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SEPTEMBER MEETING IN BREVARD
Sixty members of the Central Florida Palm & Cycad Society trekked to
Valkaria and to West Melbourne on September 9 for the kind of activity
they like best: gawking at palms (and other plants) while talking to each
other.
Valkaria Tropical Garden was the first stop. After so much drought, it was
a real adventure to go somewhere where it had just rained and where water
stood in very large puddles waiting to interact with formerly dry shoes
(and feet).
Dr. Frank Brown, the owner of Valkaria Tropical Garden, escorted groups
around the establishment. His account of where and how he acquired some of
the plants in the lushly landscaped garden kept his listeners laughing.
Palm species number about 15, while there are more species of bamboos and
gingers.
Lunch at various locally recommended silver spoons was followed by a tour
of Richard and Linda Lundstedt's garden in West Melbourne. Richard is a
nurseryman and visitors were interested to note that the number of palm
species in his greenhouses, and their quantity, had increased appreciably
over the last year.
Parking next to the property was on Lois Lane. We should have asked if
Richard is aka Clark Kent.
The annual auction took place at the Lundstedt's. The auctioneer was our
prez, Neil Yorio. An account of the auction appears elsewhere in this
issue.
OCTOBER: GROVELAND - PALMS & BARBECUE
More than 60 members took advantage of a beautiful day with temperatures
in the 80s to visit Hersh and Jackie Womble's 10 acres of palms (and lots
of other plants, too) on October 28. The setting is slightly rolling
hills, in semi-rural country just beyond Groveland, about 20 miles
northwest of Orlando, in Lake County. Groveland is typical of those tiny
north-central Florida towns, complete with a blinking light and two blocks
of assorted small businesses, that has not yet been reached by the
tentacles of the big city not far off.
Given the relatively chilly locale, it is a show place of palms, and some
cycads, that can handle some winter cold. Hersh mentioned the Great
Christmas Freeze of 1989, when temperatures dropped to 17 degrees. As
might be expected, an assortment of Butia species-of various sizes--are on
view, together with lush needle palms.
An interesting contrast is provided along the front of the house, where
Rhapis humilis, rare in Florida, is planted side by side with the more
familiar, and more rampant, Rhapis excelsa. Those from more southerly
parts who have not had much success with Chamaedorea radicalis were
surprised at how good-looking it can be under obviously more favorable
circumstances.
A pleasant sheltered walk behind and to one side of the house revealed,
among other plantings, several husky Syagrus romanzoffiana leading a (so
far) charmed life in this setting.
A screened porch, brick-floored, on the back of the house-and almost as
big--was the site of the Board meeting. A local watercolorist, Ruth Wood,
exhibited for sale lovely pictures and prints of palm details. She donated
one large framed picture to an auction for benefit of our chapter. The
highest bidder turned out to be Hersh Womble. Why are we not amazed?
The serving tables for lunch were set up in the garage. Treasurer Mike
Merritt, of course, took the money. (The serving line was manned, you see,
by luminaries of CFPACS.) The Editor offered slices of beef for
sandwiches; to his right, our president, Neil Yorio, offered pork. Beyond
Neil, secretary Chuck Grieneisen, presided over the fried chicken. At the
end of the line, Central vice president Marilyn Bachmann dished up potato
salad. Our hosts provided the beverages: iced tea, soda, beer. No one went
hungry and a few (no names) came back for seconds and thirds.
Perhaps the central event of the day for many participants was the palm
and cycad sale. Quite a few members brought plants, some as donations,
others as splits with the chapter. Among the miscellaneous non-palm, non-cyad
offerings was black bat flower: pretty, houseplant leaves, with a small
oblong flat black flower that looked as if it had died.
As is usual on these occasions, all departing vehicles seemed to be full
of swaying fronds. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Good chat,
good company, good palms.
- Both accounts written by John Kennedy from Palmateer Vol.IV, 2000
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IDENTIFY THE MYSTERY PALM - (picture below)
by John Kennedy
reprinted from Palmateer Vol. IV, 2000
OK, what is it? I have driven past Coconuts, an upscale lawn and patio
furniture store, many times. I noticed a palm out front that seemed
unusual but I was always on my way somewhere else. Besides, it is
sometimes imprudent to slow down on SR 60 in Vero Beach; drivers on
one's bumper are unappreciative. Eventually I stopped to get a close-up
look: the palm seemed familiar, as if I ought to know, but I couldn't
name it. Central Floridians are often at a loss in identifying
crownshaft palms since we have so few; they tend to be too tender to
grow in this area beyond the next freeze. (OK, folks, it's been almost
11 years since the Great Christmas Freeze of 1989, but we fear every
winter that our luck may run out.)
Noted palmophiles Ed Carlson and Mike Dahme admitted they were stumped.
I think we all agree that it's a species-whatever it is-- more likely to
have originated Down South (Palm Beach, Broward, or Miami-Dade Counties)
and unlikely to be seen so far north as semi-Arctic Vero Beach.
Coconuts co-owner Ann Clement doesn't know what it is ("But isn't
it pretty!") and put me in contact with the landscaper. The
landscaper didn't know the palm's identity either, but insisted that she
had dug it up elsewhere on the property and re-planted it. Prior to
renovation suitable for selling pretty things for the patio, I dimly
recall a dismal building offering (I believe) lawnmower repairs. Ms.
Clement thinks that there is another individual of the same species on
the barrier island at a site where she is working on a decoration job
and says she will find out what it is. We can hope that the property
owner knows.
Now, all you palm nuts out there can feel free to contact me with your
identification.
NOTE: Coconuts has changed its name to The Blue Dog; its owner is now
Pamela Tan.
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SEEDBANK UPDATE
by Mike Dahme
Donations for seeds of some 34 species, including those made at the
September and October meetings, exceeded for the three months ended
October 31. Special thanks go to first time seed donors Karen and Tom
Barrese [for Copernicia prunifera], Arv Vaisnys [Archontophoenix
cunninghamiana], Darin Yeatman [a variety of Dioon edule and
Archontophoenix alexandrae], Sam Sweet [Jubaea chilensis], Steve and
Cynthia Rael [Dypsis decaryi and Dictyosperma album] and Ruth Sallenbach
for seeds of the clustering form of Chamaedorea tepejilote and the unique
[for Florida, at least] form of Caryota mitis that grows in her Palm Beach
area garden. Continuing donors Scott Ward [seven species], Richard
Lundstedt [the "Florida hybrid"], Greg Hodge [also for the
"Triangle Palm" and Acrocomia], Lou Thomas [first time
distribution of Licuala grandis and Schippia], Mark Grabowski [Allagoptera
and single trunk form of Chamaedorea tepejilote], Bud Wideman [two
species: see below] and Neil Yorio [Carpentaria] are likewise credited for
supporting the chapter financially. The Montgomery Botanical Center of
Miami [host of the next chapter meeting, January 20] posted seeds of seven
species to the chapter for distribution, which resulted in donations
exceeding for this quarter. The support of this institution has been
extremely important to the success of the seedbank. Also, individuals such
as Lou Thomas and Bud Wideman have had a significant impact, each of them
contributing seeds that have greatly exceeded in donations. During this
quarter Bud's Arenga pinnata plant showered the chapter with almost [ year
to date, a record for distribution of a single species] worth of fruits,
and they keep coming. Lou's seed donations for just the past year have
exceeded , and since seed bank inception have been much more. Finally,
Richard Lundstedt's continuing generosity with his hand-pollinated Butia/Syagrus
cross seeds resulted in in receipts this summer alone.
CYCAS TAITUNGENSIS
by Tom Broome
reprinted from Palmateer Vol. IV, 2000
pictured above is Cycas taitungensis w/ Cindy Broome
Cycas taitungensis, formerly known as Cycas taiwaniana, was originally
described by Carruthers in 1893 and was based on a single specimen in
the herbarium of Dr. Henry E. Hance. The only indication of a locality
for the specimen was a label marked Formosa. This label was not in the
handwriting of the man who collected the specimen. Because the type
specimen of C. taiwaniana is housed in England, the taxonomists in
Taiwan in the past have not had the chance to compare it with the plants
growing in Taiwan. Ken Hill and C.J. Chen have found that the original
plant is in a species group allied with C hainenensis, and comes from
main land China. The plants that live on Taiwan are closely related to
C. revolula. According to the rules of nomenclature, the name of the
main land China plant is named Cycas taiwaniana and the name of the
plants from Taiwan are called Cycas taitungensis. The main locality is
in the Lu-yeh Valley, 19 km. northwest of Taitung City. This 300 hectare
(741 acres) area has been turned into a nature reserve to protect the
plants.
Cycas taitungensis is closely related to Cycas revoluta, but does not
have leaflets with revolute (rolled back) margins. The leaf spread
averages around ten feet wide, and has a reddish-brown fuzz on the stem
apex. Cycas revoluta has on the average, a six foot leaf span, with more
of a dark brown color to the stem. Both plants are very cold hardy.
Tests have shown that the stems of the Taiwan cycad are more cold hardy,
but the leaves are less frost tolerant than those of C. revoluta. One
cycad owner, who lives in the panhandle of Florida, planted a colony
several years ago. When a hurricane went though a few of years back, the
entire colony was covered with two feet of salt water for three days,
and no obvious damage has been seen, even after many vears.
If grown in the proper conditions C. taitungensis has to be the fastest
growing cycad in the world. First it is essential to grow these plants
in full sun for fast growth. I have seen ten year old plants growing in
the shade with no more than 4 inches of trunk. The owners say that these
plants produce leaves once every other year. The second and most
important trick is to realize that these plants crave fertilizer, more
than any other cycad I have grown. When a high nitrogen fertilizer is
applied three to four times a year, you can expect up to six flushes of
leaves per year. I have turned a plant with a four inch caudex into a
plant with 15 inches of clear trunk in 18 months. I have seen four month
old seedlings, planted in the ground in a friend's nursery. In 4 1/2
years these plants had two feet of clear trunk, and male cones without
the help of irrigation. One unique feature about this plant is that it
produces leaves in January, unlike most cycads, which do not flush
during winter months.
Even though C. taitungensis is considered a rare plant, there are plants
on the market. At least ten people in the world have more that 100
plants used for seed production. There is one nursery with more than a
thousand female plants producing seeds each year. There are many
nurseries selling these plants, and of course, there are usually plants
available at the sales.
Cycas taitungensis is a plant that newcomers as well as experts can
enjoy. With many cycad species, it's hard to tell if you are giving them
proper care. This species will show even a novice, the results of proper
care in a short period of time.
Have a question about cycads? Then check out The Cycad Bulletin Board
at Tom Broome's website, The Cycad Jungle.
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SEAWEED FOR CYCADS (and palms too) ...
by Chuck Grieneisen
I like to try new concoctions and potions on my plants. I have found one
in particular that
got great results. Specifically, it is the "maxicrop liquified
seaweed". The effect it has on palms and cycads especially, is that
it grows the caudex ( trunks) like crazy. I do not know why it works so
well. I originally tried it because of the growth producing qualities I
had heard about. The nutritional content is as follows:
Nitrogen .1 Phosphorus 0.0 and Potassium 1.0.
On cycad seedlings, after the big caudex growth, they produce leaves that
are sometimes twice as large as the previous ones. On my best responding
cycad ,Encephalartos gratus,(the one pictured) the caudex seemed to about
double in size in about 2 months; growing from maybe 1 to a 2 inch caudex.
It was noticeably larger after one application. The caudex did not grow
any more in the next 2 months, but that is when the big leaves came out.
Some cycads did not respond as well. I will give you my preliminary
results with cycads and their response to the seaweed. I have used it for
6 months on the following:
Dioon Edule; very good. Dioon rzedowskii almost no response. Cycas
circinalis; good. Cycas rumphii ;great. Encephalartos gratus; stunning(the
best).Encephalartos whitelockii; very good.Lepidozamia peroffskyana;
stunning(second best).
It also works with palms. I have a small Phoenix roebelenii that I had for
about 2 years. It had a trunk about six inches tall. I admit I did not
fertilize it well for the 2 years and it stayed almost the same in girth
and height. After about 4 months of seaweed the girth of the trunk went
form about 8 to 12 inches.
I admit this was not a scientific experiment. I did not have a control
group. In the words of Regis Philbin,it was "out of control"!
But I will let the photos speak for themselves. I only have a single E.
gratus, but the Lepidozamia came up like that 10 for 10.
Tom Broome is now doing a controlled experiment to see if it will increase
cone productions in cycads. I also tried it on bananas. I had 2 banana
plants that were large enough to produce bananas but did not do so all
summer. After the seaweed they both started producing bananas in about 2-3
weeks. This makes me think the seaweed could produce more seeds in
palms,or cones in cycads. I do not have any large enough to try. How about
you? I would love to put some on a bottle palm to see how fat I could get
it.
The application rate is 1 oz. per gal., once a week. I followed that . It
cost about a gallon. Here are some sources for it.
Homegrown Hydroponics, Longwood Fl (888) 833-4769 website
www.growcrazy.com
BWI In Apopka FL (407) 884-0242 or (800) 876-9113
(on the internet) www.greenfire.net/hot/ALLF.html click on maxicrop
seaweed
reprinted from The Palmateer Vol.III 2000
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