Social Events

By Lenny Goldstein

The month of December got off to a notable start on the 1st with the annual holiday party of the South Florida Palm Society. For the third straight year, we were joined by the Tropical Flowering Tree Society for an enjoyable evening.

Once again Peter Ostrowsky of TFTS did yeoman’s work in setting up and staffing the beverage station. He was ably assisted by Sally Philips and Val Carroll. No one went home hungry, either. There are some wonderful cooks in both clubs, and they brought their best. We feasted heartily, but, of course, not gluttonously.

And there were plants everywhere! Rhapis excelsa stems donated by the Kiem Foundation decorated each dinner table, and the assortment of live plants was stunning! Some of them were raffled off: TFTS director Paul Gehrke brought an array of new Poinsettia cultivars, and SFPS member George Bailey donated a large batch of Phalaenopsis orchids in flower.

Debbie Neville once again managed the silent auction which has become a Palm Society tradition. Before the start of the live auction, five SFPS members were elected to its board of directors for three-year terms starting in January. Incumbents Karen Bradley, Horace Hobbs, and Laz Priegues were reelected, and Ben Koubek and Clay Porch were added to the board.

Then came the highly-anticipated live auction, and it did not disappoint. As usual Ellis Brown had performed miracles in rounding up donations from a number of nurseries, and other individuals added to the really impressive collection of plants. Below is a list of those who contributed to the auction. (It’s possible that in the rush of arrivals just before the party, we might have missed recording the name of a donor; if so, we apologize.) Beneath the names of contributors is a partial list of the plants that were auctioned off. Ellis Brown once again merits kudos for giving bidders information about every plant that was auctioned off.

Added note from David Lord. Lenny Goldstein volunteered at the last minute to be our auctioneer, and he did a terrific job.

DONORS

George Bailey

Tom Dickinson

Lewis Eastlick

Paulette Johnson

David Lord

Armando Reyes

Brad Stark

Peter Warner

J+K Nursery

Nature’s Tapestry Nursery

Redland Nursery

St. Germain Nursery

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Naples Botanical Garden

PLANTS

Acrocomia crispa

Agave nizandensis

Aiphanes minima

Allagoptera caudescens

Archontophoenix purpurea

Archontophoenix tuckeri

Areca catechu (dwarf)

Areca vestiaria (maroon)

Areca vestiaria (red)

Calyptrocalyx hollrungii

Carpoxylon macrospermum (multiple)

Chambeyronia macrocarpa

Chelyocarpus chuco

Chloroleucon tortum (multiple)

Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (dwarf)

Coccothrinax proctorii

Coccothrinax spissa

Coccothrinax hybrid (crinita X ?)

Codiaeum variegatum ‘Fishbone’

Copernicia fallaensis

Copernicia hospita (seedlings)

Copernicia rigida

Cordyline cultivars

Cryosophila stauracantha

Cyrtostachys renda (multiple)

Cyrtostachys hybrid (renda X ?)

Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum

Dypsis rosea (multiple)

Enterolobium sp.

Guaiacum sanctum

Howea forsteriana

Hydriastele sp. ‘Obi Island’ (multiple)

Iriartea deltoidea

Itaya amicorum

Licuala peltata var. sumawongii (multiple)

Phoenicophorium borsigianum

Pinanga coronata

Pseudophoenix lediniana

Ptychosperma lineare

Ptychosperma schefferi

Rhapis excelsa (dwarf)

Socratea salazarii

Syagrus amara

Thrinax radiata (multiple)

For the second year in a row, the South Florida Palm Society and the Tropical Flowering Tree Society teamed up to throw a bountiful holiday party in the Garden House at Fairchild Garden. Paul Gehrke, TFTS board member and grower par excellence, gave away many beautiful poinsettia cultivars midway through the evening. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, a number of interesting items were again entered into the silent auction. In another corner, there was a variety of free palm seeds.

And was there food!!! Attendees brought in some very tasty potluck dishes. No one left hungry. Kudos are in order for Kim Martin, Rusty Brown, Val Carroll, and Sally Philips who helped set up the food service.

Next up was the election of SFPS board members. Five seats on the board are available every year. This year, four incumbents — Linda Apriletti, Ellis Brown, Lenny Goldstein, and Mike Tevelonis — were reelected to three-year terms. The new member of the board is David Lord, our very capable webmaster. He has been responsible for, among other things, producing our most recent online sale booklets.

And finally came the big event of the evening, the live auction of plants (or the auction of live plants — whatever). Once again Jeff Searle was in charge, assisted by Travis Searle and Ellis Brown. And once again, there were some very generous donations from a number of sources. We are very grateful for that support. Following is a list of almost all the plants that were contributed on Monday night:

Archontophoenix tuckeri (2) . . . . . . . Redland Nursery

Areca vestiaria (red) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plant Creations

Beccariophoenix alfredii . . . . . . . . . . . Natures Tapestry

Brahea armata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery Botanical Center

Calyptrocalyx albertisianus . . . . . . . . . Jeff Searle

Calyptrocalyx elegans var. boalak . . . Mike Tevelonis

Carpoxylon macrospermum . . . . . . . . Richard Hawkins

Carpoxylon macrospermum . . . . . . . . David Lord

Chambeyronia macrocarpa . . . . . . . . Natures Tapestry

Chrysalidocarpus lutescens

‘Thai Dwarf’ . . . . . . Natures Tapestry

Coccothrinax crinita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plant Creations

Coccothrinax fragrans . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery Botanical Center

Coccothrinax readii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Tevelonis

Coccothrinax spissa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paulette Johnson

Coccothrinax sp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery Botanical Center

Copernicia curtisii (blue) . . . . . . . . . . . Toi Mansen

Copernicia gigas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toi Mansen

Copernicia rigida (seedpot) . . . . . . . . Armando Reyes

Copernicia sp. (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Armando Reyes

Cubanola domingensis . . . . . . . . . . . . Toi Mansen

Cyrtostachys renda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Tevelonis

Dictyosperma album . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redland Nursery

Geonoma

Hemithrinax ekmaniana . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Tevelonis

Howea forsteriana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redland Nursery

Hydriastele pinangoides . . . . . . . . . . . Plant Creations

Itaya amicorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Warner

Kerriodoxa elegans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Tevelonis

Licuala mattanensis ‘mapu’ . . . . . . . . . Natures Tapestry

Licuala thoana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natures Tapestry

Licuala sp. ‘Kalimantan mottled’ . . . . Natures Tapestry

Orania palindan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff Searle

Ptychosperma schefferi . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff Searle

Rhapis ‘Super Dwarf’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paulette Johnson

Sabal antillensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery Botanical Center

Sabal lougheediana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery Botanical Center

Sabal palmetto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery Botanical Center

Thrinax radiata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plant Creations

Zamia inermis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natures Tapestry

This page contained an index of links:

• Dec 11, 2024: Dec 2, 2024 SFPS Holiday Party

SFPS SPRING TOUR 2022

SFPS Spring Tour April 2nd, 2022

Coming soon for members of the South Florida Palm Society (SFPS)! Our Spring Tour: Palms-Plus-More

On Saturday, April 2 we will be visiting three venues in the Redland of Miami-Dade that feature not only interesting palm species in their landscapes, but something extra. Starting at 9:00 a.m., we’ll meet at

Bullis Bromeliads

,

24350 SW 147th Ave

, for our first-ever visit. A light breakfast will be provided by

Botanics Wholesale.

Next we’ll travel to

RF Orchids

,

28100 SW 182nd Ave.

, for the first time since 2009. Our third stop will be at

To-Be Farms

,

15200 SW 264th St.

, which we last visited in 2015. We’ll finish the tour with a potluck lunch on the property. Be sure to bring a chair along with your potluck dish.

We hope to see you at the Spring Tour. Please

RSVP

no later than

March 29

, indicating the number of people in your party to

PALMS@SFPSMIAMI.org

But wait! There’s more!

After lunch, if you want to extend your stay in the Redland, we recommend a stop at the

Redland Blues and BBQ Festival

at the Fruit & Spice Park, 24801 SW 187th Ave. In addition to the beautiful grounds, there will be barbecue vendors, live music and lawn games. Admission is $15 for adults and $8 for children 6-11. The festival runs until 5:00 p.m.

Contact us

with any speaker recommendations.

https://southfloridapalmsociety.org/contact

South Florida Palm Society (SFPS) E-mail list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name *

Last Name *

This page contained an index of links:

• Mar 24, 2022: Spring Tour 2022 – SFPS