Membership / Why Join

Whether you're a weekend gardener discovering your first fan palm or a seasoned collector hunting rare species, membership in the Northern California Palm Society connects you with a passionate local community and opens doors to opportunities you won't find anywhere else.

For just $30 per year, full NCPS membership gives you access to everything the chapter has to offer.

Benefits of Membership

•  A community that understands your climate — growing palms in the Bay Area is a world away from Florida or Texas. Our members know Northern California's microclimates, cool winters, and Mediterranean summers intimately. Palm Talk – Nor Cal, our members-only discussion forum, is the place to get advice, share discoveries, and swap notes with growers dealing with exactly the same conditions you are.
• Access to the NCPS Palm Buying Service — our most popular member benefit. Each spring, NCPS volunteers source and deliver a catalog of nearly 1,000 palm varieties from specialty growers — species rarely if ever available at retail nurseries. Members place orders in advance; we do the driving.
•  Bay Area Palm Deliveries — throughout the year, members get first access to supplemental group orders and local deliveries announced via our newsletter.
•  Meetings in Members' Gardens — join our seasonal gatherings held in private Bay Area gardens, a unique and inspiring way to see palms thriving in our local climate.
• Palmetum Volunteer Days — participate in monthly stewardship days at the Lakeside Park Palmetum in Oakland, one of the largest public palm collections in the United States.
• Connection to a global network — as a chapter of the International Palm Society, NCPS members are part of the world's largest palm organization. IPS membership, available separately, unlocks access to PalmTalk, the global online forum with over 20,000 registered users, the quarterly journal Palms, and more at palms.org.
• Friendships that last — from weekend gardeners to species experts, our members represent the full range of palm enthusiasm. The connections you make through NCPS have a way of lasting a lifetime.

Membership

Ready to Join?

Membership is open to anyone with an interest in palms — no expertise required, no quiz on genus names.

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