Kentia Palms at Home Depot Mission Viejo

[el-blanco]

I was at HD in Mission Vi-ghetto today and they had Kentias in 5's for $21.99.  Looks to be a Jaswinds special.  THese are triples and about 3-4 foot of height.  Ready for a 15 gallon or the perfect house plant.  They had about 15 of them.

I did not buy any as the last thing I need is another palm........... but I think I am going to buy 5 as house plants.

CAN SOMEONE CHECK LOWES??

Let me know what you find out there.

Jefe

[osideterry]

Thanks Jeff. I will definitely check out the local guys... I might even swing your way.

My 3 kentias (2 singles, 1 larger triple) took a huge hit last January. Between them they have produced 1 normal leaf. I either need replacements or reinforcements.

[tropicalb]

If you buy the home depot or Lowe's kentias, I would be very careful with them, as they were probably grown under very low light. There are many examples of very dead not-yet-sun- ready kentias people bought and planted in full sun last summer in my immediate area.

It takes approx. 7 years to produce a truly full sun-ready kentia palm.

[Palm Hound]

My Kentias from HD got toasted even in the fall and winter sunligt. The leaves under the burnt canopy are OK though.

[el-blanco]

These I saw are definitely not ready for full sun.  At this price I am thinking house-plant all the way!

[MattyB]

Yeah, even the ones that Home Depot sells as "full sun" kentias have to be moved under the shade cloths by the garden center employees because they always start to burn badly.  That said, 21 bucks for a 5 gallon is undeard of with kentias.  They are expensive usually.  By the way, I have some real sun grown Kentias if anyone is interested.

[DoomsDave]

Wow!

That is cheap!

But, I need another H. forsteriana like I need (another) hole in my head . . . .

[osideterry]

I just checked the local HD and Lowes and found 5 gallon kentia triples for....

$120!!!

(Matty... Please save me that 15g single. I'm trying to make my way down there.)

[DoomsDave]

Hmm.

Someone made a labelling mistake . . . . .

Like the Italian sausage at Stater's for 69 cents a pound . . . . .

[letsplant]

You have to love that. That is a score!

[Mats]

(osideterry @ Feb. 19 2008,18:32)

QUOTE

I just checked the local HD and Lowes and found 5 gallon kentia triples for.... $120!!!

But they weren't 3 - 4' tall, were they?  The  $120 Kentias I see in our South O.C. box stores are in a shallow 18" can with 5 palms,  7 - 9' tall.

Jeff, I normally see those 3 - 4' triples for $40 so $22 is a good deal.  But the ones I see aren't in a 5 gal. can, it's more like a 3 gal. can.

.

[osideterry]

They were maybe 6ft, but it was all petioles. 5g normally sells for around $80.

[el-blanco]

I think I am going to grab a few of these and stick them in 15's.   I rotate my house Kentias about once a month just to keep them looking good........... spray for bugs, fertilize, mist and so on.

[joe_OC]

All the HD's in N. Orange County do not have Jaswinds as a vendor, so sadly, we do not get the great palm deals that South County and San Diego gets.

[osideterry]

Okay, I poked my head into another Home Depot, this time in Encinitas:

5 gallon Kentia multi = $120 (4ft tall max)

10" pot Kentia multi = $80

1 gallon Kentia multi = $40

15 gallon Kentia multi = $300

Then I went into the neighboring Armstrong Nursery:

5 gallon Kentia multi = $140

I know this palm is slow to get to size, but considering the sheer numbers out there it shouldn't cost so much. There are a lot of slowish palms that aren't expensive. Are Butia capitata, Livistona chinensis, or Chamaerhops humilis a lot faster to germinate and get to a 5 gallon size than a Howea?

Is it just the "premium inside plant" thing driving the price? Look at those above prices and imagine how much palm you could get at any of our local palm nurseries. Those are roughly double the price of a Chambeyronia or a Rhopalostylis, neither of which are very fast growers.

[TikiRick]

(MattyB @ Feb. 19 2008,16:59)

QUOTE

Yeah, even the ones that Home Depot sells as "full sun" kentias have to be moved under the shade cloths by the garden center employees because they always start to burn badly.  That said, 21 bucks for a 5 gallon is undeard of with kentias.  They are expensive usually.  By the way, I have some real sun grown Kentias if anyone is interested.

Matt,

It is interesting that there are some, not many though, Kentias out in full sun even here in South Florida. Not one of my favorite palms for our climate here. They always appear to be suffering.

[Mats]

(joe_OC @ Feb. 21 2008,10:52)

QUOTE

All the HD's in N. Orange County do not have Jaswinds as a vendor, so sadly, we do not get the great palm deals that South County and San Diego gets.

Joe, those 3' Kentias had 'Palm Acres' tags on them and are in orange 10" pots.  And they were outside with the sagos, foxtails and queens.  I've seen those $22 Kentias at more than one Home Depot here in So. O.C.  A 'Palm Acres' tag was on everything from Queen to Phoenix Canariensis to Zamia furfuracea.  I don't know where Palm Acres is located.  

             

By the way, the HD interior plants down here are from either The Plant Stand in Costa Mesa or Las Palmas Tropicals on N. Harbor in Fullerton.  

One of the more unusual palms I saw inside was an 8' tall Chamaedorea hooperiana from Las Palmas Tropicals for $110.

.

[Mats]

(osideterry @ Feb. 21 2008,15:25)

QUOTE

Okay, I poked my head into another Home Depot, this time in Encinitas:

5 gallon Kentia multi = $120 (4ft tall max)

Terry, did you happen to look outside in the general palm row?  That's where I found the 3 - 4' $22 Kentias Jeff was talking about.

If you want Kentias down there in No. County, go out to JasWinds on N. Twin Oaks Valley Road.  

Their wholsale prices are: 2 gal. - 4' tall for $31,  5 gal. - 6' tall for $89 and  7 gal. - 7' tall for $135.  Retail will probably add 15 or 20%.

.

[osideterry]

No kentias in the outside palm population. They were selling what looked to be 5 gallon kings and cat palms for $15. I don't need anymore of those, but if a guy was just starting out he could do worse.

I might have to stop by JasWinds this weekend just to check them out.

[Palm Hound]

One HD was selling a Hooper's Palm mistakenly labeled as a Kentia. I should have bought it.

[joe_OC]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the correction.  Unfortunately, all the Kentias at HD here come from "The Plant Stand".  They have very nice palms, but you definitely pay a premium.  They are located near my house and offer retail sales.  It's the only place I know in N OC that have several 12' tall, triple trunk Veitchia Arecinas for sale ($490).

[fastfeat]

Tough to grow these well here in SoFla, but I'd jump on one at that price! That's about what coconuts go for here in 3's. :cool:

[osideterry]

I hit the Home Depot on College and I-78 again. At first glance, nuthin. Then I had a hunch. I started pulling out every $120 5-gallon Kentia triple, with the hope of finding one miss-labeled.

He scores! One in the bunch had a label that read "Promo - $39.95". I grabbed it, and looked inside for the youngest and dumbest looking cashier I could find. An experienced garden guy is not going to take this from me. When he scanned the barcode, his monitor read "Foxtail".

So I got a 4ft tall, 5g Kentia triple for $40.

[BS Man about Palms]

As a shareholder, I'm mad at you.  

[osideterry]

Bill - How much did you pay for that big Caryota gigas at Home Depot?

[BS Man about Palms]

The ones in the Tubs were $297, the boxed one was $109.  Point taken,  But I'm an owner!  

[osideterry]

I see what you mean. I wouldn't go digging around at Jungle Music hoping for a miss-priced palm. Somehow the big box store seems like open season. I'll try to restrict myself to looking for legit deals, instead of hoping to find a mistake.

[DoomsDave]

(BS, Man about Palms @ Feb. 26 2008,23:04)

QUOTE

The ones in the Tubs were $297, the boxed one was $109.  Point taken,  But I'm an owner!  

Send me some karma for that S. botryophorywhatever I got from HD that's now looking awful piqued . . . . .

[iwan]

Don't forget, Home Depot and Lowes price match....  What's the SKU for the cheap ones.

[MattyB]

Swift thinkin' Robert!  I like it.

[joe_OC]

Thanks, Mat - The orange pots was important to know...

Robert & Matt - SKU won't work because it comes up as "tropical foliage".  I was able to pick one up in Santa Ana.  I asked the clerk to check at Costa Mesa for me.  He told me there was 4 there.  When I got there, they were Thrinax Radiatas.  Thought about picking one up, but they were in pretty sad shape.  Checked the SKU and it was the same...

Joe

[osideterry]

I saw those 10" orange-pot Kentias yesterday at the Dixieline Lumber in Solana Beach. They were selling for $58, and were at least as big as the pricey 5 gallon ones at Home Depot.

[Mats]

(joe_OC @ Feb. 29 2008,02:53)

QUOTE

Thanks, Mats - The orange pots was important to know... I was able to pick one up in Santa Ana.  I asked the clerk to check at Costa Mesa for me.  He told me there was 4 there.  When I got there, they were Thrinax Radiatas.  Thought about picking one up, but they were in pretty sad shape.

I was at my local HD in Foothill Ranch this morning to pick up some bags of mulch and saw a pallet of the 10" 'Palm Acres' Kentias out in front of the store.  I asked Larry, the garden manager, if they were sun acclimated and he said they were.  I expressed surprise and asked where 'Palm Acres' was.  He said it is north of Escondido, east of the 15.  

He said the Palm Acres sales rep told him they had 5,000 to sell and that they were grown in the sun.  I'm still skeptical since that area (Valley Center?) gets muy caliente.  It's just a guess, but I would say they've got to be under some type of shade cloth (40% or less maybe) that's letting in a lot of light.  I bought one and it measures 48" exactly.  I've got Kentias coming out of my ears, but $22 for a 4' triple that's ready for the sun is hard to pass up.

.

[neoflora]

He would probadly tell you they would grow cocconuts as well!

[surferjr]

Are you telling me we don't know the difference between a sun grown and a shade grown??? ???

Sun grown are short and stocky "truncks and leafs" and few deal in them, as they take time to grow!!!....Also you don't buy palms at Home Depot!  These just look good for selling!  PUMPED TO THE MAX!!

I could give many other reasons....but the buyer will know in time!

     

[gsn]

(surferjr @ Mar. 03 2008,19:09)

QUOTE

Are you telling me we don't know the difference between a sun grown and a shade grown??? ???

Sun grown are short and stocky "truncks and leafs" and few deal in them, as they take time to grow

Yeah I think I can tell the difference sometimes,a sun grown palm has a small short SUN leaf.On the other hand a Florida  palm (oops sorry wrong thread),a shade grown palm has a big, long SHADE leaf! Have I got it right?

Also you don't buy palms at Home Depot!  These just look good for selling!  PUMPED TO THE MAX!!

While I do support local growers ,and  nurserys,as somethings can only be had purchasing from them. Having said that alot of the local nurserys here,  do nothing but take a BIG truck to Homestead Florida,load it up and bring it back to central Florida to sell. How is that any different than having the truck deliver it to the box store? :: They had nothing to do with germinating,and growing said palms.

And I know nurserys don't like to hear this ,but some of the nicest palms I own have been purchased from a BOX store. One of the nicest ,most robust palms I own is a foxtail  purchased from said store as a 15 gallon!Both can be used , to a palmalholics advantage.

[joe_OC]

They actually do look a bit stockier than the palms from "The Plant Stand".  They don't look stretched...and the leaves aren't a dark shade of green like the shade grown ones are...

[Mats]

(surferjr @ Mar. 03 2008,19:09)

QUOTE

Are you telling me we don't know the difference between a sun grown and a shade grown??? ???Sun grown are short and stocky "truncks and leafs" and few deal in them, as they take time to grow!!!

The sales rep says they're sun grown and like Joe says, they are fatter and lighter green than the usual shade grown Kentia.  Seaside Growers in San Juan Capistrano sells small sun grown Kentias for a good price but they're less than a mile from the ocean, so they aren't acclimated for any 'real' sun 10 mi. inland.

(surferjr @ Mar. 03 2008,19:09)

QUOTE

....Also you don't buy palms at Home Depot!  These just look good for selling!  PUMPED TO THE MAX!!

Like nobody else fertilizes their plants?

Generally, the only palms I buy at Home Depot are indoor palms (Kentias and Rhapis) or Phoenix Robellinis   I have better sources for other varieties.  Around here, HD indoor palms are from either Plant Depot or Jas Winds.  I often go directly to Jas Winds and Plant Depot when I need these two palms.

But once again, we're talking about sun acclimated Kentias - 4' tall triples for $22.  That's pretty hard to beat.

.