PALM TALK AS HOME PAGE

[LilikoiLee]

You know you're addicted when you set the Discussing Palms World Wide as your Home Page!!!

Lee

[doranakandawatta]

SO DO I!

Philippe

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

You know you're addicted if you type w in the URL field of the browser and the browser fills in the PalmTalk forum URL for you.

[LilikoiLee]

You know you're addicted if you type w in the URL field of the browser and the browser fills in the PalmTalk forum URL for you.

Yep, you're addicted. (My fills in Palm Talk Forum when I type in Pa. Lee

[LilikoiLee]

SO DO I!

Philippe

Philippe, it is very reassuring that someone else is so addicted! Ever since my husband Mike and I started our garden we spend every free day planting and taking care of our palms. We’re out there until it is too dark to work. We think about palms continuously, read about them, talk about them, go to sleep thinking about them, dream about them and wake up thinking about them. We avoid our friends who aren’t into palms.

Now we’re checking Palm Talk a couple times a day. We know we’re addicted, but what is the cure? Are there pills? Do you know if there a palm addiction treatment center?

Does anyone else know of a cure?

[doranakandawatta]

SO DO I!

Philippe

Philippe, it is very reassuring that someone else is so addicted! Ever since my husband Mike and I started our garden we spend every free day planting and taking care of our palms. We’re out there until it is too dark to work. We think about palms continuously, read about them, talk about them, go to sleep thinking about them, dream about them and wake up thinking about them. We avoid our friends who aren’t into palms.

Now we’re checking Palm Talk a couple times a day. We know we’re addicted, but what is the cure? Are there pills? Do you know if there a palm addiction treatment center?

Does anyone else know of a cure?

Maybe you should start cactus addiction?

But, living in Hawaii, can you have friends who aren't into palms?

For us, other addicted, post more pics of your palms and your garden, we need to see them!

Thanks

Kindest regards

Philippe

[bgl]

Lee,

There are all sorts of addictions, and not surprisingly, that also means there are many different types of treatments, ranging from, shall we say, the less than pleasant to the complete opposite: obsessively pleasant! Correct, not only is OPCD (Obsessive Palm Collection Disorder) very obsessive in itself but the actual recommended treatment, in order to be effective, is JUST as obsessive. And very pleasant! PalmTalk has been designed specifically for those individuals who have the good fortune to develop the rare OPCD. The intention is certainly not to cure OPCD but rather to enhance it by exposing the victim (and I use that word in the loosest sense) to other OPCD "sufferers" in order to create the illusion that everything in our lives should revolve around our passion for palms. The feedback here on PalmTalk from other members of the truly exclusive OPCD family serves this purpose extremely well. I believe Philippe, as one of our newer members, can attest to that! PalmTalk's second objective, needless to say, is to spread the disorder to all those poor souls who may be struggling with other less pleasant addictions. Make them realize that they have a choice between very unpleasant addictions and addictions that are fun and exciting! In other words, "The More, The Merrier".

And yes, I also have PalmTalk as my homepage (on my main computer)! Goes without saying!

Bo-Göran

[LilikoiLee]

Lee,

There are all sorts of addictions, and not surprisingly, that also means there are many different types of treatments, ranging from, shall we say, the less than pleasant to the complete opposite: obsessively pleasant! Correct, not only is OPCD (Obsessive Palm Collection Disorder) very obsessive in itself but the actual recommended treatment, in order to be effective, is JUST as obsessive. And very pleasant! PalmTalk has been designed specifically for those individuals who have the good fortune to develop the rare OPCD. The intention is certainly not to cure OPCD but rather to enhance it by exposing the victim (and I use that word in the loosest sense) to other OPCD "sufferers" in order to create the illusion that everything in our lives should revolve around our passion for palms. The feedback here on PalmTalk from other members of the truly exclusive OPCD family serves this purpose extremely well. I believe Philippe, as one of our newer members, can attest to that! PalmTalk's second objective, needless to say, is to spread the disorder to all those poor souls who may be struggling with other less pleasant addictions. Make them realize that they have a choice between very unpleasant addictions and addictions that are fun and exciting! In other words, "The More, The Merrier".

And yes, I also have PalmTalk as my homepage (on my main computer)! Goes without saying!

Thank you, Dr. Lundkvist for your clear and comprehensive description of my affliction. I had no idea that my obsession had already been described in psychiatric journals.

Your description of the OPCD affliction and insightful diagnosis was both helpful and reassuring because it is clear that you have also suffered from it, are personally familiar with the symptoms, have been able accept the affliction and live a nearly normal life.

The fact that there is no cure for OPCD and that thousands of others suffer from the same disorder is very reassuring because as an authority on OPCD I am sure you know that the worst part of any disorder is the belief that you are suffering alone.

Now that I understand and have accepted that I too will always have OPCD I no longer feel guilty about the amount of time and money the affliction costs and can continue to spend the majority of every day thinking and reading about palms without guilt because OPCD is, in fact, one of an exclusive group of fun and worthwhile additions.

But best of all is the news that there is an online therapy group called Palm Talk where no one is interested in curing themselves! In fact, when my compulsion to buy another palm (for which there is no room in our garden) overcomes me the other members of the group will not only support me – they will congratulate me!

Therefore I solemnly vow that as member of the Palm Talk OPCD I will uphold the OPCD credo and convert every unfortunate person with a dreadful and unpleasant addiction to turn their lives around by joining the Palm Talk OPCD!

Lee

[grant b.]

nice!

[doranakandawatta]

online therapy group called Palm Talk !

may I ask for a permanent room in your higher affected OPCD patients?

[bgl]

Lee, glad I could be of help!

And Philippe, you were automatically upgraded to the Category One Group very early on!

Bo-Göran

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Lee,

There are all sorts of addictions, and not surprisingly, that also means there are many different types of treatments, ranging from, shall we say, the less than pleasant to the complete opposite: obsessively pleasant! Correct, not only is OPCD (Obsessive Palm Collection Disorder) very obsessive in itself but the actual recommended treatment, in order to be effective, is JUST as obsessive. And very pleasant! PalmTalk has been designed specifically for those individuals who have the good fortune to develop the rare OPCD. The intention is certainly not to cure OPCD but rather to enhance it by exposing the victim (and I use that word in the loosest sense) to other OPCD "sufferers" in order to create the illusion that everything in our lives should revolve around our passion for palms. The feedback here on PalmTalk from other members of the truly exclusive OPCD family serves this purpose extremely well. I believe Philippe, as one of our newer members, can attest to that! PalmTalk's second objective, needless to say, is to spread the disorder to all those poor souls who may be struggling with other less pleasant addictions. Make them realize that they have a choice between very unpleasant addictions and addictions that are fun and exciting! In other words, "The More, The Merrier".

And yes, I also have PalmTalk as my homepage (on my main computer)! Goes without saying!

Bo-Göran

So no OPCD Anonymous?

[bgl]

That would go totally against the entire concept of encouragement!

[LilikoiLee]

Shouldn't need anonymity unless you're still in the stage in which you're hiding the addiction from your family and fiends. However, if you are also trying to hide it from other PT members, forget it. We all know whose addicted! However, if you still feel the need for anonymity perhaps we could get Dean to start a new forum which would only be available to the truly afflicted addits. In order to participate, PT members would have to submit a statement describing the extent of their addiction. Only those who are seriously addicted would be admitted and, to insure anonymity they would enter with a secret password and be identified by a number.

Lee

[doranakandawatta]

identified by a number. or by a botanic latin name?

[O'o Bar Master]

identified by a number. or by a botanic latin name?

Great idea! It would have to be on a 1st come basis otherwise more than one person might claim the same name. Lee

[BamaPalmer]

It's never even an option trying to fight or deny this addiction!!  I am beyond that point; I dream palms; find any palm-themed decor item for the home; automatically compare a palm's health and care by their "owners" vs. what they SHOULD look like, if in great shape; plug into any and all weather reports in either summer storm season, or Nov-Apr. to see if palm-damaging weather is forecast, and imagine when I see any landscapes without palms, how much better they would look, if only palms would festoon these "palm naked" landscapes (anywhere in North America I might be, ever Anchorage, AK!!)  That's pure nuts!  Anyway, I am too far into my life to ask "why?""  I just enjoy this addition and hope for many, many more days of this particular "disease" in my wonderfully palmy lifespan.  LOL.  Andy.

 

PS: I just joined the IPS now, too!

Edited June 26, 2020 by BamaPalmer
put in new membership to IPS notice!

[Steve Mac]

Hi Andy, mate, I am Steve from Sydney, Australia, I don't know where Montgomery, AL, is (probably america somewhere) like a lot on here, but welcome to the forum.

And I like the way that you signed off with a first name, I don't know why more people don't do it. It is so friendly. Like everyone on here, but still some are strangely shy about their first names. 

It is good to have an accurate location mentioned so that locals can respond most appropriately. Locals are the best help.  

 

[JLM]

@gtsteve

Your right!

Here is Montgomery, AL:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Montgomery,+AL/@31.7935584,-88.2853308,6.46z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x888e8194b0d481f9:0x8e1b511d354285ff!8m2!3d32.3792233!4d-86.3077368

[BamaPalmer]

Awww, thanks, Steve!  I agree with you.  Since we're going to be here, because we have something special in common, there's no reason to be too shy.  We're all a "family" really!

[BamaPalmer]

Thanks for showing Steve where I am located, JL!  It's pretty much in USDA Zone 8B.  I am building a greenhouse for my Zone 11 and 12 plants so I won't be a weather worrier (as much in 2021!) Andy

[JLM]

Always glad to help!

I am technically 9a here, but USDA says 8b, but zone doesnt matter. Frost is the killer here and sometimes it gets cold enough to kill a queen. I have 3 queens total, 2 in the front yard (100% exposed) and one in the backyard (40% semi exposed). They are planted, my foxtail will only go into the ground during spring and summer starting next year. Never going to be an official planting as it will never leave its pot, so this will be interesting. 

[BamaPalmer]

I think, J., that is the real issue...Is one or several nights going to be one of those maddening total radiational heat loss nights, when the sky is as ominously clear as it can be and you know the temperature will just plummet as the sun departs.  You MAYBE hit 50 F. something, and you know that 20-30's F. are a certainty.  But how long?  How low?  That is a Zone 9-10 worry.  It only happens a couple of times in a decade, but you know it will be a bad one!

Step that back to Zones 7 B to 8 B this time...here it has been extremely temperate for 7, 8, maybe 10 years and all SEEMS well.  It cannot get as cold as it used to when Zero F. to 10 F. DID occur with some regularity.  But can it, again?  It not only will, but it will really make things look far worse than 10-15 years ago when Butias were all you ever saw unprotected (or protected in Zone 7 B for sure!)  So the Roller Coaster is now travelling downwards, with temperatures dropping 7-9 F. per hour.  You maxed the day at only 45 F. and it is totally clear out now, with a brilliant moonlit sky and zero winds.  (No help tonight!!!)  By 3 AM, it is already 29 F. and the drop in temperature is not slowing.  At 4 AM, it is now 21 F.; at 5 AM it is 17 F.; at 6 AM, the temperature reads 11 F.; at 7 AM (with the sky lightening) it is a frightening 6 F., and there is one most hour to drop (probably!)  At 8 AM the thermometer reads a shockingly low, 2 F.!!  By 9 AM, it is still an ominous 5 F.  This will be a day of things looking torched!  It shouldn't have happened!  Our USDA Zone said we are now 8 B (but actually 9 A)  My Queen palms are "toast!"  Sub-tropical plants like hibiscus are dead (above the ground.)  Bananas are white and mushy!  

This will be a week, month, and season of cleaning-up and pruning back...but not yet; it is ONLY early February!  All of a sudden it seems that: Central Ala. and MS, No. Central Georgia, the Central Carolinas, even Tidewater VA are a lot closer to looking like So. Ohio, So. Indiana; and So. Eastern PA.  What went wrong?  This wasn't supposed to occur any longer!  (It's global warming, no?)  Yes, it IS global warming, and the rest of the year will be way above the "norm."  This was only ONE INCIDENT to write about and to talk about; many spears will grudgingly emerge from their damaged crowns; other will not!  Changes will be made, or maybe not...it might NOT get that cold again for another 15-20 years, or it COULD repeat again, sooner!!  You want it palm-ier so you will try again, to dicker with Mom Nature.  She usually will let you slide...but NOT every time!  She's STILL the master around here!  Andy!

Edited July 8, 2020 by BamaPalmer
font change

[Steve Mac]

Hey Andy, Crikey mate,

Not a zone pusher myself, if I lived there I would probably be specialising in lichen. Sheeshh.

 

[BamaPalmer]

I “painted” a grim scenario, indeed, Steve!  It probably will not be that dramatic again, but the point I make in that hypothetical cold event is that one just doesn’t know WHAT may happen overnight in one of those “every 25 year events.”  For many palm lovers, the event is shrugged off and beautiful new specimens are put into the ground to add that tropical touch to their landscapes.  

Others just will not fall into the “it will probably never happen again” argument and will stay conservative with their palm efforts. If you DO want to try less hardy species, there is always the containerised palm, and that CAN be a great way to enjoy a palm out of its growing zone, from mid-spring through mid-autumn.  A patio or front entryway can look absolutely fantastic with containerised palms, no doubt about it, but one does need a winter home for them and they will take up considerable space in a garage or sunroom!

I suspect that I will try a middle ground, commencing with large Butias and Sabals (costing a lot of money,) for in-ground “curb appeal’ then supplementing “the look” with three (or so) Joeys, Licualas, Pinangas, and Peligodoxas in large containers (for tropical summer atmosphere) and then just enjoy the dependably hardy specimens that I planted in-ground the rest of the year. There will be less thermometer-watching, palm covering, and a better night’s sleep with this strategy!

I am not lazy; I just don’t want to do what I have had to do for the last 40 years, for another 20 years!  At retirement, I don’t think that I want to KEEP my life as complicated as it has been to date.  I will enjoy my palms, just in more easy-to-care-for varieties and quantities!  Andy

 

 

[JLM]

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm, that took a scary turn 

I know we get bad killer stuff. Happened in 2014 here when Washingtonia were dead and even Sabals didnt like it. Any queens were dead for miles, and everything had a coating of ice for several hours if not longer than 36 hours. I hope it never happens again, but i know it will. I atleast want to see a trunking queen palm in the front yard before the cold takes it. My neighbor lost a robusta in 2014, the other is still thriving today but seems stunted height wise. It has barely grown 5 feet since 2014. I now have a foxtail which will remain in a pot, would be crazy to plant it outside here! It will be in a pot but be in the ground at the same time. It will hang out in the sun during winter afternoons and brought back inside overnight. The queens should handle everything well if i take the proper steps to protect them, but sometimes protection doesnt always work.

[BamaPalmer]

How far from the Gulf is your property, J.?  Just curious.  I guess that north of I-10 the winter night temperatures can drop off pretty quickly!  Andy