I haven't! Have you seen them for sale there before? What size were they?

I'll give them both a call later and see what they say. When I call, most nurseries say "No, we haven't carried those for a while." One owner went on to say that they grow too fast and require too much maintenance because you have to trim the dead fronds yourself, so I'm wondering if they were hard to sell or something. I can't imagine so seeing as how many are plastered all around South Florida.

I called Jesse Durko and when I asked for a washingtonia he said "I don't carry any of those, but why would you want one anyway? They grow too fast and have thorns all over them." Im not looking to live inside the palm tree so thorns don't bother me and I'm quite alright with something that grows fast - that's a pro to me not a con.

I'm confused haha.

It's been years since I've been plant shopping down there, but they both used to, many years ago when I lived down there. Sorry they didn't work out.

Funny. I'm in Stuart and people here plant Washingtonia all the time.

Ha ha, I recall being in Miami and going to everyone looking for Sabal palms..., and saw NONE, NOWHERE..., except growing wild in abandoned lots as weeds, everywhere. I guess they are just viewed as too common to the point of being weedy, but I agree with you, I think Washingtonias are very attractive..., even in a tropical climate (beauty is in in the eye of the beholder). I did bring back a Washingtonia back to NJ in my car..., only to find them being sold in a local NJ supermarket for a cheap price, so I had purchased several (which I still have). They do grow fast, even from SEED.

That’s probably true. The ironic part is I see so many Washingtonias, sabal palms, queen palms, and Christmas palms along roads and parking lots where they were clearly purposefully planted, but I’ve seen just about zero for sale anywhere I go. Where are these people getting their palms? Haha I’ve never actually seen a sabal palm for sale down here either, and I’m usually within 20 feet of one planted in the ground at any given moment. If I go into another nursery to find only majesty palms, date palms, coconut palms, bottle palms, spindle palms, and Chinese fan palms, I’m going to lose my mind! Essentially every nursery has this same set of palms. I’m wondering if there’s some “assorted palm tree package” they get from distributors or something. Hahaha

I also see a lot of coconut palms planted everywhere, but those are at least easy to find at nurseries and even big box stores. I see a ton of Cuban royal palms planted around as well, but those are usually grown in tree farms and purchased at full size by municipalities or someone using a professional landscaper. Actually, now I’m wondering if the same can be said about washingtonias??

I vaguely remember a nursery man down giving me some explanation why smaller ones were not sold, but now I don't quite remember. For Sabals, I wondered if there roots are more sensitive than other palms, or preferred largish containers; Washingonias though are easy to transplant and seem fine in snug pots.

Ha ha, I had the same thought years ago while traveling throughout S. Florida; every Home Depot and Lowe's had the same palms I could buy up North. Well, that was more than a few years ago. Now, their northern selection suc/s and I don't know why. Used to be able to get such standards as..., Bottles, Spindles, Fishtails, Foxtails, Dypsis, varieties of Chamaedorea, Areca, etc..., but now, it's ONLY Chinese Fans, Pygmy Dates, and Majesty. My collection has pretty much reached its limit (in terms of space and the confines of a Zone 7 climate), but when I do go shopping for a palm, I usually resort to eBay but shipping rates are astronomical even for small plants, but Washys grow so fast, that I would just order one mail-order and be a bit patient. I have about four of them. Each planted in a large black, plastic trash can.

That’s actually what I did earlier this week. Should be about a 2-3 foot tall plant including fans once it arrives but I’m having buyers remorse and wishing I held out for a 5-10 gallon. I've never gotten a chance to witness a washingtonia grow long-term, exactly HOW fast do they grow? If I plant the 2-3 footer in the ground, what can I expect to see in the next year or so?

I did find a larger one, just one, on my lunch break at a nearby Home Depot today (I’m so obsessed that I’m spending lunch breaks hunting for palm trees) but of course it looked terrible. They were asking $80 but I just can’t justify that because it looks so unhealthy. Does Home Depot discount for beat up plants? (Photo attached)

$80.00 for that Washingtonia in FLORIDA?!

As far as negotiating a price, that seems complicated at HD. They seem to prefer having aisles of plants dying a lingering death than making some money from a plant that needs some immediate attention. I did try that once and it was so frustrating.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the plant in the pic, but I would NOT spend $80.00 dollars for it (even up North)!

Mine are about 6 feet tall and will be coming out for the season soon.

Darn. Yeah, I tend to agree. I've seen similarly if not larger sized bismarckias for that price, which really makes me feel like its overpriced. Especially for a washingtonia, of all things.

What do you think regarding the growth rate of the one I'd mentioned is on its way via mail? What can I expect to see as far as growth in about a year's time? Everyone always says they grow fast, but I don't even know what "fast" is haha.

It's all relative, most palms are only moderate to slow in growth rate. I can't quantify it, but I know there are only few palms that seem to always need to be moved up. My biggest and fastest have been my Washingtonias, Queens and Butias (Pindo) palms. If you sit around at look at it, it will grow slower though. I just have so many plants (cold hardies, subtropicals and tropicals), that no one gets that much attention, but if I look around, I can see that my biggest palms (some not so much fast as resilient, slow and steady wins the race), are Pindos, Queens, Washys, Date Palms, and CYCADS (believe it or not), they NEVER DIE!

Good luck!

P.S., Bismarckia would be worth that price btw. Used to have one, for several years, purchased in the Keys. Unfortunately, did not stand the test of time in the North.

Bismarckia are my favorite palm hands down, but I don't have nearly enough space to put one in the ground. It would take over my entire patio in time. I might get one and keep it in a container, but I know they are sensitive to transplant shock, so I'm nervous spending 80-100 dollars on a palm and killing it down the road just by upgrading its container size.

Thanks for all your help!

Searle brothers nursery in Southwest Ranches is holding their annual retail sale THIS weekend. They are probably one of the leading suppliers of palms in South Florida. Check to see if they carry any. If I could go to this sale I would fly all the way from California for it. I happened to be in Miami last year during this sale and bought a couple of dypsis prestononiana which I mailed to my address in California. If you're into palms, this is the holy grail of palm sales.

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/55797-the-20th-annual-spring-searle-brothers-plant-extravaganza-●●●-march-2nd-3rd-4th-–-9th-10th-11th-2018-●●-s-florida/

That's simultaneously really exciting and really dangerous... the amount of money I've spent on palms since moving in a week ago is nuts haha between the washingtonia on its way via mail, the triangle palm I bought last night, and the two chinese fan palms, my patio is going to have quite the canopy once they all grow up. haha

Thinking about adding a ruffled fan palm and a butia capitata to the mix, but I'll have to keep those in pots because I'm almost out of reasonable ground space without overcrowding. Also considering a king palm.

Help? haha

Butia? haha you're in South Florida! leave the hardy palms for northerners lol. You have such a wide pallete of palms to choose from in your climate. Copernicia, kentiopsis, beccariophoenix, dypsis, dictocaryum, LICUALA! oh how I wish I could grow licuala...

Well the ruffled fan palm is licuala, and I'm definitely down to get one. Triangle palm is a type of dypsis and I already have one. I was unaware of kentiopsis, and I'm adding that to my list instead of the king palm because now like it better.

But I think butia palms look amazing! I love the blueish hues and the way the trunk looks. They're a really interesting palm, and spending the first 75% of my life in upstate new york, they still look exotic to me :P

I grew up in zone 5a so anything with fronds attached is still exciting to me. I grew a few in containers up north but never had much luck and many would die in the winter when brought inside, and those hardy palms were what I was attached to. I'll branch out into more exotic stuff as time moves on, but for now I'm itching to get that butia, kentiopsis, and licuala.

Chad, if you do acquire a Washingtonian just be sure you have lots of space and plant some distance from your home. I had one that was planted in 1990 and by 1999 grew to such scary heights it had to come down. It became a major threat. I am glad it's gone. Hurricanes love to take out palms. Just looking out for you. Like you, I was so eager to have the ultimate Florida yard but in my case I lived and learned.

I made it back from the Searle brothers sale. What a cool place! So many awesome palms. They had some nice licuala grandis but I didn’t get one because they were asking 45 dollars for ones in a gallon pot and I saw some on eBay for 30 dollars that are similarly sized.

I got my washingtonia! I had coincidentally called them a week ago and asked if they had any but they said no so I wasn’t expecting to see any and I found one in a large pot for -get this- only 10 dollars!! It’ll be snug where I planted it until it grows past the fence but at that point it’s going to look great.

I also snagged a small bismarckia for 15 dollars and a copernicia yarey for 15 as well.

Chad, best of luck. Your enthusiasm is contagious.

Awesome! I'm glad you found your Washingtonia. The copernicia looks great. I would love to find baileyana, macroglossa or fallaensis locally but they are so rare here on the West Coast, and so, very expensive. I have a bismarkia that I bought when it was the size of yours about two years ago which cost me about $40. Again, palms are pricey in California (with the exception of washingtonia, queen palms, pygmy date palms, butia and Phoenix canariensis, all of which are common and cheap.) I pull Washingtonia seedlings from my garden beds at all times of the year. They show up anywhere water collects, including in my pots and containers!

Palms seemed to be so common and cheap in South Florida. I bought my dypsis prestononiana for $5 at Searl bros, and 1 gallon beccariophoenix for $3 each. Those would cost a fortune here.

Here are a couple of photos of my bismarkia from a few weeks ago. They grow slower in our dry climate than in your humid climate. mine's been in the ground for about 18 months and was the size of yours when i bought it. I bet yours will be a rocket once it goes in the ground.

Great looking bismarckia! One of my favorite palms for sure.

Unfortunately, every palm I get from this point forward is going to be potted. I have a small patio attached to the home that I'm only leasing (the landlord okay-ed my ability to garden as I please) and between the two chinese fan palms and the washingtonia, canopy space will be just about full once they mature. A bismarckia would take over everything, haha. I'm actually pretty jealous of who gets to live here once they are all mature, because they're going to build the perfect privacy screen over the fence and fit just perfectly. Even though I looked far and wide for this washingtonia, I don't want to plant any of my less-generic palms in the ground and then be forced to leave them when I move in a few years.

I'm nervous to repot the bismarckia because I know they have very sensitive roots. I'll be putting it into a ten gallon or fifteen gallon hoping to give it ample room and time to expand its root structures before I have to repot it again.

My copernicia, bismarckia, second washingtonia arriving via mail today, and my triangle palm will all remain in containers and hopefully be planted in-ground once I get an actual home that I own within the next 2-3 years. Still lots of room to fill on my patio for plenty of other potted palms over the next few years. :D Looking forward to getting a licuala grandis and kentiopsis oliviformis for now!