Palm Nurseries in the Canary Islands

[Carlo Morici]

In Spring 2004 I went to the island of Gran Canaria and visited some palm nurseries. I have just rescued some pictures taken in nurseries with a large offer of species: Viveros Godoy and Viveros Mogán.

1) VIVEROS GODOY , on the North Coast  (Cooler and cloudier) by Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Howea belmoreana (H.fosteriana behind)

Gaussia spirituana (and Pritchardia hillebrandi)

Cyrtostachys renda

Hyphaene coriacea

[Carlo Morici]

2) VIVEROS MOGÁN, on the South Coast, Sunnier and hotter.

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis

Dypsis decipiens

Pritchardia sp., by the beach in Mogán (not in the nursery, but sold and planted by them)

[paulgila]

very impressive!

is this area considered part of europe?do c.renda survive through all seasons there?i'm surprised...

[Kris]

Dear Carlos  

Terrefic still & had a nice oppurtunity to see nurseries in

Canarries..

but do they not stock Dragon Blood tree ?

iam very curious to see some grown up specimens.

thanks very much for that tour.

Love,

Kris.

[bgl]

Carlo,

Very nice! I could use a few of those Howea belmoreana!!

Bo-Göran

[Morabeza]

Ciao Carlo

What beautiful photos, I am so happy to know interesting palm species such as these are grown commercially in the Canaries!

[Carlo Morici]

Thank you for comments,

Pohonkelapa,

Yes, it is part of the European Union and prices are in €€€!. We are part of Spain, with an autonomous government and about 2 million inhabitants. The seven islands are divided in two provinces: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

All those palms were grown from seed/seedling outdoors with no protection.

Cyrtostachys can be grown outdoors on the coast by daring palm growers, but it often looks far from beautiful. The pictured Cyrtostachys were about 7 years old and all died the following year, rotting with fungi in a rainy February 2005. I wish they were in the other nursery, which is on the warmer South Coast. Nobody is now commercially producing the species because of bad experiences. Cyrtostachys is an extreme example - most palms are really happy here.

Kris,

Dragon trees (Dracaena draco) are very common here in cultivation. Any nurseries stock hundreds of them of any size and any garden seem to have a few.

I have no pictures uploaded to show, but I suggest you googling for images "Drago + Tenerife" òr "Dracaena + Canarias" - you will find many.

Carlo

[Kris]

Dear Carlo's  

thanks for the info.

Love,

Kris.

[SubTropicRay]

The Howea look great.  Thanks for sharing Carlo.

[kylecawazafla]

Great photos! I've only seen photos of Cyrtostachys renda thriving or dead, its very interesting to see them inbetween. You definitely have a unique climate there! Maybe you could plant a grove of Lipsticks around the trunk of a Jubaea chilensis. lol

[Carlo Morici]

Lipsticks around Jubaea?! Maybe... A fine spot for Lipsticks (sheltered among buildings in the SW coasts?) would be fine for Jubaea too, but the latter would get too many pests. I have seen chestnuts or apple trees by Dypsis lutescens, breadfruits and roses together and, of course I must remind the centenary Jubaea growing in front of the centenary Phytelephas, in the Jardín Botánico de Aclimatación de La Orotava.

I past here some text that I formerly posted in another discussion thread, about oceanic climate in the Canaries.

We are so oceanic that we don't have anything definable as a cold spell and we basically don't have cold. Palms can suffer because of the cool long winters. They seldom suffer direct damage due to cold, they would rather collapse for diseases associated to cold or set slowly back for lack of warmth and lack of leaf replacement.

Oceanic climates are very even and the difference between a typical cold night of February and the coldest night ever recorded is often just 1 or 2 C. So palms "never die" here, they can look ugly for years but they seldom get the final shot. "Agony" is the word. If you chose the wrong palm it won't die, it will just enter into a neverending agony.

Many tropical palm seedlings can yellow during our long cool winters. Most stop yellowing when 2-3 years old, when they finally set some tiny stem. This is only true for the strictly tropicals. Most palms do love our winter: rain promotes growth and cold weather wipes away the bugs. Many rainforest palms from not-too-hot places look better in winter.

..Well, in my next post, I will try to do less talking and show more images.

Carlo

[iamjv]

Carlo,

 Are there any interesting phoenix varities there, other than canariensis???

 Also, any chance of seeing a bigger picture of your avatar pic?  I think it's of a phoenix species isnt' it???

many thanks, Jv

[Carlo Morici]

Jv,

P.canariensis is the only native palm. P.dactylifera were planted during centuries, so there are many feral specimens and some hybrid populations. The nursery thread used to offer various species (P.dactylifera, P.reclinata, P.rupicola, P.roebellenii) but a ban was established on importing exotic Phoenix species and on planting them in protected areas. Years passed and the nurserymen understood how large was the risk of promoting hybridization (more than it is). Also new palms of other genera appeared in the trade. Now nobody sells phoenix species other than P.canariensis and P.roebellenii, and the occasional nameless hybrid.

My avatar shows a wild Phoenix canariensis in habitat. You can see the larger image in the "Avatar Pics" thread, here:

http://palmtalk.org/cgi-bin....8;st=99

[iamjv]

Carlo,

 Thanks for the info and for a larger version of the avatar pic.  That has to be one of the best looking P.C.s I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them!  Wow very impressive.  Hope you collected and germinated seed from that palm...  thanks again.  Jv

[Carlo Morici]

Your compliments prompt me to post it again. This individual grows in Anaga, quite close to where I am. It looks supreme, but I think it is because it grows in the very bottom of the ravine, by the permanent stream. There, they grow strong and fast,  more than 50 cm of trunk per year. Believe it or not, the owner (I suppose, him) set the palm on fire some 6 years ago to "clean it up" ... and it worked, the following year it looked perfect again. See, the other palms on the rocky hills behind do not look so lush.

[MattyB]

Look at the soil those potted palms are planted in......looks like clay mud!

[Kris]

(Carlo Morici @ Feb. 28 2007,05:21)

QUOTE

Your compliments prompt me to post it again.

Dear Carlo's  

My friend kindly refrain from showing that lady_CIDP,jeseus

my heart feels pain.when i realise that when my CIDP lady

grows to that size,i will be counting my days !  

Hey guys let me show you my Lady_ but don't Laugh at her

or at me !

[kylecawazafla]

(Carlo Morici @ Feb. 18 2007,15:52)

QUOTE

Lipsticks around Jubaea?! Maybe... A fine spot for Lipsticks (sheltered among buildings in the SW coasts?) would be fine for Jubaea too, but the latter would get too many pests. I have seen chestnuts or apple trees by Dypsis lutescens, breadfruits and roses together and, of course I must remind the centenary Jubaea growing in front of the centenary Phytelephas, in the Jardín Botánico de Aclimatación de La Orotava.

I past here some text that I formerly posted in another discussion thread, about oceanic climate in the Canaries.

We are so oceanic that we don't have anything definable as a cold spell and we basically don't have cold. Palms can suffer because of the cool long winters. They seldom suffer direct damage due to cold, they would rather collapse for diseases associated to cold or set slowly back for lack of warmth and lack of leaf replacement.

Oceanic climates are very even and the difference between a typical cold night of February and the coldest night ever recorded is often just 1 or 2 C. So palms "never die" here, they can look ugly for years but they seldom get the final shot. "Agony" is the word. If you chose the wrong palm it won't die, it will just enter into a neverending agony.

Many tropical palm seedlings can yellow during our long cool winters. Most stop yellowing when 2-3 years old, when they finally set some tiny stem. This is only true for the strictly tropicals. Most palms do love our winter: rain promotes growth and cold weather wipes away the bugs. Many rainforest palms from not-too-hot places look better in winter.

..Well, in my next post, I will try to do less talking and show more images.

Carlo

That's intereesting about the climate. It sounds ideal to me. Do they speak spanish there mainly? I think that's one of my top choices of living. Do you know of any lipsticks on the warmer parts of the island?

[Carlo Morici]

Kyle,

I know of no good Cyrtostachys renda outdoors, but it has never been tried extensively. Other tropicals like Verschaffeltia, Clinostigma spp., Phytelephas macrocarpa, or Pelagodoxa do quite well on the coast, when planted in the right spot. They are not as strong as in the warmer tropics but they are still long-term survivors. Cyrtostachys is probably just a question of time, trials and microclimates. Carlos Simón, has some thriving Cyrtostachys glauca but this is probably a bit hardier.

The islands are rich in sheltered spots where never goes below 13 C - 55 F so, nothing can surprise me.

The climate is great, life quality is supreme, fiesta is continuous. I travelled the world and stayed here. Spanish is the main and only official language, but the islands are very cosmopolitan. The highest percentage of tourists is British, so there are large British (and German) colonies of tourists/residents around tourist centers, with English-mainly shops, bars, etc. Some people do their lives and livings without speaking any Spanish, but if you want a "complete" life you should go through Spanish.

Good canariensis, Kris!

[kylecawazafla]

Que interesante! Estoy buscando para lugares donde puedo mejorar mi espanol, porque creo que el conocido de muchos idiomas es muy importante. Empece a universidad al fin de esto  ano, y despues de eso, estoy esperando a vivir en muchos lugares diferentes, y escogiendo uno para vivir despus de hubiera vivido en todos. Para mi, leyendo y escuchando a espanol es muy facil, pero no puedo esciribir o hablar en espanol. Como estan las fiestas alli?

[Carlo Morici]

Te esperamos entonces en la Universidad de La Laguna (www.ull.es) para algún intercambio!  

¿Fiestas? Los bares en La Laguna están abiertos 7 días de 7 y 12 meses al año, desde las 23:00h en adelante están llenos de estudiantes y cerveza a 1,50€. De jueves a sábado siguen hasta las 4-6 am :cool: . Y después están los Carnavales, los bailes de magos, las fiestas de música electrónica, conciertos latinos, fiestas de tambores en las noches de luna llena, etc.

You are not going to have much spare time to take care of a thirsty Cyrtostachys... Chamaerops is more fiesta-friendly.

Carlo

[kylecawazafla]

Nunca he oido al Universidad de Laguna, pero parece que me gusto mucho. Cuando estoy viejo y rico, tendre tiempo para asistir a mis plantas tropicales. Donde aprendes su ingles o es ingles tu primero idioma? Es increible como todos de los personas afuera de los estados unidos hablan dos o tres o cuatro + idiomas!, pero aqui, la mayoria hablan solamente uno.

[Carlo Morici]

Here are some  pictures taken about three years ago in nurseries of Northern Tenerife.

This is one of many plots in on the costa norte dedicated to seed production of Howea forsteriana, to provide the ongoing market of potted indoor palms for mainland Europe. I am not sure, but I think it belongs to CATESA nurseries.

Here are some cycads and pandanus - I think this was at garden center Lycaste.

Same place, Wodyetia bifurcata and Ptychosperma elegans:

Butia capitata and Washingtonia sp. I was surprised about the small pot size for such a large Washingtonia.

[Carlo Morici]

Roystonea regia and Hyophorbe verschaffeltii. in Tropipalm nursery in Southwestern Tenerife, the hottest part of the island. Jose grows many palm species to large specimen size, often trying uncommon species.

[Carlo Morici]

And this was taken in Zona Verde nurseries, in No.Tenerife again.

Rows of trunking Gaussia maya, to be uprooted and sold in one or two years.

Zona Verde has been one of the leading nurseries for palm collectors, offering >100 palm species during the past decade.

[Rafael]

Just WOW  and bump!

[Cluster]

Wow quite amazing the palms you are growing there, do lipsticks already grow in the Canary Islands or still in testing?:)

[empireo22]

Ciao Carlo! If you have more pics of palms in The Canaries we would love to see them. thanks

also do you know any nurseries there that sell coconuts seedlings or specimen trees?

[doranakandawatta]

BUMP again,

Maybe it'll help Patrick Palms ...