It was bulk pick up today, so I had to give the Chinese fans a severe haircut, and I pulled out all of the huge Aechmea blanchettiana bromeliads, which got way out of hand the last few years….

10’x6’ pile removed.   Sunlight for the Allagopterra arenaria achieved.  

My plan is to find some “Stoplight” Crotons to put in the backdrop of the understory, and maybe with some Firecracker Plant or some another small sun-tolerant croton like Yellow Mammy on the ends, as I expand that bed.  So we went out to hit up the regular, local nurseries to see what they had.  

To my surprise, there was some interesting stuff at the regular nursery that normally just carries the usual ~7ish ubiquitous local palms….

Chambeyronia Macrocarpas 5+ feet tall….

 

Licualas….

 

Chrysalidocarpus Cabadae…

 

Coccothrinax argentata (is it?) seeding already…

 

Lantania lontaroides (these are everywhere this year)…

 

A couple of very old men, that have been there for years….

 

No Stoplight, but lots of Picasso’s Paintbrush around this year….($9.99)

 

A nice surprise to see some more “out-of-the-way” palms showing up at the plain-jane nurseries.  Hope that trend continues.   

Oh, and some little old men…

Edited July 28, 20232 yr by Looking Glass

Those old men are incredible!!!  I have two "surviving" in my yard here in CA (which I drove to AZ to pickup) and can't help but wonder what it is about Florida that these palms love so much. I know Florida tends to attract Seniors, but the "old men" sure love it there! Licualas are another plant that seem to be much more common in FL than in CA.

As for the crotons, there's a good reason those plants are more common in FL... mine completely defoliated after our relatively cold winter, but are happily coming back. 

Only palm on your list that I've seen at a large commercial nursery is Chambeyronia Macrocarpa - Rancho Soledad brings in HUGE ones of those from Hawaii. But I can only dream of "stumbing" across mature old men palms here. Oh, and LOL at the "culling" of the  Aechmea blanchettiana bromeliads - the orange and yellow ones can especially get out of hand (though not quite as much here as in FL). Most of the bromeliads I have shipped come from FL.

3 hours ago, iDesign said:

Those old men are incredible!!!  I have two "surviving" in my yard here in CA (which I drove to AZ to pickup) and can't help but wonder what it is about Florida that these palms love so much. I know Florida tends to attract Seniors, but the "old men" sure love it there! Licualas are another plant that seem to be much more common in FL than in CA.

As for the crotons, there's a good reason those plants are more common in FL... mine completely defoliated after our relatively cold winter, but are happily coming back. 

Only palm on your list that I've seen at a large commercial nursery is Chambeyronia Macrocarpa - Rancho Soledad brings in HUGE ones of those from Hawaii. But I can only dream of "stumbing" across mature old men palms here. Oh, and LOL at the "culling" of the  Aechmea blanchettiana bromeliads - the orange and yellow ones can especially get out of hand (though not quite as much here as in FL). Most of the bromeliads I have shipped come from FL.

The Aechmea blanchettia multiply fast and grow big here.  I trimmed out a few to make room for the Seashores, and they were choking them out again already.   On my street there are a bunch on adjacent houses that have a pile in their yard.  I’m told the all originate from one neighbor’s plant years ago.  Their sun tolerance makes them easy to care for here.  They can take all-day Florida sun, but I’ve found they burn 10-25% every year or so, when we get temps in the 40s & 50s in the right combination. 

Coccothrinax (and Cuban/Caribbean palms in general) tend to do very well in South Florida.  I call them “near-natives” because our climate is pretty close to their home’s (hot-wet season, followed by a warm dry season).  Still most people don’t know about them and most nurseries don’t carry them.   

There are palm specific nurseries here that carry the fancy and rare and more exotic stuff, you just have to seek them out.  Talking to owners, I hear that they makes most of their money selling Petra & Mammy crotons, Red Sister Ti, and other common yard stuff though.  It was just nice to see some next-tier palms at a regular nursery.  

You’ll be happy to know, I did pull up and rescue like 20-30 fireballs that got totally swamped and shaded by undergrowth.   These are all greenballs from the shade, but I put them up into the more open planter, so they should redden up again shortly with some sun.  

 

 

6 hours ago, iDesign said:

. Oh, and LOL at the "culling" of the  Aechmea blanchettiana bromeliads - the orange and yellow ones can especially get out of hand (though not quite as much here as in FL). Most of the bromeliads I have shipped come from FL.

Saved a few nubbins….

 

Rescued this pile of smothered, shaded-out fireballs.  I’m going to populate the planter with them and they should turn back to red, with some sun exposure.  

 

This other type of Aechmea “Merlot” was a nubbin last year, and now has a nubbin of its very own.   

Edited July 29, 20232 yr by Looking Glass

1 hour ago, Looking Glass said:

Rescued this pile of smothered, shaded-out fireballs.  I’m going to populate the planter with them and they should turn back to red, with some sun exposure.  

You can never have too many fireballs!!! 
Though that's funny to see them so green... these definitely need some sun. 😎

I use fireballs as a "unifying element" in my yard.

Some areas are "anything goes" color-wise, like this area with bromeliads of various colors (including fireballs)...

Other areas of my yard are on a more restricted color scheme (only green, chartreuse, red/burgundy, white & purple). But fireballs are allowed anywhere...

I'd add 1000 of them if I could (working on it)...

As for the other brom, I haven't heard of Aechmea "merlot" (though Alcantarea "merlot" is a dream plant I hope to find someday). Looks just like my Aechmea 'frappuccino' though. Just a possible ID in case it was given a "made up" label by the nursery.

Apologies to the palm lovers for the side trip into tropical plants. 😬

34 minutes ago, iDesign said:

You can never have too many fireballs!!! 
Though that's funny to see them so green... these definitely need some sun. 😎

I use fireballs as a "unifying element" in my yard.

Some areas are "anything goes" color-wise, like this area with bromeliads of various colors (including fireballs)...

Other areas of my yard are on a more restricted color scheme (only green, chartreuse, red/burgundy, white & purple). But fireballs are allowed anywhere...

I'd add 1000 of them if I could (working on it)...

As for the other brom, I haven't heard of Aechmea "merlot" (though Alcantarea "merlot" is a dream plant I hope to find someday). Looks just like my Aechmea 'frappuccino' though. Just a possible ID in case it was given a "made up" label by the nursery.

Apologies to the palm lovers for the side trip into tropical plants. 😬

The fireballs got totally swamped by everyone’s summer growth and were buried and in total shade.  They were all red last year.   

I think it’s Aechmea chantinii marked “merlot” at the nursery, I think due to the in between black and green color.  Lol… I think it is your Frappuccino!   It tolerates full sun here, but bleaches out.   In the shade are two more, better color, but much slower.   All were little pups last year.  You can see the burn from winter on all of them.  They didn’t tolerate 40s at night and 50s during the day for a few days, very well.  

Your collection looks great.  I’m going to go on Etsy and order some Neoregelias that catch my eye… color wise.  And stick them all in that planter with the fireballs.  Paint by bromeliad.  

The flowers I had in there have fizzled out for the year.  

 

2 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

I’m going to go on Etsy and order some Neoregelias that catch my eye… color wise.  And stick them all in that planter with the fireballs.  Paint by bromeliad.

Brom shopping!!!

May I submit the following recent favs (with the disclaimer that I'm in a different climate)...

----

Aechmea "black on black"
This one is past its prime, but has been a decent pupper (you can see some on the bottom). It also handles a *bit* of sun (though shows most black in part-sun or shade. Much better option for me than Aechmea "perez" (which looks similar, but was a dud for me). I'm currently trying to propagate a bunch of these to sprinkle throughout the yard (along with the fireballs).

----

Neoregelia "namaskar" (green stripes & burgundy) and "bird rock" (fushia, on right)
The bird rock looks even better in real life, and has been a decent "pupper".
The "namaskar" is weird-looking (in a good way), but new & unproven.
You can also see a recently planted "black on black" pup... which is scrawny now, but will get fuller.

----

Neoregelia "saundersii"
I like it more than I thought I would, and they're relatively cheap. This one is past its prime but you can still see the neat blue-ish color. Hoping it pups soon, but if not I'm going to buy a few more.



Happy shopping!

12 hours ago, iDesign said:

Brom shopping!!!

May I submit the following recent favs (with the disclaimer that I'm in a different climate)...

Neoregelia "saundersii"
I like it more than I thought I would, and they're relatively cheap. This one is past its prime but you can still see the neat blue-ish color. Hoping it pups soon, but if not I'm going to buy a few more.



Happy shopping!

Jesus.....   Don't go Brom shopping on the internet....  😳  That's a hell of a rabbit hole out there.   So many cool colors.    So many Neos and some really interesting Aechmea in colors other than yellow and orange.    But what really seemed to interest me is the Billbergia and Hohenbergia varieties also.   I think that is another type of single clone from the Hohenbergia family that everyone in the neighborhood seems to have shared.  Everyone seems to have 20 of a certain type of that in their front yard.  Like palms, everyone seems to have the same 5 varieties here. 

I love the look of that Saundersii above especially.  Kind of a pale blue-green that almost glows!   That is on the list now too. 

   

I swear I must go walking through your neighborhood! 😅

Yes, plenty of areas around Fort Lauderdale look like that, but the fact that you mentioned it was bulk pick up, and on Thursday I saw all manner of clippings, branches, mattresses etc. in front of people's houses on my afternoon stroll makes me think that I just may be trudging through your neck of the woods.

That would be an odd coincidence! 😆

On 7/28/2023 at 4:16 PM, Looking Glass said:

It was bulk pick up today, so I had to give the Chinese fans a severe haircut, and I pulled out all of the huge Aechmea blanchettiana bromeliads, which got way out of hand the last few years….

10’x6’ pile removed.   Sunlight for the Allagopterra arenaria achieved.  

My plan is to find some “Stoplight” Crotons to put in the backdrop of the understory, and maybe with some Firecracker Plant or some another small sun-tolerant croton like Yellow Mammy on the ends, as I expand that bed.  So we went out to hit up the regular, local nurseries to see what they had.  

To my surprise, there was some interesting stuff at the regular nursery that normally just carries the usual ~7ish ubiquitous local palms….

Chambeyronia Macrocarpas 5+ feet tall….

 

Licualas….

 

Chrysalidocarpus Cabadae…

 

Coccothrinax argentata (is it?) seeding already…

 

Lantania lontaroides (these are everywhere this year)…

 

A couple of very old men, that have been there for years….

 

No Stoplight, but lots of Picasso’s Paintbrush around this year….($9.99)

 

A nice surprise to see some more “out-of-the-way” palms showing up at the plain-jane nurseries.  Hope that trend continues.   

Oh, and some little old men…

 

3 hours ago, BoliFloridano said:

I swear I must go walking through your neighborhood! 😅

Yes, plenty of areas around Fort Lauderdale look like that, but the fact that you mentioned it was bulk pick up, and on Thursday I saw all manner of clippings, branches, mattresses etc. in front of people's houses on my afternoon stroll makes me think that I just may be trudging through your neck of the woods.

That would be an odd coincidence! 😆

 

I don’t think you’re very far away.  I got rained out the day before, so I got up at 4:30am to beat the truck.  I missed the last couple months due to work and rain.  Created a giant 10’x6’ pile in a few hours.  I stuffed it all together tight, and the truck came by while I was still working on the planter bed up front. Grabbed 90% in one grab, the rest on the 2nd grab, and then he was on to the next house.  The tree trimmers know when the pick up is, and go door to door starting a few days before, looking for business. 

One of my favorite things about bulk pick-up weeks is finding free coconuts among the piles of trimmings, or some times neatly laid out in front of them, though admittedly, my machete technique needs work 😅

On 7/30/2023 at 9:00 PM, Looking Glass said:

I don’t think you’re very far away.  I got rained out the day before, so I got up at 4:30am to beat the truck.  I missed the last couple months due to work and rain.  Created a giant 10’x6’ pile in a few hours.  I stuffed it all together tight, and the truck came by while I was still working on the planter bed up front. Grabbed 90% in one grab, the rest on the 2nd grab, and then he was on to the next house.  The tree trimmers know when the pick up is, and go door to door starting a few days before, looking for business. 

 

Edited August 1, 20232 yr by BoliFloridano
pic came after quote, seemed to suggest it was part of the quote. Moved it before the quote

On 7/28/2023 at 4:16 PM, Looking Glass said:

It was bulk pick up today, so I had to give the Chinese fans a severe haircut, and I pulled out all of the huge Aechmea blanchettiana bromeliads, which got way out of hand the last few years….

10’x6’ pile removed.   Sunlight for the Allagopterra arenaria achieved.  

My plan is to find some “Stoplight” Crotons to put in the backdrop of the understory, and maybe with some Firecracker Plant or some another small sun-tolerant croton like Yellow Mammy on the ends, as I expand that bed.  So we went out to hit up the regular, local nurseries to see what they had.  

To my surprise, there was some interesting stuff at the regular nursery that normally just carries the usual ~7ish ubiquitous local palms….

Chambeyronia Macrocarpas 5+ feet tall….

 

Licualas….

 

Chrysalidocarpus Cabadae…

 

Coccothrinax argentata (is it?) seeding already…

 

Lantania lontaroides (these are everywhere this year)…

 

A couple of very old men, that have been there for years….

 

No Stoplight, but lots of Picasso’s Paintbrush around this year….($9.99)

 

A nice surprise to see some more “out-of-the-way” palms showing up at the plain-jane nurseries.  Hope that trend continues.   

Oh, and some little old men…

I 

 

On 7/30/2023 at 9:00 PM, Looking Glass said:

I don’t think you’re very far away.  I got rained out the day before, so I got up at 4:30am to beat the truck.  I missed the last couple months due to work and rain.  Created a giant 10’x6’ pile in a few hours.  I stuffed it all together tight, and the truck came by while I was still working on the planter bed up front. Grabbed 90% in one grab, the rest on the 2nd grab, and then he was on to the next house.  The tree trimmers know when the pick up is, and go door to door starting a few days before, looking for business. 

@Looking Glass I know it's been a few months but i am wondering what nursery this is thanks in advance!

2 hours ago, Palmtreedude69 said:

@Looking Glass I know it's been a few months but i am wondering what nursery this is thanks in advance!

Nu Turf in Pompano Beach.   It’s not a palm specific place…  just a good sized regular nursery with common landscaping stuff and common palms mostly.   This was the only time I had ever been there and saw they had any palm out of the ordinary.   I swing by from time to time to see what crotons and other stuff they’ve got in.   Like many places, it’s hit or miss based on the luck of your timing.  For palms, they’ve got tons of the common stuff normally…  bottles, spindles, triangles, roebelenii, coconuts…  stuff like that.   Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’ll find a hidden gem…  there’s another smaller nursery a mile or so south down the road on the right with crotons and bromeliads and stuff too.  

 

1 hour ago, Looking Glass said:

Nu Turf in Pompano Beach.   It’s not a palm specific place…  just a good sized regular nursery with common landscaping stuff and common palms mostly.   This was the only time I had ever been there and saw they had any palm out of the ordinary.   I swing by from time to time to see what crotons and other stuff they’ve got in.   Like many places, it’s hit or miss based on the luck of your timing.  For palms, they’ve got tons of the common stuff normally…  bottles, spindles, triangles, roebelenii, coconuts…  stuff like that.   Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’ll find a hidden gem…  there’s another smaller nursery a mile or so south down the road on the right with crotons and bromeliads and stuff too.  

 

Thank you so much I amon the west coast and unfortunately I only really have whatever lowes or home depot sells mostly just spindles bottles and robelini and occasionally coconuts the best place I have is bonita bromiliads which sell some pretty unique stuff!

7 hours ago, Palmtreedude69 said:

Thank you so much I amon the west coast and unfortunately I only really have whatever lowes or home depot sells mostly just spindles bottles and robelini and occasionally coconuts the best place I have is bonita bromiliads which sell some pretty unique stuff!

I’m sure you actually have more access than that.  You just have to dig a little deeper.  There’s always more private specialty nurseries and collectors, and even small road trips to find exactly what you are after, if you do a little research and know what you are looking for.  Bromeliads ship easily and you can find some gems on Etsy and such very close by too.