When / Where did you see your first Palm Tree? (outdoors/ wild)

15 years ago

So I came across a photo online the other day and it got me to thinking about the very first time I saw a palm tree. For me, the connection / attraction to them was instant. I was fascinated by them, and had never seen one before. I was only about 4 or 5 years old, and I remember it quite well, like it was yesterday. So this thread is about that. your first memory of seeing / discovering your very first palm tree, outdoors and/ or in the wild. NOT in a shopping mall or hotel lobby. Post pics of you can!

The story with mine is really quite simple and short. Back in the mid and late 70's, my family would often travel down Interstate 95 from the D.C. area, to Florida a few times a year, sometimes more. My aunt and Uncle live in Jacksonville at that time, which, needless to say was not even 1/3rd of the city that it is today. This was a rather regular trip for us. My first recollection of Palm Trees, would be around the year 1975. Yes, I paid attention to trees at the young age of 4 or so years old. The very first two books I ever picked up and read back then were, a TREE identification book, and a book about weather. Anyway... The place I came upon my first palm trees, is probably one of the single most gaudy, tacky tourist trap places on the planet. If any of you have ever driven the I-95 corridor, especially heading south trough the Carolinas you probably know this place, ESPECIALLY if you were travelling with KIDS in the car. The place Im talking about was/ is, South Of The Border, just outside of Dillon, SC. It is literally right ON the border of NC/SC, just along 95. THe story is as simple as that, and if I remember correctly, one of the trees I remember most was outside of the South Of The Border Motor Inn, next to the sign. I belive its still there, and is one of the few Sabal Palmettos that have actually survived there this long and is now fairly large. Thats it! Heres a few pics. So lets year YOUR first palm stories!!!!

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Comments (9)

protempsfish
15 years ago
I remember the first time I saw a palm tree was in New Orleans. My buddy and I took a road trip to Memphis (to see the King and I was startled by the beauty of them! They were at the Holiday Inn in New Orleans and I kept looking out the window to see them! Ever since then I was hooked!
steve0910
15 years ago
When I was 6 yrs old (1902) I flew from Kentucky to Miami with my family enroute to Puerto Rico. The first palms I saw were big royals in Miami. Very, very impressed by them while standing at the base looking up. Then in PR a million coconuts. 2 yrs later we moved to Homestead, FL and I've been surrounded by them ever since. I remember asking if the royals were real as I had never seen such trees.
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trachyhead
15 years ago
My first memory of anything remotely exotic was a 15ft cordyline that was obviously in a decent microclimate (as most of them were wiped out in the bad winters of the early-mid 80's). It would have been in the early 80's so i was about 8 or 9. My first palm memory was of a t.fortunei that i used to pass on my way to work in 1992 it must have been about 20ft and i remember thinking it was an odd sight and pretty unique. 16 years later there are palms everywhere now. It wasn't for another 9 years until i bought my first CIDP then a year later a TF, then it just got out of control!
topher2006
15 years ago
Sabal palmettos in Orlando florida and i was hooked instantly !
NoVaPlantGuy_Z7b_8a
Original Author
15 years ago
Great stuff! Keep em coming!

This is why Sabal Palmettos are my favorite palms. I think my favorite palm tree overall, aside from my first love, has to be the silver Bismarckia nobilis. Ill just have to enjoy those from afar, and/ or the ones in large containers around here since I will never be able to grow one myself here.
chachacharlie
15 years ago
As soon as I got out oy my mother's womb.....I was born in Panama City, Panama ;)...and I'd like to think it was a coconut!
palmcityfl
15 years ago
Novaplantguy, my family would drive from Connecticut to Miami each year in the 1960s. We would read every sign announcing that South of the Border lie ahead. 150 miles... 100 miles... just 50 more miles! When we finally reached South of the Border, it was like we had arrived in a fantasyland full of palm trees and strange plants! I remember that you could buy palms and orange trees at the counter wrapped in plastic bags. That was the beginning of my interest in tropical plants... more than 40 years ago. Our family eventually moved to South Florida where I now have all the palms I want (or can afford).
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
15 years ago
Hey Novaplantguy,

I think it was two things. First, our family took a trip from the Midwest to Phoenix one Christmas. I was intrigued with how the landscape changed from pines, to brush to cactus and palms during the 'descent' from Flagstaff to Phoenix. While there, I soon learned the names of the most common palms and cycads. Then, I read the 'After Dinner Gardening Book' and was soon hooked on growing tropicals.
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
15 years ago
My first *real* palm tree experience was in 2001 when we took our very first flight which lasted around 2.5 hrs. We went to Ibiza as a test flight to see if we could fly so to speak! Needless to say we loved it, especially me, and as a consequence, next time we flew just that little bit further to see my rellies in Australia.... and I have been hooked ever since, on palm trees, flying and also on Australia!! On seeing lots of various types of palms on the island it fired my enthusiasm to try to grow some as well as other non-native stuff and I am having good results with several things such as Desert Roses, B o PÂs, Plumerias, Dracaena Dracos and many others.
Gill.

When / Where did you see your first Palm Tree? (outdoors/ wild)

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protempsfish

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When / Where did you see your first Palm Tree? (outdoors/ wild)

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