A Visit to Kris' Garden, with Love

[Kim]

Bo and I visited Kris in India recently. Bo has many more photos, but I thought I'd kick it off.  

Kris with his favorite palm, Tahina:

 

Kris with his Medemia argue:

I guess this is what you might call "discussing palms worldwide".

 

 

[Kim]

Kris and his family turned out to greet us, and were very welcoming hosts. We spent most of the visit viewing his collection.

Kris also grows many non-palms, especially plants that thrive in dry conditions, such as this Adenium:

At the conclusion of the tour, Bo had the honor of planting a hybrid Phoenix in Kris' garden:

View from the rooftop:

Thank you Kris for your kind welcome to your home and garden. It was such a pleasure to meet you and your family. One more example of how palms bring people together around the world.

Kris and Bo, please add  your own photos!

[mike in kurtistown]

Where in India is it, and what is the climate like there, wet, dry, or seasonal? This may have been answered in other posts that I missed.

 

[quaman58]

It's always nice to put a face with such a long time contributor as Kris. Love that Tahina; wish I would have gotten one when they were around. Thanks for the pictures as always Kim!

[topwater]

4 hours ago, mike in kurtistown said:

Where in India is it, and what is the climate like there, wet, dry, or seasonal? This may have been answered in other posts that I missed.

 

I think Kris is in Chennai, southeast part of India. 

[Jeff Searle]

How nice Kim, if one goes to India then a visit to our friend Kris is a must. I look forward to more photos.

[Kim]

5 hours ago, mike in kurtistown said:

Where in India is it, and what is the climate like there, wet, dry, or seasonal? This may have been answered in other posts that I missed.

 

Topwater is correct; Kris lives in the city of Chennai (formerly Madras) in southeast India, near the coast.  The climate is quite hot (high 80s to 90sF) and humid, with both a dry and a wet season. The wet season is particularly challenging due to the soil being heavy clay, and some palms tend to rot in the extended rain. By contrast the dry season is quite dry and some irrigation is required.

We have visited a few gardens in the Chennai and Madurai (further south and inland) areas, and some palms really thrive in the conditions while others struggle. Bismarck, Copernicia, Coccothrinax and Corypha seem to thrive, while the more tender-leaved species such as Arecas and Chambeyronia will burn without shade.

[palmfriend]

Hello,

it must have been a great travel - thank you very much for letting us participate! 

Since I got a few (dehusked) coconuts from India - I imploringly hope, they will germinate - 

I am eager to know what can be grown where in India. The climate seems to be very different 

in north, south, west and east etc., so I am looking forward this (hopefully ongoing) thread or any

others documenting this journey.

With best regards - especially to Kris and his family - 

Lars

 

[BS Man about Palms]

Fantastic! What a great event!!

Wish I could have been there to meet Kris too!

 

[buffy]

What a treat. I love Kris' how-to posts and thoughtful replies. Cheers Kris.

[doranakandawatta]

Kris and Bo, please add  your own photos!

Yes, looking forward to enjoying these pictures ! 

Kris , what is the palm we see the trunk on the right of your Bismarckia? Cocos? 

[Gileno Machado]

Great visit to Kris

 

[edric]

Great work, Ed

[Josh-O]

love it!!

 

awesome to see fellow palm talkers who are great contributors like Bret said. . Sounds like an amazing trip indeed.  And ohhh the food....Love me some Indian food

thanks for sharing Kim and Bo!!

[Kris]

Dear Kim,

Thanks for starting this thread,And i also want to thank you,Mr.Bo-Goran and Mr.Haresh for visiting me and our garden.This indeed means a lot to me.I have always admired Mr.Bo-Goran for his love for palms and his desire for physical fitness.He's my Hero and meeting him in person was like having my long time wish come true.

And also my sincere thanks to my forum friends who have interacted in this thread.

Though on that day i have not taken any stills,as i was talking but my assistant was taking stills using mobile phone,I will post stills from that.

Hope even Mr.Bo-Goran will join in the discussion when time permits.

Lots of love to you all,

Kris.

[Kris]

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[bgl]

Thanks Kim, for getting this thread started!  And Kris, first of all, thank you for the kind words, and my apologies to you, and everybody else, for not responding sooner. We're still travelling and unfortunately I seem to be unable to post my photos directly to PalmTalk from my laptop (apparently they are too large) and I don't seem to have a way of reducing the size on my laptop (or at least, I don't know how to do it!  ), so will get back to this thread once I have returned home and have access to my regular computers.  And Kris, thank you so very much to you and your whole family for the hospitality you showed Kim and me when we visited you last week. It was very special to both of us to finally meet with you and see your garden and your rooftop with all your palms, and I am sorry we didn't have more time!

I will get back to this thread as soon as I have the opportunity.

[Kris]

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[Kris]

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[Kris]

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I was showing Livistona Rotundifolia palm which has grown 3 stories high and its is around 20 years old.

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[Kris]

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[Kris]

This is my Mom 

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This is my younger brother's family 

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Now to roof garden,This is a actually my palm growing area once they become too big for our garden i send them to local government parks or gift them to local friends.

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[Kris]

I was asking as to why our Pseudophoenix Ekmanii Palm was getting dark spots on its older leaves..

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My wife is seen seated near me,At that moment we were asking about their flight journey to Chennai..And do they like our climate.

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[Kris]

And just before leaving our house.We requested Mr.Bo-Goran to plant a Hybrid Phoenix Palm which was sent to me by our forum member M@X,from Rome few years back.And planting of the palm by Mr.Bo-Goran meant a lot to me.The happiness and joy i cherished cannot be put in few words.

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Thanks and Love,

Kris.

 

[Gileno Machado]

Fantastic thread

[doranakandawatta]

6 minutes ago, Gileno Machado said:

Fantastic thread

I think so,

And fantastic people ! I wish I will meet one day. 

[doranakandawatta]

BTW, Kris, is there nice palms in Chennai botanic gardens ; Semmozhi Poonga or Madhavaram Botanical Garden ? 
No older  garden from the british time like Peradeniya ?

Thanks,

 

[palmfriend]

Kris, 

thank you very much for your update and taking us around your garden and home.

I couldn`t describe it better as Kim already did:

On 10/18/2017, 11:55:56, Kim said:

One more example of how palms bring people together around the world.

Nothing to add!

best regards -

Lars

 

[LJG]

Looks like a nice visit Kris. Plus you had plant royalty there with Haresh!

[bgl]

I'm back home now after a great trip and a first visit to India for both Kim and me (and yes, there will be more!  ). And our India visit was certainly made that much more special thanks to Haresh and Kris!  I don't have but so many photos and I will do my best to avoid outright duplication with what has already been posted. Here's a photo of the four of us in Kris' garden.

[bgl]

Kris with one of his Coryphas.

[bgl]

A couple of garden views from up above.

[bgl]

And two photos from Kris' rooftop garden, which I guess could also be referred to as his container collection.  In a good way, of course!

[bgl]

The genus Phoenix is one of Kris' favorites and I had the honor of planting a Phoenix hybrid during our visit. Kris had already dug the hole so there was no heavy labor involved!  Good luck with this palm, Kris! I am sure it will do well!

And again, Kris, thank you so very much!  This was very special.

[Alberto]

Wow what a nice thread. Very good to see Kris and his family and his lovely tropical palm garden.

Kris once send me a silver Coripha sp [utan ? ]seeds and I sent him the ''big fruit'' Butia eriospatha seeds. I think this also would only grow in the nearby altitude region with a more fresh climate ,that  Kris once told us about. BTW, Butia seeds are not easy to germinate. Kris, did you manage to grow a Butia in your hot climate ?

[Kris]

Here is a link to the video of Mr.Bo-Goran's palm planting at Kris garden :

https://youtu.be/g9KKg3rurx8

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Edited October 25, 2017 by Kris

[Alberto]

10 hours ago, Alberto said:

Wow what a nice thread. Very good to see Kris and his family and his lovely tropical palm garden.

Kris once send me a silver Coripha sp [utan ? ]seeds and I sent him the ''big fruit'' Butia eriospatha seeds. I think this also would only grow in the nearby altitude region with a more fresh climate ,that  Kris once told us about. BTW, Butia seeds are not easy to germinate. Kris, did you manage to grow a Butia in your hot climate ?

Thanks for your answer inbox. In fact the seeds were of the rare Corypha macropoda. The seedlings I donated to a palm friend who have a nursery in Bahia - Northeast Brazil. Thanks

[avanza]

Kris you are awesome 

[avanza]

I need update from your awesome garden again Kris