First palm tree you remember?

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

The first palm I ever saw in ground was when i was about 8 or 9 we drove from CT to Florida and I remember palmettos at the tourist trap south of the border. I revisited the place in 2015 right around when the palm bug bit me and remember butia and windmills as well as many healthy old palmettos.  Most of the buildings and architecture look like this.

[kinzyjr]

There were a few (3 or 4) sabal palmetto off of I-95 going through North Carolina back in early 2002 that caught my eye.  After seeing them, I wanted to find out what kind they were and grow them.

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

4 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

There were a few (3 or 4) sabal palmetto off of I-95 going through North Carolina back in early 2002 that caught my eye.  After seeing them, I wanted to find out what kind they were and grow them.

I went to cape Hatteras before that trip but I dont remember any palms partly becuse I wasnt into the hobby and I had no idea they could grow there

[Jesse]

The first palm trees in the ground I can remember are the 4 Queen palms that my parents planted in the front yard of our house.  I remember swinging around them and walking past them time and time again as a child playing in the front yard. I have a good reason to believe they grew them from seed and held onto them until they were able to buy a house.

[GDLWyverex]

When I was about 6 years old in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Berlin, in 1956, we were sitting in the living room, around the Christmas holidays, with about 3 feet of snow on the ground, listening to the radio and they were advertising palm tree seedlings for sale. I bugged my mother sufficiently that she relented and bought me one, just to shut me up. It was a chamaedorea of some sort which I tortured with love and water until it finally rotted, though it hung in there for almost a year.

 

Richard

Edited October 16, 2018 by GDLWyverex

[Kim]

In my home town, Phoenix canariensis was a relatively common sight.  You might see two planted at the entrance to a drive to a large house on the outskirts of town, or used to enhance the importance of public buildings. In this link you will see two planted in 1909 and then again probably 40+ years later at maturity: Santa Maria, California - Library

The library of my childhood, Santa Maria, California:

[PalmTreeDude]

I believe the first Palma I have seen in the ground may have seen the same ones kinzyjr was talking about. If we are thinking of the same ones, last time I was down there, there were like 8 of them along I-95 in North Carolina. I remeber when I was really little I would look out the window, and when I saw them, I knew it was not much longer until we were to Myrtle Beach! My obsession with palms started because of Myrtle Beach, which is also a reason I like Sabals, I associate them with Myrtle Beach and other fun Southeastern beaches. Nothing better than the feeling of walking on to the beach through the sand dunes with Sabal palmetto scattered around in there as a kid! 

 

Edited October 16, 2018 by PalmTreeDude

[PalmTreeDude]

1 hour ago, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

The first palm I ever saw in ground was when i was about 8 or 9 we drove from CT to Florida and I remember palmettos at the tourist trap south of the border. I revisited the place in 2015 right around when the palm bug bit me and remember butia and windmills as well as many healthy old palmettos.  Most of the buildings and architecture look like this.

Last time I went down to South Carolina, I stopped at South of the Boarder to see what it was all about, there were some towering Sabal palmetto there, but the actual place on the other hand was, eh... 

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

14 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

Last time I went down to South Carolina, I stopped at South of the Boarder to see what it was all about, there were some towering Sabal palmetto there, but the actual place on the other hand was, eh... 

You probably saw a lot of these billboards.  last time I saw over 25+ of them some even after you pass the place urging you to go back.  the place was a big deal in the 50s and 60s but half the buildings are closed now.  They have cheap souvenirs if your looking for beach towels, gag gifts or cheap civil war memoribilia

Edited October 16, 2018 by Mr.SamuraiSword

[Pal Meir]

The first palm in ground I can remember was a Trachycarpus (wagnerianus?) in Bournemouth/UK in July 1962, but my oldest photo I can find is one of Phoenix canariensis & Washingtonia robusta taken in March 1964 in Greece:

 

[Manalto]

When I was in my 20s (dinosaurs roamed the Earth), I picked up and moved to Savannah, Georgia. I arrived late at night and as I drove into downtown and around the squares with their many Sabal palmettos, it started to snow. Snow dusting the fronds of palm trees under the streetlights in a beautiful historic district is a memory that endures.

[NC_Palms]

I saw my first palms in the ground in the Outer Banks when I was only 8/9 years old, but I wasn't interested in palms way back then. I got into the hobby when I was 14 years old. My family went on vacation to Hollywood, Florida and during the entire trip, I was on a mission to collect seeds. 

[NC_Palms]

6 hours ago, PalmTreeDude said:

I believe the first Palma I have seen in the ground may have seen the same ones kinzyjr was talking about. If we are thinking of the same ones, last time I was down there, there were like 8 of them along I-95 in North Carolina. I remeber when I was really little I would look out the window, and when I saw them, I knew it was not much longer until we were to Myrtle Beach! My obsession with palms started because of Myrtle Beach, which is also a reason I like Sabals, I associate them with Myrtle Beach and other fun Southeastern beaches. Nothing better than the feeling of walking on to the beach through the sand dunes with Sabal palmetto scattered around in there as a kid! 

 

I think I know what palmettos you and kinzyjr are talking about. Aren't they planted alongside the perimeter of some auto sale place? 

 

6 hours ago, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

You probably saw a lot of these billboards.  last time I saw over 25+ of them some even after you pass the place urging you to go back.  the place was a big deal in the 50s and 60s but half the buildings are closed now.  They have cheap souvenirs if your looking for beach towels, gag gifts or cheap civil war memoribilia

Right when you enter North Carolina from Virginia, all these signs show up out of nowhere. lol

[paquicuba]

16 hours ago, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

You probably saw a lot of these billboards.  last time I saw over 25+ of them some even after you pass the place urging you to go back.  the place was a big deal in the 50s and 60s but half the buildings are closed now.  They have cheap souvenirs if your looking for beach towels, gag gifts or cheap civil war memoribilia

I kind of miss those trips from Virginia to South Florida. Back in the late 90's to early 00's, the first billboard going I-95 south was like 250 miles away, just right after passing Richmond, VA.  What about those Adult Videos and Cigars stores ones? 

[Kris]

For me,my first love for palm trees all started in my high school days and i bought an encyclopedia on plants.In it the palm section under phoenix there was this massive Canary palm and watching Hollywood movies like Beverly hills cop.the L.A location adorned with tall mature CIDP's are breathtaking beautiful and iam its fan !

And there was a T.V serial by name Bold And Beautiful,The title theme and the locations in those episodes all had CIDP and tall washies. But only after joining our Palmtalk forum i was able to identify that all phoenix palms that i have planted in our house are not canary date palm.So CIDP being a late arrival into our garden it is the smallest of the other phoenix palms.

Love,

Kris.

[Darold Petty]

I grew up in Northern California, where the only palms were Washingtonia robusta and Phoenix canariensis.  These were so well adapted that they were often weeds along the roadside or drainage ditches.  People paid little attention, and complained about volunteer palms in inappropriate locations.

  Then I attended UCSB college in Santa Barbara, where I saw my first Howea forsteriana, ground planted as landscaping at the apartment buildings adjacent to campus.

  I was also infatuated, totally smitten with a girl from La Mesa (San Diego area).  One of our first dates was a night-time walk around the Santa Barbara courthouse.  This beautiful building is surrounded by many mature palms, including Howeas with several meters of trunk.  These palms are illuminated by 'up lighting', and are quite dramatic.

Well,..... the girl did not last, but the palms have !!!!!     

[JubaeaMan138]

First palm I remember was my grandparents huge reclinata they planted back in 1960 . Wish I had pictures of that plant or seed !!!

[Manalto]

18 minutes ago, JubaeaMan138 said:

Wish I had pictures of that plant or seed !!!

I love pictures of seed too.

[Palmensammler]

My first Palm was a hugh Addonida merrilli which I saw in 1992 during the honeymoon trip to Florida. The wife and the interest for Palms are still existing. Took one seed back home and the palm was growing for many years until it got to big. 

Eckhard

[PalmTreeDude]

23 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

I think I know what palmettos you and kinzyjr are talking about. Aren't they planted alongside the perimeter of some auto sale place? 

 

Right when you enter North Carolina from Virginia, all these signs show up out of nowhere. lol

I am not sure what building they are around, the only other thing I remeber was a long chain fence behind them. 

[tropicbreeze]

My earliest distinct recollection was of CIDP around 7yo. We used to go by bus to another town for school and there was a long line of CIDPs along the school front. I was intrigued by the crease or fold in the seeds. A nun caught me playing with some and accused me of stealing them from a nun's rosary beads that they had hanging down from their waist. Her story was that these "beads" were special from the Holy land and I was lying about them growing on trees in front of the school.

I learned from an early age that adults weren't always a great font of wisdom. You could say it was because of palms I developed my subsequent rebellious nature and questioning of authority .

[kinzyjr]

7 hours ago, PalmTreeDude said:

I am not sure what building they are around, the only other thing I remeber was a long chain fence behind them. 

I remember the same.  I want to say that the building was an industrial plant of some kind, but that was more than 15 years ago.

[Palm Tree Jim]

Back in the early seventies........coconut on the beach.

[DoomsDave]

The first palm I saw in the ground, as far as I can remember, was in northern North Carolina/southern Virginia in the vicinity of Chincoteague Island back around 1975. It was a tall Butea capitata, and it was silver and blue with about 20 feet of trunk. I was quite startled to see it. So startled, I didn't ask Dad to turn around and take another pass to look at it . . . .

Years later, I remember the palms in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1979. CIDPs and Washies, some up to 100 feet (33 M) tall.

The first palms I planted were Syagrus romanzoffiana at the house I bought in Highland, California, in September of 1986. Haven't stopped since.

The queens I planted all those years ago are still there. https://www.google.com/maps/place/25859+7th+St,+San+Bernardino,+CA+92410/@34.1126499,-117.2401526,3a,75y,176.8h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siuSJiw0ScdPrv98M6uRXHA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DiuSJiw0ScdPrv98M6uRXHA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D176.80034%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x80c354cbd906a975:0x9408c439f08befb1!8m2!3d34.1124151!4d-117.2401654

 

[NC_Palms]

8 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

The first palm I saw in the ground, as far as I can remember, was in northern North Carolina/southern Virginia in the vicinity of Chincoteague Island back around 1975. It was a tall Butea capitata, and it was silver and blue with about 20 feet of trunk. I was quite startled to see it. So startled, I didn't ask Dad to turn around and take another pass to look at it . . . .

Years later, I remember the palms in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1979. CIDPs and Washies, some up to 100 feet (33 M) tall.

The first palms I planted were Syagrus romanzoffiana at the house I bought in Highland, California, in September of 1986. Haven't stopped since.

The queens I planted all those years ago are still there. https://www.google.com/maps/place/25859+7th+St,+San+Bernardino,+CA+92410/@34.1126499,-117.2401526,3a,75y,176.8h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siuSJiw0ScdPrv98M6uRXHA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DiuSJiw0ScdPrv98M6uRXHA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D176.80034%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x80c354cbd906a975:0x9408c439f08befb1!8m2!3d34.1124151!4d-117.2401654

 

1

Do you know if Chincoteague still has any butias left? I have never been there but according to Google maps, there are a few trachycarpus.  

[DoomsDave]

55 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Do you know if Chincoteague still has any butias left? I have never been there but according to Google maps, there are a few trachycarpus.  

Hain’t been back in 43 years do I dunno 

[Walt]

The first time I ever saw a living palm in the ground was also at Pedro's South of the Border, in Dillion, South Carolina, on old US 301 (I-95 wasn't constructed in that vicinity yet). This was in April of 1966, when me and three buddies drove down (from Maryland) to Pedro's South of the Border (Pedro's Arsenal) to buy fireworks (just before federal law banned M-80s, cherry bombs, etc.,). 

I remember as we were driving up my eyes were arrested by lots of unbooted Sabal palmetto palms. Of course, I had no idea what species of palms they were at that time. I just knew I was in semi awe of those palms. They just had a raw tropical look to them. They just seemed out of place there.  Thinking back on it now,  I don't recall seeing any butia palms, which they have there now. There may have been some butia palms then, but I don't recall seeing any. I think if I did I would have been surprised, as they have a more tropical look to them. I don't ever recall seeing a Butia capitata palm until 1968, when I reported to the Charleston Naval Base, when I went through the main gate and saw trunked Butia capitata palms. I had no idea what the species was then, I just knew they had a more tropical look to them, being a pinnate leaf palm.

In June of 1985 my wife and I spent the night at South of the Border coming back from our trip to Florida (Key West). I was stationed in Key West from June 1970 to July 1971, and wanted to go back and see the old navy base. Unbeknownst to me, it had closed down in 1974. But it was still there at the time, and looked like a ghost town, buildings in disrepair and boarded up. Here is an old 1960s post card of Key West.

[Brad Mondel]

First ones I saw were Sabal palmettos on vacation to Myrtle Beach as a child. I was amazed at how beautiful they were because I never saw such a thing in the blue ridge mountains, where I was born and raised. 

[kinzyjr]

Looked for the ones I used to see on I-95.  Didn't find them, but did see a few hiding off the side of the highway around Lumbterton: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.63474,-79.0241979,3a,21.8y,117.44h,83.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seiEple739OFB6IEKBpZQCA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[PalmTreeDude]

13 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Looked for the ones I used to see on I-95.  Didn't find them, but did see a few hiding off the side of the highway around Lumbterton: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.63474,-79.0241979,3a,21.8y,117.44h,83.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seiEple739OFB6IEKBpZQCA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Found them! https://goo.gl/maps/DhxsnC9QnFn

 

[NC_Palms]

There is also some sabal palmetto off of the Wilson exit on I-95 in North Carolina, maybe like an hour west from where I live. 

 

[kinzyjr]

1 hour ago, PalmTreeDude said:

Found them! https://goo.gl/maps/DhxsnC9QnFn

 

Nice find!

[Alberto]

Interesting question!

Thinking about it I discovered I`ve been always interested in palms.... I remember when I was near 10 years old, a big Phoenix with a big slender trunk and long fronds in the city of Ponta Grossa near a beer factory. I remember that I thought this must be the palms that grow in the oasis of the deserts, but it probably was P. sylvestris .

When my cousins and I went to the campos and forests of Carambeí on our horses, we stopped to seek and eat the little "palmitos" at the end of the inflorescences of Allagoptera campestris. I remember thinking why this little palms were not cultivated in the gardens... (I have them now :-) ), Also tried to remove seedlings from Geonoma schottiana from the forest but they all died. Eating the fruits of the cultivated Butia eriospatha is also a memory of my infancy.

[PalmatierMeg]

When I was growing up in VA, my mother (a NOR CAL native) kept african violets and a potted calamondin orange tree but no palms. Palms as house plants didn't exist back then. My first memory of palms was of the lovely Howea forsteriana (I didn't know what they were when I was a kid) in old photos and movies. I thought they were the most elegant plants I'd ever seen. I wanted one but they were unavailable in VA. I still have a soft spot for this species even though it isn't suited for my FL summers. My surviving palm hides out deep in my jungle and will be much happier when cooler weather finally arrives.