All Activity

A good grower down here too. I had a few three footers some years ago...unfortunately they all became drought casualties just pre covid. Got a heap of new seedlings up now thanks to seed donations from Tim and Colin, thanks guys!

Possibly to wet it’s in a high irrigation area, with the bio cycle septic water sprinklers, so pretty well much daily with the waste water system. Perhaps cold and continually wet at night. Too late a calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana got planted there today being such a wet spot the perfect climate for the ghiesbreghtiana that’s for sure. I might even plant a geonoma atrovirens there as well as its always wet and the coolest part of the garden!

Hmm I don’t think it’s temperature related, possibly moisture and/or soil but it would surprise me if it was too moist unless it’s in a really boggy spot. They come from decent altitude in Vietnam and honestly I’d been thinking they were worth a shot even down here miles further away from the equator. I believe there is a thought that P declinata, P annamensis and P baviensis may be lumped all in together as P baviensis so those seedlings I sent you recently may serve to be good replacements.

Hi everyone To provide a deeper context to my previous posts about the Stachen Microclimate, I have compiled a comprehensive global comparison. This data covers the period from 2014 to 2025 and pits my 425m (1,394 ft) enclave against some of the most famous palm-growing regions and maritime hubs in the Northern Hemisphere. Scientific Integrity: To ensure the highest accuracy, I have applied a conservative -0.3K safety adjustment to my annual means. This accounts for potential "heat spikes" in my solar-ventilated Bresser station during late afternoon periods when the solar fan might deactivate while the sun is still low. List (2014–2025): Location Elevation Annual Mean Absolute Minimum Santa Barbara (USA) 4 m 15.5 °C -1.0 °C Washington D.C. (USA) 5 m 15.4 °C -14.0 °C Bologna (IT) 37 m 15.0 °C -8.0 °C Venice Lido (IT) 4 m 14.7 °C -7.0 °C Verona (IT) 68 m 14.5 °C -10.0 °C Milan Malpensa (IT) 234 m 13.8 °C -11.0 °C Lyon (FR) 201 m 13.8 °C -10.0 °C Lugano (CH) 273 m 13.7 °C -6.0 °C Magadino (CH) 203 m 12.6 °C -9.0 °C STACHEN (CH) 425 m 12.5 °C* -11.0 °C Seattle (USA) 6 m 12.2 °C -10.0 °C London Heathrow (UK) 25 m 12.1 °C -7.0 °C Brest (FR) 99 m 12.1 °C -7.0 °C Kehelland (Cornwall) 87 m 11.6 °C -5.1 °C Constance (GER) 428 m 11.0 °C -11.1 °C *Adjusted by -0.3K safety margin. Key Observations: Elevation Efficiency: Despite being located 400m+ higher than London, Seattle, or Brest, Stachen outperforms them in annual mean temperature. This highlights the power of our local "Heat-Engine" and the Cfa (Humid Subtropical) characteristics. The "Milan Pattern": Our absolute minimum of -11.0 °C is identical to Milan-Malpensa. We share the same winter resilience and summer heat-sum as the northern Po Valley, but at nearly double the elevation. Regional Anomaly: The 1.5°C gap between Stachen and the regional reference in Constance (same elevation) confirms that our "Solar-Trap" setup and hedge-protection are creating a unique climatic island. Whether you are growing Trachycarpus, Jubaea, or even testing Strelitzia (which successfully overwintered here!), these numbers show that microclimate is often more decisive than latitude. Best regards Mazat

Lucky Hawaii growers!

Chamaerops humilis var. argentea opening a new frond

Thank you so much, Tracy 🤗 for your explanation and the great photos. It’s really going to be huge, and we’re excited to see how it develops here.

Thank you very much, dear Richard 🤗, for this great suggestion! I’ve heard about the Finger Lime and its 'citrus caviar' before, but I didn't realize it was as tough as you described. Since my Kumquat is finally thriving here on the 4th floor, I might just have enough space for another Australian gem. Do you think the Finger Lime would benefit from a real 'heat-engine' effect? My balcony gets a lot of solar radiation, and as I’ve recently documented in my climate threads, we’re hitting maxima similar to the Mediterranean right now. I’d love to see those 'citrus bombs' ripening in the Swiss sun!

Well a failure here for some reason I suspect way to wet upon only recently been in the past spring, or to cold and wet now the temperatures have started to drop, so a candidate gor wint grow in the ground but a container only in my climate. Or just a failure and that’s the gardening for you story. Try try again they say nah maybe not.

Thank you so much, Nathan, for your insights and valuable information. I really appreciate you and your wonderful knowledge and experience. It’s interesting that you mention its pickiness regarding frost and humidity. This is exactly where my microclimate research comes into play. In my 425m Cfa-enclave, I’m trying to bridge that gap between the 'too cold' regional climate and the specific needs of such neotropical species. With the heat sum we generate here (averaging 12.5 °C over the last 12 years) and the protection from our solar-trap, I’m optimistic about giving this 'Pleroma' a fighting chance. As my recently overwintered Strelitzia rhizomes have shown, the soil here holds much more potential than the elevation suggests!

Yes an easy mistake in labeling rules, how a rare palm can get lost in the collection! Glad you helped thanks.

Aroids are all new to my gardening skills. I have only really started to collect them for the garden in last 5 years. And there are some very interesting varieties of aroids out there and a lot are highly prized top ornamentals!

A before and after showing what once was, and hopefully what will be, its permanent replacement. If the Colvillea freezes this coming winter, I will have to find something else to replace it with. I am already considering a spanish lime, or maybe a chico sapote if it comes down to that... 😄 aztropic Mesa, Arizona

And we finish up with the native bee hive in the garden, inherited from my late father!

You can feel the garden breathing it’s amazing what rain can do, irrigation in the garden is essential for my garden but you can’t beat Mother Nature!

A bit of rain has sparked the garden back up after a dry spell.

Linospadix minor and Chuniophoenix nana in the background!

Ah yep makes sense! Yes I’ve ditched the permanent markers in favour of pencil these days. C balansae is definitely a special palm even without the backstory.

Marojejya darinii, liking this spot in the garden at the bottom of a drain getting all the water!

Dypsis poiveana, a lovely little dypsis to have in the garden!

Yeah, the climate here is basically frost free. Sometimes a bit of frost on cars and exposed lawns once or twice durning the winter. With all the canopy in my garden, it adds a couple of degrees on clear nights. A little bit of elevation (323 feet) further helps. I’ve been to Monterey a few times in the summer and every time it was overcast and very cool. Would be ideal for Ceroxylon and other cool cloud forest species.

The green and white stripes of this marginata are just beautiful in colour. A true variegated form of the marginata genus. It’s such a stunning plant mixed in the jungle green colour of the garden! For propagation I can only get tip cuttings to take, not wood pieces to strike. So somewhat temperamental but doable.

A nice group of three ghiesbreghtiana planted with the third one going in the ground today. Couple of years and they should be looking good adding to that tropical look!

Actually @tim_brissy_13i worked out how it happened, the mix up was from faded tags written in ink and they fade. I did mention to you a while back about some fading tags from some of your labeled palms I got from you. Always use a pencil this mystery palm is indeed from the late Merc psillakis and it was a gift from him to me! Now that I have worked out how it happened. And this palm is even more special now since Merc gave it too me and it has its name. And something kept telling me about how special it is!