Rain Forest Gardener

Glad to see you return. Please feel free to add comments or questions. I am always an email away.

From Sabal mauritiiformis

Grown as a landscape Palm and for it’s foliage. It is commonly used for thatch roofs in Central America. It is popular for Cabana roofing on beach resorts.

Can be grown in Southern California and Florida. Zone 10a and above.

Sensitive to frost. Temperatures less than 30 degrees fahrenheit will damage leaves.

Grows well in full sun and will tolerate some shade.

Height in tropical regions can reach over 40 feet.

Seeds take 2 to 4 months or more to germinate. Do not let seeds get dry they need consistantly moist soil.

From Sabal mauritiiformis

From Mamey sapote

Scientific Name: Pouteria sapota. Common name: ‘Mamey sapote, mamey apple’. This is a very popular fruit in Florida, the Caribbean Islands, and Central America. Native to the seasonally dry forests of Mexico (including Yucatan), Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador.

It has been cultivated by the native people of Central America for hundreds of years. The tree forms a large spreading canopy and the fruits are borne directly on the thick twigs and branches of the canopy and have an oval or football shape. The fruit are brown in color, and its flesh is red to salmon in color.

From Mamey sapote

From Mamey sapote

Widely grown in the tropical regions and the fruit can be eaten fresh, used in cooking, pies, excellent in ice cream. This tree is easy to grow from seeds and can be used as a landscape tree urban environments.

Like most fruit trees, it is mainly propagated by grafting, which ensures that the new plant has the same characteristics as the parent, especially its fruit. It is also considerably faster than growing trees by seed

From Mamey sapote

This is a grafted tree on the farm.

From Mamey sapote

The trees range from 50-150 feet. Usually takes seedlings 10 years or so to fruit. A popular saying in Belize is “You plant a mamey apple tree for your grandchild to enjoy.”

Germination of Sapote seeds usually happens within 2 to 4 weeks after planting. The seeds need to be planted within a month after harvesting. After that time they will not germinate.

Seedlings need to be spaced about 25 to 35 feet apart.

Grafted trees will produce fruit in 1 to 3 years.

A long dry period will result in leaf loss.

Grows in Southern Florida in the USA. It is sensitive to frost.

The locals call them baboons but that is not correct. I am not an animal expert, I deal in tropical seeds.

But the Howler Monkey is a fine addition to any jungle farm. There are two tribes on my side of the river, On the other side of the river there is a large tribe and every now and then different tribes move through the area.

They are awesome predictors of rain, If they say it will rain you better believe it will.

The sounds that these little Monkeys make is amazing and haunting at the same time.

From what I understand they spend all of their lives on the trees and rest about 80% of the day.

Here is another short video with them not howling…

This next one is about 10 minutes of howling sounds. The power went out at midnight and I went outside and recorded the monkeys. You can’t see the monkeys, just the moon and clouds. But you can definetly hear them.

From Wodyetia bifurcata

Scientific Name: Wodyetia bifurcata. Common name: Foxtail Palm. This spectacular palm was only discovered in the early 1978 but it has become a popular landscape item in tropical regions around the world.

It is an attractive, tall, solitary, pinnate palm with a slender grey trunk that can reach 20m high. It has a slender crownshaft and long arching leaves. Native to Australia. It likes a sunny, well drained position. It is fast growing and is an excellent addition to any tropical or subtropical garden. Can tolerate mild frosts.

From Wodyetia bifurcata

The seeds of the Foxtail Palm getting harvested.

From Wodyetia bifurcata

Scientific Name: Cola nitida. Common name: ‘Cola Nut’, Kola, Guru Nut. This is real collector’s item; a rare and unusual West African tree that produces the Cola Nuts which were one of the original ingredients of Coco cola.
From Cola nitida

It is an medium sized evergreen tree that can reach a height of 20 to 25 meters. The flowers are greenish-yellow or white and purple at the margins of the petals. Easy to grow from seeds and makes an excellent container plant that is easily cared for. but there are some advances in its popularity as a conversation piece. It is certainly a “gem” for collectors and carries some medicinal weight at this point.

From Cola nitida

Native to the tropical forests of West Africa, from Liberia to Ghana.

Life form: long-lived forest tree.

Parts used: seeds (termed nuts), chewed as a stimulant.

It is the most consumed of the cola species.

Seeds usually require 85 degrees Fahrenheit to germinate. Soaking seeds for 24 hours will increase germination success.

Seedlings growing out of fallen seeds.
From Cola nitida

The Cola nitida usually requires about 7 years to produce seed pods. Trees will live 75- 100 years.

Tropical plant so you need to be at least in Zone 10 or higher as a full time outside plant. Otherwise plant in a container and move inside during the winter.

Very hardy plant but will die in cold temperatures. Best to bring inside when temperatures reach below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Licuala grandis is an attractive tropical understory palm that has become popular as both a house plant and landscape ornamental in warmer regions. It is an understory palm in that it sits under the rain forests vast canopy of large trees. The jungle protects it from the sun and the wind.

The unique form of its round pleated fronds makes it a stand out plant in any environment. This palm is easy to start from seeds and is easy to grow.

It requires little maintenance but does need protection against frost, that can damage the foliage. It can be slow growing but is happy in interior low light situations and in moist shady areas outside.

For best results keep the plant above in weather no lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Can be outside in Zones 10 and 11 with minimum winter temperatures over 3 degrees Celsius.

It requires a fertile soil, well drained soil.

For year round outside gardening Hawaii and the Southern tip of Florida in the USA will do the trick, If you are in other areas of the USA simply grow in a container as a houseplant. Move it in a shaded and protected area outside for the summer and move in when temperatures get lower.

From 6-20-09

Shown here in containers.

The Sun and wind can danger fan leaves….

From 6-20-09

Direct sunlight will turn the leaves brown. Excessive wind will fray the leaves.

Seeds from the Licuala grandis.

From 6-20-09

Here is a slide show of some of our Licuala grandis in our seed farm. We can supply small amounts to over 10,000 Licuala grandis seeds at a time.

The seeds take time to germinate. Several months to a year for seedlings to grow.

Need to know this one too.

We keep finding Bromeliads. Attemting to find the names of a few. We are in Belize.

My father got theses Cactus cuttings about 6 years ago. He does not remember the name. On the slideshow there are photos of the flower and the fruit.

We Live in Central America.

Free seeds to the first person to identify it.

Need your help on this one.
Post here or on the comment section.

This is one of our online stores.

We are adding items every week.