SFPS Spring 2007 Palm & Cycad Sale

[Palmarum]

This long awaited sale begins tomorrow, in a new location with a great selection of palms and cycads. After setting up for the sale during today and yesterday, I can say it is becoming quite the event. Thursday found us setting up amongst a few vendors who got to the center before us. It is always interesting when you are in a new location, since you have to start from scratch. All the former layouts, booth plans, and ideas all have to junked in exchange for all new ones. Friday was quite different, and I will post photos of the day's events. If you can make it down to this great garden, come by booth #57 and say hello. Jeff and I are always on the lookout for forum members.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Images from setup on Thursday, March 8th. Jeff and I had set up about 80% of the booth at this point, with more palms on the way down on Friday. It took a while to layout the tables, as this is a brand new arena for us. This photo shows the front of the booth from the aisle.

- A view of the next booth across from the aisle belonging to vendors #33, Dave & Shirley Romney. Rows of coconut varieties await customers and their questions.

- The back of Jeff Searle's booth, showing many of the full sun palms and cycads for sale.

- Obvious from even great distances, the unmistakable large material put on display by Albert Livingston, vendor #31. Bring a large trailer.  

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Setup on Thursday continues with another view of Albert Livingston's (#31) booth, where some very large Cuban Royal Palms (Roystonea regia) await Saturday morning.

- Need a bottle? A set of Bottle Palms (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis) are just itching to be planted.

- Susan Casey (#26) sets out her palms and points out some very root bound Cuban Petticoat Palms (Copernicia macroglossa).

- Show Chairman and vendor #80 Tim McKernan talks with Jeff Searle as he writes tags for his plants.

Ryan

[SubTropicRay]

The show is nicer under Montgomery's oaks than the blazing sun of Fairchild's lowlands.  The original Fairchild location was the best.

[Palmarum]

- The last batch of photos from Thursday just before we left to get ready for Friday. I took this photo to show this interesting path in the middle of the sales area. Most people do not know, but this unmarked dirt road is actually the original Old Cutler Road. Col. Montgomery did not like the traffic going by just in front of his house, so he moved the road about 30 yards to the west one day and its been there ever since.

- The back gate of Montgomery B. Center where the sales area is located. It has since been covered with signs and was found quite easily by customers Friday night and Saturday.

Ryan

[RainForestt Robert]

Ryan, Livingston's Bottle palms are bodacious.  Are those field grown and then transplanted!

[Palmarum]

- Friday afternoon was quite different than usual, since instead of leaving, we all stayed for the members only party and pre-sale. Many vendors took their time and relaxed while polishing off their booths. It was great to see friends again, both new and old. Some of these people you only get to see a few times a year, so you need to enjoy it while it lasts. The booth was finished by this point so I decided to take photos, no surprise there. The view of the front table, featuring some of the rarest of the rare. We put the large Kerriodoxa elegans on the table to be different.

- In the very front of the booth, two extraordinary palms are put on display for the palm show. Vendors were asked to bring show plants so judges might pick the winners of five categories. Jeff brought the showy Dypsis onilahensis (right) that he featured in his sale the weekend before. The rarity on the left is Licuala sp. 'Togu Budo', a palm seldom seen for sale anymore.

- While walking around the booth placing the last cards on selected palms, I took this shot of one corner.

- Not far from where I took the above shot, I ran into Sarasota, Florida IPS member Rob Branch. He was already doing some early shopping, and talking with everyone. He should be familiar to most of last year's biennial attendees, and even more to anyone lucky enough to be on the 'Green Bus'.

Ryan

[Dave-Vero]

It was great visiting.  The Montgomery staff did a great job of showing off the Center's magnificent collection.  Montgomery's cultivated populations of palms of known provenance are enormously important for supporting research, horticulture, and conservation.  Montgomery is able to develop and maintain its collections for the long term, and to take advantage of the variety of soil and moisture conditions on the site.  

Fairchild and Montgomery, between them, have more Attalea crassispatha (Carossier) than exist in the wild.  This is the only American oil palm in the Caribbean, and only a couple dozen wild plants still exist in Haiti.  

I picked up a couple more Rhapis for my hedge to make the trash cans and air conditioning unit next door less visible from my garage.  R. multifida from Tim McKernan and another R. laosensis from Searle Brothers.  

The visit to Montgomery was a reminder that many wonderful species of Copernicia are available from specialists and are well worth planting, if you have time.  Some would be wonderful for sites where they're reasonably likely to be decently cared for over a 50-year period.  Quite a few of Montgomery's original Copernicia baileyana are still looking great.  Same goes for some of the Sabal species.  Apparently S. causiarium at Montgomery is very slow to develop a trunk, too.  So can someone provide a guess as to the species of these old sabals at Punta Borinquen golf course?

http://www.puntaborinquengolfclub.com/

[Palmarum]

Trinidad! Bob · Posted on Mar. 10 2007,21:33

Ryan, Livingston's Bottle palms are bodacious.  Are those field grown and then transplanted!

Yup, they sure are. Dug, moved and ready for someone's yard.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- The sun begins to go down at this point, and decided to do a little shopping of my own. Across the aisle held this great looking group of Copernicia ekmanii.

- Two of the most noticable of palm people, collector Ray Gompf

and vendor #33 Dave Romney.

- For what was a good idea at the moment; vendor (#16) and Forum member Mike Harris (Caribbean Palms) tries to pound a wooden stake into the solid rock pathway of the original Old Cutler road. He didn't make much headway.

- Artist and vendor #84 Linda Apriletti gets in some shopping time just as the evenings' festivities began.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- The sun begins to set, and the last few rays of sunlight reach the top of this huge Encephalartos kisambo. It was one of many featured cycads in the booth of Jody Haynes, vendor #91. The row of coconut palm varieties can be see to the left belonging to Dave & Shirley Romney (#33).

- Vendors and pre-sale customers begin to gather around the refreshments as they were being prepared under the tent. There were hors d’œuvres, desserts, and plenty of other treats that guests had brought with them. There was one salmon spread that I could not get enough of. To wash it all down, there was a nearly endless supply of beverages, wine, and liquor. To be able to shop for palms, with great food and drink, was incredible with Montgomery B. Center as a backdrop.

- Sharing in the members only event was John Corrigan, Ziggy Mayotte and vendor #26 Susan Casey. These are all great people I have known for years, and it is an event in itself just to see them all again.

- M. Patrick Griffith, Ph.D., Executive Director of Montgomery Botanical Center, joins in and tries some of that salmon spread I liked so much.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- At this point, it had been a few hours into the pre-sale

event and the sun was going down fast. Members were

shopping while some vendors were setting up their

booths.

- It didn't take long, but daylight had left in a hurry. The

main areas had lighting, but some die-hards were

shopping by flashlight. One in particular, Ray Gompf,

can be seen in the lower right corner looking over

seedlings, flashlight in hand. With such a dark

background, I couldn't resist a flash photo of the

Kerriodoxa elegans. The leaf undersides just

glow.

- Working my way back to the crowd, I spotted these

Dictyosperma album var. furfuraceum in

vendor #16, Mike Harris's booth. Those persistent reins

connecting the leaflets together are quite unique.

- Getting that one last palm before leaving for the evening

was Forum member William DeBoe (PiousPalms). He

took home one of the first Dypsis sp. 'Pink

Crownshaft' 3 gallons we had in the booth. He is

quite the enthusiast and it was great to had met him.

Ryan

[Jeff Searle]

Ryan,

 Did you get a picture of that really nice varigated Ravenea rivularis to show everone?

Jeff

[Palmarum]

It was great idea to have this pre-sale party, and I wish

more people had known about it and came. Future events

can only get larger and more popular with time. I had a

great time photographing and viewing this event in an

uncommon, but pleasant fashion. It was a great preamble

to the first palm sale at Montgomery, and it opened the

door to many more to come.

- SFPS Show Chairman and vendor #80, Tim

McKernan acts surprised as I took his picture. He had

just opened a bottle of champaigne and began to pour it

for members of the SFPS Board.

- Champagne anyone? Take a glass.

- The recipients of the champagne, the South Florida Palm

Society Board of Directors, the very people that make the

society happen. There are more board members than are

pictured here, but it was just luck on my part to get all

these when I did. From left to right: Show Chairman, Palm

Report newsletter editor and vendor #80 Tim

McKernan; Board member and Palm Report newsletter

editor Dr. Jeff Chait; Board member and Palm Report

newsletter editor Sandra Farwell; Vice-President

and Forum member John Demott (Redland); board

member and vendor #35 Steve Stern; board

member, artist, and vendor #84 Linda Apriletti;

board member Lenny Goldstein; and vendor #4, el

Presidente himself, Bill Olsen.

- The alcohol is flowing quite well at this point, and many

people are enjoying the company of other members. The

bottles of booze can be seen on the table, I forgot to ask on

the following morning how much was left over.

I forgot about two other photos taken at the end of Friday...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

With the pour of every glass of wine, the conversations got

louder it seemed. Here are the last two photos from the

pre-sale on Friday.

- The last motion of the event included awards being given

in five categories. They were Best Native, Most Unusual,

Most Rare, Best Grown, and Best Overall, or Best of Show.

President Bill Olsen had called everyone over to view the

presentation.

- One of the awards went to Show Chairman and vendor

#80 Tim McKernan. He won Most Unusual for his

very large Pseudophoenix vinifera. In addition to the

certificate, winners also got a ribbon to hang on their

winning plant.

Pictures of the sale next time...

Ryan

[SubTropicRay]

Mike has some sweet Copernicia ekmanii for sale.

[Jeff Searle]

(Ray, Tampa @ Mar. 12 2007,21:28)

QUOTE

Mike has some sweet Copernicia ekmanii for sale.

Ray,

   Yes he does!! He always has nice stuff. A good grower.

Jeff

[www.dadluvsu.com]

(Palmarum @ Mar. 12 2007,18:30)

QUOTE

This palm had a spider on it and the spider was crawling on my mom and me the whole way home to Boca!     It was a riot!  We were swervin all over the place!!    I feel bad for all the other driver's in our path that night!  :laugh:

I look like I drank ALL the champagne in this picture!      For the record I had a great time without the booze!  Next year we should bring some of those Super Quiet Honda Generators to allow the evening to carry on!  It was great to meet you as well!  Thanks for posting these pics!

[Palmarum]

PiousPalms · Posted on Mar. 13 2007,10:28

This palm had a spider on it and the spider was crawling on my mom and me the whole way home to Boca! ... Next year we should bring some of those Super Quiet Honda Generators to allow the evening to carry on!

So thats where that spider went...hmm...lol  

Well I am glad you got home in one piece, with you and the Dypsis intact. Generators for lighting is a great idea, we should have done that this time. Another comment for the note page for the next sale...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

Before we knew it, it was again, the Saturday morning of a palm sale. After so many years, there is always

anticipation. You go through your personal, check-listed copy of the sale list as you go through the booths. In

addition, you are always on the lookout for the 'unadvertised special' as some of us like to call it. There

was some minor odds and ends to do in the booth, then afterwards I went shopping for myself. We had about an

hour or so until the sale opened, so I as I went shopping I photographed as well.

- Starting to the booth next door to ours, I entered the selection belonging to vendor #68 Ellis Brown, a very good

friend of mine from the old days. He recently returned to the palm sale 'circuit' after a hiatus of a few years. He had

a great selection of oddities to choose from, and the first group to catch my eye were these unique palms. This is a

group of Triangle / Teddy Bear Palm Hybrids (Dypsis decaryi X leptocheilos).

- An added close-up of the crownshaft/leafbases of the hybrid. You can see influences from both the Triangle and

Teddy Bear Palms. It is hard to see in the photo, but the leaf bases have a faint three-sided shape to them, in

addition to the abundant tomentum.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- A spread of cream coloration for any fans of variegated palms. Staying in Ellis Brown's (#68) booth, I found this

incredible example of variegation on a Majesty Palm, Ravenea rivularis. This is just one leaf, and most

of it was showing great coloration.

- A view of the entire palm, with the morning sun bouncing off of it. Cream colored leaflets were found on every leaf,

and the rachis and petioles had brilliant stripes. The flagging tape ment it was entered in the show, but it did

not win an award. It was given a surprisingly great price, so it did not last long into the morning. If it had lasted a

little longer, with a second thought, I would have nabbed it myself.

- I thought the coloration on the petioles needed a second look, so here is a zoomed view of the leaf bases. Some of

those stripes are very broad.

- Following the path around towards the exit, I noticed this variegated Lady Palm 'Kannonchiku' in the booth of

Steve Stern (#35). It was an estabilished cultivar, named "Ayanishiki"which means "Figured Brocade".

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Anyone remember the Dominican Republic? Well if you do, and you know the star palm of that trip, you know this

palm species. Steve Stern, vendor #35, brought a pair of Pseudophoenix ekmanii to the sale. You had

two sizes to choose from, but only one of each. On the right side of the photo, a petiole from a Snake Skin

Palm (Caryota ophiopellis) can be seen as well.

- Directly across from Steve Stern's booth, was this robust cycad sitting out near the aisle. It is a very old,

Encephalartos eugene-marasii, and had an even price of $3000.00.

- My tour of cycads continue into vendor #91 Jody Haynes' booth. He had plenty of large specimens including this

recently-flushing Encephalartos hildebrandtii. He mentioned that many of this Encephalartos species are

faster than people realize.

- On closer examination, you can see the bright color on the new fronds as they are emerging. With a little backlight

from the sun, it is a very nice color. E. hildebrandtii has been in cultivation for some time, and it is easy to see why.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- The time now at the sale is 8:52 AM, and many customers have arrived and are looking around the sales area. The

registers were not open yet, but without charging admission, it was hard to keep them from coming in. Most

didn't mind, as long as they remembered where their favorite palm was before someone else got it. One such

customer, wondered into my shot of these Kentiopsis oliviformis in front of Ron Croci's (#66) booth. He

had numerous sizes of this popular species for sale.

- Many years ago, taking photos as a kid, I took a simular shot to this one and entered it in a contest at school and

won. I took it at Flamingo Gardens during one of the Broward County Society sales years ago. I just happened

upon this Chambeyronia macrocarpa in the booth of Ron Croci (#66), and took the simular shot with

the morning sun in behind.

- Almost every Chambeyronia macrocarpa that vendor Ron Croci (#66) had brought had a new red

emergent leaf. I gathered them all up and posed them for this photo. The range of the color red that appears is quite

amazing.

- Also featured in the booth of Ron Croci (#66) was this well-grown group of Pelagodoxa henryana.

Ronnie Croci, Ron's son, stated that some of them might be the narrow leaf form, as he got some seed in a while

back.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Going along the aisle back towards the entrance, I came across a new vendor to the sale, who is also a Forum

member. Bob Johnson (also Bob Johnson on the Forum) came all the way down from Orlando to put his

palms on display. He had a great selection of tropical palms, including this Wallichia densiflora.

- The sale was officially open at this point, so I made my way back to the booth. It was 9:47 AM, and one of the first

customers I talked to was the Forum's own Tom Christian (tikitiki). He was shopping for himself

and his neighbor, who he got this Caryota gigas (obtusa) for. Tom and his wife made a great

duo for palm shopping, as they both liked simular species.

- The sale was in full swing at this point, so there were many customers filling out the sales area. I turned around

for one second and found another Forum member, Michael Feely (Mike4284m). He had found a

Calyptrocalyx species he had been looking for. I tried to get a group photo of Forum members but I was

pushing my luck at that point. All in due time.

- While standing out in front of the booth answering questions, I took a photo looking down the main aisle.

Customers were gathering palms up as they go. You can see the shade provided by some fairly large oak trees.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Many of the early bird customers, who had searched the sales area in the morning, had begun to compile their

palms together. One such customer had retained the services of transporter Travis Searle (Paintball Guy)

to get them to the cash register, then onto their car.

- The flow of customers had increased by this point, and passes even my expectations for this sale. I was relieved

and surprised to see the amount of people coming to visit the center. Arriving at the sale at 10:11 AM, for which he is

a vendor at, is vendor #88 Scott Cohen stopping by the booth to talk with Jeff Searle and myself.

- The booth got particularly crowded at this point so I shot across the tent to capture customers perusing the smaller

palms on the tables.

- During the Friday-night pre-sale, five awards were handed out to vendors who had put palms in the show.

Two of those awards went to Jeff Searle, for both of the palms he entered. The palm on the left, Licuala sp.

'Togu Budo' won Rarest Palm and the award of Best Overall went to the Dypsis onilahensis.

Ryan

[Bill Olson]

Ryan,

Thank you so much for all these pictures. I am always so busy running around making sure things are working that I never get to see the people enjoying the sale as it is happening.

You are absolutely right about this sale exceeding expectations. I was predicting about half the number of people we got, and about 60% of of final sales totals. What a nice surprise to see that we could make this as good as any other sale on the very first try in MBC. If this becomes an annual event I promise it will get better.

Bill Olson

[Jeff Searle]

Bill,

 I can't thank you and Tim(show set-up) for your endless hours that you both put in. Other than a couple of very small changes that could be done for the next sale, this was a huge success. Great job!

Jeff

[Palmarum]

- 11:13 AM, and at that time the sale is officially busy at this point. The sales area was being filled with the scent of

BBQ, as the tent holding the food and drink churns to life. Stepping across from the booth, I noticed Forum member

Tom Christian (tikitiki) discussing palms with vendor #33 Dave Romney. Tom absorbs quite a bit of

knowledge from the revered grower.

- I got an email mentioning from a forum member who wanted to see the award palms closer up. Here is a better

view of the Licuala sp. 'Togu Budo'. The arrangment of the leaf segments is quite unique. It has

four large segments, equally spaced with a fifth, thinner, trailing segment off to one side. Is there a species name

for this Licuala yet?

- The Dypsis onilahensis, shown slightly to one side. The bright white crownshafts attract a lot of

attention. We needed a sign that said "Don't Touch". People didn't think the color was real, so they would reach

up and rub it, taking some of the glaucous covering off. By the end of the day on Sunday, the crownshafts were

almost green.

- I was lucky to meet a pair of newer Forum members, who came to fill their vehicle with palms. Brad Evers

(flskimmer) and his wife came with a printed copy of the sale booklet all checked and noted with species they

were interested in. They took a few loads out before the day was done.

Ryan

[flskimmer]

nice to meet you ryan and jeff, and bill olson.

maxed out my trailer and 4-runner and made the 3.5 hour trip back to satellite beach.

[Palmarum]

- For a moment or so, I lent my camera to Dominique Shim, grand-daughter of Dave Romney, who took a photo of

myself in front of the booth. I did my best to smile with the sun in my eyes, and with people making faces at me.

- After gathering part of her stash, SFPS Board member and editor Sandra Farwell makes her way out of the

booth and towards the registers. I had to run past her to catch this photo of her, over-loaded with rare palms. She

had a great selection of species with her, from left to right: Pelagodoxa henryana, a 3 gallon

Astrocaryum alatum, and a small Orania ravaka.

- Checking on the sale, and how the transporters were doing, SFPS President and Forum member Bill Olsen (Bill

Olsen) sits down for a brief second. He asks how the tips had been with Dominique Shim and Fiona

Romney. When I was younger I did the same thing with a wheelbarrow, which I still have. I spent many of

sales carting out plants, and it was fun.

- Some time after lunch, I remembered I saw another variegated palm I had forgot to photograph. Around 1:26

PM, I trotted over to Chuck Grieneisen's (#13) booth to look for it. It is a well variegated Paurotis Palm,

Acoelorrhaphe wrightii. We can only imagine what it will look like as it gets older.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

flskimmer   Posted on: Mar. 15 2007,13:25

nice to meet you ryan and jeff, and bill olson.

maxed out my trailer and 4-runner and made the 3.5 hour trip back to satellite beach.

Hey Brad, welcome to the Forum and glad all your palms made the trip back in great shape. They look very well for such a long trip. It was a pleasure to have met you, and hope to see you at future events.

Ryan

[Mike4284m]

flskimmer - Looks like you made out like a bandit! Is that a Calyptrogyne in your last photo?

[PalmGuyWC]

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the great photographic tour of the S. Florida palm sale. Your photographs gave a nice "flavor" to the event, and I could almost feel like I was there.....but not really. I could even feel my pulse speed up as I saw some of the beautiful, rare palms for sale. It was nice to see some of my old palm friends in your photos, not to mention the beautiful palms.  I wanted to come down, but our crazy Calif. weather suddenly changed from sub cold to warm and balmy.    With so much work to be done here.....spring clean up, bedding plants to go in, etc., I just couldn't pull myself away. I just had to take advantage of our "false spring," as I'm sure we will have some more cool weather before the heat sets in.

Thanks again for the nice tour,

Dick

[Palmarum]

- After talking with Chuck Grieneisen for a short while, I continued around the bend in the aisle and came to his

neighbor, vendors #66 Ronnie & Ron Croci. They have been in the business for a while now, even though I

can still remember their first sale years ago. Every year, their selection gets better and larger. They have one of the

"must visit" booths of the sale when it comes to early morning shopping.

- I took a quick second shot to show the Pseudophoenix vinifera, Ron Croci was sitting in

front of. You can see their booth had thinned out a bit. It was full just a few hours earlier.

- After receiving the ribbon for his award-winning Wallichia densiflora, vendor #71 and Forum

member Bob Johnson (Bob Johnson) poses again in front of my camera. It had won the award for Best Grown

Palm, and it was flawless. Another newer vendor, Rick Johnson (#99) can be seen in the background towards

the left.

- One of the original all-time vendors, #25 Carol Graf works on her inventory list while seated in front of her

booth. She was lucky to get one of the first booths near the entrance to the sale.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

PalmGuyWC   Posted on: Mar. 16 2007,10:04

...I wanted to come down, but our crazy Calif. weather suddenly changed from sub cold to warm and balmy...  

Well if you had made the trip you would have been welcomed to the sale with fun times and great palms. You know just about everyone, since they are the same vendors from the last sale you visited. For when-ever and where-ever Palmfest 2007 will be, try to come out and see us then.

Ryan

[Jeff Searle]

Brad(flskimmer),

    Man dude, you did get a load of palms! You weren't kidding. No wonder you were there for several hours. And by the look in the photos, you bought some really choice palms. Good luck with them all. And thanks for coming down.

Jeff

[Palmarum]

...continuing on Saturday...

- Just before lunch, I made my way over to the front tent to see how things were going, and see the flow of palms

going out. The sale was organized so customers were funneled out through this tent, so no plants went missing.

With the line of customers behind me, I shot this photo of vendors and volunteers working under the tent. On the far

left, vendor #50 Faith Bishock comes over to talk with everyone, as vendor and Forum member Linda

Apriletti (Linda Apriletti) (#84) takes her turn at the register. Volunteer Carol Olsen talks with vendor

#31 Albert Livingston as volunteer Shane Tanner [center-right] pays for palms he had gotten.

- Even if you don't know him, you would certainly recognize the hat. Grower, consultant, radio talk show host, Murry

Corman

sits and weaves coconut palm leaves and leaflets along side another volunteer. They made a

wide range of items for display.

- Back under the tent, vendor #50 Faith Bishock discusses many things with SFPS volunteer Lenny

Goldstein. New arrivals to the sale look over packages of free palm seed to the left. The parking lot in the distance

is quite full at this point, 1:40 pm. A small selection of palm prints were on display and for sale, hanging from the edge

of the tent.

- I took advantage of a short break in the action to get myself some lunch. After making my way to the food tent, I

found SFPS board member Jeff Chait manning the grill as vendor #80 Tim McKernan adjusts the gas

supply. SFPS Vice-President and Forum member John Demott (Redland) looks over the operation from behind

the tent. On the far right, vendor #68 Rusty Brown serves customers in front of the tent.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- An all wrapped and ready-to-go Blue Latan Palm, Latania loddigesii. All you need is a way to get it

home, and some help in moving it.

- At 1:56 PM, a steady crowd moves through the sale, going to and fro the different booths. The weather was

absolutely perfect, the entire day and weekend. The setting of the sale was memorable.

- Using his favorite toy to load palms on a trailer, vendor #31 Albert Livingston demonstrates his high

aptitude for using a backhoe. He uses this machine constantly, even if just to move one small tree. He has had

it as long as I have known him, and he rents his services to customers who need work done. These two triple

Cuban Royals, Roystonea regia, were just purchased and on their way to a homeowners' landscape.

- Albert gives a thumbs-up as he turns his backhoe to pick up another palm. He loaded that trailer with a few

more plants before he was done.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Volunteering his time in the holding area, vendor #66 Ron Croci acts as a security guard. Not holding the

bulk of excitement, but this post is still important to the sale. Many customers take numerous trips to and from the

holding area. There is only so much room on a cart.

- Across from the holding area, I had gotten Steve Stern (#35) to pose next to his collection of

Kerriodoxa elegans. One of his larger Red Sealing Wax Palms, Cyrtostachys renda,

can be seen in the far right of the photo.

- A large specimen of Lytocaryum weddellianum is used to sell the smaller ones beneath it. The larger one

is holding a single seed on its inflorescence. The camera's flash shines on the silvery underside, a feature commonly

gone unnoticed.

- SFPS President, vendor #4, and Forum member Bill Olson (Bill Olson) rests for a second talking with plant

valet Travis Searle.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

Saturday afternoon begins to wind down to a close, as customers begin to grab their last minute choices. This is

the last group of photos from Saturday. At this point, almost halfway through the weekend, I call this sale a

success. It had already passed the monetary requirements for two days, in the span of one. Many

questions were raised towards where the fall sale will be, from all the parties involved. This created some interesting

conversations for Saturday evening into Sunday morning. We will have to see what happens until then.

- Plant valet Travis Searle moves a large Bottle Palm, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, back towards the

aisle where his cart lies in wait. Jeff Searle supervises the move.

- After heaving the palm onto his cart, Travis follows the soon to be owner of the palm, Forum member Brad

Evers (flskimmer) [red stripes] down the aisle. Brad talks with vendor #91 Jody Haynes [center-left,

ponytail] about the palm he just got from him. Adding in on the conversation, is vendor Chuck Grieneisen

(#13) [far-left]. Late Saturday afternoon is always a relaxed time at the sales. Many vendors take this time to

shop some more in other vendors' booths.

- It is now 4:11 PM, and the honor of being in the last photograph of Saturday goes to Forum member Dave Martin (Dave-Vero). He drove most of the day to get to the sale a bit late, but he still got what he came for. He is holding a 3 gallon Rhapis laosensis he had on his shopping list. We still had a few left in the booth. It was the second time seeing him in person, and Jeff and I were glad he came to the sale. Including Dave, I had an unofficial count of Forum members numbering about 13 or so who were at the sale this day.

Ryan