Interview with Ken Johnson

[Walter John]

stay tuned

[Ken Johnson]

ok is this mic on?

[Walter John]

Hi Ken, can you tell the folks about where you live, how long you have lived there and whether you plan to move ?

[Ken Johnson]

Yes I can Wal. I live in Miami Florida U.S.A. I have been in South Florida for 48 years and may move to the Florida Keys when I retire.

[Walter John]

Nice, a true Florida man, now let's get straight to palm trees,

How did you start your interest in palms ?

[Ken Johnson]

Wal. I moved here in 1963 and learned about plants from my Mother and Grandmonther. They loved all plants and it rubbed off on me. As a teen i got a job at a palm nursery pullong weeds. The rest is history.

Wal. Don't you have a new album of your music out?

[Walter John]

Why yes Ken I do in fact have a new record, this is your interview now though, so about that palm interest, tell us more where that came from ?

[Ken Johnson]

When I was 24 or so I was hired to drive and pick up plants for a Major shopping mall, Bal Harbor Shops. They wanted me to find some 45" tall (15M) Coccothrinax for a special project and when I went to look for them I met people that belonged to The Palm Society.

I joined the local group and started to become active with them. At the same time I studied books and walked Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Over time (28 years or so) I compiled a lot of palm info.

[Walter John]

So Ken, did you ever find that tall Cocothrinax for your employers ? And how on earth did you prepare and plan for the transplant, if there was one ?

[Ken Johnson]

I did find the palms. It took 6 months but I got six of them.

Before I tell you how I transplanted them let me tell you how they used them. There was a new parking garage 5 stories tall. They had custom made planters on the second floor and holes through the roof of every level to the top where the heads of the palms would stick out for the drivers on the top floor, sixty feet above the Atlantic Ocean across the street!

These were the first palms I transplanted other than a few small ones when I was young. My boss knew how to do it and trained me. I had help but we dug with special shovels and waited months to lift them with a backhoe or crane. Transporting them was a challenge too.

In the end we used ropes to lift the heads through the holes and a small tractor to make the final lift into the planters.

[Walter John]

If anyone has a question for Ken, please PM me direct so we have a seemless thread and I'll see that it gets due consideration.

[Walter John]

That is an amazing beginning to your palm business Ken, and we'll get back to palms and palm people shortly, first this short commercial.

Hello, have you heard Watty ? No ?, well you soon will, for once he gets played on the continent he will spread like a bush fire and sweep you off your feet like a twister

Watty O'Diamond's "The Guy in the Hat did something wrong" - OUT SOON on a round cdee

[Walter John]

Ken, you're a fit looking guy from all this palm work, I was wondering if you ever played sports, which ones did you play and what sport, including fishing, interests you these days ?

[Ken Johnson]

Wal I look forward to recieveing the CD you sent me. Is it suitable for children?

I played French Horn in the band when in high school. I learned alot about music.

[Walter John]

Wal I look forward to recieveing the CD you sent me. Is it suitable for children?

I played French Horn in the band when in high school. I learned alot about music.

Lovely, now about sports, in Post #13, do you see any live sports at all ? what teams do you follow ?

[Ken Johnson]

Wal, I was a sailor, racing off Miami beach when younger. Windsurfers had just come out so I got one and buzzed around the bay till I got a Hoble 16.

After getting my BS in Biology I switched to fishing. The flats off the Everglades were my grounds for 20 years but now I fish the ocean.

I still dig palms and love an arm wrestle when offered.

[Walter John]

Arm wrestle ? what's the deal with that ? I'm sure our viewers would love to hear.

[John in Andalucia]

I've no sound.

[paulgila]

this is awesome! when is it coming to a theatre near me???

[_Rich]

Ken's the reigning world champion in the root pruning division of arm wrastlin'. Don't mess with those palm diggin' forearms!

[Ken Johnson]

Thanks everbody. There will be pictures. I'm in high demand in the chat room but let me answer the last question.

My father was an Air Force pilot that waited on flight lines during the Cold War. He and the other pilots arm wrestled to stay in shape and pass the time. He trained me with one arm pushups and soon i could beat guys twice my size. I was the champ in High School. Since I sailed on the weekends the football players never saw me in action so it was a big surprise to them and their coaches when I walked off with the trophy.

I have taught my two boys and still take a challenge from time to time. Still have a sleeper look. Surprises lots of people.

[paulgila]

dont forget to mention the fact that you like sushi.

[Walter John]

That's a real family affair, a bicep brigade. Power to you.

Now Ken you said earlier in the interview that you met people that belonged to The Palm Society on tracking down that Cocothrinax. Can you recall how that piece of history in your palm life went. Who did you meet and what did you think you were getting yourself into, were you apprehensive at all ?

[Ken Johnson]

Wow this is a big question. Many great people are involved. Learning palm transplantation was a curve. There were many myths to debunk. Becoming President of The South Florida Chapter of the International Palm Society (the name was latter changed) was also a big step and a rewarding one.

The first great person I remember was Mrs Baumgartner. She was much older than I and much wiser. She shared some early stories of palm gardening and landscape with me and after about 10 hours of interview over 3 days she sold me one of the first 45' coccothrinax I procured for the mall. After that the sky was the limit. I joined the local chapter and went to my first meeting at Eva and Brice Ryan's garden and soon found myself buying some of their palms for a pending sale I had! At that meeting I met Theodora Buhler, Teddie to all who knew her. She was the first secretary of The Palm Society (as it was known back then). One of her duties was to mail every copy of "Palms" to every member. She knew everyone and had a full set of "Principies" that she let me read! So this part of the story is still very active, In fact i have increased my palm friends many fold right here on palm Talk and in the awesome new Chat room. Also I am still the Special Guest Auctioneer at the locals Holiday Party.

As the number of palm transplants increased so did my knowledge.There are many books about palms but few mention roots or transplanting in detail. I had to make my own observations and learn from them. At first it was easy but when it came time to do the tricky ones I did not have a complete picture of what was going on underground but i was determined to learn.

To be continued...

[Walter John]

Yes folks, that is the end of part one, we'll continue later and let me tell you, things are just beginning to get interesting, so please return and as I mentioned, please PM me any question you fancy to ask Ken Johnson.

For now, it's thanks Ken for being Frank, and thanks Frank for the tea and biscuits.

Back sooner than you think.

[calyptrocalyx&licuala freck]

Yes folks, that is the end of part one, we'll continue later and let me tell you, things are just beginning to get interesting, so please return and as I mentioned, please PM me any question you fancy to ask Ken Johnson.

For now, it's thanks Ken for being Frank, and thanks Frank for the tea and biscuits.

Back sooner than you think.

This is so Cool, Hey Ken my Dad taught me how to do one handed push-ups

as well and he use to love arm wrestling when ya come to Oz I'd love to

take you on, the wheel chair and crutches keep my upper body in shape

wot can you bench as far as weight goes I can press 140 in rep's of 10...

Come on Wal Tea and biscuits time over more with the interview....

Cheers guys, Mikey

[BS Man about Palms]

[Ken Johnson]

Wal. I moved here in 1963 and learned about plants from my Mother and Grandmonther. They loved all plants and it rubbed off on me. As a teen i got a job at a palm nursery pulling weeds. The rest is history.

Wal. Don't you have a new album of your music out?

[Walter John]

Okay Ken, what the viewers want to know, and thanks for all those PMs ladies and gents , could you please relate to us a little more on your now legendary skills of transplanting palms and trees generally, and I'm talking those big guys like large Copernicia etc. Secondly, two parter here, could you shed some more light if you will on your involvement in the palm society, both local and international. Over to you KJ

[Walter John]

Ken has temporarily left the building folks and will return as soon as possible, plus the producers have called me away as well. It appears Tutankhamun has come back to life and I'm to be blown across the dunes for the first interview.

I've decided to load up some more "Poll" type questions while I'm unavailable, so Ken, please refer to the post # for those having issues following this classic interview.

1. 
   
   
2. Name your favorite three palms, not necessarily those that can be grown at home.
   
3. Name your favorite palm locale of palms, could be near or far, but must be the natural habitat, for the origin of certain species, and why.
   
4. Which palm do you consider to be the "King" of palms ?
   
5. If you were given free travel and spending, to which two palmy places on the planet would you visit ?
   

Finally, AC/DC or Motorhead ?

[Ken Johnson]

Sorry power was off. Back up now.

When I began to talk to palm people about transplanting I heard all kinds of thing like, "you can't transplant a Sabal without trunk" and "those palms have tap roots" also "no one has ever transplanted one of those successfully". The short answer I found was none of that was true. One thing that is true is that it is very easy to kill a palm during transplant and transport. After digging in many different ways and over varying amounts of time I have tuned in as to how to transplant just about any palm in the world. If I have not done it before I can figure it out. One thing I like to tell people is that I wish I had ultrasound so I could see whats happening underground. Instead I have to dig an exploratory hole under the palm to see what the conditions are. I can then formulate a plan of attack. As I developed tools and techniques I applied them to dicot trees as well and have moved many big trees.

I will be happy to answer direct questions about specific palms in any P.M. sent to me. I have done so many times here on Palm Talk and am open to help anyone with their at home projects. I can also answer general questions here in this interview. Just send your questions to Wal if you will as he is running the interview.

My interest in the local palm society (now called The South Florida Palm Society)started because they had free cookies and coffee at the meetings. No seriously they had great field trips and even greater speakers. Soon I was elected to the Board and in two years became President. I had great help from my Board as they began to run even better field trips and in December upgraded the cookies to shrimp! I got an auction started and at the first try we raised about $35. Within a few years we had changed our venue to the auditorium at Fairchild and sold $5,000 worth of donated palms! Dinner was a huge spread of every kind of food you could imagine and people from all over the state and further came at no charge to enjoy with us. I served for 6 non consecutive years. During that time I also served on the I.P.S. board for one term and learned all about our great history from some of the original members from California (like Dick Douglas),Texas as well as from France, Australia, England and more! I attended several Biennials. Hawaii, Venezuela and ran one with my Board here in Miami three months after the most devastating hurricane ever to hit South Florida. We had a blast anyway! I am not active with the local any more but i still enjoy helping as auctioneer at the Holiday Party and going to the sales.

Wal you ask about being apprehensive. I gave that some thought and I do have a story (that I rarely tell) to relate. There was one person on the I.P.S. board that I felt would be a challenge to my agenda for the Palm Society. At the first Board meeting I went to (before I was a Director)I saw that she was a real go getter and a "force to be reckoned with". People told me to watch my step and that I should not ruffle any feathers. Well thats just not my style and I went head on into it at my first chance. I got no where. I tried again the next day and still met a brick wall. What should I do? I asked myself. Well the solution was easy. That night we had a mixer with cocktails and I saw her by herself. Ah, this is my chance I bravely said to myself and I approached her. Yes she said, join me for a drink. The rest is history (wait I need to wipe a tear)as I had made friends with Pauline Sullivan and I will never forget her!

I will take a break here and answer the questions from the viewers next.

[Kumar]

Oh Wal, this is great fun to read! i regret we can't have this in audio. Maybe you should ask Paul to join the interview panel next time.

Edited April 16, 2011 by Kumar

[Walter John]

That's truly marvellous and noble to let the folks know back home that they can seek your assistance with their home projects, at no charge ? , perhaps that depends on the size of input you're expected to give. I wonder before we go back to those "Poll" like questions, could you also relate any stories from the biennials you attended, or is that a case of what happens on biennials, stays on biennials. Once again to make this a two part question, would you be so kind as to tell us about your first involvement with this palm message board, who was President of IPS and who was moderator of the board for example. What about your initial posts and who were some of the other posters, thanks Ken.

I wanted to say to the readers at this point that whilst Ken and I collaborate on preparing some questions, there are still my own coming at him, so he's been very open and sincere and even brave to do this interview. I wanted to inject some fun and professionalism back into the message board, I hope you enjoy and appreciate this event. Any feedback is welcome and I'd prefer that if you have any to PM direct to myself in the first instance, thanks, on with the interview, you ready Kenneth ?

[Ken Johnson]

Ready Wal. Some of the other questions can be combined so I will do them first.

My favorite palms are ones that are pretty to look at, easy for me to grow and sell for the most money. Right now that includes Kentiopsis olivaformia. Carpoxylon macrosperma, Satakentia Liukiuensis, Dysis cabadae, Copernicia from Cuba and Chamberonia of all colors. In the past I have grown many kinds of Coccothrinax too.

I think that my fantasy palm location would be an island. Hawaii perhaps? I like the beaches and boating along with palms. I know, home to Clinostigma savoryanum, the Bonin Islands!

I have some great Biennial stories, some of which may not be suitable here. One memory is when we took a bus from Miami to Palm Beach and passed out fresh Florida oranges. The whole bus smelled like orange peels for hours. Some other great moments I was not part of but I shared in others excitement through pictures right here on Palm Talk. How can forget BSMan in the spa?

I really had no idea what I was doing the first time I posted here. I did not introduce myself or anything. My first message board ever. I was a bull in the china shop but I managed to find my way and started posting pictures as soon as I could learn how. I love sharing my palm knowledge and seeing people grow great palms as a result.

[Walter John]

I know for a fact that we've concocted this interview idea from within the chat room feature of the palm board. Would you like to comment on the benefits of the Chat Room, the people you meet there etc.

[Ken Johnson]

Yes Wal this is what you say and we did exchange many stories in the Chat room including In Private strories of past PRA's that have been of note. There are about 50 years of history behind the IPS and now we can share it around the world here in PalmTalk and we can do it instantly in Chat. We have music, cooking, culture, language, palms help, palm stories, palm links, palm chatter.

Kim was there tonight. Thanks for stopping by Kim!

[Walter John]

Here's a hard hitter for you Ken, something that's been on my mind that I'd like your thoughts on. With the advent of the internet and a huge shift of youth into techno gadgetry related to the internet, do you see occurring a fall of palm tree enthusiasm from the general public and with that a fall in interest in joining local, national and international palm or palm and cycad societies ? What can we do more to attract people into the fold ?

[Ken Johnson]

No Wal I see the WWW as accelerating palm interest. The young men and women I see that have found an interest in palms have all found Palm Talk. We have many of them active here. I have paid special attention to them as they are the future of the IPS. It is imperative that Palm Talk continues to exists. Without this connection for the young people they would not have the huge resources that have been built up by IPS and the affiliates over the last 50 years.

So the answer to your question is in your question. Techno gadgetry is Palm Talk. We need to encourage the Board to continue to make this a better place and to use it to attract new members. It is our best asset for drawing membership.

Consider what we do in the Chat room.....Someone mentions a palm, everyone else googles it, info starts to fly up on the screen, new palm relationships are found, more info is exchanged and in moments a whole group of people have shared more palm information around the world faster than ever before. Oh yes Wal this IS the internet generation and palms are very much a part of it.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks Wal and Ken! I'm really enjoying this thread.

[Walter John]

Well I am encouraged myself to read your previous answer Ken, let's hope this is so, these plants need all the interest that can be mustered.

Off palm topic for a moment, this is something I'm sure many would like to hear, sorry John, to read. Could you relay to us some of your "fishing" stories, biggest catch, the one that got away, and some marine cuisine dishes you prefer.