Ways I can obtain palms from the US?

[Palmfarmer]

Just wondering if anyone know any websites that ships to Mexico. Idieally from the US. Second question is would a mail forwarding service be a solution for the palm sites that only ship within the us. I am primarily looking for Trithrinax and copernicias, but any semi rare palms are of interest to me.

[JubaeaMan138]

Buy seed grow from seed .i know seed takes time and effort  but Trust me way easier than the effort it takes to hunt down plants that aren’t available in your state or country for that matter and your going to pay a arm and a leg for the plants and shipping  . Plus copernicias grown in Florida may not appreciate your climate very much at first or at all. Plus the shipping that will end up being bare root is almost certain death. Or the plants get confiscated by agriculture before they get to there final destination. Another option would be find someone who can ship you a palm small enough that they dont have to bare root it and can keep it in its exsisting container until it’s acclimated to your climate . 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

I think seeds from rare palm seeds or Ebay are the only options. both of them ship to Mexico if I remember correctly, you can also try Mercado Libre. I saw someone from Veracruz selling an Attelea Butyracea.

Here's the link for the attalea but there's other palms in the shop.

https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-1394230363

[Foxpalms]

A few places ship internationally but I don't know about ones from the US.

[Palmfarmer]

5 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

A few places ship internationally but I don't know about ones from the US.

Ts okay if it is outside of the US as well. You know the names? 

[Foxpalms]

50 minutes ago, Palmfarmer said:

Ts okay if it is outside of the US as well. You know the names? 

I think canarius might. They have a decent amount of palms. The other ones don't have the rarer ones.

[Palmfarmer]

9 hours ago, JubaeaMan138 said:

Buy seed grow from seed .i know seed takes time and effort  but Trust me way easier than the effort it takes to hunt down plants that aren’t available in your state or country for that matter and your going to pay a arm and a leg for the plants and shipping  . Plus copernicias grown in Florida may not appreciate your climate very much at first or at all. Plus the shipping that will end up being bare root is almost certain death. Or the plants get confiscated by agriculture before they get to there final destination. Another option would be find someone who can ship you a palm small enough that they dont have to bare root it and can keep it in its exsisting container until it’s acclimated to your climate . 

Last time I tried the baggy method with 6 different species on a heat mat. Put the seeds in a zip lock bag with some Coco. Not a single one sprouted and I kept it running for one year. Temprature setting was at 30c None of the seeds got rot either. Any pointers on what went wrong? Too little water? Should I have turned of the heat in the day? All seeds where from different vendors from ebay. 
 

Acclimatisation is not a issue for me despite getting most of my palms shipped from Veracruz that has a hot humid climate like florida. The exception is planting in the winter of course. 

[Palmfarmer]

22 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

I think canarius might. They have a decent amount of palms. The other ones don't have the rarer ones.

Thank you

[idontknowhatnametuse]

if you want something smaller, I found a seller from Campeche who sells Dypsis Lanceolata.

https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-1372474229

[tacobender]

If you drive, you can bring small palms in pots. I tell them they are house plants. I have done it many times going through Nogales AZ

[GottmitAlex]

2 hours ago, tacobender said:

If you drive, you can bring small palms in pots. I tell them they are house plants. I have done it many times going through Nogales AZ

This!

[Palmfarmer]

On 9/26/2022 at 7:09 PM, GottmitAlex said:

This!

Just replace the soil with a sterlie medium like peat first? I have gotton Dyckias and some Trachycarpus seedlings sent to me from abroad. Customs have never stopped anything. 

[GottmitAlex]

On 10/15/2022 at 8:52 PM, Palmfarmer said:

Just replace the soil with a sterlie medium like peat first? I have gotton Dyckias and some Trachycarpus seedlings sent to me from abroad. Customs have never stopped anything. 

What I do with 5 gallon or smaller containers is to place and secure a plastic bag over the pot around the base of the palm.  And  several times I've used a large 30 gal black trash bag over the whole palm, place the palm on its side.  

Upon a customs officer asking me what's in the black bag  behind the drivers seat and why is it "hidden", I replied " it's just a palm and the reason it's on its side and covered is so it won't tip over on the trip and the soil is contained. "

I've had that only happen once. 

Customs doesn't have a problem with one small palm. The problem is when transporting 5+.

 

 

[PalmsandLiszt]

On 9/26/2022 at 8:50 PM, Palmfarmer said:

Last time I tried the baggy method with 6 different species on a heat mat. Put the seeds in a zip lock bag with some Coco. Not a single one sprouted and I kept it running for one year. Temprature setting was at 30c None of the seeds got rot either. Any pointers on what went wrong? Too little water? Should I have turned of the heat in the day? All seeds where from different vendors from ebay. 

What were the species? I think what went wrong is that you bought them from ebay. For ebay sellers seeds are the perfect con—they can offload old, defunct seeds and bear no responsibility by saying 1) you can't prove anything was wrong with the seeds (you'd need a lab for that) and 2) you were not subjecting them to the correct conditions (your word against theirs). Ebay will then say you have no case against them.
That is not to say there are not honest sellers on ebay, but you need to find them in your region, and not buy the cheapest option (which is likely to be a con). I only buy ungerminated seeds on ebay from a small number of trusted sellers I know are honest. Every single random cheap purchase I've ever tried has resulted in zero germination. Also look for pre-germinated seeds on there; then at least you know they're alive and not dud seeds.

Other than that, RPS is usually decent, although can fall flat with the really old listings. But the new listings are usually good seeds.

[GoatLockerGuns]

On 9/26/2022 at 2:50 PM, Palmfarmer said:

Any pointers on what went wrong?

I concur with what @PalmsandLiszt said above.  The problem is probably seed freshness.  I have been germinating seed for years using the baggie/heat pad method (heat being one of the key elements IMHO).  I have used many mediums from Sphagnum Moss to plain old Miracle Grow potting soil; mostly, I have had similar results with all of them.  The single most defining feature of my palm seed germination effort success has been fresh seed.  I have found most online seed retailers are hit or miss when it comes to seed freshness, even the "good" ones.  Your best bet is to hand pick fresh seed yourself.  You live in a country with a plethora of rare and tropical palms; you should exploit that.  Barring that, you should get seeds from trustworthy sources (either through purchase or some other trade/barter arrangement).  A good place to start would be the Palm Exchange on Palmtalk (https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/forum/28-palm-exchange-plants-seeds-palmy-items-for-sale-swap/).  You will need to be an International Palm Society (IPS) member to participate (a small price to pay IMHO), but you may be able to work out some sort of seed trade/purchase with other U.S.-based members (or possibly other international-based members).  If you are looking to trade/buy from U.S.-based Palmtalkers, here are the current rates for USPS First Class envelope shipments to Mexico (taken off the USPS website this morning):

If you are working out a shipment of seeds to your place in Mexico (and if I am reading those rates right), it should not cost more than $2 or $3 extra to send an envelope of 10 or so small seeds to you (albeit, there will be no insurance on that, but we are talking about small dollar stuff here).

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Floribunda Palms and Exotics on the big island in Hawaii ships small palms with proper permits.