Jump to content
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOGGING IN ×
  • WELCOME GUEST

    It looks as if you are viewing PalmTalk as an unregistered Guest.

    Please consider registering so as to take better advantage of our vast knowledge base and friendly community.  By registering you will gain access to many features - among them are our powerful Search feature, the ability to Private Message other Users, and be able to post and/or answer questions from all over the world. It is completely free, no “catches,” and you will have complete control over how you wish to use this site.

    PalmTalk is sponsored by the International Palm Society. - an organization dedicated to learning everything about and enjoying palm trees (and their companion plants) while conserving endangered palm species and habitat worldwide. Please take the time to know us all better and register.

    guest Renda04.jpg

A rainforest garden of Almeria? Challenging or just plain insanity?


JasminInYarpshire

Recommended Posts

OK, so my first post here, but hopefully an interesting one!

I'm wondering how possible it would be to plan a reasonably fast growing "rainforest" garden in Almeria? The climate data for the area is very temping (to a European!) for a tropical planting. This is the climate data for the area from AEMET (Spanish meteorological dept.) for Almeria airport, which is on the coastal edge of the plain, immediately east of the city at 21m ASL (36.50N 2.21W)

lei-climate.jpg

Things which I find encouraging are the very high levels of sunshine, which should help soil temperatures stay high even when ambient temperature is sub-optimal, which I *hope* will mean that cold intolerant plants may stand a better chance here than in other Mediterranean areas with wetter/cloudier winters. Also, although the amount of rainfall is very low (<200mm a year), the humidity hovers in the 60-70% range year round, which one might hope be sufficient to prevent desiccation, whilst the ultra-low rainfall might actually be a bonus in the winter, helping prevent rot, which might be an issue preventing tropicals taking hold in other - wetter - Mediterranean regions. Also I think preventing dehydration is easier than preventing rot.

The other thing that interests me is the topography. The Almeria region and the plain around it is sheltered from the North by a pretty dense mountain range, whilst the Mediterranean sea surface temps in winter doesn't drop below 15c, which should essentially eliminate frost as an enemy.

I'm primarily interested in the possibilities for ornamental palms. Ideally I'd like to try a coconut, and I'm really interested if anyone has actually *tried* it here? I'm interested in the possibilities of breaking away from the usual Canary Island date, Chusans and European Fans to something a little more exotic. Perhaps Beccariophoenix, Howea, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and Licuala Ramseyi? For other tropicals/sub-tropicals, I'm interested in the possibilities of Pandanus, Starfruit/Carambola and Mango, as well as Frangipani and Vanilla in that corner of the med.

Has anyone tried any of this? Alas I don't live in the region myself so this is largely a hypothetical, though I'm hoping to move there at some point and try some of this on the ground :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The averages are far too low for a coconut to survive. It looks to have about the same climate as Southern California though, so the rest of the plants you listed should grow. Beccariophoenix alfredii would be a good palm to grow.

Welcome to Palmtalk!

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the welcome! :) I wasn't optimistic about coconut, though if i get the chance, I will try it just to say I did! I do wonder why Beccariophoenix isn't more popular in the warmer parts of the Med. I can't even recall having seen any in that part of the world. Does anyone in Andalucia / Murcia / southern Valencia have any experience with them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the welcome! :) I wasn't optimistic about coconut, though if i get the chance, I will try it just to say I did! I do wonder why Beccariophoenix isn't more popular in the warmer parts of the Med. I can't even recall having seen any in that part of the world. Does anyone in Andalucia / Murcia / southern Valencia have any experience with them?

B. alfredii was only discovered very recently, and is really the only species with landscape potential outside the tropics. The no windows version grows too slowly and the windows version is too sensitive. I suspect alfredii will become relatively common once it's been in cultivation long enough. Most people don't want to wait for a 2 or 3 foot seedling to grow into an impressive palm, and that's all that's available for sale right now. They should do fine in that area though, just make sure they get enough water because it doesn't look like that area gets much rain.

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't realize just how recent the discovery was. It really is hard to imagine that something as large as a tree in a place as populated and as relatively accessible as Madagascar could go undiscovered for so long! Amazing world we have :yay:

Imagining the streets and parks of Mediterranean cities lined with these is pretty sweet...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the article of when it was discovered. The population is in the high plateau in a spot that no one really lives, and it took the team 4 days trekking to get to it. There are also some nice pictures in the article!

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could do a lot with that climate. Irrigation will be something that you'll need lots of.

Beccariophoenix alfredii should be very happy there. A coconut needs short winters with day time avg max's not dropping below 20C in the coolest month.

Beccariophoenix alfredii will be the next big thing in the palm world, but at the moment it's still a secret outside of the palm collectors circles.

Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...