no spines and was different. The tag read "Hydriastele hombronii" and I took a step back as I had never seen one before. It is a former Gulubia species, but even with the name change I hadn't seen a specimen in person before today. It soon after became part of another grower's collection after a bit of trading. This is a perfect example of why you need to look at every plant close up, as these 'unlisted specials' can be at every sale; as this species was not listed in the sale booklet.

- 3:49PM: I went one booth over to see what vendor #22 Mark Katz had left in his thinned-out selection. While browsing, I found this large moth resting on a leaf belonging to a three-gallon Kerriodoxa elegans. Post the name of the moth if you happen to know what it is.

- 3:50PM: Take a guess and try to identify this palm if you can. Do not feel bad if you can't think of the name, as this palm is not in any form of cultivation that I know about. This rattan palm was not in anyone's booth and it was certainly not for sale. This is Plectocomia elongata, an unusual rattan palm native to southern Thailand and parts of Malaysia and it is firmly attached to the grounds of Montgomery Botanical Center. I had seen this palm before a year earlier, but it had grown dramatically in the past twelve months. I spent the time showing this palm to a few people and they collectively uttered 'Ugh, who would want that in their yard?" Personally, I like palms with armaments and you can't deny this palm has some nice colored features on it.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 3:50PM: The Plectocomia elongata comprised of this large stem and a smaller clump several feet away, connected via a horizontal stolon. This stem was in full climbing mode and had several cirrus out either grabbing a branch or searching to grab a hold of something.

- 3:56PM: It would have been nice to be able to say this was a customer's cart, but it was not. Vendor #13 and FM. Chuck Grieneisen (chuck_g) was getting a jump on loading his plants, by taking loads out to his truck with the cart.

- I forgot to take a look at the back part of Ellis Brown's booth, so I made a quick trip through before the sale was over. He had many large cycads hidden in back there.

- 3:58PM: A few vendors left their trailers parked at the back of their booths so they didn't have to wait to get them. A time saver for sure.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 4:01PM: The sale continued for the next half hour, with a few customers trickling in until closing time. This pair stops by Albert's booth to ask him a few questions. When the time got closer to 4:30, a last call was given for anyone still heading for the registers. The trucks then came rolling in, and the loading commenced.

- 5:31PM: Almost an hour later on the dot, we finished with loading and were about to leave when I took this shot. On the far side of the empty booth you can see Steve Stern's plants as he was loading them onto his truck to the left of the photo. Another Spring Sale done and in the books.

The Spring Sale is always a great time to get together with other palm people from Miami-Dade county and places beyond, plus it is a great reason to get into Montgomery. The sale was not as busy as expected, but there were many other events going on that weekend. The weather was flawless, but I would have tolerated some light showers if it meant getting some much needed rain. I got some nice plants to add to my collection and I know others did as well. I didn't get a total on how many people took the tour, but I am sure Tim or Bill would know. From the crowds I saw waiting in line, it should be a significant amount. I hope the planting day and cross society meeting during last weekend at Montgomery was successful and someone figured out who could be doing PalmFest this year. Now we have the summer to plant while waiting for the Fall plant sale season.

Ryan

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