COLD DAMAGE REPORT FROM ATHENS, GREECE

[basilios]

A final touch to my original report : Copernicia baileyana is officially dead, the spear pulled out a couple of weeks ago, so this is definitely not a palm for my climate.

Also : one of my two roystoneas doesn't seem too well, actually it has been defoliated, but I suspect it might have some other problem enhanced by the winter's cold (fungus?), cause this particular one started to look a little iffy around last August-September. My other roystonea looks a bit battered but otherwise very healthy.

P.S.: Phoenikakias : I wrote my personal report regarding the performance of my palms and I described in great detail the conditions that they grow in. Whoever may find this report useful considering all the conditions described, then good for him. You are entitled to your opinion regarding your palms, and mine also if you like, as long as you remain polite in your form of expression and attitude. No one is trying to censor your views or opinion, you should just express whatever you'd like to say in a more appropriate tone, that's all. It's not your opinion the problem, it's your way of letting us know about it. Your opinion as such is totally fine with me.

Edited April 3, 2012 by basilios

[Phoenikakias]

Although I had announced the end of my participation in this topic, you push me to answer, because you put the issue on a personal basis. Question.1: Cite please unpolite phrases of mine, not those that express criticism,but really unpolite. Conclusion : You can not stand criticism and you feel insulted by pure objective counter-argumentation. The conditions you described were not conclusive (you forgot to mention the heating interior of your home!) You didn't even mention where you've put your thermometer (near the main wall or on opposite side of your balcony near the edge, also where you have placed your plants regarding above details). You were sincerely hasty, everyone with medium experience with palms bears in mind that final estimation of damages can not be made before start of the new growing season, so more than obviously you have a lot to learn yet. Because your conditions are more or less unique in that you have reated an artificial enviroment your report could be unwillingly of course misleadind to unexperienced members. It is kinda like I describe behaviour of palms in my cold frame. But who cares about it, have you red any report about cold tolerance in cold frames?

Regards

[basilios]

You admitted yourself that you were being sarcastic, in fact you claimed it was your right to answer sarcastically to my comments. As for your personal conclusions, be my guest and share them with everyone, but keep in mind that other people may draw different conclusions and there's not much you can do about it.

[nick]

@basilios:

thank you for your report.

This winter was not normal, also with us.

Last autumn, I just started to create the garden in other way but some plants suffered in their first winter. The young "Pseudophoenix sargentii" died. Young seedlings as "Beccariophoenix alfredii" and "Dypsis madagascariensis" got some yellow and brown leaves around. They will recover.

We had no frost as usual (the minimum was 3°C twice) but in January the amount of rain was, what sometimes you can get per year. Good for the banana plantations, but e.g. "Passiflora edulis" lost some leaves as well as Plumeria/Frangipani. I have to change the soil in some parts again to put more sand in it.

Hope this was the most unusual winter and the next 50 will be normal.