Jump to content
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOGGING IN ×
  • WELCOME GUEST

    It looks as if you are viewing PalmTalk as an unregistered Guest.

    Please consider registering so as to take better advantage of our vast knowledge base and friendly community.  By registering you will gain access to many features - among them are our powerful Search feature, the ability to Private Message other Users, and be able to post and/or answer questions from all over the world. It is completely free, no “catches,” and you will have complete control over how you wish to use this site.

    PalmTalk is sponsored by the International Palm Society. - an organization dedicated to learning everything about and enjoying palm trees (and their companion plants) while conserving endangered palm species and habitat worldwide. Please take the time to know us all better and register.

    guest Renda04.jpg

Lakeside Palmetum, Oakland


anaheimpalmguy

Recommended Posts

We were in the San Francisco Bay area over Christmas and stopped by the Lakeside Palmetum on Lake Merritt in Oakland.  We had never known of its existence until we joined the Palm Talk Forum and saw it mentioned several times.

The palm collection was terrific, good collection of cool weather palms.  Unfortunately the garden was in pretty bad shape when we were there, as recent maintenance and upkeep had been minimal.  Most of the palms had skirts of dead fronds and the undergrowth was crowded and weedy.  To make matters worse, there were few ID tags in the Palmetum.  In general, the Oakland Botanical Garden (inside of which the Palmetum is located) didn’t look that well maintained either, although the succulent section looked pretty good and we observed volunteers (presumably from the local succulent society) cleaning and grooming it on a Friday morning.   There was a sign at the entrance that said that the Palmetum was established by the Northern California Palm Society, maybe they could get more maintenance for the garden and/or volunteer their services to provide better upkeep.  Anyway, I'm glad we stopped by, it was a worthwhile stop. 

By the way, we weren't sure exactly where within the Lake Merritt Park system the Palmetum was located, so we asked asked several park and two Botanical Garden workers where the palm garden was.  No one could tell us the location, so we proceeded and finally saw some palm tree foliage above the other foliage and there it was.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pix? I visited it 5-6 years ago, and it was rough then, but it was still impressive for NorCal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been the chairperson for this garden for about 28 years, and will have more detailed comments later today. :)

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 4

San Francisco, California

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Lakeside Palmetum is the result of one man's dream for a public palm garden in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Our founder of the Northern California affiliate of the IPS was the late Warren Dolby.  He was frustrated by the small number of species available at the retail nursery level.  He wanted to show the many species suitable for our very mild climate. Warren approached several cities but none were interested in his idea, including Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  At that time, circa 1980, the management of GGP was hostile to palms in general.  The small number of palms at retail has always suffered the 'chicken or egg' problem.  People don't recognize rare and choice species, and thus don't purchase them.  The nurseries won't stock plant material that doesn't sell.  I once made the mistake of pressuring a nursery to offer some Rhopalostylis sapida palms I had grown.  They languished at the nursery for a very long time.  The rare palms may be more choice, but nurseries are in business to sell product.

  Warren eventually found the City of Oakland to be receptive to his idea, Lakeside Park at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland is a city park dedicated to horticulture. Many plant groups have demonstration gardens there.  We were allotted a plot which was formerly a truck parking lot.  The City provides water and debris removal, the Palm Society is responsible for everything else.

Construction began in 1982 with soil imported for a small berm and installation of an irrigation system with three circuits covering the 0.6 acres of our plot.  We had the formal dedication in 1984, hosting the IPS Bienial, and then a post-bienial trip to Australia.  At last count there are approximately 60 palm species present.  One of my goals for 2019 is to do an accurate inventory of current species.  The first chairperson of the Palmetum was my palm mentor, the late Garrin Fullington.  I have been the chair since Garrin retired to Hawaii about 1992.  The garden has three defined areas, the northern shady area with ample irrigation, the middle section with some irrigation, and the full sun south section with minimal irrigation.  The middle section has very poor drainage and some some sort  of toxic condition in the soil, as easy growing palms have failed to thrive, including queen palms and sabals.

WEEDS

  The current problems of the Palmetum include this toxic mid-section, lack of maintenance and lack of labels.  Our NorCal group has suffered a profound lack of interest and enthusiasm since the passing of the original group. Warren Dolby, Dick Douglas, Inge & Hans Hoffmann, Herb Weber, and Garrin Fullington. They have all died, and their gardens are no longer available for meetings.  We now struggle to obtain one or two sites per year for meetings.  At these meetings I always exhort the members to help with the Palmetum maintenance, but no one ever shows up.  Our work party is the first Saturday of each month.  For several years now the only two participants are myself and our NorCal president, Richard Quiroz.  We struggle with weeds and previously used herbicide.  The City of Oakland banned herbicide use.  Then we started to use a weed mower and string trimmer. The City banned our use of these tools, arguing that they could launch a projectile with the potential of striking a person.  Now weed abatement is only by hand pulling or sheet mulching.  The sheet mulch looks good for a few months but afterward is the perfect substrate for a new generation of weeds.  The City gardeners do not have the labor resources to help us with weeds. 

LABELS

 We have purchase and installed labels for all the palms twice.  These have been destroyed by vandalism, usually in just a few months after installation.  I have also witnessed persons vandalizing the palms by twisting off the fronds. I grew five Juania palms and installed them as a grove.  These were destroyed also. There is no admission charge to these gardens, so the gardens are frequented by many persons of dubious character, not into gardening.

IRRIGATION

  The middle section has poor drainage and a high water table.  This has led to runoff onto an adjacent turfgrass area.  The City has repeatedly turned off our irrigation without informing me. We have tried to address this problem by using sprinklers with a lower delivery rate for the water.   Last year the City actually complained to me that the palms looked 'poorly'.  Upon investigation I found the irrigation turned off in August.  The previous City manager was palm positive but she recently retired.  The City of Oakland itself is extremely stressed financially, and has approximately half the gardeners assigned to this park now as it did in 1982.

CONCLUSIONS

  I live in the southwest corner of San Francisco.  It take me 45 minutes to drive to the Palmetum and 75 minutes to return home.  The period of Saturday early afternoon is often gridlocked westbound on the Bay Bridge.  I have been doing this since 1982.  I feel the responsibility to produce an accurate list of current palms, but my enthusiasm is waning. The palms that survive at the Palmetum are basically feral, and will never look as good as palms in someone's private garden. Please remember this in future comments about the unkempt nature of the Lakeside Palmetum.   Thanks to all who read all this venting by me ! :) 

  • Like 3
  • Upvote 12

San Francisco, California

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Oakland Palmetum has been on my to-go list since I became interested in palms. Unfortunately, I've never made the time to take a day to spend a morning or afternoon there - though I've made flash visits to garden centers off of Grand Ave and all throughout the Berkeley Hills. I wish I lived closer, I think I'd enjoy spending time clearing weeds and doing maintenance there. Thank you for doing all that you do Darold. 

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you, Darold, for the very detailed response! It is so interesting to learn the history of a place that I absolutely adore. I have visited it many times and always enjoy the collection. It never gets old! That is so sad to hear about the lack of enthusiasm in palm trees and how there are such few places to host meetings. That's particularly sad to hear about the Juania! I don't understand why people would vandalize a garden. 

If anyone is interested in what the collection contains, here are photos from May 2017.

Click here for the photos

 

34685747675_5b06d28d8e_c.jpg

 

  • Like 3
  • Upvote 5

I'm always up for learning new things!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Darold,

I commend you on your efforts.  .6 acres is a lot to take care of with limited support and resources.  If you are not getting support from the  Northern California Palm members, may I suggest you reach out to different voluntary organizations for their help?  It sounds like the main thing you are short on is labor to weed and clean up the palmatem.  I am sure there are groups who would contribute their time to help beautify the city of Oakland.  

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 2

Huntington Beach, CA

USDA Zone 10a/10b

Sunset Zone 24

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The previous City manager, Tora Rocha, was effective at enlisting volunteer work parties to spread the sheet mulch.  These were generally employees of some company, this would be regarded as a "team building" exercise.

  Part of the problem is ME.  After 36 years of involvement, faced with an indifferent or hostile City, and the lack of assistance from fellow members I am almost out of any further care about this garden.  :(

  • Upvote 2

San Francisco, California

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/12/2019, 5:39:14, Darold Petty said:

The Lakeside Palmetum is the result of one man's dream for a public palm garden in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Our founder of the Northern California affiliate of the IPS was the late Warren Dolby.  He was frustrated by the small number of species available at the retail nursery level.  He wanted to show the many species suitable for our very mild climate. Warren approached several cities but none were interested in his idea, including Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  At that time, circa 1980, the management of GGP was hostile to palms in general.  The small number of palms at retail has always suffered the 'chicken or egg' problem.  People don't recognize rare and choice species, and thus don't purchase them.  The nurseries won't stock plant material that doesn't sell.  I once made the mistake of pressuring a nursery to offer some Rhopalostylis sapida palms I had grown.  They languished at the nursery for a very long time.  The rare palms may be more choice, but nurseries are in business to sell product.

  Warren eventually found the City of Oakland to be receptive to his idea, Lakeside Park at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland is a city park dedicated to horticulture. Many plant groups have demonstration gardens there.  We were allotted a plot which was formerly a truck parking lot.  The City provides water and debris removal, the Palm Society is responsible for everything else.

Construction began in 1982 with soil imported for a small berm and installation of an irrigation system with three circuits covering the 0.6 acres of our plot.  We had the formal dedication in 1984, hosting the IPS Bienial, and then a post-bienial trip to Australia.  At last count there are approximately 60 palm species present.  One of my goals for 2019 is to do an accurate inventory of current species.  The first chairperson of the Palmetum was my palm mentor, the late Garrin Fullington.  I have been the chair since Garrin retired to Hawaii about 1992.  The garden has three defined areas, the northern shady area with ample irrigation, the middle section with some irrigation, and the full sun south section with minimal irrigation.  The middle section has very poor drainage and some some sort  of toxic condition in the soil, as easy growing palms have failed to thrive, including queen palms and sabals.

WEEDS

  The current problems of the Palmetum include this toxic mid-section, lack of maintenance and lack of labels.  Our NorCal group has suffered a profound lack of interest and enthusiasm since the passing of the original group. Warren Dolby, Dick Douglas, Inge & Hans Hoffmann, Herb Weber, and Garrin Fullington. They have all died, and their gardens are no longer available for meetings.  We now struggle to obtain one or two sites per year for meetings.  At these meetings I always exhort the members to help with the Palmetum maintenance, but no one ever shows up.  Our work party is the first Saturday of each month.  For several years now the only two participants are myself and our NorCal president, Richard Quiroz.  We struggle with weeds and previously used herbicide.  The City of Oakland banned herbicide use.  Then we started to use a weed mower and string trimmer. The City banned our use of these tools, arguing that they could launch a projectile with the potential of striking a person.  Now weed abatement is only by hand pulling or sheet mulching.  The sheet mulch looks good for a few months but afterward is the perfect substrate for a new generation of weeds.  The City gardeners do not have the labor resources to help us with weeds. 

LABELS

 We have purchase and installed labels for all the palms twice.  These have been destroyed by vandalism, usually in just a few months after installation.  I have also witnessed persons vandalizing the palms by twisting off the fronds. I grew five Juania palms and installed them as a grove.  These were destroyed also. There is no admission charge to these gardens, so the gardens are frequented by many persons of dubious character, not into gardening.

IRRIGATION

  The middle section has poor drainage and a high water table.  This has led to runoff onto an adjacent turfgrass area.  The City has repeatedly turned off our irrigation without informing me. We have tried to address this problem by using sprinklers with a lower delivery rate for the water.   Last year the City actually complained to me that the palms looked 'poorly'.  Upon investigation I found the irrigation turned off in August.  The previous City manager was palm positive but she recently retired.  The City of Oakland itself is extremely stressed financially, and has approximately half the gardeners assigned to this park now as it did in 1982.

CONCLUSIONS

  I live in the southwest corner of San Francisco.  It take me 45 minutes to drive to the Palmetum and 75 minutes to return home.  The period of Saturday early afternoon is often gridlocked westbound on the Bay Bridge.  I have been doing this since 1982.  I feel the responsibility to produce an accurate list of current palms, but my enthusiasm is waning. The palms that survive at the Palmetum are basically feral, and will never look as good as palms in someone's private garden. Please remember this in future comments about the unkempt nature of the Lakeside Palmetum.   Thanks to all who read all this venting by me ! :) 

Wonderful to know the history. Wish I’d known during the 3 years I recently lived in Fairfield. I would have loved the chance to help. The city’s ridiculous rules clearly make it hard to do much more. I still enjoyed my visit 5 or 6 years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Darold -- Thank you for posting the story of the founding and history of the Palmetum.  I was very sorry to read about the serious trials and tribulations of its maintenance history.  I guess there is a lot less interest in palms in northern California than further south.  At least the Palmetum proves one point that the founders wanted to get across.  You mention that the garden is "basically feral" at this point, and yet a large variety of cooler climate palms are surviving and thriving with very little care, which proves the founders' goal that a surprising number of palms can flourish in northern California climates beyond the handful of commonly-planted ones.  

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Lakeside Palmetum update 1/11/21

Just wanted to put the word out that I’ve been doing volunteer cleanup work at the Oakland Palmetum for the past 4 months. I try to get down there once a week on Sunday mornings and work for a few hours. I was just there yesterday in fact. Generally, the garden is doing well. Each time i go in to work, I focus on a particular area to do general cleanup, such as weeding, raking leaves off the pathways, and pruning perennial plants. I’ll spend some time cleaning up a palm or two, and then do a quick run through the entire garden picking up any fallen tree branches or palm leaves. 

I don’t know the status of the Nor Cal palm society; I’ve never really been too involved with that, but if anyone is ever interested in joining me for a couple of hours or so, please send me a message. There is plenty of work to do. 

I actually really enjoy working in this garden, and I often hear from people how much they enjoy visiting it. Yesterday a visitor who was walking by with his young child told me that the Palmetum is his favorite area of the entire garden. And I could hear another visitor, who seemed to know something about palms, sharing the names of palms to his friend. People really enjoy this place, and I plan to continue working to keep it up. 


 

0C93DB18-9A51-4962-8B31-AFC48994E1C8.jpeg

D9A010B6-1822-4F00-8A17-5E0FF134DC7C.jpeg

48818B53-2C05-4692-AC76-F0F2C7E3E951.jpeg

A313D171-DCAE-40A0-BED3-D250E6B24F8B.jpeg

  • Like 11
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much Will, for volunteering at my favorite Northern Californian palm garden! How did you manage to get that gig to volunteer? I was last there a couple months ago and always love their wide selection. 

I'm always up for learning new things!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kyle, someone in the Nor Cal palm society sent out an e-mail last summer asking for volunteers for a Saturday cleanup day. Somehow I'm on their e-mail list and I got the message. I thought it would be a nice thing to do, so I drove down and met up with about 6 other volunteers that day. A woman who works at the garden complex (not a member of the society) had us sign waivers and said I could come back and volunteer anytime. I spent about 3 hours cleaning up several clumps of Chamaerops cerifera that day and went home with several battle wounds from the task, but I didn't finish the job. So I went back the following weekend to do more work, and of course found more palms that needed attention. Since then, I've been going down (almost) every Sunday morning to work even though it's my day off from my regular landscaping work that I do throughout the week. I have to say that it's kinda of nice to be there alone and just get into my own work mode, but it would also be nice to have other volunteers from time to time to share the experience. It would also be nice to meet with members of the society to learn more about the palms in the collection; I'm not sure of the i.d. of all of the palms in the garden. Like I said in my other post, many visitors really appreciate the work I've been doing.

Because it is a public garden, some abuse is to be expected. I haven't seen anything too bad though. Yeah there's some litter on the ground, and a broken palm leaf once in a while. However, I think that by keeping it well maintained the best we can, people will begin to subconsciously respect it. That's my belief anyway.

One of the challenges is going to be cleaning up some of the taller palms that don't drop their dead leaves. There are several groupings of such palms and my pole saw only reaches so high...

 

  • Like 3
  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/12/2021 at 9:18 AM, Will said:

Kyle, someone in the Nor Cal palm society sent out an e-mail last summer asking for volunteers for a Saturday cleanup day. Somehow I'm on their e-mail list and I got the message. I thought it would be a nice thing to do, so I drove down and met up with about 6 other volunteers that day. A woman who works at the garden complex (not a member of the society) had us sign waivers and said I could come back and volunteer anytime. I spent about 3 hours cleaning up several clumps of Chamaerops cerifera that day and went home with several battle wounds from the task, but I didn't finish the job. So I went back the following weekend to do more work, and of course found more palms that needed attention. Since then, I've been going down (almost) every Sunday morning to work even though it's my day off from my regular landscaping work that I do throughout the week. I have to say that it's kinda of nice to be there alone and just get into my own work mode, but it would also be nice to have other volunteers from time to time to share the experience. It would also be nice to meet with members of the society to learn more about the palms in the collection; I'm not sure of the i.d. of all of the palms in the garden. Like I said in my other post, many visitors really appreciate the work I've been doing.

Because it is a public garden, some abuse is to be expected. I haven't seen anything too bad though. Yeah there's some litter on the ground, and a broken palm leaf once in a while. However, I think that by keeping it well maintained the best we can, people will begin to subconsciously respect it. That's my belief anyway.

One of the challenges is going to be cleaning up some of the taller palms that don't drop their dead leaves. There are several groupings of such palms and my pole saw only reaches so high...

 

Hi Will,

Your post here is serendipitous. I live in Vallejo, am a new IPS member, and I’m interested in volunteering time at the Palmetum to ensure it’s continued survival for future generations. I’ve been trying to figure out who to contact about volunteering time at the garden for a little while now. Darold pointed me here from another post. 
 

I’ve been regularly visiting the garden since I moved to California in 2010. It is what made me dive headfirst into my love for palms which was already brewing well beforehand. I’d like to find a time to coordinate with you to start helping out. Do you go every Sunday at 10am?

Cheers,

Justin 

  • Like 4
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another productive day at the Oakland Palmetum.

ExperimentalGrower drove down from Vallejo to help out for a good chunk of time. We got a lot of debris cleaned up off of the ground, and did some good work on cleaning up some palms. He even helped i.d. some of the palms that I didn't know.

It's nice to see this place getting some attention that it deserves. The "founders" did an amazing job putting this garden together.  Now, decades later, there are some truly magnificent palms to enjoy.

Next time I'm bringing the extension ladder to see what we can do about those Mule palms...I'll post some before and after photos.

Also, if anyone else ever has some free time they'd like to spend helping out in the garden on a Sunday morning, please message me. I'm not there every Sunday, but most.

And, If anyone just wants to visit the garden,  check the hours before you go. Right now, the garden is only open to the public Monday through Friday. It is closed on the weekends until maybe spring due to budget and staffing issues, but we can still work. So, maybe consider visiting on a Sunday morning as a volunteer! Help pull a few weeds and get V.I.P access to the garden (-:

 

  • Like 3
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Had a great time getting some good work done this past weekend Will! It’s starting to look nice and tidy! Definitely ready for next weekend. I’ll pm you.

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Will said:

.I'll post some before and after photos.

Good idea! Then you'll know the rest of us are watching this thread, and WE get to see more of the park as well. Good to see you guys helping out there!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is my introductory post - hi everyone and great thread. I live just a few blocks from Lake Merritt and love to visit the Lakeside Palmetum. I really love the Livistona (one of which leans away from the others, making those droopy leaf tips recognizable from somewhat far away) and the Ceroxylon species.

On 1/17/2021 at 8:08 PM, Will said:

Another productive day at the Oakland Palmetum.

ExperimentalGrower drove down from Vallejo to help out for a good chunk of time. We got a lot of debris cleaned up off of the ground, and did some good work on cleaning up some palms. He even helped i.d. some of the palms that I didn't know.

It's nice to see this place getting some attention that it deserves. The "founders" did an amazing job putting this garden together.  Now, decades later, there are some truly magnificent palms to enjoy.

Next time I'm bringing the extension ladder to see what we can do about those Mule palms...I'll post some before and after photos.

Also, if anyone else ever has some free time they'd like to spend helping out in the garden on a Sunday morning, please message me. I'm not there every Sunday, but most.

And, If anyone just wants to visit the garden,  check the hours before you go. Right now, the garden is only open to the public Monday through Friday. It is closed on the weekends until maybe spring due to budget and staffing issues, but we can still work. So, maybe consider visiting on a Sunday morning as a volunteer! Help pull a few weeds and get V.I.P access to the garden (-:

 

I can help out sometime!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, oaklandpalmnerd said:

This is my introductory post - hi everyone and great thread. I live just a few blocks from Lake Merritt and love to visit the Lakeside Palmetum. I really love the Livistona (one of which leans away from the others, making those droopy leaf tips recognizable from somewhat far away) and the Ceroxylon species.

I can help out sometime!

Welcome to Palmtalk! Ya the Livistona decora is also a favorite of mine. :) I’m planning to join Will again next Sunday if you want to come down. Bring some tools if you have any!

Edited by ExperimentalGrower
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oaklandpalmnerd, welcome to Palmtalk, and thank you for responding to this thread.

Yes, please join us! It would be nice to create a dedicated core group of volunteers.

I'm sending you more info in a private message.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Today at the Palmetum - 4.5 hours of palm cleanup by ExperimentalGrower and me.
My extension ladder was very useful, but not quite long enough for what I was hoping to accomplish, but still, a lot of good work was done. 

1st photo - “before” photo of Trachycarpus grouping. Wagneranus I believe.

2nd & 3rd photos - cleaned up Butias. Yatay and ?

4th & 5th - “after & before” of a Mule palm.

6th - the debris pile...

7th - “after” photo of the Trachycarpus.

(the photos posted out of order from how I selected them)

...and next week, another big pile of debris and more photos.

Anyone else want to join us? It’s a great way to spend a few hours on a Sunday morning. 

02E64AF4-485D-440F-91A8-EEF33096E151.jpeg

42D0CBC5-DC47-4230-A09E-8E407EA88809.jpeg

8F1A1A6B-36ED-4675-80F3-0DB5DCAEC79A.jpeg

FA6E0DF7-1608-479E-B721-BD5D74440374.jpeg

09DCCC08-9C29-4BBD-84AA-84C9CC5FBD04.jpeg

16FABF13-FCBE-454B-8539-25EB98C09494.jpeg

FC265ACB-30A0-47C4-B17D-7AEDE3864EE6.jpeg

  • Like 10
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much, Will.  I will be there as soon as I get the vaccination.    :greenthumb:

  • Like 1

San Francisco, California

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Will said:

Today at the Palmetum - 4.5 hours of palm cleanup by ExperimentalGrower and me.
My extension ladder was very useful, but not quite long enough for what I was hoping to accomplish, but still, a lot of good work was done. 

1st photo - “before” photo of Trachycarpus grouping. Wagneranus I believe.

2nd & 3rd photos - cleaned up Butias. Yatay and ?

4th & 5th - “after & before” of a Mule palm.

6th - the debris pile...

7th - “after” photo of the Trachycarpus.

(the photos posted out of order from how I selected them)

...and next week, another big pile of debris and more photos.

Anyone else want to join us? It’s a great way to spend a few hours on a Sunday morning. 

02E64AF4-485D-440F-91A8-EEF33096E151.jpeg

42D0CBC5-DC47-4230-A09E-8E407EA88809.jpeg

8F1A1A6B-36ED-4675-80F3-0DB5DCAEC79A.jpeg

FA6E0DF7-1608-479E-B721-BD5D74440374.jpeg

09DCCC08-9C29-4BBD-84AA-84C9CC5FBD04.jpeg

16FABF13-FCBE-454B-8539-25EB98C09494.jpeg

FC265ACB-30A0-47C4-B17D-7AEDE3864EE6.jpeg

Good hard day of clean up. Looking forward to continuing the work!

Justin 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A beautiful day to work in the Palmetum today, and with 5 of us pitching in, it only took a few hours to make a noticeable dent and a massive debris pile...We had Ana from Richmond, who found us on the IPS Facebook page, Justin, who’s been driving down from Vallejo the past few Sundays, Dave Sylvia, who actually planted some of these palms back in 1982!, and Eric Christensen who drove up from San Jose and uncovered a hidden treasure before I could snap a “before” photo (Trithrinax schizophylla - pictured here).  It was great to meet and work with this group of focused volunteers and share our love of palms. I learn something new every time I’m there. 

We’ll be back the Sunday after next, so if you or someone you know would enjoy spending time in a palm haven on a Sunday morning, get hold of me and I’ll get you in. 

 

E836A2C5-7059-44F9-8D6D-A57CEC96C2A5.jpeg

DE7D593D-0BA3-447F-B19A-45EB1AF34445.jpeg

6545DB0E-F990-47BB-9EFB-8F33AB36BC62.jpeg

  • Like 6
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys, I will receive my second vaccination on Feb. 26th, so I can join you sometime in mid-March.  Thanks  :greenthumb:

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1

San Francisco, California

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Looking good! Did Dave ever confirm whether that was armata or clara?

I forgot to ask him...

Maybe Darold knows? Looks a bit like 'Clara' to me...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Garrin Fullington's original inventory of palms on index cards.  He lists Brahea aculeata, B. armata, and B. edulis.  This does not mean that a different species is not present. 

I, personally, do not know fan palms well,  since they mostly want hot sun and elbow room.  (Not happening at my place)  

He also records the large mules,   two plants of ButiaxArecastrum (Syagrus), planted on 12/31/83,    these were donated by Merrill Wilcox.

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1

San Francisco, California

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Sunshine, blue skies, and palm trees. That was the forecast today at the Oakland Palmetum. Here are a few photos from today’s work.
It was Trachycarpus day...

A leaning Trachycarpus martianus before cleanup - and then after, with Trachycarpus fortunei on the left.

(A lot of up and down the ladder today).

The bamboo in the 3rd photo is going away soon, and as you can see in photo #4, there’s still plenty of work ahead. 


So, if you’re in the Bay Area, consider a few hours helping out among a brilliant collection of palm trees... and take home a clump of (clumping) bamboo. There will be plenty of that to go around...

0912B955-CFDE-4E25-8AFA-46E997139456.jpeg

CEA4522C-FDE1-48AE-8CBE-5B0CB867D485.jpeg

4B89409F-C674-4291-80DD-67E784FDC3DD.jpeg

C2001A78-1CC9-4390-8B75-FC053A327A85.jpeg

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Hi, are you guys still meeting for work days? I'm a volunteer at the garden and would love to meet and talk about helping. I'm usually there on Mondays. I've known about the Saturday workparties, but work Saturdays and havent been able to make it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Troychycarpus said:

Hi, are you guys still meeting for work days? I'm a volunteer at the garden and would love to meet and talk about helping. I'm usually there on Mondays. I've known about the Saturday workparties, but work Saturdays and havent been able to make it. 

Hey! Yes, right now @NorCalWilland I are usually the main guys working there, sometimes others come in every now and then. We usually only meet on Sunday mornings though somewhere between 9 and 11. We’ll work usually until around 2 or 3pm. We try to get there every other week but as we are planting we are trying to work it out so there’s someone there every week to water and monitor any new plantings or projects. Do you think you’d ever be able to make it on Sunday?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/9/2021 at 12:03 AM, Troychycarpus said:

Hi, are you guys still meeting for work days? I'm a volunteer at the garden and would love to meet and talk about helping. I'm usually there on Mondays. I've known about the Saturday workparties, but work Saturdays and havent been able to make it. 

Yeah, what E.G. said.

I'm usually there by 9 a.m. on Sundays and stay until 1:00 or 2:00.

So much to do, it would be great to have extra help, especially from someone who actually lives in Oakland. I drive an hour to get there, which is why I chose Sunday mornings, otherwise it would take an hour and a half to get there.  You are welcome to come in and work with us, or on your own another day of the week that works better for you. It would be good if we can check in at some point so that we're all on the same page, even though whatever you've been doing is awesome, thank you!

As mentioned above, we are adding some new plants slowly, so watering is a priority, especially as we head into summer. There have been a few Sundays where I drove down there just to water plants because the automatic irrigation system is not great.  Many palms could use a weekly soaking with a garden hose.  If that is something that you might be interested in helping with, it would save me a trip down so I can have a day off once in a while (I work 6 days a week as a landscaper).

And if anyone else who lives in Oakland or close by is reading this, please consider volunteering at your local palmetum. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours, learn about palms, and meet new people.

 

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

Hi Everyone,

My name is Jadd and I am new to Palmtalk. I live nearby Lake Merritt and would love to come and do some work in the Palm Garden. Let me know if there is a schedule or a lead person to get in contact with. Thanks and looking forward to getting some work done in that beautiful palm space. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
30 minutes ago, BayAndroid said:

What's the status on helping out these days? 

Good question. I am near by in Oakland and would love to meet up and do some work. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, I'm Troy.  Jadd, this is the same Troy from Ace lol. I've been a volunteer at the gardens for a few years in a few of the different collections (Rock Garden, Vireya collection, and Palmetum). I've planted some things in the palm garden and do some small scale maintenance stuff; nothing too major. I'm typically at the garden on tuesdays from around noon to 3.  There is no strict structure as is demonstrated above, and I mostly just putz around and plant seedlings (some things ive got from Darold, among other places) and companion plants.  There is another person, Kyle, who has been doing some of the heavier removal of weeds, mulching, and such as of late. Anyhow i'd love to meet up with you guys at some point and share ideas. I have lots of thoughts on the garden, and hopes for the future of it. I am not sure if the two guys (Will and Experimentalgrower) from this thread a couple years back are still meeting and working in the garden as I haven't ever ran into them, but I'm also never there on sundays.  I am available some saturdays if that would be better for you guys. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Troychycarpus said:

Hey, I'm Troy.  Jadd, this is the same Troy from Ace lol. I've been a volunteer at the gardens for a few years in a few of the different collections (Rock Garden, Vireya collection, and Palmetum). I've planted some things in the palm garden and do some small scale maintenance stuff; nothing too major. I'm typically at the garden on tuesdays from around noon to 3.  There is no strict structure as is demonstrated above, and I mostly just putz around and plant seedlings (some things ive got from Darold, among other places) and companion plants.  There is another person, Kyle, who has been doing some of the heavier removal of weeds, mulching, and such as of late. Anyhow i'd love to meet up with you guys at some point and share ideas. I have lots of thoughts on the garden, and hopes for the future of it. I am not sure if the two guys (Will and Experimentalgrower) from this thread a couple years back are still meeting and working in the garden as I haven't ever ran into them, but I'm also never there on sundays.  I am available some saturdays if that would be better for you guys. 

What’s up Troy!! It’s Dale here, Darren is my brother. Keep up the good work up there, it’s much appreciated by many. 
 

-dale 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Billeb said:

What’s up Troy!! It’s Dale here, Darren is my brother. Keep up the good work up there, it’s much appreciated by many. 
 

-dale 

Hey Dale! I planted a Chamaedorea woodsoniana in the palmetum last summer that Darren gave me, and its doing very well. His garden is certainly coming along too. He just scored a nice large Macrozamia johnsonii recently that should do great for him. Trying to convince him to plant a Ceiba somewhere in the front for some much needed shade lol. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...