The 11th Annual Fall Searle Brothers Plant Extravaganza

[Palmarum]

Time to let the plant crazy people back into the nursery. This Fall, the Extravaganza had a record number of palm species (381 final count) and croton cultivars (135) out on display and for sale. In addition to these two groups of plants there were an incredible variety of tropical species to choose from. Forum members and collectors came from far and wide to attend, including northern and central Florida, Georgia, Arizona and even Guatemala. Jeff Searle, myself and the other volunteers got to meet new people, talk plants with fellow enthusiasts and enjoyed the opportunity to see old friends again. The Extravaganza represents a unique situation for photography, as I am constantly looking for shots while talking about plants. I try to capture everything that transpires during the weekend, but I haven't been able to get close to doing that yet.

- Friday, 7:31AM: The short time in the morning was spent doing last minute stocking, signage and the usual details we often need to do. This includes getting a donut or two. While eating my glazed donut I made a final inspection of the sidewalk within the shadehouse. The front table at the intersection was primed and ready for the collectors with the rare of the rare.

- One of the 3 gallon Chambeyronia macrocarpa had this new leaf and I knew it was not going to last long.

- 7:32AM: Another new red leaf, this time on a Dypsis crinita down the sidewalk a few feet.

- 7:34AM: Frank "Pops" Searle takes a golf cart and drives down to the holding area to get it in line. At this point in the morning, 26 minutes before opening, I started to notice customers beginning to gather at the gate.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 7:41AM: A few more plants to stuff in every available spot in the sales area. This kind of stocking was constant throughout the weekend. If one species sold out, something else would go in that spot. This time it was Red Jade Vines, Mucuna bennettii.

- 7:43AM: An early shot at the gate...

- zooming in further, I spotted Forum Member SunnyFl and her husband standing on the left. I knew what they were after...

- 7:48AM: We had some serious and experienced help for the expanded Croton area this Friday. To help customers find that certain cultivar, we had volunteers and long time friends Judy Glock and FM. Ray Hernandez (Ray, Tampa). They proceeded to re-identify every plant, comparing every speckle, blotch and tint of color.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 7:51AM: The crowd begins to gather...

- 7:52AM: Many customers were still waiting in their cars at this point. When they saw even more people arrive at the gate, they traded air conditioning for a spot in line...

- 7:54AM: Just about time to open...

- 7:55AM: Bromeliad enthusiast and volunteer Colleen Hendrix strolls in at her leisure...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 7:56AM: Customers strain to look down the road to see if any golf carts are heading their way. They know when they see one to start getting ready.

- 7:57AM: During the Extravaganza, every vehicle that can tow is pressed into service including this lawn mower; being driven by Amadeo.

- 7:58AM: Jeff & Andrea Searle arrive at the gate and welcome everyone to the nursery...

- ...and with one signal from Jeff, the customers are finally allowed to enter and they start their speed-walking march down the road.

Ryan

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Go Go GO! Always lookin' forward to your pics Ryan. Thanks.

[Palmə häl′ik]

I wish I could see these pictures.

Been on this page for a little over three minutes, and the first picture hasn't even completely downloaded...

Geez. Too bad they aren't thumbnails...

I guess us users on non-high speed IP's won't be able to see the great stuff at the Searle sale...

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I didn't even realize anyone was still on dial up! Ray, non-high speed IP's just have to go to Searle's sale IRL to see the sale stuff!

Or you could wait a week or two ( HURRY UP RYAN!) for Palmarum to upload all his pics and go to the local library or university... They will most likely have free high speed.

[Palmə häl′ik]

I am CaveMan.

Not dial up, but darn near.

I use a company provided air card for a laptop.

PCIM or whatever slot... They haven't upgraded the 'field guys' to the USB card...

Imagine that...

I'm only gettin' like 25kbs max on a D/L.

Your probably runnin' 300kbs on the normal cable D/L.

BigDiff; ya know.

[BS Man about Palms]

Ray, I know your pain. Before I got dsl, I would hit a page of Ryans to load, then go do something for a half an hour. It was usually loaded by then.

[Palmarum]

- 7:58AM: Stand back and make way, the flood gates are open...

- 7:59AM: The pack begins to divide up into smaller groups right from the start as the more determined begin to pull ahead.

- 7:59.14AM: Those going for a cart begin to veer towards the left while the rest stick to the right as they know an important turn is coming up ahead...

- 7:59.19AM: FM. SunnyFL's husband takes a strong leap forward to take the lead on the right. He does a good job of conserving energy for the final leg...

Ryan

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I've never understood the polite speedwalking... What's wrong with all out marathon sprinting like the crazed plant people we are? :yay:

[Palmarum]

- 7:59.29AM: The distance from the gate to the sales area is covered much faster than one would think. It is a matter of a scant few minutes worth of speed walking.

- 7:59.34AM: FM. SunnyFL can be seen opposite her husband on the left side as he manages a good stride on the right. As the group begins to get closer I start to recognize more familiar faces. In the center in all blue, FM. Rick Leitner (TikiRick) makes his way closer to the sales area.

- 7:59.53AM: The crowd breaks off to hunt down carts on the left. I knew already there were more people than carts.

- 8:00AM: "Must...get...Crotons...and...Palms..."

Ryan

[Walter John]

I am CaveMan.

Not dial up, but darn near.

I use a company provided air card for a laptop.

PCIM or whatever slot... They haven't upgraded the 'field guys' to the USB card...

Imagine that...

I'm only gettin' like 25kbs max on a D/L.

Your probably runnin' 300kbs on the normal cable D/L.

BigDiff; ya know.

I don't understand why people do not use the thumbnail process. Is it a pride thing ? And as soon as someone complains you all think we are on dial up, what's that all about ?

Please use thumbnails Ryan, get over it.

[Palmarum]

PiousPalms Posted Today, 03:13 PM

I've never understood the polite speedwalking... What's wrong with all out marathon sprinting like the crazed plant people we are?...

I am surprised as well as to why they don't just break into running, but I do notice it is a gradual build up in speed. They did increase their speed walking to just about a jog ending just short of the carts. I figured as soon as the first person was to start running a few others would as well. I remember back to the old days of the Members Day Sale at Fairchild T.B. Gardens, where we would get in line at 4 am and when the gates opened everyone ran from the start, and I mean everyone.

Manly Ratpacker Posted Today, 05:24 PM

...I don't understand why people do not use the thumbnail process...

The photos I place online are often posted in different locations, boards, etc. I will also need to be able to send the same photos through email, messages, IM's and more and it is easier to send a link. This transpires for months to come after an event and it is much easier to upload photos once and then link to them infinitely.

- 8:00AM: Those who did not stop for a cart had a second or two lead on the rest who did. This would later turnout beneficial for those seeking that lone plant for sale. Jeff Searle can be seen driving the golf cart on the right while trying to make his way back to see the crowd hit the sales area.

- 8:00.11AM: FM. SunnyFL is determined to get her most wanted...

- 8:00.24AM: Collector and FM. Mike Harris (waykoolplantz) enters the sales area with cart in tow and with a checklist at the ready. It has gotten much harder for him to find a species he doesn't already have.

- 8:00.50AM: With the relocation of the croton section to the shadehouse, the palm and croton collectors now have a similar path to follow. Between many messages, postings and emails I made as many people aware as to the move as possible, including the use of a pair of directional arrow signs. With all this in effect, the majority of the crowd made a hard left turn past the holding area and headed straight for the shadehouse entrance.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:01AM: Crotons! The crowd of early customers headed down the sidewalk with a large portion diving into the croton area on the left. I tried to get ahead to get their expressions but they were moving too fast. FM. Jeff Cramer (street124) [brown hat, right] flew past me like I was standing still.

- The bustling activity quickly became a free-for-all as customers didn't ask which cultivars were where, they simply grabbed them and returned to their cart and repeated the process...

- Jeff made it back to the Croton area to assist the collectors and he had to wedge his way through the carts.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:01AM: I turned around from shooting the Croton area to see customers continuing to enter the sales area. If you are keeping track, it has only been three minutes since the gates were opened...

- I am not sure which cultivar this one was, but it attracted a bit of attention sitting there on the cart.

- Yoink! This one collector's cart was quickly getting filled and the effect was contagious...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:01AM: Mike grabbed a few crotons including this one I think is called Polychrome, but I am not sure.

- 8:02AM: Walking room in the area was in short supply, but the plants themselves were spaced out as much as possible to show lots of color.

- Volunteer and FM. Jim Glock (jglock1) examines the carts along the sidewalk as they become filled with plants, mostly crotons. We both were taken back on how popular that particular group of plants had become.

- 8:09AM: One of the first customers to make their way to the shadehouse intersection filled their cart with mostly Red Sealing Wax Palms, Cyrtostachys renda.

Ryan

[Moose]

I am CaveMan.

Not dial up, but darn near.

I use a company provided air card for a laptop.

PCIM or whatever slot... They haven't upgraded the 'field guys' to the USB card...

Imagine that...

I'm only gettin' like 25kbs max on a D/L.

Your probably runnin' 300kbs on the normal cable D/L.

BigDiff; ya know.

I don't understand why people do not use the thumbnail process. Is it a pride thing ? And as soon as someone complains you all think we are on dial up, what's that all about ?

Interesting... I think I recall you complaining about those who use thumbnails in another thread???

Please use thumbnails Ryan, get over it.

[Palmarum]

- 8:11AM: Mr. Flanigan, owner of Flanigan's Restaurants, has become quite the palm aficionado in the past few years. He has come from being a late Saturday afternoon arrival to an early Friday morning die-hard collector. One of his first grabs this morning was a 10 gal Pelagodoxa henryana.

- 8:12AM: Collectors tend to grab their most wanted first, but I have seen many who take a gallon or two of a species that a few other people are just talking extensively about. In addition to the plants selling themselves, customers will often sell them too.

- The customer on the right ogles over the loaded cart with the Red Sealing Wax Palms, now also loaded with a pair of Dypsis paludosa (florencei). The load was a bit much for the left-rear tire.

- 8:17AM: Carts always serve as portable holding areas, but sometimes a smaller plant may be grabbed off a cart if the customer strays too far away. This is why we have the holding area equipped with volunteers to keep an eye on customers' stashes. If you like larger material such as a 10 gal Carpoxylon macrospermum, it would be far less likely to be carried off, however.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:18AM: It took about 20 minutes to get the first half of the sidewalk crowded with carts and customers. It was amazing how many familiar faces you begin to learn from sale to sale.

- Mr. Flanigan added an Orania ravaka and an Areca guppyana before heading for the full sun palms.

- 8:23AM: The one and three gallon palms are the favorite sizes among collectors, as they allow for one to get the most amount of species at one time. I know this holds true for me as well. Unless their new favorite is only available in a larger size, like a 7 gal. Teddy Bear/Triangle Palm Hybrid, Dypsis leptocheilos x decaryi seen near the end of the sidewalk.

- 8:27AM: Jeff explains the growth habit of a rare palm to a customer.

Ryan

[BS Man about Palms]

-

- 8:27AM: Jeff explains the growth habit of a rare palm to a customer.

Ryan

This looks more like a guess than an explanation.

PS- Ryan, I am really enjoying reading this now that I can identify the various areas....and situations...

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Kinda looks like Captain Morgan...

[Trópico]

This happens only once a year? Is the nursery open for the public any other time?

Keep up the good work Ryan. Forget about annoying little thumbnails!

[downtownfish]

Twice a year, but if you contact Jeff he can take you around and show you the place.

[waykoolplantz]

Actually...they will be open to the public starting last Monday. Tho is always a good time at Jeff's events.

[Kris]

Dear Ryan

Lovely coverage as always of that beautiful event... Stunning pictures all presented in big size ! And 'i simply love it'.

Dear Mike harris

your shirt is very interesting and i admire your taste for good things...

Dear 007

your event is fentastic,and i keep missing this every year and the above stills gives me sleepless nights..

Thanks & Love,

kris

[Jeff Searle]

This happens only once a year? Is the nursery open for the public any other time?

Keep up the good work Ryan. Forget about annoying little thumbnails!

Frank,

We welcome any Palm Talk forum members anytime if your in the area or just passing through and would like to look around. I'm always giving the "nickel" tour to all that's interested. It's best to call me ahead of time and make sure I'll be there.

Ryan,

Thanks again for all the good coverage and as always, your pictures are great.

Kris,

It would be an honor to have you come by to one of our sales. Maybe you could stop on your way in California and pick up Bill ( BS Man ) and come together. You can be our in-house expert for CIDP and Corypha's.

Jeff

[Palmarum]

- 8:28AM: FM. Randy Wiesner (palmisland) looked through the tables and came away with a small Ptychosperma, I think was a P. waitianum. I had to ambush him with the camera to try and make sure he didn't blink.

- "Hmmm..." The customer in the scrubs had that peculiar thinking expression while looking over the plants. Every Friday of the Extravaganza you will hear similar phone calls from customers calling in "sick", or "I will be in late", etc. This year I noticed more people texting in the same messages rather than calling them in. I knew that Chambeyronia macrocarpa with the new leaf sitting on the cart would not last long.

- 8:29AM: The carts loaded with crotons near the shadehouse entrance began to form a line. I remember seeing a few carts make it back to the holding area before coming back to be loaded again.

- The action in the croton area didn't slow down for a while, and I know volunteer and FM. Ray Hernandez (Ray Tampa) could attest to that fact.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:29AM: Landscape designer Greg K. reaches over to feel the Jewel Pagoda, Zingiber neglectum cut flower that was positioned behind the plants for sale, while one customer leans in to see the plants.

- 8:30AM: I get one worker to blink while helping another to carry out a Metroxylon warburgii for a customer.

- 8:39AM: "I got another Licuala grandis for my yard." This customer had been waiting to get another one since he got two at the Spring Extravaganza earlier in the year.

- 8:40AM: FM. Scott W. (aztropic) increases his stock of palms for his home back in Arizona. He is a true die-hard enthusiast to travel throughout the year to attend events as often as he does. He grabbed one of the few 10 gal. Copernicia macroglossa specimens, along with a Beccariophoenix sp. "Coastal Form" and a small Carpoxylon macrospermum.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:46AM: The main road quickly saw traffic as customers entered the sales area and headed down to check out the first-half of the landscape plants.

- A customer came and found me with questions so I followed them to a palm in the nursery landscape. As I walked past the side entrance to the shadehouse I photographed the sidewalks getting crowded.

- 8:48AM: As I was walking down to find the palm in the landscape, I answered questions about the smaller material as I walked. Talking, walking and photographing...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:48AM: Many of the early customers and collectors never got past the Bromeliad section on the left. They found a larger selection than ever before, now that the crotons were moved out and put into the shadehouse. That large cycad moving down on the cart is a Dioon rzedowskii.

- 8:55AM: I had to get back into the shadehouse as I knew collectors were needing information about their favorite plants. One customer flies past me on the left carrying a Licuala, while the one on the right studies the plants on the tables. His cart was already loaded with a Dypsis carlsmithii.

- 9:16AM: FM. Ron Kiefert (moose knuckle) closely examines one of the palms on his want-list as a customer passes him carrying a 7 gallon Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana. Ron and myself both remembered seeing that species in Costa Rica in huge numbers during last year's IPS Biennial.

- 9:17AM: It was already time to restock certain plants this early in the day. Restocking takes place all weekend long and is a constant process during the Extravaganza. In this instance, Ray and Jeff carry in some additional Variegated Swiss Cheese Plants, Monstera deliciosa 'albo-marginata'.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 9:28AM: The 10 gal Carpoxylon macrospermum seen earlier on the cart by itself now has friends to go home with. The cart now holds a Pinanga speciosa and a Teddy Bear/Triangle Hybrid, Dypsis leptocheilos x decaryi.

- 9:33AM: Customers continued to arrive throughout the morning and I witnessed many heading for the barn housing the Orchid selection; behind me in the shot.

- 9:34AM: Sometimes bigger is better. One customer fell in love with these two very tall Ptychosperma salomonense 10 gallon specimens that were part of a group including 3 gallon and 1 gallon plants. After I got them out of the shadehouse they ended up in the holding area surrounded by the customers growing stash.

- Not everyone is as excited about plants as we are...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 9:38AM: "There is always room for one more."

- 9:39AM: It was getting closer to 10 o'clock in the morning and the Holding Area reflected this fact very apparently. The choice spots closer to the front near the orange fence were taken and customers had to search further back to find open space.

- The early morning supply of donuts, muffins and orange juice had been exhausted so customers helped themselves to bottled water and cans of ice cold soda. No BBQ today, but many knew enough to come back tomorrow for lunch.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 9:40AM: The croton selection was thinned out to the point to allow for wider aisles and a large spot with room for a loaded cart.

- One key volunteer responsible for connecting customer-to-plant was Judy Glock; who knew how to tell each cultivar apart down to the smallest blotchy detail.

- This customer had his left hand full of orchids while he meandered his way down the sidewalk looking at the palms.

- 10:03AM: One more trip to the holding area...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:06AM: We had a 30 to 20% chance of rain for Friday so at this point in the day I was quite happy with the weather so far. It was shaping up to be a perfect day, but I knew it could rain later in typical Florida fashion.

- 10:19AM: Nothing like plant shopping with a cold beverage...

- 10:24AM: Croton craziness continues uncontrollably... Film at Eleven...

- FM. Ron Kiefert (moose knuckle) explains the best ways to grow a croton to a customer while Judy & Jim Glock describe another cultivar to a new enthusiast. Ray is doing his best statue impression.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:37AM: We had several visits from far traveling enthusiasts and collectors. However, none was as interesting as the long trip from Orlando accomplished in the wee early hours by Forum member Michael (palmsOrl). He got up real early to be one of the first ones at the gate to get his long awaited and most wanted Cyrtostachys glauca.

- 11:16AM: At the northern edge of the sales area a table was set up to feature a selection of Heliconia rhizomes that had been very recently dug up for sale. They were very popular with the gardening crowd as many customers knew this was the cheapest way to gain a new variety for one's collection. A few varieties were sold out already.

- 11:22AM: More restocking, this time it was crotons that were replenished.

- FM. Jim Glock (jglock1) and Jeff laugh over a joke with a pair of customers after they picked out a Metroxylon vitiense after seeing the huge one growing in the landscape.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:24AM: Collector and long-time enthusiast Jeff Chait wheels his cart down the sidewalk looking for plants he could still fit in his well-packed yard. He has to stick to smaller specimens as a spot for them is easier to find. The largest plant on his cart is a 7-gal Ravenea hildebrandtii.

- 11:55AM: As it got closer to lunch time, a long time friend and well-known collector came in to get a long list of species for his huge collection. He was tagging everything with pink tape, but reached the point where he needed another cart to carry everything. In addition to that Orania ravaka on the right, he also wanted the Zamia pseudoparasitica and the Dypsis basilonga. He ran out of tape and didn't want anyone else to grab them so I sat here and watched over them until he came back. Plant sitting duty...

- A good number of customers did bring their own carts this time, but some quickly found out that theirs didn't hold enough.

- 12:01PM: To assist the collector with everything, Ray came back with an additional cart and proceeded to load everything tagged with pink tape.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:27PM: The hefty Dypsis pembana going to the holding area required a bit of ingenuity to get it out of the shadehouse on such a small cart. If you glance over to the upper-right corner of the photo you will see strange lights near the power lines. That is some sort of visible ionization that was captured by my cameras sensor when the photo was taken. The sun was at a perfect angle to the left and that might have effected it somehow.

- 12:36PM: The collectors stash quickly moved from holding area to trailers as he was continuing to shop with a cart.

- His selection crossed over into all plant groups and families, but palms remained the focus of the list.

- 12:37PM: We were all so grateful for the weather so far, it had become a great day for a plant sale. The humidity outside the shadehouse was down quite a bit and it was not too hot. Many of the plants towards the left that were not going out to the parking lot immediately, were being scheduled for delivery.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:37PM: Just before heading for lunch, I photographed the many volunteers at the front of the operation. Volunteer Donna was one of many important receipt writers that kept the line moving continuously through the registers.

- 3:08PM: Forum member Justin (Justin P) and his wife/ranch hand Sonia pose with one of his new bromeliads, a small Alcantarea imperialis.

- 3:12PM: I often eat lunch in amongst the palms in the shadehouse so it will often take me a while to finish eating before I am able to take more photos. I do not mind, as I can still answer questions while eating. Usually. The good weather run was interrupted by a short rainfall that lasted only a few minutes. There was two hours remaining in the sale on Friday and the traffic was still going strong.

- 3:15PM: Justin picks out another Alcantarea bromeliad. The one he is holding is the same as the large specimen on the right and I am not sure as to the name. The bromeliad section was divided into full sun and shade areas to make it easier to choose a plant.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 3:18PM: "Look Ma, no hands." Volunteer Pfc. Shane Tanner brings the tractor back to the holding area after dropping off plants out in the parking lot. He is now in the U.S. Army Reserve after training to become a heavy equipment operator. He still has a little trouble with the tractor though.

- 3:42PM: Gatherings of people, customers and volunteers traveled from area to area throughout the day, stopping where ever there was a comfortable spot to talk plants. The tent at the intersection saw the most use on Friday for everyone, including Judy Glock, Andrea & Jeff Searle and Jim Glock.

- 4:45PM: Shopping and the searching for plants continued right up until closing time. The one customer on the right was still making up his mind as to what else to add to the trailer load.

- 4:54PM: One of the last customers of the day was FM. Brian (zimmy71). He choose a small Licuala grandis to add to this collection and we talked about how addictive collections and hobbies can become. We were talking so much he almost didn't make it to the registers before they closed down.

Ryan