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View Full Version : any good banana nurseries in the Newark/New York City area?


kaczercat
08-07-2010, 08:18 PM
So my parents are taking my sister and I to New York City On Monday for a week and I am hoping to find some new banana plants that i don't have. I know i'm not suppose to bring them back but , if I can have them sent from there to Canada I might as well go and bring some back myself. please let me know if ya'll know any good places in that area.

Thanks ,

ron_mcb
08-08-2010, 12:59 AM
if you would have posted this earlier maybe the members would have tried to set up a way to mail you some unwanted pups to take back with you to canada... i saw your earlier posting and knew for sure canada would have confiscated anything anyone tried to send you.. Ive had Canadian customs search my dirty underwear before ( t.m.i.) i know,but its true.

u know if you find nurseries vendors in the area.. you may actually find more tropicals sold as novelties than anywhere in the south.. i can go to Chicago right now and see lowes selling coconut palms there. impossible to find here in Georgia . you may get lucky. also you know where not to hide em now right??

bananimal
08-08-2010, 06:30 AM
Give the Banana Tree a call. They are in Easton, Pa. Nice drive straight across NJ from NYC. I bought good corms from them by mail when I lived in NJ.

Don't know if they do visits. But an overnight ship to your NYC location might get you what you want in time.

palmtree
08-08-2010, 06:04 PM
NYC is a beautiful place and where I am living now! Not a lot of plant nursuries in the area. There's tucked away farms in Califon, New Jersey but its about an hour and 15 minutes from Manhattan and would cost a fortune by Taxi. If you rented a car it could be worth it, but still it takes an entire day out of your trip since its in a pretty rural area with nothing else very fun nearby. But if you want to see some nice plants the central park zoo does have some musa basjoos and other bananas as well as large crape myrtles, monkey puzzle trees, agaves, camellias (not in bloom in the summer), and some very small windmill palms and needle palms. Its not a huge zoo but since you probably will spend some time in central park, its worth a visit. You can probably spend about an hour there, but I warn you that the zoo really isnt very large.

I hope this helped a little. You wont find any very good nurseries in Manhattan but staten island is a ferry ride away (its a free ferry ride) and there are some nurseries there but they arent very accessible by public transportation since its a suburban island (although is still considered New York City. Maybe if you want to head to the beaches in New Jersey during your stay you will see a nursery. If you are going to stay at a beach, Long Branch, NJ has some coconut palms and queen palms planted as annuals along the beach as well as some washingtonias. But its a pretty good distance far from the city.

Good luck!
-Alex

kaczercat
08-08-2010, 07:14 PM
thankyou all for the great and fast responses. we are driving there staying in North Bergin NJ. but during the day we are taking public transit. subway buses all the fun stuff. lol but i will check around where i am staying and just outside NYC.

Thanks !!!

Matt

bananimal
08-08-2010, 08:11 PM
Matt,

That's North Bergen, eh. I lived in E. Windsor, NJ for 18 years and the Banana Tree in Easton, PA, just across the Delaware river, is your best bet. Some great restaurants along the Delaware too, on the Jersey side. Go for it!

Dan

Bob
08-14-2010, 06:22 AM
I don't know if Matt found too many nurseries selling bananas and tropicals but, he and his family came by to check out the back yard yesterday and I made sure to send him home with a few bargains! Even tucked a couple of plumeria seedlings in with the bananas to conserve space.
http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss149/bob_075/DSCN0485.jpg

Matt, I'd have loaded the car for you but it looked pretty full:ha:

bananimal
08-14-2010, 06:51 AM
Bob --- When I told Matt about the Banana Tree I forgot about you right there in Morris Plains. Great job and good luck to Matt getting the naners home.

Dan

kaczercat
08-14-2010, 08:34 AM
Bob, it was so nice meeting you, your wife and your two huge dogs!! :) i had a great time and i can say for a fact pictures of peoples plants could never compare to seeing the plants in person. thankyou so much you have such a beautiful tropical garden. And i am so glad i could stop by and visit.

Dan , Yeah there wernt very many if any garden centers in that area. thankyou, we have never beep stopped at the boarder and i hope to keep it that way. I will be home tomorrow night and i will post my pics from bobs place and my own plants i cant wait to get them in pots and get them going..

aash09
08-14-2010, 11:50 AM
We're glad you were able to stop by! It was really nice meeting you and your family. Sebastian really seemed to like your dad! Have a safe trip home.

kaczercat
08-15-2010, 12:32 AM
We're glad you were able to stop by! It was really nice meeting you and your family. Sebastian really seemed to like your dad! Have a safe trip home.

Hey Anne , i had no idea you had an account on here, thankyou , i can never remember people's dogs names , but i am gonna call yours the banana guard dogs. I have just arrived home , current time is 1 am lol. long drive but we made it. HA ha funny thing at the boarder. we crossed at 11:10 pm and there was a woman. i had the plants hidden under the back seat. my dad handed her the passports she looked at them asked how much we spent there. Then asked if the kids were there and said have a nice night. LOL

The Hollyberry Lady
08-16-2010, 09:43 PM
Hey Matt! So glad you made it back to Ontario safely. It was so nice to chat with you on the phone when you were visiting Bob!


Thanks for giving me a call Bob, so I could talk with the person who so kindly sent me this when my plants got stolen last year...


http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSCI3301.jpg


This is a recent shot Matt, so you can see how big it's getting. :goteam:


Looks like Bob sent you home with a ton of terrific stuff and you guys look great in the pic. :ha: Thanks for sharing. Fabulous, that you had such a good time.



Hope you'll post some more shots of your trip...


: )

kaczercat
08-17-2010, 01:32 AM
Thanks Sherry, it was so nice talking to you too ! Yes i got some great bargains. I uploaded a few pics of the pups. But i will be sure to upload a few more from the big apple :P I really can't believe that's the same little stick i sent you last year. wooooooh this weather we've been having has really given us that speedy growth we want. Looks fantastic.

The Hollyberry Lady
08-17-2010, 09:16 AM
You're welcome Matt. Talking on the phone was an absolute pleasure and I asked Bob to give me a call when you arrived so we could talk for a bit.

You were exactly like I knew you would be...friendly, polite, and a good sense of humor (laughing when I made the crack about smuggling some of Bob's bananas! :ha:)

Yes, our weather's sure been hot and muggy this year...perfect for banana plants. I buried your Basjoo a whole foot deeper than it was in the pot, so I have high hopes it'll survive Winter. No pups, just yet but hoping soon. It's over a year old now!


: o


I saw your pics of the plants Bob gave you, and I rated them and commented. I'm so excited for you to grow and show these new varieties...


Thanks again Matt for the call, and maybe we'll talk again sometime...or even meet. I have family in Toronto, and find myself in your area once in awhile. If you ever get to London, feel free to stop over with the Fam.


: )

kaczercat
08-17-2010, 11:50 AM
yeah that would be great i'm sure we will meet up some time in the new year !

The Hollyberry Lady
08-19-2010, 12:27 PM
That'd be cool, Matt!


If we do meet, expect to be given as many plants as Bob gave you...and seeds too! :ha: By the way, if you need any seeds for anything feel free to let me know - I have tons.


Did you get any other plants, or just the ones from Bob? Wondering if you hit any nurseries while in the area, and if you saw anything different than here?


: )

Bob
08-19-2010, 04:06 PM
Careul Matt, you're going to end up with a special seed storage file and no room in the house during winter like me!:ha:

The Hollyberry Lady
08-19-2010, 06:54 PM
I think there's more seeds in my fridge than food!


: o

ron_mcb
08-19-2010, 11:36 PM
just ran accross this since i posted on it.. glad everything worked out so well on such short notice... good save bob.:bananas_b

also the border where i was searched was entering Quebec...they may be a lot less relaxed than where u live... must have been the long dreadlocks? :)

kaczercat
08-20-2010, 12:17 AM
just ran accross this since i posted on it.. glad everything worked out so well on such short notice... good save bob.:bananas_b

also the border where i was searched was entering Quebec...they may be a lot less relaxed than where u live... must have been the long dreadlocks? :)

yeeeahhh mannn . the're pretty chill :) i was having second thoughts about this thread cause i was leaving in two days, but thankgod it all worked out !

The Hollyberry Lady
09-10-2010, 12:32 PM
Check out this shot I took today, Matt! :03:


I was taking a pic of my about-to-bloom Daisy Chrysanthemums, but you can see your Basjoo at the end of the row beside my Purple Fountain Grass & Lily garden. It's sprouting leaves everywhere...


http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/2nd%20album/DSCI3592.jpg


Hope you had a great Summer and school's going well.


: )