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New Palms: A Floribunda Order and a Trip to See Chris


palmsOrl

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As mentioned in a recent thread, Jeremy (Kinzyjr) and I recently split a Floribunda order and it arrived on Wednesday!  I was able to make it down to pick up my palms yesterday and we also drove over to Pinellas County to check out Chris's (SWFLChris on Palmtalk) fledgling palm operation there.

He already has an excellent variety of unusual palms, a few rare species and some common offerings as well.  In speaking with Chris, it is evident how passionate he is about palms, in addition to being very curteous and overall a pleasure to do business with. 

Further, his prices are more than reasonable for very healthy plants and both Jermey and I appreciate the fact that he has smaller sizes available to make transporting any purchases much easier. 

Jeremy and I both feel that Chris's business will be a great asset to the Central Florida palm community going forward.

I purchased the following palms from Chris (attached photos are in corresponding order):

- Two Carpentaria acuminata

- Dictyosperma album (rubrum?), I repotted this into a larger sized pot last night.

- Clinostigma savoryanum

- Euterpe edulis

- Carpoxylon macrospermum

- Veitchia arecina

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Needless to say, both Jeremy and I are tremendously impressed by the products and the service we received from Jeff Marcus and his wife of Floribunda Palms & Exotics, located on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The breadth of selection of rare palms that Jeff offers is outstanding, his communication is excellent and his shipping is swift (he took a half-hour out of his busy workday to answer a few specific questions I had about my order when I called), efficient and our order was packed with extreme precision and care.  

Every single palm Jeremy and I ordered arrived in excellent condition.  Jeff even sent me double the quantity of Cyrtostachys bakeri (8 rather than 4) and Cyrtostachys elegans (10 rather than 5) seedlings that I had ordered at no additional charge.

Jeremy potted the seedlings in some temporary pots with either moist sphagnum moss or potting mix and this enabled me to not have to rush to pick-up the plants or feel like I had needed to hurry to get them potted up when I arrived home yesterday evening.

As you can see, I made a mess last night as I worked on getting the Licuala cordata seedling and all of the Cyrtostachys bakeri seedlings carefully separated and tucked into the potting mix in each of their pots.  I then used the spray bottle to gradually moisten the potting mix until water dripped through the drainage holes.  I also had some watering and trimming to do, otherwise, I might have finished potting all of the new plants.

The second photo shows the potted Cyrtostachys bakeri and the Licuala cordata in the middle.

Next, I am headed out to get the Cyrtostachys elegans seedlings potted (third photo) in the same fashion.

I did end up using 15% sand, 15% Vermiculite, 20% potting soil and 50% peat moss for the Licuala cordata and 10% sand, 10% Vermiculite, 30% potting soil and 50% peat moss for the Cyrtostachys.  I did add a bit of additional sand and Vermiculite to the mix for the Dictyosperma when I repotted it.

Lastly, Jeremy had collected seed from a royal poinciana (Delonix regia) he has growing near his home.  He was kind enough to gift me with one of the recently sprouted seedlings of this beautiful tree species.

Overall, this made for an enjoyable and successful day, despite the excessive heat.

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41 minutes ago, SWFLchris said:

Thank you guys @kinzyjr @palmsOrl, very nice to meet you, hope to see you again soon. Enjoy!!

It was a pleasure meeting and dealing with you.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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I waited until the heat of the day waned slightly to pot up the Cyrtostachys elegans seedlings last evening (second photo).  It took me over two hours to do those 10 seedlings as I didn't want to risk damaging the roots while slowly tucking in the soil, then using the pump-sprayer to gradually wet the initially hydrophobic mix.

I really need to get better about leaving 1/2" (or 1" in larger pots) of space between the soil-line and the top of the pots to allow for room for water to gather and absorb while watering, without washing out some of the potting mix.  

It is worth noting that since these arrived and were taken out of the boxes this past Wednesday, the Licuala cordata and Cyrtostachys have seen a great deal more heat and likely periods of lower humidity than they had previously seen in their short lifetimes in Hawaii.  None has shown any hint of stress or decline whatsoever, granted I have been misting the seedlings every few hours since Friday evening.  Also the habitats that these three species are native to is the lowland tropics, so temperatures of 90-100F should be no issue and may even be ideal, as long as there is moisture at the roots and enough humidity.

I also potted up this little Clinostigma savoryanum (first photo) I picked up from Chris the other day.  For this palm, I used roughly 20% sand, 20% Vermiculite, 30% potting soil and 30% peat.

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I also separated these Ptychosperma elegans seedlings into two pots (cups) with drainage holes and fresh media, using the same potting mix as I did for the Clinostigma savoryanum.  These were all in one pot (cup) and the largest of the sprouts was declining, thus the repot.

These were apparently collected from a palm growing at a Publix grocery store in Lakeland, Florida.

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Despite at least four hours of watering yesterday, I found time last night to get these to Arenga engerli repotted (see first photo).  

I also repotted my two new Carpentaria into larger pots, seen in the second photo.  For both species, I used 15% sand, 15% Vermiculite, 20% potting soil and 50% peat, based on Palmpedia information regarding the soil conditions in each species' habitat.

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I also got this Dypsis leptocheilos (left) and Ptychosperma elegans (right) into some fresh potting mix and cups with drainage holes, as they had started to look unhappy.

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Also, when misting the ferns and my new Floribunda seedlings, I noticed that suddenly the smallest of my Cyrtostachys elegans seedlings looks to be declining.  I removed a bit of the soil and plan on discontinuing the misting of all of the Cyrtostachys and the Licuala cordata because as long as the soil is very moist, I would rather take my chances with lower than optimal humidity, than misting them 5-6 times per day and having them all damp off overnight on me.

I also plan to remove 1-2mm of substrate from all of the Cyrtostachys and the Licuala in-case they are planted a tad too deeply.  As it is, I think I have the soil-line a couple millimeters up the tiny stem of each seedling and this is just asking for rot.

To reiterate, the soil is staying quite wet, so I am going to err on the dry side (not letting the soil totally dry out though) as I have had more palms and other plants die under similar circumstances in the past than I care to count.

This is also why I purchased multiples of each of the two Cyrtostachys species, as, realistically, I expected some attrition and would like to end up with two of each making it to a good size.  Before Jeff so generously sent me double the quantity of each, I had hoped to end up with just one reaching 6-10 feet.  Nonetheless, I would like to lose none if at all possible. 

When the plants get too large for me to possibly winter successfully, I will either sell or donate to a grower or garden in SE Florida who can keep them alive long-term.

I just realized, as they are both clustering species, I will do the same with one C. bakeri and one C. elegans as with my other Cyrtostachys and any future clustering ultratropical palms.  I will simply cut off the tallest stem and keep the cluster at a height I can manage to protect in winter.

The Licuala cordata, should it survive to a relatively larger size, will get a dedicated custom terrarium.  I suspect it will be a few years before I need to worry about building the terrarium.

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Serious collection, be complete with a Jamaican tall:rolleyes:

 

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Jupiter FL

in the Zone formally known as 10A

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It sure will Redant!  I simply cannot have a collection without two Jamaican tall Cocos.  I have missed the two I gave to my parents to plant, but they are in a good situatuon in the ground down south.

This afternoon I went ahead and removed the top 1/2" of potting media from the Floribunda Cyrtostachys and Licuala to help prevent damping off.  I had the majority of these plant's stem bases buried 1/2" inch too deep and I am sure they would have all succumbed to rot within a week had I not removed the extra soil.

The potting mix was also soggy so I placed each plant on the top of the metal rack to help allow air flow by the drainage holes and the soil surface.

Tonight, I finally picked up more fungicide (propaconazole) and thoroughly soaked the Cyrtostachys with the recommended dose, but left the most robust of each species untreated just in-case the fungicide proves highly toxic and the seedlings decline as a result.

I treated the Licuala cordata with 1/2 the strength I treated the others with just to give it a little protection from fungus with less of a toxicity risk.

Between this, watering and misting, I only had time to repot an oddball Hawaiian ti plant that was in mucky, wet potting soil and also had the drainage hole plugged.  I also treated this as well as a number of other plants with fungicide.

Photo one, the Floribunda plants soaking up some late afternoon sunshine just after I removed the excess substrate.

The second photo shows all the new seedlings back on the shelf after the fungicide treatment.  I did toss the small one that was declining.  Once a seedling starts going down hill that way, it is almost always too late to save it.

The Licuala cordata is shown in the third photo.  So far so good!

The forth photo shows the Cyrtostachys elegans I chose to leave untreated with fungicide, while the fifth photo is of the untreated Cyrtostachys bakeri.

Finally, the sixth photo features my Hawaiian ti plant just after repotting.  I hope it recovers.

 

 

 

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Wish I was young enough to buy seedlings again.  LOL.  Gotta be 1 gal or larger, but not larger than 5.  I can't carry anything bigger or dig a hole that big any more.  LOL

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Steve

Born in the Bronx

Raised in Brooklyn

Matured In Wai`anae

I can't be held responsible for anything I say or do....LOL

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This is how they look when the UPS guy delivers:

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When you unpack:

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@palmsOrl's portion of the order as it originally arrived.

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All of the bounty labels:

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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11 hours ago, WaianaeCrider said:

Wish I was young enough to buy seedlings again.  LOL.  Gotta be 1 gal or larger, but not larger than 5.  I can't carry anything bigger or dig a hole that big any more.  LOL

I hear you about the lifting and hauling!  Moving those big potted palms is getting a little less appealing every year.

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Jeremy, I had forgetten to post those photos in the initial post of the thread.  Thank you for completing the story for us all.

You selected some really nice palms.  I love that Beccariophoenix, you may yet make an enthusiast of the genus out of me.

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So now the question is, do I mist the Floribunda seedlings or only water the soil gets to just barely moist on top?

Also, if I do decide to mist, I am pretty sure it would be prudent to include fungicide, but should I do half strength or full strength?

I will likely lightly mist the plants (just to wet the plant but not enough to water) twice per day with full strength fungicide for half of the seedlings of each species and half-strength for the other half and the Licuala cordata.

I hate to overthink the whole thing, but on the other hand, I have lost so many palm, orchid and other seedlings over the years to careless initial handling, that I think this level of attention is warranted if I want to still have some of these to pot up at some point.

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9 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

This is how they look when the UPS guy delivers:

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When you unpack:

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@palmsOrl's portion of the order as it originally arrived.

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All of the bounty labels:

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Thanks, I was wondering how they shipped palms.

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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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Nobody packs palm orders like Jeff Marcus (in my experience).  I have ordered many palms and other plants on the internet and the overall packing process is usually similar, but Jeff certainly goes the extra mile.

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15 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

Nobody packs palm orders like Jeff Marcus (in my experience).  I have ordered many palms and other plants on the internet and the overall packing process is usually similar, but Jeff certainly goes the extra mile.

I agree.  If I ever get into the business of mailing potted palms all over the place, Jeff's method of packing and shipping is exactly the way to go for satisfied customers.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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Jeff and Suchin! Pack to perfection.

Carton after carton after carton.

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Let's keep our forum fun and friendly.

Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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Here is a sneak peek of where the seedlings came from.(  Seed house)

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So John, that is Jeff and Suchin's set-up over at Floribunda, huh?  Really fascinating to see where all the magic happens.  Thank you for sharing.  Seeing how, even in such a rainy, humid climate, the young plants are given such protection highlights just how important it is to treat newly arrived palms with great care, particularly with regards to maintaining high humidity and keeping sun exposure moderate and diffuse as the new plants adjust to their new environments.  

In addition to a thunderstorm yesterday evening, we just picked up another brief rain storm with hopefully more on the way.

My Floribunda haul is still looking good, including the Licuala cordata, with no further losses.  I did treat all of the seedlings with another dose of full strength fungicide (for all the plants this time) last night, given as a soaking spray to wet the plants and the roots.  Now that the humidity is back to normal, I plan to wait a few days and let the substrate dry out a bit before applying another dose of fungicide.

Unless some bacterial pathogen takes hold within the next few months, I am fairly confident that I will successfully get these through any transport/transplant shock and still have most, if not all of them come November when it will be time to house them in a terrarium for the "winter".  I definitely chose the correct time to order, early summer.

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Yes it's there huge container ranch. The sides are shade cloth and the roof is plastic to control the amount of water.. thanks for all the pics of the plants and an update in the future would be nice.. happy growing, John

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@palmsOrl

How much does Floribunda charge for shipping? Would be great to know for the future!

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Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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22 minutes ago, JLM said:

@palmsOrl

How much does Floribunda charge for shipping? Would be great to know for the future!

Shipping depends on the size of the order.  The minimum order value is $100.  For this joint order, the cost of the plants was $118 and shipping was $55.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

Shipping depends on the size of the order.  The minimum order value is $100.  For this joint order, the cost of the plants was $118 and shipping was $55.

I have written down a few, this includes Adonidia merrillii, Archontophoenix purpurea, and Beccariophoenix alfredii. I would be getting the smallest sizes they have, which are seedlings. Except for the adonidia which is bigger. Not much but a good start to messing with tropicals!

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Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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Just now, JLM said:

I have written down a few, this includes Adonidia merrillii, Archontophoenix purpurea, and Beccariophoenix alfredii. I would be getting the smallest sizes they have, which are seedlings. Except for the adonidia which is bigger. Not much but a good start to messing with tropicals!

If there is something else you might want other than an Adonidia (very common in sheltered microclimates here), put that on the list and I'll send you one of my Adonidia seedlings outside at no charge.  PM if interested.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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52 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

If there is something else you might want other than an Adonidia (very common in sheltered microclimates here), put that on the list and I'll send you one of my Adonidia seedlings outside at no charge.  PM if interested.

That's an excellent idea Jeremy.  Yes JLM, if there is anything else common that you want, list it and see if you can source it from someone on Palmtalk so you can save the Floribunda order for the harder to find stuff.

I would guess the total shipping costs for an order around $100 that was all seedling or 4" sized pot palms would be no more than $30-$40 to your location.

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Something im still thinking about for now. It may be a while before i do get anything. Thanks for the offer, will definetly come back to you if need be!

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Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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