This and that

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

After 90 days with little rain (less than 2"), we finally got some good soaking rains in the past week and palms are opening fronds all over the place.

Here's Verschaffeltia splendida

Tahina spectabilis was slowly opening a new frond during our dry spell. As soon as the rain came, it finished opening quickly.

Iriartea deltoidea seedlings in a community pot

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Ravenea sp. Giant

I planted this palm in the middle of this pot, but now the heel is in the middle and the palm is pushing out towards the side of the pot.

It's going in the ground next month.

Satakentia liukiuensis - also going in the ground soon

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Clinostigma ponapense and C. samoense. Our gardeners move my pots around to rake leaves and then they don't put them back in the same order, so I'm not sure which is which anymore. These were small seedlings in August.

Masoala madagascariensis

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana seedlings are growing nicely

A few Geonoma interrupta. Love the leaves on these.

Calyptrogyne seedlings on the left

Roystonea oleracea seedlings

Cyrtostachys renda that I started from seed a few years ago is finally showing some color.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

2 Rhopaloblaste augusta - also going in the ground next month

I never planned to grow Dypsis cabadae, but someone sent me seeds a few years ago and I'm happy to have these palms now. Great colors on these juvenile plants.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

A few photos from the beach

Pacific Tall Coconut trunk

A tall (and old) Dwarf Coconut

A look into the forest behind the beach

[bgl]

Jeff,

We all love different colors on our palms; red and blue and white and purple, but nothing beats that spectacular luxuriant green that happens almost automatically in the tropics! Those are all great looking palms! And yeah, I love the green!

Bo-Göran

[Patricia-CR]

They look amazing, Jeff. You are ready to start a rare palm nursery. I'll be your first customer

[Moose]

Jeff - thank you for this thread! I always truly enjoy your posts.

[MattyB]

Wow, what a collection of beauties! That Satakentia is huge!

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Bo, I know what you mean. The shades of green are endless in the rain forest.

Pat, I will let you know when I am open for business

Thanks Ron

Matt, I got that Satakentia a couple years ago as a small plant and it has really grown. It's almost busting out of that pot and needs to be watered daily.

Last week I received a notice that my latest RPS seed order was sent to the Customs office near Puntarenas. I called and was told that I had to be present for them to inspect the package. So, a couple days ago I got on a bus and rode the 2.5 hours to the Customs office, spent 2 hours waiting to get my package, and then another 2.5 hour bus ride home. It took all day, but at least I got my seeds ($195 order). While I was waiting for the bus to go home, I stopped at this restaurant for a soda and saw these Pritchardia which were dropping seeds everywhere. I must have collected at least 100. Bonus seeds!

A few coconuts in front of the local supermarket in El Roble

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Back at home, I took these photos at sunset. The colors of Cyrtostachys renda always look most vibrant right around sunset.

Here's a palm I collected in the forest as a tiny germinated seedling. I first noticed it because it didn't have strap leaves, the very first leaves it produced looked like miniature versions of the leaves it has now.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Photo of a Veitchia from 12/2/09

Same palm - photo taken yesterday 4/15/12

Photo of my favorite Crotons in front of Dypsis lutescens and C. renda. The big leafed plant is a weed that needs to be yanked out.

[ariscott]

even the weeds are pretty :).

[Kim]

Ah, all the colors! Dazzling! Nice composition of the C. renda with the crotons, so lush and lovely. So is Pritchardia common in CR? It seems like C. renda is everywhere...

[Chris Chance]

Wow that's amazing! We need a new climate in Cali lol.

[DoomsDave]

Well, swooning for the lush greenery.

Like Hawaii on steroids . . .

Hmm.

Do all the supermarkets have barbed wire around them?

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Ari, I think that's a teak tree. They pop up everywhere.

Kim, I always see a few Pritchardia around, but they are not as common as C. renda. C.renda is not considered rare or unusual here, it's just another palm.

Chris, but you guys can grow Jubaea, Ceroxylon, Rhopalostylis and others that would struggle or die in this climate.

Dave, I didn't even notice that when I posted the photo. I guess I've learned to look past it. BTW, the grocery store in the photo is owned by Wal-Mart.

[Walter John]

even the weeds are pretty :).

It does seem to fit in to that tropical look Ari, I agree.

Thanks again Jeff, the rendas are truly wonderful and captured at the right time. So what is that palm you collected from the forest ?

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

even the weeds are pretty :).

It does seem to fit in to that tropical look Ari, I agree.

Thanks again Jeff, the rendas are truly wonderful and captured at the right time. So what is that palm you collected from the forest ?

I'm not sure Wal. I assume it's a Chamaedorea, but I don't know the species. Here's a couple closer looks.

[Patricia-CR]

Jeff, I'm glad that all the P.O. trouble was worth it. Especially knowing that you are so good at growing gorgeous healthy palms. I've seen that lately they are sending packages to customs to create a lot of extra trouble to you. I decided to lost one package, because it was an excess of bureaucratic and making line stuff and after trying, I had to go back to Zapote, 3 days after. Fortunately, the package was returned and the company kindly reimbursed almost all of the cost, except the shipping expenses.

I'm crossing my fingers, since I'm expecting 5 big packages...

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

While walking to a new Asian restaurant for lunch today, I passed these Saribus rotundifolius.

Walking past another restaurant where they used Cyrtostachys renda as a hedge.

Dypsis lutescens used as a fence. That's a Royal Ponciana tree in bloom in the middle and to the right is the trunk of Roystonea regia. See people for scale.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

There are lots of monkeys in this town and instead of them getting killed by running across the road, a local organization installs these "monkey bridges" which is basically a thick blue rope. The monkeys know to use these ropes to cross the street and it has saved many of their lives. I watched about a dozen go across this rope and took this photo as the last one crossed.

That's Roystonea regia in the background.

Tall Coconuts in Manuel Antonio

One of my Licuala grandis. This one is planted near the beach and did not get any supplemental watering during our 90 day dry spell. I was surprised at how good it still looks. It thought for sure it would be totally brown by now.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Jeff, I'm glad that all the P.O. trouble was worth it. Especially knowing that you are so good at growing gorgeous healthy palms. I've seen that lately they are sending packages to customs to create a lot of extra trouble to you. I decided to lost one package, because it was an excess of bureaucratic and making line stuff and after trying, I had to go back to Zapote, 3 days after. Fortunately, the package was returned and the company kindly reimbursed almost all of the cost, except the shipping expenses.

I'm crossing my fingers, since I'm expecting 5 big packages...

Pat, I went with some friends who also had to pick up a package there. I've heard a lot of packages are being diverted to that office now. I hope you get yours without any problems, but be prepared to go to El Roble, or Zapote...

[TropiPalmGuy]

I love those photos of C. Renda used as a hedge. Unbelievable!

[realarch]

How are those Satakentia doing Jeffe?

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Tim, I only have the one Satakentia. I look forward to planting it soon.

I was in town yesterday to run a couple errands and walked past this newly trimmed Pritchardia pacifica. There's a nice sized Licuala grandis to the right of it. The tree on the left is a Ylang Ylang tree.

Back at home, a newly opening leaf on what I think is Heterospathe glauca

The entire palm. It had some black sooty stuff on the leaves towards the end of the rainy season, but it seemed to clear up over the dry season. Now I'm left with some ugly leaves.

[realarch]

Oops! I meant Bentinckia's Jeff.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Oops! I meant Bentinckia's Jeff.

Bentinckia nicobarica

[realarch]

You gotta be kidding! You photoshopped that pic.

[Al in Kona]

Gracias for sharing these palm pics Jeff. Since you have many of the same palms we grow in Hawaii, it's fun to compare and see how they do in your area of Costa Rica - very nice! Dypsis cabadae is a very beautiful clumping palm, IMO. Are they very common in C.R.? You certainly have a lot of choice palms in your collection. Makes me wanna come back again and see how everything has grown since our enjoyable visit there in 2008.

[ariscott]

You gotta be kidding! You photoshopped that pic.

definitely photoshopped!!!

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

You gotta be kidding! You photoshopped that pic.

LOL, no need to photoshop when plants grow that fast

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Gracias for sharing these palm pics Jeff. Since you have many of the same palms we grow in Hawaii, it's fun to compare and see how they do in your area of Costa Rica - very nice! Dypsis cabadae is a very beautiful clumping palm, IMO. Are they very common in C.R.? You certainly have a lot of choice palms in your collection. Makes me wanna come back again and see how everything has grown since our enjoyable visit there in 2008.

Al, Dypsis cabadae is not very common. D. lutescens are everywhere but I rarely ever see D. cabadae.

Come back for another visit whenever you can! Palms have grown quite a bit in 4 years.

[paulgila]

the l.grandis look fantastic,jeff.

how was the new asian resto?

[Peter Pacific]

Hi Jeff, the pictures are great. I am surprised by my L. grandis too, they look surprisingly healthy considering the beach like conditions here at home. I do not have luck with the Iriartea deltoidea maybe there's just too much salt in the air here, but your Tahina spectabilis and Clinostigmas are incredible! Good Luck. Peter

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

the l.grandis look fantastic,jeff.

how was the new asian resto?

It's more of a takeout place than a restaurant. They only have a couple tables, but I eat there at least a couple times a week. I love their sweet and spicy chicken and they make a great Bahn Mi. The owners are from Tampa.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Hi Jeff, the pictures are great. I am surprised by my L. grandis too, they look surprisingly healthy considering the beach like conditions here at home. I do not have luck with the Iriartea deltoidea maybe there's just too much salt in the air here, but your Tahina spectabilis and Clinostigmas are incredible! Good Luck. Peter

Peter, Irartea deltoidea grows here, but it looks nothing like the robust ones growing at higher elevations. At the beach they never seem to reach their full potential. Socratea grows much better for me at sea level.

I don't have high hopes for my Tahina. It has open petioles and the palm beetle seems to prefer those kinds of palms. I'm afraid the Tahina will probably not make it to maturity.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Metroxylon warburgii is getting big