Sunday, March 2, 2014

Queen of Palms

In the north temperate zone (this year also known as the north polar zone) I could reasonably expect to see some trees starting to flower in May. I haven't quite figured out what the flowering season is in the subtropic zone. For instance, we have some 'annual' dianthus here that have been blooming continuously for almost 3 years. Hibiscus seem to bloom whenever they feel like it, and that also seems to be the case with palm trees - I haven't discovered their cycle yet either. I'm constantly amazed at God's creativity when I see the variety that exists in nature, whether that be in the plant or tree world, the animal world, landscapes ....

One of our queen palms (Syagrus Romanzoffiana) has been developing several flower pods which are 5-6 ft tall. Today we noticed one that had burst open. In the first photo you can see the large yellow flower and the open flower pod to the left of it. To the left of the open pod you can see another, unopened pod. I'll leave the flowers for a few weeks at which point a heavy cluster of large green grape-like seeds will develop. These will gradually turn an attractive orange-yellow colour and that's my cue to take action. I've learned from past experience not to let them ripen to the point where they start dropping to the ground. They become extremely soft and very sticky, and rather nasty to pick up. Instead I'll position a large garbage can beneath the cluster before it ripens and saw it off so it drops directly in the can - no fuss, no muss, no bother. In the meantime we'll enjoy the flowers.

As I was looking through some shots of this flower, I thought I noticed a smudge in the 2nd photo. Take a look at a crop of that photo (3rd photo below) to see the 'smudge'.




31 comments:

Linda said...

Wow, Rick, if this doesn't brighten up people's day, nothing will....it sure does mine! Awesome photos!

Stephanie said...

Wow from me too! These are gorgeous to look at, love the last shot!

Elizabeth Grimes said...

Well these pictures warm me right up!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Wow! That is a huge flower and quite pretty.

Pamela Gordon said...

I was wondering what you meant by a smudge in the picture. :) Beautiful capture.

Kirsti said...

Kauniita kuvia:)

Manu World said...

Nice pics!! ;-)

Bob Bushell said...

Nice palms.

Noushka said...

Hello Rick,
gorgeous photos of the palm fruits!
I see the "smudge" LOL!!!
This is great must to picture!
You've got good eyes!

S. Etole said...

Found it ... so much sunny color in this.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh he/she is cute great capture. B

Louisette said...

Wondderfull palm, greeting from Belgium

Michelle said...

Such beautiful color! I needed this on our dreary winter day!

seijastiina said...

Wow!
Beautiful ♥

Scott Law said...

Really interesting plant. I love the contrast between the green, the blue sky and the gold. I wonder if those are tasty to "smudges"?

Lisa Gordon said...

I see him!!!!
This is a really beautiful tree, Rick.

Happy day to you!

darlin said...

Breathtaking and stunning photos of paradise, smudge or no smudge I'd be somewhere tropical right about now too if I could! Has it been 3 or 4 years since you've migrated for the winters? It's been long enough that you're sorting out how to do your landscaping in the best possible way and brilliant thinking to have a large garbage can under what you're cutting, a real time (and probably headache) saver!

Have yourself a wonderful and blessed week Rick!

What Karen Sees said...

Love the bright cheery colors. I grew up in So California, and love palm trees in all their varieties and shapes. We also have palm trees here in St. George, Utah, where we have a little winter home. Unfortunately, there were days this past winter where the temps were lower than they've been for 30 years they say, and now all of the palms have dead, brown fronds. I hope they are not all dead, but guess time will tell.

Teté M. Jorge said...

Stupendous, honey! Superb!!!! Wonderful!!!!

Hugs, beijos, flowers and friendship.

mariiana capela fotografia said...

woow :o so beautiful Rick!

magda said...

Αγαπητέ μου φίλε Rick
Πάντα ήσουν εξαιρετικός φωτογράφος, αλλά με την καινούργια σου μηχανή, κάνεις θαύματα!!!
Υπέροχες οι πολύχρωμες φωτογραφίες σου!
Πολλούς χαιρετισμούς

Katherine said...

Rick these are beautiful photos... we have a tropical garden in our backyard. I absolutely love palms & other plants of the rainforest. We had quite a few queen palms and as much as I loved them we had to cut them down because they grew so big. We weren't able to reach the dead fronds and ripe seeds to cut them down. We live near a colony of fruit bats and the bats would come to feed on the seeds,and drop their guano on everything. The guano is like acid; if not washed off straight away it can lift the paint off a house & car. Also some bats carry Lyssavirus here in Australia which can be a very deadly virus to humans. We still have Alexander Palms and Golden Canes which are both self cleaning.

Helma said...

Hoi Rick,

wat bijzonder om dit te zien! Ik wist niet eens dat er zo'n aparte bloem uitkwam en het is nog een grote ook. Prachtig weergegeven!

Groetjes, Helma

Our photos said...

Mooie foto's, Rick!

Marty said...

I was happy to see you again ce matin ! yes it's spring here, many white and pink blossoms already !
but I saw on TV que les niagara falls sont encore gelés...
les palmiers sont superbes! this yellow is amazing ! le soleil est tombé in the flower I think !
je te souhaite un wonderful weekend
and send you over l'ocean pink and white bisous ! hop...

LisaS said...

Beautiful shots! Looks like you caught a little gheco in that 2nd one ;)

cath said...

Merveille de jaune !!
Très bon week-end à toi

Joke (Joke's Camera) said...

Fantastic palm flower, Rick. And your "smudge" is cute. Like you I am also every day amazed about all beautiful things of nature and they are all for free. The only thing we have to do is to look. Wij hebben deze keer geen winter gehad, alleen een verlengde grijze herfst met veel regen en heftige stormen. We werden er depressief van. Dan heb ik toch liever een beetje sneeuw, vorst en een zonnetje. Maar we hebben niets te kiezen. Nu is het hier heerlijk. Zo'n 15 graden Celsius en zon. Heel fijn weekend. Groetjes uit Nederland, Joke

Amelia said...

Hi Rick, wow.... my eyes roll and roll looking at those beautiful Queen palms. They are really gorgeous. Love the last picture. EXCELLENT click!

Best regards.

Jill Kristin Ø.Remme said...

The colors are just amazing!!! :))

Geraldo Maia said...

Very beautiful photos.