I know this is a crap shoot but does anyone have a source for a Angiopteris evecta? I had one for years in FL at a previous house. It was well behaved for 12 yrs & could take a good bit of our sun. Overwintered outside like a champ
I had to leave it behind with new owners after we sold. I found a source over seas and a seller in the states asking $188 for a teeny tiny start. *cough.

I had to leave so many well loved plants when we moved, I know first hand how hard it is to start over. I saw where a site called Urban Growers (which is closed for the winter???) had that fern. They are located in Alachua County. @Gina1960, what is the story on them? The web site was strange.

I have never heard of Urban Growers.

I was going to suggest Top Tropicals but I checked their website and they don;t have it

OK I see what you are talking about. Urban Tropicals. They are a sidearm of Botanical Growers in Hampton. I have no idea who they are.

OK I see what you are talking about. Urban Tropicals. They are a sidearm of Botanical Growers in Hampton. I have no idea who they are. They are over by Starke in Bradford County. I have a friend here who is a reseller...I will ask him if he knows anything about them, he buys a lot wholesale

OK I got the scoop from my pal. This place is one of the 10+ or more websites under different names that are run collectively by KEN'S PHILODENDRONS. They are mail order only, seasonal, and extremely pricey.

Thanks Gina, the website was strange and it did indicate there were several growers involved but it was not at all clear. I figured since they said Alachua you would Know something about them. So they must be scattered all over NE FL.

Ken's Philodendrons is a huge mystery operation. I have a friend who is obsessed with them. No one knows who 'Ken' really is. he has over 10 HUGE greenhouse facilities in this part of FL that produce all sorts of plants. He jumped on the aroid bandwagon after they started getting really pricey and his prices are hugely inflated...most of the plants are in 2 inch pots and some can cost hundreds of dollars. My friend has actually looked at arial photos of the grow operations on Google Earth to try and see what gives but can;t really learn anything. They are apparently NOTORIOUS for not responding to emails or phone calls

Seems strange that they are "closed for the winter." I wonder if they are transitioning over to pot. There is a huge grower here but they no longer grow gh plants, they have switched over, the revenue is far greater.

I had stumbled upon the Ken's and urban sites. They looked similar and sketchy just by the amount of plant types they sold. Anyone remember Ty Ty? They used to be weird as he!! too. Every plant picture had to have some young vixen posing in it. Thanks for the info, I'll keep looking for this elusive fern.

TyTy, Acccckkkkkkkk

Oh we have had a few Ty Ty jokes on here LOL. The GA Stud Farm, with plants....
Ken's only opens up for mail order sales like twice a year for a VERY VERY SHORT time and they charge so much for their plants that apparently they can make enough $$ to stay closed the rest of the year. Bren have you tried the garden shop at Fairchild?

Gina1960 said: Oh we have had a few Ty Ty jokes on here LOL. The GA Stud Farm, with plants....
Ken's only opens up for mail order sales like twice a year for a VERY VERY SHORT time and they charge so much for their plants that apparently they can make enough $$ to stay closed the rest of the year. Bren have you tried the garden shop at Fairchild?

I recently just bookmarked their online sales. I'm due for a long weekend over that way now that this place is finally graded, irrigated & plant ready.

Bren I don;t believe they allow anyone to actually visit the nurseries. Its like a hush hush top secret thing which is another thing that makes it so shady to a lot of people

Gina1960 said: Bren I don;t believe they allow anyone to actually visit the nurseries. Its like a hush hush top secret thing which is another thing that makes it so shady to a lot of people

Oh I meant travel to fairchild & southern FL nurseries I know. I don't trust mystery ken & his ilk. They won't get my biz.

I can;t count the years its been since I was at Fairchild.

I haven't been there since the late 90's. Pitiful,but the thought of driving anywhere near Miami is such a turnoff for me. I am too old for that traffic.

I feel you. My husband and I had over 10 years of 'safe driving' and of course the discounts that went with that on our car insurance. Then my daughter and her partner moved in with us in 2020 when Covid really got started and they closed the colleges in Sarasota and sent the kids home. They both had jobs and were splitting a car. The partner (who had no FL insurance) was driving the car and had a wreck. Our insurance gave us a 'free pass' on that and paid the claim. Then I was run in to by a woman while I was PARKED at a stop sign. Our insurance handled the claim then recovered from hers through subrogation. But the accident STILL counted against me. Then my daughter had a wreck herself. Then my husband had a fender bender. So now suddenly we went from being totally safe drivers of many years to getting a warning letter from our company basically saying 'you are on notice....'. But every damn time any of us leaves the house, the traffic here is just CRAZY. We sometimes see 3-4 wrecks a week. My husband was stopped at a light 2 days ago on his way home from work and some dizzy student hit him! Read ended him. It was very minor, it did dent his car, but he said just let it go because we are on notice with the insurance

So sorry Gina. I have lived up and down the east coast and used to think NY and Boston drivers were the worst then I moved to Florida. I know around here we just do not have any police presence so the speeders can do what they want. It is very dangerous.