By gloria stravelli
Staff Writer
GLORIA STRAVELLI These palm trees are a summer sale item at Palm Bay Inc. on West Front Street in Red Bank’s River Plaza.
Summer sales are under way, and savvy shoppers are scooping up bargains on patio furniture and swim gear, but they won’t find the exotic items Wayne Holdorf sells on any clearance rack or sidewalk table.
The Red Bank resident runs a summertime business selling and installing palm trees, and he’s holding a clearance sale of the tropical trees at River Plaza Marina on West Front Street just before the bridge over the Navesink River.
"The season starts on Mother’s Day and lasts until September. I sell several hundred each season," said Holdorf, whose Palm Bay Inc. serves customers ranging from Middletown estates to beachfront villas on Long Beach Island.
The palm trees range from 5 to 30 feet in height and from $75 for a small palm to $500 for a large tree, installed. Clearance prices through September range from $200-$300.
Customers include beach clubs like Tradewinds and Surfrider in Sea Bright, Six Flags Great Adventure and Jenkinsons, Shore watering holes like Martell’s Tiki Bar and private residences.
"Ninety percent of my clients are on the water, either beachfront, waterfront, or on a lagoon," he said, "and a lot of palm trees are bought for poolside."
A chemist by profession, Holdorf has been running this part-time business selling and installing palm trees for the fifth year, a venture he began because he developed a liking for palms during vacations in the tropics.
"I have an affinity for palms," he explained. "Every winter we go to the islands, and I’d been growing small ones at home. It’s like bringing a little bit of the islands home."
His suppliers are plant brokers and nurseries in Homestead, Fla.
"There are more than 3,000 species, and I deal in 50 of them," he explained. "including some that will survive the northern winter."
There are two types of palm trees — fan and feather palms, Holdorf explained, and both do well at the Shore in the summer. Some of the fan specimens are the ones capable of surviving the winter, he noted.
"They’re treated as annuals up here, but some people bring the smaller ones inside and winter them over," he added.
In addition to palm trees, he handles other tropicals year round, like hibiscus, oleander and yucca.
Palm Bay Inc. is the only supplier and installer of palm trees in the Shore area, according to Holdorf, who educates customers about caring for the palms and supplies fertilizer to ensure that they thrive.
He said special equipment isn’t required to handle the palm trees.
"They have a condensed root system, and you don’t need to dig a big hole to plant them in," he explained.
Once installed, he said, they require little maintenance.
"You just water them a couple of times a week from the top down, and fertilize once a month with dissolved Epsom salts he added.
In addition to sales, Holdorf does a brisk rental business.
You don’t have to buy the tree. You can rent it for up to a week," he explained.
"I do weddings, bridal showers, luaus, backyard theme parties. They show up at benefits. I deliver the tree and pick it up."
Like summer guests, some palm trees leave after the weekend.
"They’re transient palms," he explained. "They just stay at somebody’s house for a couple of days.
Holdorf also fills custom orders.
"I have a wish list of palms customers want," he said. "Some trees like the foxtail palm are harder to get; there’s a waiting list."
Holdorf said the thing he likes best about his summer business is meeting the bon vivants who are his customers.
"I love the people I meet," he said. "They’re ebullient people. They have a sense of humor. They’re usually having parties. They enjoy life, and they love their palm trees. It’s a fun thing."