One of My Needles, a Brazoria, and Agave Pups

[Scot from SC]

Here are some pictures of my largest needle palm, my largest Brazoria, and some Agave pups.

This needle is a tad over six feet tall.

This is my largest Brazoria; it is finally picking up speed.

Here are some Agave pups popping up in my rock garden.

Thank you for looking. I have many other cold hardy palms I can share if people are interested. Have a great day.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Scot from SC

[Flow]

Yes, more pictures, please. How old are the Rhapidophyllum and the Sabal?

[SailorBold]

Oh yeah- would love to see more! Especially your hybrid you mentioned.

[Scot from SC]

Hi Flow. The needle is probably 25 years old. The Brazoria is probably around eight years old. Thank you for looking!

[Scot from SC]

Thanks for looking Sailor. I will post some of my hybrid in this forum soon.

[905palms]

Looks great Scot, please share if you have more pics! How did you get those Agave pups, are they from seed? I don't see the mother plant.

thanks!

[Scot from SC]

Thanks 905! The mother plant is not in the picture, but she is nearby. It is amazing what one plant can do in terms of pup production.

[smithgn]

Welcome, Scot! A fellow South Carolinian here as well. Look forward to seeing more of your palms. Now I have someone to gripe with about the oncoming winter weather that's not too far away... (haha!)

[905palms]

Hey Smithgn, I'm already griping up here, lol. I was in Columbia back in August, and never had a chance to go the Garners Ferry. They seem like a decent nursery with healthy stock, are they? Also, there's a guy in Blythewood off the 77, that seems ok for some varieties and trinkets, perhaps he gets them from Sean at Chilly.

Thanks,

D

[Scot from SC]

Hey Smithgn, I am happy to see a fellow person from South Carolina. We ought to trade notes some time! Do you ever get any palms from Gayland Penny down in the Leesville area? He is not too far from me, and I plan on giving him a call soon and chatting about the palms he grows, etc. I can post his website if it is not against board rules to do so.I can also post Sean's website link too.

Hello 905 aka Pineapple Dan! I have actually had Sean deliver some to me. He is about two hours north of me in the Rock Hill area. He has good stock. The guy I was talking about above grows his, I believe, from seeding palms in his yard.

It is nice to meet you two!

Edited October 3, 2014 by Scot from SC

[smithgn]

Hey Smithgn, I'm already griping up here, lol. I was in Columbia back in August, and never had a chance to go the Garners Ferry. They seem like a decent nursery with healthy stock, are they? Also, there's a guy in Blythewood off the 77, that seems ok for some varieties and trinkets, perhaps he gets them from Sean at Chilly.

Thanks,

D

Haha- I shouldn't forget about you Canadian guys. It is getting to be the time of year, so we'll all be griping soon. You were in Columbia? Business? To be honest, I rarely venture out onto Garners Ferry road, but I'm sure there are some nurseries out there.

I've been to the Blythewood nursery you're talking about. He has some decent stuff. I bought a Livistona chinensis from him back in the spring. He had some Sabal variations that he said he grew from seed if I remember correctly- I believe it was the Texas "Brazoria" Palmetto. If you want a real good variety of stuff, I'd go by Penny's Palms in Leesville (west of Columbia).

Hey Smithgn, I am happy to see a fellow person from South Carolina. We ought to trade notes some time! Do you ever get any palms from Gayland Penny down in the Leesville area? He is not too far from me, and I plan on giving him a call soon and chatting about the palms he grows, etc. I can post his website if it is not against board rules to do so.I can also post Sean's website link too.

Hello 905 aka Pineapple Dan! I have actually had Sean deliver some to me. He is about two hours north of me in the Rock Hill area. He has good stock. The guy I was talking about above grows his, I believe, from seeding palms in his yard.

It is nice to meet you two!

For sure! Gayland is my only real "palm connection" around here. We talk every now and again and I've bought several palms from him. Definitely give him a call. He's a pretty busy guy but flexible if you want to meet him at his house to talk palms and do show and tell- he has a plethora of different stuff. If you do go by there, check out his Robusta as you enter his backyard- totally awesome and the largest pure Robusta I've seen in the area! If you talk to em, tell him you know Nick from Irmo. Good to meet you too, Scot!

[Scot from SC]

Thanks Nick! I look forward to getting to know all of you local folks especially. I have pm'ed Gayland on another board, and he was very nice and told me to call him anytime to chat about palms. I will definitely be taking some pictures of his place when I go if he is okay with that. It sounds like a treat for sure! How long have you been a palm nut?

[smithgn]

Cool deal! It's worth the drive out there. I've had an eye for palms ever since I was a kid, but didn't really start growing and collecting until early summer of last year. I'm still a newcomer to palms. What about you?

[Scot from SC]

I have liked palms since I was a child too, but I was not able to really grow any until I bought a house of my own. I have grown them since 1999 or so. I have different types of Sabals, Trachycarpus, Needles, and Butias, a few Chamaedorea Radicalis, and I am starting to try and expand my hybrid collection. I am also into anything tropical looking, so banana plants, elephant ears, Fatsia, etc. are in my yard. I have a small desert/rock garden too with some yucca Rostrata, agaves, cacti, etc. in it. How about you?

[905palms]

Hey Smithgn, I'm already griping up here, lol. I was in Columbia back in August, and never had a chance to go the Garners Ferry. They seem like a decent nursery with healthy stock, are they? Also, there's a guy in Blythewood off the 77, that seems ok for some varieties and trinkets, perhaps he gets them from Sean at Chilly.

Thanks,

D

Haha- I shouldn't forget about you Canadian guys. It is getting to be the time of year, so we'll all be griping soon. You were in Columbia? Business? To be honest, I rarely venture out onto Garners Ferry road, but I'm sure there are some nurseries out there.

I've been to the Blythewood nursery you're talking about. He has some decent stuff. I bought a Livistona chinensis from him back in the spring. He had some Sabal variations that he said he grew from seed if I remember correctly- I believe it was the Texas "Brazoria" Palmetto. If you want a real good variety of stuff, I'd go by Penny's Palms in Leesville (west of Columbia).

Hey Smithgn, I am happy to see a fellow person from South Carolina. We ought to trade notes some time! Do you ever get any palms from Gayland Penny down in the Leesville area? He is not too far from me, and I plan on giving him a call soon and chatting about the palms he grows, etc. I can post his website if it is not against board rules to do so.I can also post Sean's website link too.

Hello 905 aka Pineapple Dan! I have actually had Sean deliver some to me. He is about two hours north of me in the Rock Hill area. He has good stock. The guy I was talking about above grows his, I believe, from seeding palms in his yard.

It is nice to meet you two!

For sure! Gayland is my only real "palm connection" around here. We talk every now and again and I've bought several palms from him. Definitely give him a call. He's a pretty busy guy but flexible if you want to meet him at his house to talk palms and do show and tell- he has a plethora of different stuff. If you do go by there, check out his Robusta as you enter his backyard- totally awesome and the largest pure Robusta I've seen in the area! If you talk to em, tell him you know Nick from Irmo. Good to meet you too, Scot!

Hey Smithgn, Scott, thanks much... I've actually purchased tons of seeds from Penny's in Leesville, and never had a chance to get to his location. I know he kinda runs it out of his yard, but would love to see the old specimens they have. I only trust seed/palms from the Carolina's, as Fl is not hardy enough for Canadian palm survival regardless of species.

As for work, my office is located in Duncan, but will be moving to Charlotte in the next year or so. I'm there on vacation time only, so I don't mix business with pleasure... lol. I usually do like all the others and hang a left on I20 to the beach. Myrtle happens to be our sister city ironically.

I'll be tapping up some Palmetto seeds from Gayland in the next few weeks, last winter they said they weren't ready. If you guys have some pics of your palms and garden, that'd be great! thanks

Cheers!

[905palms]

Sorry, guys, didn't want to hijack the thread. Scott, how far do the Agave Pups travel away from the mother plant. I have a blue American and just maybe a couple of pups are emerging about a foot or so away from the juvenile plant... Unless they are totally something different.. Could it be possible? Also, I've germinated 3 Brazorias on my south facing wall, I'll mulch over for the winter. Damn they're slow growing... :-(

[smithgn]

I have liked palms since I was a child too, but I was not able to really grow any until I bought a house of my own. I have grown them since 1999 or so. I have different types of Sabals, Trachycarpus, Needles, and Butias, a few Chamaedorea Radicalis, and I am starting to try and expand my hybrid collection. I am also into anything tropical looking, so banana plants, elephant ears, Fatsia, etc. are in my yard. I have a small desert/rock garden too with some yucca Rostrata, agaves, cacti, etc. in it. How about you?

Very cool. Next year I'm going to experiment with some bananas. I have one smallish elephant ear I've moved twice due to too much sun... But yeah, I'm still with the parents so I plant a few things but I'm also pampering many palms in pots till I find my own place (shouldn't be too much longer). I'd love to see some of your Radicalis'. I have 2 I planted in ground around early April and they're doing awesome.

Hey Smithgn, I'm already griping up here, lol. I was in Columbia back in August, and never had a chance to go the Garners Ferry. They seem like a decent nursery with healthy stock, are they? Also, there's a guy in Blythewood off the 77, that seems ok for some varieties and trinkets, perhaps he gets them from Sean at Chilly.

Thanks,

D

Haha- I shouldn't forget about you Canadian guys. It is getting to be the time of year, so we'll all be griping soon. You were in Columbia? Business? To be honest, I rarely venture out onto Garners Ferry road, but I'm sure there are some nurseries out there.

I've been to the Blythewood nursery you're talking about. He has some decent stuff. I bought a Livistona chinensis from him back in the spring. He had some Sabal variations that he said he grew from seed if I remember correctly- I believe it was the Texas "Brazoria" Palmetto. If you want a real good variety of stuff, I'd go by Penny's Palms in Leesville (west of Columbia).

Hey Smithgn, I am happy to see a fellow person from South Carolina. We ought to trade notes some time! Do you ever get any palms from Gayland Penny down in the Leesville area? He is not too far from me, and I plan on giving him a call soon and chatting about the palms he grows, etc. I can post his website if it is not against board rules to do so.I can also post Sean's website link too.

Hello 905 aka Pineapple Dan! I have actually had Sean deliver some to me. He is about two hours north of me in the Rock Hill area. He has good stock. The guy I was talking about above grows his, I believe, from seeding palms in his yard.

It is nice to meet you two!

For sure! Gayland is my only real "palm connection" around here. We talk every now and again and I've bought several palms from him. Definitely give him a call. He's a pretty busy guy but flexible if you want to meet him at his house to talk palms and do show and tell- he has a plethora of different stuff. If you do go by there, check out his Robusta as you enter his backyard- totally awesome and the largest pure Robusta I've seen in the area! If you talk to em, tell him you know Nick from Irmo. Good to meet you too, Scot!

Hey Smithgn, Scott, thanks much... I've actually purchased tons of seeds from Penny's in Leesville, and never had a chance to get to his location. I know he kinda runs it out of his yard, but would love to see the old specimens they have. I only trust seed/palms from the Carolina's, as Fl is not hardy enough for Canadian palm survival regardless of species.

As for work, my office is located in Duncan, but will be moving to Charlotte in the next year or so. I'm there on vacation time only, so I don't mix business with pleasure... lol. I usually do like all the others and hang a left on I20 to the beach. Myrtle happens to be our sister city ironically.

I'll be tapping up some Palmetto seeds from Gayland in the next few weeks, last winter they said they weren't ready. If you guys have some pics of your palms and garden, that'd be great! thanks

Cheers!

Very interesting! Charlotte still gets pretty cold but I'm sure it will be a relief compared to Canada (as far as palm growing goes). What do you plan on doing with the palms you have in ground in Canada?

And yeah, Gayland has some good, viable "parents" in his backyard. A couple of his Butias are absolutely enormous although they got hit pretty hard this past winter. They're still alive, of course. I really need to get out and take some pics because I've gotten a whole bunch of new stuff that I need to track the growth of. I usually take pictures as they mature. But I'll take you up on it and post some pics sometime soon : )

[Scot from SC]

Hey Dan...the mother plant is several feet away. I think what happened is she sent several pups out and somehow one of the pups sent out more pups. I might be wrong, but I think this is what happened.

Hey Nick...I have a few young trunking Radicalis that I bought online from a fellow palm enthusiast on another board. I will take some pictures soon, but they are not too big yet.

[smithgn]

Sounds good, Scot. I've been trying to post some pictures the last few days but photobucket is giving me issues. Maybe sometime tomorrow. Are your Radicalis' in ground? By the way, they tolerate more sunlight than you'd think.

[Scot from SC]

Technology can be aggravating at times! I do have them in the ground against the foundation of my house. It is the trunking variety. They are in deep shade, but your words encourage me to plant some seeds at the edge of my woods.

[smithgn]

Scott, that's exactly where I have mine and HOPEFULLY mine are the trunking variety as well. I don't know how old a radicalis needs to get before seeing characteristics of it being one or the other... But we shall see. Speaking of sun vs. shade, I have some before pictures of my radicalis' first exposure to about 4-5 hours of mid morning to early afternoon sun and the tips of the fronds were burned. Although, I got some advice from another South Carolina palm grower on here (archangel, I believe that's his username), and he said the newer fronds that emerge become tolerant of the sun and thus, don't burn. I have some before and after photos of that as well that I'll post sometime.

But for now, I'm going to fight photobucket and try to upload some pics as promised

[smithgn]

Here's most of the potted family in the backyard:

Chamadorea Microspadix in the middle and two radicalis' on the far left and right. The one plant without the lava rocks around it, third from left is a hastily placed bismarckia nobilis I was trying to save (one among a couple of dozen- I ran out of spare pots so I decided to put it there lol)

This is a close-up of my radicalis on the far right. It's a bit overshadowed by a large hydrangea, which caused it to start reaching for light. It's a bit crooked due to this, but still a pretty little palm.

My radicalis on the left

[smithgn]

My much adored livistona chinensis. Put in ground on June 1st. Doing quite well as it's put out 2 fronds and on the fringe of putting out a third.

Another

These next two pictures are new additions to the family. First is a trithrinax brasiliensis. Tried growing these from seed and had no success, so then I decided to skip the hard part and order 2 moderate sized ones lol. Here's one of the two.

Copernicia alba. Ordered two of these as well. This will be a tough one to keep alive once I decide to put It in ground (as far as the winters go), but for now, it will stay potted.

[smithgn]

All of these pictures were taken about a week ago. Enjoy!

[Scot from SC]

Thanks for the pictures Nick! I really enjoyed looking through them. Your radicalis looks good! It is trunking up nicely. I will be curious to see how the Trithrinax brasiliensis does for you. Please keep the great pictures coming!

[sashaeffer]

Great pics. How do you typically protect them for the winters you have?

[smithgn]

Thanks Scot. I'll be interested to see how the Trithrinax does, as well. Supposedly there's a guy that is growing it in Augusta, Georgia and says it does well for him. We'll see! By the way, I called Junglemusic today and spoke to Phil Bergman and he said he had a guy earlier call in from South Carolina... That wouldn't happen to have been you, would it? Haha

sashaeffer- Thanks. To be honest, last winter I had just a handful of palms and protected them by mostly moving them inside (since they're potted). I had an in ground CIDP that I just covered with a frost cloth. Needless to say, It bit the dust. Last winter I was still learning protection techniques, so I didn't fare so well. This year, I'm well equipped. Plenty of frost cloths, heat lamps, temperature gauges and a heater. Depending on the time I have, I'll probably just bring them inside and as for my in ground palms, I plan on throwing a frost cloth over them and alternating between a heat lamp and a heater as a trial to see what works best. I plan on getting pretty scientific... Haha. Whats fun about it, is there are plenty of ideas and I plan on trying all of them to see what works best for me. I'll be sure to pass them along and I plan on taking pictures to share.

[Scot from SC]

Hey Nick...that was probably me! Phil has good stuff, and I am itching for another J X B for a spring planting! I also contacted Moultrie in Florida about a Butiagrus nabonnandii aka Mule palm for the spring. I love hybrids!

Is the guy in Augusta named Joe by chance? If so, he has tons of cool stuff planted.

[smithgn]

Ha- How about that? And yea, it must be Joe. I read a testimonial on Palm Pedia and it had a "J. Levert" listed. But hey, I don't blame you for wanting another one. The way I see it is we only have a limited time to grow these beauties, never hurts to plan ahead and get some in.

[Scot from SC]

I see Joe posting sometime on the other board, and in fact I sent him a private message since I am trying to connect with fellow palm folks locally. We all three live in zone 8 and within an hour or so of each other. I figure we can get really specific in our notes as far as comparing what works in our zone and what doesn't. Plus, maybe we can all trade seeds or palms, etc. sometime.

I figure in a few years my first J X B should be pretty large. It is growing like a Washingtonia for me. I want to get another one to put in the front yard since this one is in the back.

[smithgn]

Absolutely, that's a great idea. I have a bunch of random notes and posts from message boards about what could possibly work in our zone. Most of the palms I have I feel like are 9A. I want to push the envelope and see what can grow here as well, although this would have to mean being placed in a microclimate for them to even have a chance at surviving.

Lately, I've been on the hunt for small to medium sized palms that are 9A-9B. Once you start getting to 9B, things start becoming a little unrealistic, but if any of these palms is shorter in stature, it becomes significantly easier to protect. I'll share some notes sometime and what I've been looking at, but last week, I wound up ordering a dypsis onilahensis- a moderate statured, suckering palm that is a 9A-9B... About the only dypsis that would even have a remote chance of growing in our area.

If you get in touch with Joe, do share with us what he says. and yes, we should certainly all get together one day in the near future... designate a meeting place. I'm willing to drive wherever! I don't have any seeds to offer from my palms (yet), but I do have very small seedlings that I've germinated from vendors that I'd be willing to give y'all that I have multiple of.