HIRT'S VICTORIAN PARLOR PALM - "CHAMAEDOREA - 4" POT

PALM: Palms are one of the most documented and most studied plants in the world and there are over 2600 species of palm tree types known today. Palm trees have an amazing amount of variations and differences in morphology, creating one the most diverse range of species. Basic characteristics of palm trees include growth from a single stem with crowns of evergreen leaves arranged in either a fan shape or feathery blooms. Most palms have inflorescence containing colorful flowers, which are usually small and white. The fruits of palms are considered to be drupes, or fruits containing a fleshy, soft part surrounding a hard seed center. Parlor Palm: One of the most popular palms in the world, its ability to put up with low light, drought and general abuse is legendary. Additionally it flowers when still quite young. Too well known to need any description, it has been in use since Victorian times and is suitable for home or conservatory. It is also known as the Table palm or Neanthe bella palm but the correct name is Chamaedorea elegans 'Bella'. Parlor Palms can adapt to just about any typical office or home interior. It is grown primarily for indoor use in 6 inch - 14 inch containers, ranging in height from 18 inches to 3-4 feet You'll find it used as a table top plant, grouped together in beds as under plantings, and as a low stand alone plant. The Parlor Palm is one of the hardiest and impossible to kill houseplants!

FEATURES -

• One of the most popular palms in the world.
• Its ability to put up with low light, drought and general abuse is legendary.
• It has been in use since Victorian times.
• Proper name: Chamaedorea elegans 'Bella'.
• The plant you will receive is growing in a 4" pot.

SOME OF THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS PLANT [SAMPLE]

1) It's... adorable? - I bought this to improve the air quality in my home. I generally dislike palms (the big spiky ones you see outside) and wasn't expecting to find this one so very... endearing.

When I took it out of the box, I wondered if I'd ordered a fake plant by mistake, it was so vigorous and unfazed by its days in a dark, overheated box. It is real, though. And... jaunty. Perky, even. Unwilted, unbrowned, not so much as a broken leaf. Even though I got the smallest, least-expensive one listed, its foliage is thick enough to be all tangled up with each other into a tiny bonsai jungle. Not quite lush, but very far indeed from sparse.

After removing it from the box, I proceeded to ignore it on my sunny, scorching doorstep for a day. It didn't care. I brought it inside and left it on the floor in the dark entryway for a while. It was fine there. I moved it to an upstairs room by an east-facing window late in the afternoon. It's cool with that, too.

I should probably mention comparing it to other Chamaedorea determined by NASA to be effective in removing toxic gasses and particulate matter from air, or studies that show Chamaedorea elegans helps regulate indoor humidity, or stuff. There's plenty of info about that just a search-engine-of-your-choice away, should you be interested in it. I should also give it another week or so of the abuse and neglect that will probably typify its time in my home before reviewing it, to make sure it's as "indestructible" as advertised -- although the reading I've done supports that claim; it may not thrive, but it will soldier on through the battering storms of my apathy and forgetfulness. But really, I'm reviewing it prematurely specifically to mention that this thing is just darling.

I've ordered another and am planning out where to put a third.

It's cute. I was not expecting cute. Cute is not the word that comes to mind when I think "houseplant". Nonetheless, this houseplant is, in point of fact, cute.
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Edited to add: I've since bought another, a 6" plant. I initially received a 4" plant instead; I let Hirt's know about it on Thursday and heard back from them in 15 minutes. I received the replacement plant on Saturday. Amazing response times from Hirt's! The mistaken 4" plant is thriving next to its twin; both are gorgeous and healthy. The 6" plant is definitely larger and thicker, well worth the price difference, not just a 4"-pot plant in a larger pot. At this size, it's less an adorable bonsai jungle and more a full-on serious and somewhat showy houseplant. It, too, arrived in excellent condition, without browning, wilting, broken stems, or any other signs of damage or illness.

ByTheasophiaon April 7, 2013

2) Great plant, wonderful customer service!!! - First and foremost this is an absolutely wonderful vendor to do business with. I got a very little plant. I knew it would be small. I'd never imagined one could receive a live plant in the mail and it be lovely when opened. Well, I killed the first one. I'm sure it was my fault (now) This company is so incredibly kind, they sent me another beautiful palm. The directions say you have to baby it which is somewhat true. It also says something like, "it likes heat. Keep in a cool spot" I'm not kidding. LOL!!! But the most important of all is it evidently loves cold weather. Mine does anyway. I had it out in the Summer heat and it did not like that, and started dying like the first one. I put it on my covered porch and it started growing around August. Oh, I had to take it out of a small planter I had it in. It likes to spread out. So, now it's getting into the 30s and look at it!!! New sprouts coming up. I shan't leave it out any longer; however; I fear it will die in the heated house. I recommend this plant because it's cute as heck(if you can get it in a partly sunny, cool location in a medium to large pot) Customer service is perfect. And it's inexpensive. Hope it lives!!!! I have attached a picture of it today November 19th 2015. I bought (the first anyway) on May 5th 2015. The second one was replaced immediately after my contacting the company.

ByKathyon November 19, 2015

For More Details-

(CLICK here)Hirt's Victorian Parlor Palm - Chamaedorea - 4" Pot

FLOWER CONFIDENTIAL : THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BEAUTIFUL.

Award-winning author Amy Stewart takes readers on an around-the-world, behind-the-scenes look at the flower industry and how it has sought—for better or worse—to achieve perfection. She tracks down the hybridizers, geneticists, farmers, and florists working to invent, manufacture, and sell flowers that are bigger, brighter, and sturdier than anything nature can provide. There's a scientist intent on developing the first genetically modified blue rose; an eccentric horitcultural legend who created the most popular lily; a breeder of gerberas of every color imaginable; and an Ecuadorean farmer growing exquisite roses, the floral equivalent of a Tiffany diamond. And, at every turn she discovers the startling intersection of nature and technology, of sentiment and commerce.

Biography

Amy Stewart is the author of seven books. Her latest, Girl Waits With Gun, is a novel based on a true story. She has also written six nonfiction books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including four New York Times bestsellers: The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Bugs, Wicked Plants, and Flower Confidential. She lives in Eureka, California, with her husband Scott Brown, who is a rare book dealer. They own a bookstore called Eureka Books. The store is housed in a classic nineteenth-century Victorian building that Amy very much hopes is haunted.

Stewart has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other newspapers and magazines, and has appeared frequently on National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Morning, and--just once--on TLC's Cake Boss. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the American Horticulture Society's Book Award, and an International Association of Culinary Professionals Food Writing Award.

SOME OF THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS BOOK [SAMPLE]

1) Behind the greenhouse door - How much thought do you give to those flowers you pass in the grocery store aisle? Do you know where your Valentine's Day roses came from or how they got to you? For most of us, we don't know, nor rather care, but thankfully author, Amy Stewart does.

In Flower Confidential (Algonquin Books, 2007), Stewart takes us deep inside the huge and profitable business of flowers. From a lily grower in the American Northwest, to the rose fields of Ecuador she introduces us to the people, places and plants that travel all over the world to supply our human need for colorful and almost too perfect flowers.

Flower Confidential is a fun romp around the world that also holds some deep concerns. The treatment of the workers in the fields and greenhouses is an on-going issue no matter where the author visits. She also discusses how the need for a "perfect" flower that travels well and lasts long in the vase has removed their scent. It also puts us in danger of producing yet another industry focused on lowest-common denominator, where each flower looks begins to look much like every other flower.

Stewart's writing takes us along on her travels, describing people and plants alike in a visual style that gives us an understanding of who they are and what they are trying to accomplish. We feel the sense of amazement as she visits the Miami airport center where the majority of flowers enter the US. I particularly felt her desire to scoop up armloads of flowers or save those consigned to the compost heaps.

Immerse yourself in the little-known of flowers and the people who grow them. You will develop a new-found respect for what both suffer to provide that perfect arrangement for your dining room table.

By Douglas E. Welch on March 29, 2007

2) Fascinating read about the hidden life of flowers - Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart is a fascinating look inside the flower business. I love books like this that give an indepth look into hidden worlds that operate beyond our normal ken. Stewart includes great tidbits that are perfect pieces of trivia for tossing around: bees can't see red. But the real charm of this book is her own passion for flowers and how it leads her to travel the world in search of the truth behind where the flowers we buy come from. She takes us from a flower farm in California to greenhouses in Ecuador to the famous Dutch auction houses. Each place comes to life through her detailed witty descriptions. The sad tale of the creation of the Star Gazer lily and the fight for the rights to it is compelling drama. Stewart gives the history of breeding and selling flowers up to the current gene-splicing in the current quest for a truly blue rose. Her tantalizing descriptions of flowers led me to keep the laptop open next to me so I could see each flower for myself. She brings up excellent questions about where and how flowers should be grown and what we as consumers should expect. Stewart covers organic flowers and worker conditions as well as describing the odd and often unpoetic ways in which these flowers are grown. Fantastic read!

By Christina Lockstein on March 6, 2007

For More Details-

(CLICK here)Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

THE FLOWER FARMER'S YEAR : HOW TO GROW CUT FLOWERS FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT

The Flower Farmer’s Year is a light, entertaining look at how to plant, maintain, and keep evolving a productive cut-flower garden. Whether you want to devote a corner of your garden to a stand of sweet peas and some cosmos, take up flower production for gate sales, or make a livelihood from cut flowers, Georgie Newbery will take you through everything from planning your garden to budgeting and marketing. With plenty of stories about mistakes she’s made along the way, this book is a practical manual that teaches how to get involved in local, sustainable flower production for the home or commercially.

Author -

Georgie Newbery is an artisan flower farmer and florist, supplying cut-flowers direct to customers from her small holding in Somerset. She is one of three southwest representatives in a new UK-wide cooperative of flower farmers. She formerly managed the features department of American Vogue in Paris and has written several novels.

SOME OF THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS BOOK [SAMPLE]

1) An Amazing Book! - I was very hesitant about buying this book and must admit to repeatedly putting it in, and then taking it out of my shopping cart. I am a professional gardener/nursery owner and am making the transition into the cut flower business. I was leery that this would be another 'fluff' book with beautiful pictures but no real substance. I was so pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite to be true! Yes, there are gorgeous pictures but there is also a trove of knowledge, tips and hints that will be so valuable to anyone in this business. The author explains it all in a no-nonsense way that had me jotting notes while laughing at her anecdotes. I have found that true gardeners are always willing (it's a compulsion with us) to share our love of flowers including our knowledge and Georgie Newbery does this in spades!

By KATHLEEN MURPHY on January 15, 2015

2) Have not finished reading it but what I have read is straight to the point and easy to understand - This is a must have book for anyone starting their own flower farm. Have not finished reading it but what I have read is straight to the point and easy to understand. I love Georgie's style of writing. Would highly recommend this book - 5 stars is not enough.

By Carolyn Thompson on February 4, 2015

For More Details-

(CLICK here)The Flower Farmer's Year: How to Grow Cut Flowers for Pleasure and Profit

THE FLOWER FARMER : AN ORGANIC GROWER'S GUIDE TO RAISING AND SELLING CUT FLOWERS, 2ND EDITION

The domestic cut flower business has experienced a renaissance in the past decade, thanks in large part to the first edition of The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower’s Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers, which helped thousands of small growers start successful businesses. This newly expanded and thoroughly revised edition will be equally as influential for novices and experienced growers alike.

With the cut flower business growing at record rates, demand is at all time highs, challenging growers to take advantage of new techniques to prolong the harvest. New sections on utilizing greenhouses, recommendations for flower cultivars, and post harvest handling growers throughout all of North America will help improve their bottom line. Also updated is the acclaimed resource directory, complete with sources of seeds, plants and supplies, and expert information on organic production under the National Organic Program.

For the beginner and backyard gardener, there is an extensive section on the basics—variety selection, soil preparation, planting, cultivation, harvest, and floral design. For the commercial grower, The Flower Farmer includes information about larger-scale production, plus advice about selling to florists, wholesalers, supermarkets, brides, at farmers markets, and more. Also includes revised profiles of successful growers offering behind-the-scenes insight into the operation of some of the cutting edge flower farmers in the country.

Because of the extensive revisions and enhanced content, this new edition of The Flower Farmer is essential reading for those already in the flower business, as well as those who dream of growing flowers for enjoyment or profit.

Author -

Lynn Byczynski is publisher and editor of a monthly news letter Growing for Market. She also operates Wild Onion Farm in Lawrence, Kansas, where she resides with her husband and two children. For more information, please visit the website of Growing for Market at www.growingformarket.com

Biography

Lynn Byczynski is publisher and editor of a monthly news letter Growing for Market. She also operates Wild Onion Farm in Lawrence, Kansas, where she resides with her husband and two children. For more information, please visit the website of Growing for Market here.

SOME OF THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS BOOK [SAMPLE]

1) Outstanding Flower Grower's Reference - I have been growing flowers for personal use for some time, and have recently decided to begin selling at Farmer's Markets, but where to begin? Ordering this book was probably the best beginning I could have happened upon - it is packed full of useful and realistic information covering all aspects of beginning a flower business, not only on growing but how to get started, marketing, how to price, where to buy supplies, how to learn more about the business, even where to purchase a canopy for using at the market and how to build a flower cooler. Also, the farmer profiles were informative, frank, and uplifting and the pictures were beautiful and helpful.

I read this book from cover to cover, including the appendicies, which is rare for me - I usually pick out the interesting chapters and focus on them, but all chapters here were interesting!
Thank you Lynn for a marvelous reference. Although I know I have hard work ahead of me, I am even more inspired to begin my small flower business after reading your book.

By Debra A. Herrli on January 27, 2000

2) A must-have for anyone interested in specialty farming. - Lynn Byczynski, herself a flower farmer, does an excellent job of sharing her wisdom to others who wish to make a living tending the earth. This book is not only applicable to those who wish to grow and sell cut flowers, it will also be useful to herb farmers, u-pick farm owners, and even those who just wish to grow beautiful flowers for their own use. The book's focus on organic growing techniques is especially useful, as is the author's descriptive list of recommended flowers to grow.

Throughout the book you are introduced to other specialty farmers who have carved a niche in the competitive horticultural market for their home grown products. No one claims this way of making a living is easy, but you can feel the pride and the love of the labor come through in each profile. Each small farmer generously shares stories of their successes and failures and paints a realistic picture of what is involved in the business.
The book also lists many useful sources for seeds and nursery products, wholesale plant companies, tools, marketing supplies, and other organic gardening reference books. I highly recommend this book to the potential flower farmer or market gardener.

By J-Red on November 27, 1998

For More Details-

(CLICK here)The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers, 2nd Edition