cfpacs Central Florida Palm & Cycad Society - Fall 2025 Meeting

[CFPACS]

CFPACS Fall Meeting

The meeting is scheduled to start on Saturday, October 4^th, 2025, at 10:00 AM in the Longwood area south of Wekiva Springs.  Please send an RSVP to cfpacs.membership@gmail.com.  The itinerary is included below:

Site 1: Private Garden in Longwood
Time: 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Address: Given to those who RSVP
Description:

• This garden is the "Wekiva Wonder", as coined by the Orlando Sentinel 2002 full page spread.  
• The garden was also featured in and filmed for HGTV "Look What I Did".
• Matilde and I moved here in 1989 and I keep creating themed areas with architectural features and garden plantings.  
• The yard is 1.5 acres wooded and always full of deer, bears, and critters.  
• Plantings are mostly Palms, Bromeliads, Citrus, and Ferns.  
• Plantings are cold hardy or configured for easy protection.  
• The owner is ex-vice-president of the Central Florida Bromeliad Society.

Themed Gardens include:

• "Alhambra Cactus Garden" is modeled after Alhambra in Grenada Spain.  Lion fountain rock cactus courtyard with stream running on top of a wall to drive a water wheel.
• "Thunder Mountain Pond" is themed like that Disney ride.  Giant faux rock with waterfall and a Koi pond.
• "Pagoda Garden" is reached via a bog garden and bridge.  Features 2 Chinese Pagoda buildings saved from the defunct Orlando theme park "Splendid China"
• "Croton Garden" is landscaped with a hypertufa epiphyte tree.
• "Bromeliad Garden" is landscaped with lots of palms, planters, and bromeliads.
• "Bamboo Alley" is a long Bamboo tunnel.
• "Walipini House" is a sunken greenhouse with Orchids and Ferns.

Lunch: 12:00PM - 2:00PM, On your own

Site 2: Private Garden in Longwood
Time: 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Address: Given to those who RSVP 
Description: 

My wife Angela and I purchased our 1/2-acre property back in 2017 and have been steadily growing out our tropical backyard palm garden ever since. The garden first began with plantings of several tropical fruit trees in 2018 but then shifted focused on growing ornamental collector palms beginning at the 2020 pandemic. With the help of several large oak tree canopies to provide some winter protection, our zone-pushing garden boasts 80+ different palm species, most of which have been grown from seed and/or small seedlings. With inspirations from local botanical gardens including Leu Gardens, and helpful information forums like PalmTalk.org, the garden features a layering mix of fruit trees, bromeliads, epiphytes, ferns, cycads, vines, crotons, philodendrons, flowering trees, bamboos, and of course rare palms. 

Some of the palm genus’s include Archontophoenix, Caryota, Veitchia, Roystonea, Licuala, Copernicia, Coccothrinax, Chrysalidocarpus, Chamaedorea, and a few hybrids. Limestone boulders line the shady walking paths in the garden, and a home-made greenhouse gives life to a small backyard palm nursery with many seedlings to be shared with fellow palm enthusiasts.

Auction and Vendor Sale held at the conclusion of the tour.

Please Bring:

• Chair
• Auction Plant
• Cash for Auction and Sale

[kinzyjr]

On 6/14/2025 at 5:10 PM, CFPACS said:

This garden is the "Wekiva Wonder", as coined by the Orlando Sentinel 2002 full page spread.  

Here is the article I found to satisfy my curiosity about this title: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2002/01/26/wekiva-wonder/

[CFPACS]

For anyone who had asked for a point of reference for trip planning, this is a good location to use as an estimate:

Publix Super Market at Hunt Club Corners
540 S HUNT CLUB BLVD
APOPKA FL 32703-4960

[kinzyjr]

We created a promotional flier for anyone that would like to distribute and invite folks to join us:

20250822_CFPACS_FallMeetingPromo.pdf

[CFPACS]

The folks who have sent an RSVP up to this point should have received the site addresses for our meeting.  If you haven't sent an RSVP, but would like to, now is a good time.  We plan to send one additional invitation out and handle the responses these last few weeks as they come in through email.  We look forward to seeing everyone there!

[Fishinsteeg234]

Greetings palm friends! I am hosting the second stop of the tour, and I am opening up my backyard palm nursery for everyone to freely browse and purchase whatever catches your eye. The sale will take place after the auction, along with the normal society vendor sales. I’ve composed and attached my inventory list and discounted price sheet for this event. Most palms are in the 1-3gallon size range, some are still strap leaf size, but I’ve grown all of these from seed over the last few years. Let me know if you have any questions, I look forward to seeing everyone there! 
 

[Fishinsteeg234]

CFPACS Fall 2025 Meeting Discount Sale Price List.pdf

[kinzyjr]

What a meeting this will be!  Two of the nicest landscapes in Central Florida, multiple vendors selling and auctioning over 100 different species for all hardiness zones from Gainesville to the Keys, a large turnout, plenty of room to spread out, and I've been getting the party favors from Faith Bishock ready:

Plenty of Coccothrinax crinita subsp. brevicrinus seeds for the seed bank - if the attendees don't buy them all. 😁

The Copernicia macroglossa seeds sprouted while they were soaking in water.  As a result, I bagged them so they could continue to root for the lucky buyer.

Who knows what other surprises we might cook up?!  Medemia argun anyone?

We did have a few folks mention that they were thinking about not attending because they couldn't bring certain things or weren't sure if it was OK since they weren't a member.  Show up to the meeting, enjoy the tour, buy some plants if anything tickles your fancy, and then make the decision to join a great society after you've got to meet us.  

[PalmBossTampa]

Looking forward to a great day with palm friends ✌🏻😎