Hello from Hilo

[Joe Hewitt 14]

Hi all. I'd like to introduce myself to this community. I'm a relatively new palm collector based in Hilo. I moved here 2 years ago mainly to pursue a different type of plant collection, rare fruit trees. In that time I've gathered about 500 unique species of plants that make edible fruits but my focus has expanded to the rest of the tropical plant world. Palms have grabbed hold of me in recent months and now I've got it bad. Real bad. Being on the Big Island has made it stupid easy to amass a nice collection quickly. I'm at 125 unique palm species as of today. 

My property is 60 acres in north Hilo, very close to downtown. It climbs from 350 feet to 500 feet on the slopes of Mauna Kea with deep soil and nary a rock to be found. I'm surrounded by agriculture but I see my place as more of a garden than a farm. I'm trying to plant these acres out in the style of a botanical garden. We are trying to grow some food but I'm much more interested in diversity, conservation and creating a beautiful place. 

I'm still really dumb when it comes to palms but I am slowly gaining literacy.  Jeff at Floribunda has been good to me and patiently taught me so much. He is operating on a level that few plant collectors or nurseryman have ever reached. I've never met anyone like him in the rare fruit world and so I don't take for granted the opportunity to learn from him and buy the palms that exist here only because of his heroic efforts. Bill Austin and Jerry Anderson have also sold me some beautiful palms and their gardens are world class. I'm having so much fun thanks to these guys!

I know there are many other palm collectors on the island and I'd love to meet more of you. I'm excited to be part of this forum and to share pictures of my garden as it expands. 

Here's my current collection (not counting the hundreds of Archontophoenix alexandrae living in my gulch):

Actinokentia divaricata
Adonidia merrillii "Variegated"
Areca catechu "Dwarf"
Areca catechu var. alba
Areca guppyana
Areca vestiaria
Arenga hookeriana
Astrocaryum aculeatissimum
Attalea cohune
Bactris gasipaes
Basselinia eriostachys
Basselinia glabrata
Basselinia pancheri
Bismarckia nobilis
Borassodendron machadonis
Borassus flabellifer
Brassiophoenix drymophloeoides
Burretiokentia dumasii
Burretiokentia grandiflora
Burretiokentia hapala
Burretiokentia koghiensis
Burretiokentia vieillardii
Butia capitata
Butia eriospatha
Calyptrocalyx pachystachys
Calyptrocalyx sp. Mara
Caryota monostachya
Caryota ophiopellis
Chamaedorea metallica
Chambeyronia hookeri
Chambeyronia macrocarpa
Chambeyronia sp. Houailou
Chuniophoenix hainanensis
Coccothrinax spirituana
Cocos nucifera
Copernicia gigas
Cyphokentia cerifera
Cyphophoenix alba
Cyphophoenix elegans
Cyphophoenix nucele
Cyphosperma balansae
Cyrtostachys renda
Dypsis ambositrae
Dypsis baronii "Black Stem"
Dypsis basilonga
Dypsis beentjei
Dypsis bejofo
Dypsis carlsmithii
Dypsis hovomantsina
Dypsis lanceolata
Dypsis malcomberi
Dypsis mocquerysiana
Dypsis rivularis
Dypsis robusta
Dypsis rosea
Dypsis sp. Lafa
Dypsis sp. Maroantsetra
Dypsis sp. Mayotte Island
Euterpe catinga
Euterpe edulis
Euterpe sp. Orange Crownshaft
Geonoma atrovirens
Geonoma epetiolata
Geonoma sp. Entire Leaf
Heterospathe cagayanensis
Hydriastele beguinii "Obi Island"
Hydriastele rheophytica
Hydriastele selebica
Hyphaene coriacea
Iguanura bicornis
Iguanura tenuis
Iriartea deltoidea
Itaya amicorum
Johannesteijsmannia altifrons
Johannesteijsmannia magnifica
Kentiopsis oliviformis
Kentiopsis piersoniorum
Kentiopsis pyriformis
Lanonia dasyantha
Lemurophoenix halleuxii
Lemurophoenix laevis
Licuala cordata
Licuala distans
Licuala fordiana
Licuala fractiflexa
Licuala glabra var. selangorensis
Licuala grandis
Licuala maculata
Licuala malajana var. humilis
Licuala mattanensis "Mapu"
Licuala orbicularis
Licuala peltata var. sumawongii
Licuala ramsayi
Licuala rumphii
Licuala sallehana
Licuala stenophylla
Licuala thoana
Livistona benthamii
Loxococcus rupicola
Marojejya darianii
Mauritia flexuosa
Neoveitchia storckii
Oenocarpus minor
Phoenicophorium borsigianum
Pholidostachys pulchra
Pinanga caesia
Pinanga coronata
Pinanga disticha 
Pinanga disticha "Stained Glass"
Pritchardia beccariana
Pritchardia napaliensis
Ptychococcus lepidotus
Ptychosperma sp. Kobu Bafanu
Ravenea hildebrandtii
Ravenea sp. Mayotte
Rhapis excelsa
Sabinaria magnifica
Salacca zalacca
Satakentia liukiuensis
Socratea salazarii
Syagrus schizophylla
Veitchia vitiensis
Wettinia hirsuta
Wodyetia bifurcata

[V-Cycle 30]

Wow, just wow.

[Reyes Vargas 286]

60 acres in Hawaii wow.  That's going to look awesome when you're finished.  Post some pictures as you go.

[realarch 4,628]

Joe, impressive list of acquired palm species on an equally impressive piece of property. The local growers couldn’t be nicer and are always and a great resource for plant material and advice. 

I live in Hilo, close to the hospital and have a palm garden that was started soon after moving here eleven years ago. You’re

welcome to check it out anytime, just pm me. Welcome to the forum! 

 Tim

[joe_OC 1,387]

Hi Joe...Glad you found palmtalk!  I figured it was only a matter of time before you got into palms.  With 60 acres, you are going to need more than fruit trees.  You are in no better hands than Jeff and Suchin.  

 

Joe

[quaman58 1,982]

Can’t think of a better environment on the planet to grow palms than where you’re at. Welcome to the forum!

[Chester B 1,427]

Welcome and congratulations on your sweet  property!  Time to post some pics I think...

[RedRabbit 1,667]

Welcome aboard! 

[DCA_Palm_Fan 487]

Welcome to PalmTalk!   You are definitely in the right place here.  The body of knowledge here in this forum and the IPS is extensive and incredible.

All I can say is WOW.   That is an impressive list, and that is one amazing property in an incredible place!    Oh, I should also mention that WE LOVE PICTURES!!!   Haha.   Cannot wait to see your collection, property, and the progression of what you do with it!  You are a very fortunate person to be able to move to such an amazing place / climate and acquire such a great and large piece of land! 

 

[akamu 629]

Welcome to Palm talk Joe I think I can speak for everyone else here we are stoked to have you on our forum looking forward to progress pictures cheers

[PalmatierMeg 5,928]

Welcome, Joe. You have a perfect palm paradise. Photos, please!

[Palm Tree Jim 1,049]

Welcome to this crazy but rewarding hobby!

[Kim 3,467]

Yikes, what a list!  Welcome to PalmTalk!

My garden is south of Hilo, Leilani Estates, a comparatively modest 2 acres. I planted my first palms in January of 2010, and have steadily carved out more garden space in what was an unruly jungle of invasive species. And I have plenty of rocks!  My time is divided between San Diego and my Moku garden.

Where are the photos?? All are eager to see what you've done.

[mike in kurtistown 694]

Welcome from my 8 acres of former sugar cane land mauka of Kurtistown, where I have been working on my palm collection for the last decade. You already have many species that I have not yet acquired. Good work!

[Dypsisdean 1,113]

E komo mai to the BIg Island and the asylum. If ever in Kona, and want to see some palms and exotics, give me a call.

[Chris Chance 853]

Welcome to Palm Talk! You definitely have a great list going there! We all would love to see some pictures. 

[John hovancsek 981]

I think we meet at florabunda the other day. Welcome to pt

[Palms Brisbane 325]

Welcome.

I was going through the list and thought amazing list... then had to scroll back up because I thought I read you just started with palms months ago.
To my surprise I did read it right. Thats is an impressive list and even more so in short period of time.

Photos ?   

[Joe Hewitt 14]

20 minutes ago, John hovancsek said:

I think we meet at florabunda the other day. Welcome to pt

Hey John! Thanks for talking me into the Oenocarpus, it looks great in its new home! 

[Joe Hewitt 14]

4 minutes ago, Palms Brisbane said:

Welcome.

I was going through the list and thought amazing list... then had to scroll back up because I thought I read you just started with palms months ago.
To my surprise I did read it right. Thats is an impressive list and even more so in short period of time.

Photos ?   

Mostly thanks to Jeff Marcus - 90% of that list is from him. It feels like cheating when I can go there any time and drive away with a truckload of the rarest palms you can imagine. Of course it’s all tiny little plants that will take a few years of care before they take shape. 

[tinman10101 52]

Welcome Joe 

You have the perfect everything for palms. I give you 2-5 years and your garden will rival most of ours in California that have been growing for 10+ years. Please post some pics when you can. 

[Hilo Jason 3,164]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to Palm Talk!  I live in Hilo, just around the corner from Tim (realarch) and am always happy to have guests stop by. My garden here is only 1/2 acre and is 3 years old so you can get an idea of what many of those small Floribunda plants can turn into in just a few years in the ground. 

My wife and I just bought another property, 2 acres in Pepe’ekeo Point so that is now my long term project and I’ve been shopping quite a bit lately for Palms for that one. 

See you around. 

Jason

[MaryLock 24]

Welcome Joe,

Glad you found Palm Talk, you might also want to check out the local IPS affiliate, Hawaii Island Palm Society.  Here’s a link to a recent newsletter with an article about edible palms - combing both of your passions!  You can’t get much more diverse than Palmae.  I live on Maui but I’m on the HIPS board, hope to see you one day later this year if we get to revive our garden tours.

 

Aloha, 

Mary