Monthly Update July 2012 Chambeyronia macrocarpa ‘hookeri’

FEATURED THIS MONTH: rivalis

Dypsis sp. ‘pink crownshaft’

Calyptrogyne gheisbreghtiana

FRONT COVER: Calyptronoma rivalis

2 Featured this Month: Calyptronoma rivalis Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society by Charlie Beck 2012 Officers & Executive Committee Calyptronoma rivalis is a Frond length is 9 feet. The C. ri-

Tom Ramiccio, President (561) 582-5915 solitary, medium sized palm. Its valis was affected by the record Jeff Hutchinson, First Vice President, Sales fronds are pinnate and are very cold winters of 2009 and 2010. Don Bittel, Second Vice President, Planting graceful with slightly lax leaflets. These palms were not badly dam- Dale Holton, Third Vice President, Programs (561) 965-6792 This palm is monoecious and does aged by the cold but they did grow Ruth Lynch, Secretary (561) 312-5046 not form a crownshaft. C rivalis is a couple of stunted fronds which Ingrid Dewey, Treasurer native to the islands of Puerto Rico are still present on the palms. We Tom Whisler, Membership Chairman (561) 627-8328 and Hispaniola. In native habitat it grow our palms in low lying areas Charlie Beck, Editor (561) 963-5511 grows in wet places near streams which are prone to flooding after Betty Ahlborn, Immediate Past President and is considered quite rare. In repeated heavy rain falls. Appointees habitat is grows to 45 feet tall and Minor nutritional deficien- Charlie Beck, Librarian the stems measure 12 inches in di- cies have not surfaced except the C. Ruth Lynch, Refreshment Chairman ameter. plumeriana is currently recovering Brenda Beck, Web Master and Historian There are two other spe- from a boron deficiency (see photo To Be Determined, Activities & Events Coordinators cies recognized as Calyptronoma. on page 10). The symptom of boron These are C. occidentalis (native to deficiency in this palm is a bending Jamaica) and C. plumeriana (native of the growing tip. This deficiency VISIT US AT www.palmbeachpalmcycadsociety.com to Cuba and Hispaniola). These occurs rapidly so be vigilant if you both are slightly smaller than C. grow this palm. Dr. Timothy Bro- INSIDE THIS ISSUE: rivalis topping out at 35 feet tall chat has told us that boron is usu- Page with an 8 inch diameter stems. Both ally available in our soils but defi- of these palms also grow in wet ciency can occur after unusually 4 FEATURED THIS MONTH: Calyptronoma rivalis areas and are quite similar to C. heavy downpours. To cure boron 5 Upcoming meetings, This Months “Thank You” and Door Prize Winner rivalis in appearance. The main deficiency the recommendation is difference between these palms is mixing 2-4 oz. of Borax in 5 gal- 6 Some Exciting Palms to be Offered at Future Monthly Auctions in the floral characteristics. lons of water and applying evenly 7 All Purpose Bug Spray We have three C. rivalis to root zone. Repeat this at 5 month 7 2012 Annual Picnic Scheduled and a single specimen of C. intervals. plumeriana growing in our garden. Calyptronoma species are 8 Chamaedorea ernesti-augustii Threatened by Global Flower Trade Both species grow at a medium not commonly offered for sale. Our 8 2012 Picnic and Auction Scheduled rate. In 8 years our tallest C. rivalis palm society has obtained two is 13 feet tall overall with a 7.5 inch specimens of Calyptronoma for diameter stem. Frond length is 8 auction at one of our monthly meet- Opinions expressed and products or recommendations published in this newslet- feet. Our C. plumeriana is 17 years ings. We have one C. rivalis and ter may not be the opinions or recommendations of the Palm Beach Palm & in the ground and is an overall one C. plumeriana. Cycad Society or its board of directors. height of 14 feet and the stem measures 9 inches in diameter. ***

For permission to reproduce any article that appears in this publication, con- Note: All photographs included in this issue were contributed by Charlie Beck tact the Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society editor at [email protected] and are of specimens growing in the Beck garden.

3 4 Some Exciting Palms to be Offered at Future Monthly Auctions by Charlie Beck

Editors Note: The following palms will be offered for auction at future gen- Due to the July 4th holiday, eral membership meetings. I hope you support the Palm Society by generously bidding on these palms at upcoming meetings. no meetings will be held in July. Calyptrogyne gheis- sale locally costing hundreds of dol- breghtiana is a miniature palm lars. These palms look so tropical THIS MONTH’S “THANK YOU” which looks very tropical. Calyp- that most people avoid buying it but trogyne is most closely related to you should give it a try. One speci- this month’s featured palm Calyp- men is available for auction. (See AUCTION/ DONATIONS tronoma but there is no obvious photo on page 2.) Betty Ahlborn similarity. C. geisbreghtiana more Chambeyronia macro- Steve Garland resembles Geonoma or Asterogyne carpa ‘hookeri’ is similar to C. mac- Mike Harris species which are very hard to grow rocarpa except the crownshaft is Dale Holton in Palm Beach County. The stems yellow and the scale is slightly are short and subterranean. The smaller in all respects. It grows in are either simple or irregu- partial shade or full sun. Its emer- MEETING REFRESHMENTS larly divided. The newly emergent gent is reliably red. This palm is Betty Ahlborn leaves are usually salmon in color. I perfectly suited for growth in Palm Charlie Beck have grown specimens of this palm Beach County. One specimen will Doyle Cochran successfully. Although not every be available for auction. (See photo Ruth Eberly palm is long lived, this palm does Tom Hutchinson on page 2.) grow well in our sandy soil. It re- Lauren Philmore quires dense shade and ample irriga- Dypsis (formally Neo- Tom Ramiccio tion. It is native to Mexico through phloga) sp ‘pink crownshaft’ is a Angela Valero Panama. It grows from sea level to a miniature palm with wide, grouped Linda Wiringer 4,500 foot elevation. I have seen leaflets with long drip tips. Newly Bonnie Wilburn large specimen offered for emergent fronds are deep red. This palm seems perfectly

suited for growing in SPECIAL THANKS our sandy soil when to given adequate irriga- Tom Ramiccio tion and shade. See the for arriving at 5:00 p.m. to keep the Mounts building open for us. gorgeous photos of this palm in the recently JUNE DOOR PRIZE WINNER published Encyclopedia Tom Hutchinson won a five-pound bag of Nutricote. of Cultivated Palms second edition (plates

(Continued on page 7)

5 6 All Purpose Bug Spray Chamaedorea ernesti-augustii Threatened by Global Flower Trade by Charlie Beck by Brenda Beck With all of the talk of the Dade extension agent, Adrian On March 16, 2012, BBC Sophie Williams, a re- spiral white fly I thought I would Hunsberger. News reported that the long term searcher from Bangor University in share the home made insecticide I’ve used this spray on survival of Chamaedorea ernesti- Wales reported that in 2006, the that I use in my garden. It is very cycad and croton scale and also on augustii, also referred to as the UK Darwin Initiative Project and effective and is less expensive than mealy bugs and whitefly with great Fishtail Palm, is threatened in Cen- the Belize Botanic Garden set up Organocide. This formula was pub- success. I’ve never noticed any leaf tral and South America. training programs to give locals the lished many years ago in the Miami burn even though applied during Florists like to use the leaf knowledge to grow and harvest this Herald by entomologist and Miami the day. of this palm in floral arrangements palm rather than collecting leaves *** because once cut, the leaf stays from the wild. Ms. Williams stated green for up to 40 days. It was re- that, “just increasing knowledge All Purpose Bug Spray Recipe ported that leaves used by the inter- and awareness doesn’t always lead In two gallons of water, mix in two tablespoons of each: vinegar, national flower trade are mostly to positive action . . . often because canola oil and Murphy’s Oil Soap; along with three tablespoons of baking harvested from wild trees in Central there are barriers.” soda. and South America. Once har- Access to seeds is quoted Combine these ingredients in a handheld sprayer and mist your vested, the leaves are transported to as another potential problem that plants until they are dripping wet. Spraying is best done in the early evening Cancun, Mexico and are then ex- can dilute the impact of the training to avoid burning leaves. ported to other destinations, includ- program. Ms. Williams reported ing Miami and Amsterdam. The that if a supply of seeds is not avail- estimated worth of this industry is able, it encourages locals to take (Continued from page 6) since fully recovered. This palm is $4 million each year. seeds from the wild which can be very popular in Hawaii. I wanted to Previous studies of this more damaging to the palm popula- 422 and 423). The bright red inflo- purchase several of these to auction palm indicate that it can be severely tion than harvesting its leaves rescence is strikingly beautiful. One but I could only obtain one speci- damaged if more than two leaves plant twill be available for auction. men. Grow this palm in shade when are removed. The palm generally *** (See photo on page 2.) young and in full sun as it matures. has five leaves. It is a stunning palm! (See photo Neoveitchia storckii is native on page 11.) to the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. In habitat it grows to 50 feet tall. This *** is my personal favorite pinnate 2012 Annual Picnic & Auction Scheduled palm. It has extremely attractive fronds which twist and look very tropi- Our annual picnic and most spectacular auction of the year is sched- cal. It also has a black uled for September 8th in Ruth Sallenbach’s fabulous garden. The crownshaft and is self event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Attendees are asked cleaning. Of our seven to bring a covered dish, drinks, or desert to this pot luck picnic. specimen plants only one was damaged by the Mark your calendar so you don’t miss this exciting event. 2009-2010 record cold winters. That plant has

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THANK YOU

Tom Ramiccio Susan & Dante Cioci Ruth & Terry Lynch

For opening up their gardens and homes for our Ramble.

Those of us who attended saw Calyptronoma plumeriana recovering from boron deficiency wonderful gardens and ate great food at the pool party.

Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society Membership

Be sure to keep your membership up to date. It will insure that you re- ceive all Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society communications. Annual mem- bership is $25 for an individual membership and $35 for a dual membership (two people living at the same address) per year and membership runs from January 1 to December 31. Membership can be renewed by sending payments to the Society at P.O. Box 21-2228, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421. Please go to www.palmbeachpalmcycadsociety.com to obtain our membership applica- tion. Thank you for your support of the Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society. We hope to see you at all of our general meetings which take place on the first Wednesday of every month at Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach. Be sure to watch for information regarding our field trips, special activities, and palm and cycad shows and sales. If you have questions about member- ship, you can contact Tom Whisler, our Membership Chairman, at (561) 627- Have a 8328 or at [email protected] happy 4th of July!

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orchid growing on

Ptychosperma elegans

Cattleya

2228

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Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society Cycad & Palm Beach Palm 21 Box P.O. 33421 FL Beach, Palm Royal

Neoveitchia storckii

11 12 Update Monthly 2012 July