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Can cocos survive in Lindos,Rhodes in Greece?


southathens

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4 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

So, according to your testimony growing a coconut tree even the mildest parts of Cyprus, and Greece much more,  presents a great challenge.  And is there someone, who still believes that hotels aiming at instant landscaping would invest in such a project?

From what Stelios wrote I wouldn't call it a great challenge. He protected it the first winters, yes, but that's something many people do for many species. Other than that he just modified the soil before planting. I'd say it's surprisingly little effort for a coconut in the Mediterranean!

previously known as ego

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6 hours ago, ego said:

How about fertilizing?

Very little before. Not any for the last 3-4 years. Maybe it helps to fertilize the coconut during the summer. I'm trying now to grow the garden with organic fertilizing. I use whatever mulch I have.

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15 minutes ago, Stelios said:

Very little before. Not any for the last 3-4 years. Maybe it helps to fertilize the coconut during the summer. I'm trying now to grow the garden with organic fertilizing. I use whatever mulch I have.

Organic fertilizing is an excellent choice.

I've tried some chemical fertilizers and I'm very dissapointed in the results. Organic ones are way ahead of them. In the villages, they compost whatever remains they have and use it to feed the plants. Never have I seen or tasted anything better!
I wouldn't be surprised if that contributes to your success.

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6 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

So, according to your testimony growing a coconut tree even the mildest parts of Cyprus, and Greece much more,  presents a great challenge.  And is there someone, who still believes that hotels aiming at instant landscaping would invest in such a project?

I would say it's challenging. For me it was an experiment from the start. I found some info here on PT so now I'm trying to share my experience to others with simillar climate with mine who want to try and grow cocos. I hope somebody will find a better way to grow them. But it's not that easy. I still apreciate my climate and there are many varieties to grow here, not only palms, but other plants and fruits. Any well grown palm can be beautiful. With the cocos it might never look very good even if ir survives.

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6 hours ago, ego said:

From what Stelios wrote I wouldn't call it a great challenge. He protected it the first winters, yes, but that's something many people do for many species. Other than that he just modified the soil before planting. I'd say it's surprisingly little effort for a coconut in the Mediterranean!

When the palm is small is easier. If you plant it in the right spot, it might need even only partial protection against the elements. Then you forget about it all winter. But as the palm gets too big to protect it, you either hope it has a bit more hardiness, or you try to find ways to give it better fighting chance. For example last winter I covered the crown with some dry leaves and pieces of paper to keep the crown dry ( I posted this photo somewhere here on the forum). This year I just wanted to challeng it and I didn't. I had another idea a few days ago ( too late now). To put some big pieces of glass or even plastic near the roots with a couple inches from the ground. It might work as a solar panel during the sunny winter days and heat up the soil and roots. Be careful if the glass has sharp ends so nobody will get hurt. I will try this next winter. Maybe with some tricks is not that challenging, but it's not that easy in our climate.

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5 minutes ago, Stelios said:

When the palm is small is easier. If you plant it in the right spot, it might need even only partial protection against the elements. Then you forget about it all winter. But as the palm gets too big to protect it, you either hope it has a bit more hardiness, or you try to find ways to give it better fighting chance. For example last winter I covered the crown with some dry leaves and pieces of paper to keep the crown dry ( I posted this photo somewhere here on the forum). This year I just wanted to challeng it and I didn't. I had another idea a few days ago ( too late now). To put some big pieces of glass or even plastic near the roots with a couple inches from the ground. It might work as a solar panel during the sunny winter days and heat up the soil and roots. Be careful if the glass has sharp ends so nobody will get hurt. I will try this next winter. Maybe with some tricks is not that challenging, but it's not that easy in our climate.

Yes it def requires some effort, but I mean it's not like you have to do things every day or build complicated structures around it etc. Of course your specimen seems to have excellent genes, that's why. But then again without excellent DNA no cocos would survive in Cyprus no matter what you did, right?

previously known as ego

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39 minutes ago, Victor G. said:

Organic fertilizing is an excellent choice.

I've tried some chemical fertilizers and I'm very dissapointed in the results. Organic ones are way ahead of them. In the villages, they compost whatever remains they have and use it to feed the plants. Never have I seen or tasted anything better!
I wouldn't be surprised if that contributes to your success.

I really wanted to see how organic fertilizing will help. Mother nature is much better gardener than I am so it should be able to improve and fertilize the soil especially the natural way.

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2 minutes ago, ego said:

Yes it def requires some effort, but I mean it's not like you have to do things every day or build complicated structures around it etc. Of course your specimen seems to have excellent genes, that's why. But then again without excellent DNA no cocos would survive in Cyprus no matter what you did, right?

No structures anymore, and yes, you don't need to take care of it every day in the winter. Good DNA could play role too. I wish I had a green tall variety maybe mexican or indian tall. It could be a bit more hardy.

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18 minutes ago, Stelios said:

No structures anymore, and yes, you don't need to take care of it every day in the winter. Good DNA could play role too. I wish I had a green tall variety maybe mexican or indian tall. It could be a bit more hardy.

Remind me what variety is yours?

previously known as ego

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8 minutes ago, ego said:

Remind me what variety is yours?

I used to think it was yellow/golden malay dwarf. I brought it from Costa Rica and recently John (Mr Coconutpalm) told me it might be Panama tall that also has this golden colour petioles.

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So here is a quick update!

After the publication of our call to grow cocos in Kasos/Karpathos from a local newspaper in Karpathos

https://www.karpathiakanea.gr/tropika-fita-se-karpatho-kai-kaso/

....so far 7 locals from Kasos and Karpathos have emailed us about growing cocos in their properties and we have send them a guide in Greek prepared from your comments here and from PMs with @Victor G. and @ego

Also

@Phoenikakias @Stelios @Janni  if you want I can post over here the guide we created in Greek and you can add any further input?

P.S

we have also linked the locals with Palmtalk so they can register here if they want to participate more actively with questions.

 

Edited by Manos33
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Below is the guide of growing cocos in  Greek if anyone is interested to make any other suggestions!

A huge shout out and thank you to @Victor G. and @ego for their contributions!

 

Quote

 

ΟΔΗΓΟΣ ΚΑΛΛΙΕΡΓΕΙΑΣ ΚΟΚΟΦΟΙΝΙΚΑ (COCOS NUCIFERA) ΣΤΗ ΚΑΣΟ & ΚΑΡΠΑΘΟ

A.    Εισαγωγή
Ο κοκοφοίνικας (επιστημονική ονομασία Cocos nuficera), ανήκει στα φοινικοειδή και είναι φυτό των τροπικών. Ο καρπός του είναι οι γνωστές καρύδες, οι οποίες είναι βρώσιμες. Στο βόρειο ημισφαίριο και κατά κανόνα, μπορεί να καλλιεργηθεί (σε εμπορικές φυτείες) μέχρι τον 15ο παράλληλο κι ως καλλωπιστικό φυτό έως τον 25ο παράλληλο. Υπάρχουν ωστόσο εξαιρέσεις, μεμονωμένα ή ακόμα και περισσότερα φυτά παρατηρούμενα ελάχιστα πάνω από τον 25ο παράλληλο (βλ. νότια Φλόριντα των ΗΠΑ, στα Ηνωμένα Αραβικά Εμιράτα, κλπ.).
 Είναι φυτό εξαιρετικά ευαίσθητο στο κρύο, ενώ ο παγετός μπορεί να αποβεί μοιραίος για αυτόν. Ιδανικά, η θερμοκρασία θα πρέπει να κυμαίνεται άνω των 15 βαθμών (ακόμα και τη νύχτα) ούτως ώστε  η καλλιέργειά του να γίνει δίχως προβλήματα. Ωστόσο, μπορεί να αντέξει χαμηλές θερμοκρασίες, κοντά στους 4 βαθμούς υπό δύο όρους: πρώτον, ότι αυτές δεν θα είναι παρατεταμένες, αλλά σύντομες και δεύτερον, ότι κατά τη διάρκεια της ημέρας η θερμοκρασία θα επανέλθει σε επίπεδα άνω των 12 βαθμών.
Αναφορές έχουν δείξει, ότι μπορεί να υποστεί θερμοκρασίες κοντά και στο μηδέν ακόμα, αρκεί η θερμοκρασία λίγες ώρες μετά να ανέβει σε υψηλά επίπεδα, άνω των 20 βαθμών. Δείχνει δηλαδή μια αναλογική συμπεριφορά. Όσο χαμηλότερη θερμοκρασία κληθεί να αντέξει, τόσο υψηλότερη πρέπει να του δοθεί μετά για να αποτινάξει τις ζημιές του παγετού. Φυσικά η θερμοκρασία δεν επιτρέπεται να πέσει κάτω του μηδενός σε καμία περίπτωση, καθώς το φυτό θα υποστεί ολική καταστροφή. Συμπέρασμα των ανωτέρω, είναι ότι ο κοκοφοίνικας δεν θέλει παρατεταμένες χαμηλές θερμοκρασίες.
 Έρευνες υποστηρίζουν ότι το κλίμα της Κάσου και της Καρπάθου θα μπορούσε ενδεχομένως να επιτρέψει στον κοκοφοίνικα να ζήσει και να μεγαλώσει εκεί. Ερασιτέχνες στην ευρύτερη περιοχή της Μεσογείου κάνουν προσπάθειες να μεγαλώσουν το εν λόγω φυτό έξω καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια του χρόνου. Κάποιες από αυτές παραμένουν επιτυχείς ως σήμερα (πχ στην Πάφο της Κύπρου όπου έχει φυτευτεί με επιτυχία στο έδαφος και στην Μάλαγα της Ισπανίας σε γλάστρα).
 Ο εγγενής βιότοπός του θεωρείται η νότια Ινδία, η Ινδονησία και η ευρύτερη περιοχή της ΝΑ Ασίας. Έχει μεταφερθεί και στην Καραϊβική όπου έχει γίνει εισβάλλον είδος. Αυτό οφείλεται στο γνήσιο τροπικό κλίμα που έχουν αυτές οι περιοχές, δηλαδή θερμοκρασία 20-30 βαθμών και άφθονη βροχή όλο το χρόνο. Για αυτό το λόγο, χρειάζεται άφθονο νερό, σε άριστα στραγγιζόμενο έδαφος όμως.
 Θεωρείται από τα πιο δύσκολα ως προς την καλλιέργεια φυτά στον κόσμο κι αυτό έχει τραβήξει την προσοχή ανθρώπων σε όλο τον κόσμο. Στην Ελλάδα, ενδεχομένως να μην έχει γίνει ποτέ προσπάθεια καλλιέργειάς του σε εξωτερικό χώρο και στο χώμα, πράγμα που αφήνει ένα μεγάλο μυστήριο: «θα μπορούσε να ευδοκιμήσει στην Ελλάδα;»

 
 Β.     Κλίμα Κάσου/Καρπάθου
Το κλίμα της Κάσου και της Καρπάθου φαίνεται το πιο προνομιακό σε ολόκληρη την επικράτεια για τη καλλιέργεια κοκοφοίνικα στην Ελλάδα. Σύμφωνα με τα επίσημα κλιματικά δεδομένα των μετεωρολογικών σταθμών της Εθνικής Μετεωρολογικής Υπηρεσίας και του Εθνικού Αστεροσκοπείου Αθηνών η απόλυτα ελάχιστη θερμοκρασία που έχει καταγραφεί στη Κάσο δεν έχει πέσει ποτέ κάτω από 2.7°C (από το 1989 ως 2022) ενώ στη Κάρπαθο δεν έχει πέσει κάτω από 2.2°C (από το 1971 ως 2022). 
Οι μέσες ελάχιστες θερμοκρασίες του χειμώνα στη Κάσο και Κάρπαθο προσεγγίζουν τους 12°C κατά τη διάρκεια του ψυχρότερου μήνα κάτι που καθιστά τα συγκεκριμένα νησιά τις περιοχές με τους ηπιότερους χειμώνες στην Ελλάδα.  Επίσης σύμφωνα με τα κλιματικά δεδομένα των νησιών η Κάρπαθος ανήκει στη ζώνη ανθεκτικότητας φυτών 11a ενώ η Κάσος παρουσιάζει μεταβατικό κλίμα ζώνης ανθεκτικότητας φυτών μεταξύ 11a και 11b.  Έτσι, συστήνουμε οι όποιες προσπάθειες καλλιέργειας κοκοφοίνικα γίνουν να είναι ιδανικά στη νότια παραλιακή Κάρπαθο και στην παραλιακή Κάσο για να υπάρχουν μεγαλύτερες πιθανότητες επιτυχίας. 
Παρακάτω τα κλιματικά δεδομένα της Κάσου σύμφωνα με τον μετεωρολογικό σταθμό του Εθνικού Αστεροσκοπείου Αθηνών

(εδώ μπαίνει το πινακάκι των κλιματικών)
 

Γ.  Αναλυτικές οδηγίες για την καλλιέργεια κοκοφοίνικα.
 
Γενικά
 Ο κοκοφοίνικας είναι τροπικό δέντρο που φυτρώνει κυρίως σε παραλιακές περιοχές. Για να τον καλλιεργήσουμε λοιπόν επιτυχώς, πρέπει να προσπαθήσουμε να δημιουργήσουμε συνθήκες παρόμοιες με αυτές που επικρατούν σε μια τροπική παραλία. Συγκεκριμένα, ο κοκοφοίνικας θέλει ζεστές θερμοκρασίες, υγρασία στην ατμόσφαιρα και άφθονο ήλιο. Το χειμώνα καλό θα ήταν να τον προστατεύουμε από το έντονο κρύο, ειδικά όταν συνοδεύεται από βροχή ή αέρα. Θερμοκρασίες κάτω των 5 βαθμών Κελσίου μπορούν να σκοτώσουν το δέντρο, ειδικά όταν διαρκούν πολλές ώρες και συνοδεύονται από δυνατό άνεμο ή βροχή. Γενικά, ένα φυτό μπορεί να αντέξει καλύτερα το κρύο όταν το χώμα είναι στεγνό και δε φυσάει πολύ. Ο συνδυασμός βρεγμένου χώματος και χαμηλής θερμοκρασίας μπορεί γρήγορα να σκοτώσει τις ρίζες. Όσο μεγαλώνει το φυτό, τόσο πιο ανθεκτικό γίνεται στο κρύο. Πολύ σημαντικό είναι να το προστατεύσουμε από τους δυνατούς ανέμους, ειδικά τους βόρειους. Αν γίνεται φυτεύουμε κοντά σε τοίχο ή φράχτη που κοιτάει νότια, ώστε να το προστατεύει από τον βόρειο άνεμο.

 Φύτευση
Καλό θα ήταν να αναζητήσουμε καρύδα από την Ινδία, μιας που η ινδική ποικιλία είναι η πιο ανθεκτική στο κρύο. Στο εμπόριο θα βρείτε και καρύδες από Αφρική και Αμερική οι οποίες όμως είναι λιγότερο ανθεκτικές. Για να φυτρώσει την τοποθετούμε σε μια γλάστρα με 70% θαλασσινή άμμο και 30% μίγμα χώματος και ελαφρόπετρας ή περλίτη. Να σημειώσουμε επίσης οτι ο κοκοφοίνικας έχει μεγάλη ανοχή στο θαλασσινό νερό.   Μπορείτε να προσθέσετε και πολύ λίγη κοπριά. Όχι πάνω από μια χούφτα. Δε βάζουμε όλη την καρύδα μέσα στο χώμα, μόνο τη βάση της. Βρέχουμε το μίγμα και στη συνέχεια σκεπάζουμε τη γλάστρα με πλαστική σακούλα ώστε να διατηρείται η υγρασία. Βάζουμε τη γλάστρα σε φωτεινό και ζεστό σημείο μέσα στο σπίτι. Για να φυτρώσει χρειάζεται θερμοκρασίες πάνω από 25 βαθμούς. Μπορείτε να βάλετε τη γλάστρα πάνω σε κάποια ζεστή επιφάνεια, όχι όμως υπερβολικά ζεστή, π.χ. καλοριφέρ. Αντί για γλάστρα μπορείτε να βάλετε την καρύδα και σε κλειστή πλαστική σακούλα ή σκεπασμένο πλαστικό δοχείο με λίγο νερό, ίσα-ίσα να είναι βρεγμένη η βάση της καρύδας. Όταν αρχίσει να βγάζει ρίζες τότε αφαιρούμε το κάλυμμα. Η διαδικασία μπορεί να διαρκέσει από μία βδομάδα έως μερικούς μήνες.
Προσοχή: Προτιμήστε μικρή γλάστρα! Όχι μεγαλύτερη από 20 εκατοστά διάμετρο. Μην αγοράσετε έτοιμο φυτό από ανθοπωλείο. Αυτά έρχονται από θερμοκήπια της Ολλανδίας, και έχουν συντηρηθεί με χημικά μέσα. Δεν θα αντέξουν για πολύ.
 Όταν το φυτό έχει ήδη τρία φύλλα μπορούμε να το μεταφυτέψουμε έξω. Η καλύτερη περίοδος για τη φύτευση στον κήπο είναι τα τέλη Απριλίου και ο Μάιος. Ανοίγουμε μια μεγάλη τρύπα και γεμίζουμε με παρόμοιο χώμα, δηλαδή το 70% να είναι θαλασσινή άμμος. Τον πρώτο χειμώνα καλό θα ήταν να καλύψουμε το φυτό με ένα αυτοσχέδιο θερμοκήπιο ή με κάποιο ειδικό fleece φυτών όταν αναμένεται κύμα ψύχους.
Πότισμα
Στον κοκοφοίνικα αρέσει το νερό. Η ποσότητα του νερού εξαρτάται από την εποχή, την ξηρασία της ατμόσφαιρας και από το αν είναι σε γλάστρα ή έξω. Εάν είναι σε γλάστρα τότε πρέπει να ποτίζουμε όταν τα πρώτα 5-6 εκατοστά του χώματος έχουν στεγνώσει. Υπερβολικό πότισμα θα σαπίσει τις ρίζες. Η γλάστρα πρέπει να είναι μικρή και στη βάση της να έχει τρύπες για να φεύγει το νερό. Μην χρησιμοποιείτε πιατάκι κάτω από τη γλάστρα. Το χειμώνα ποτίζουμε αραιά ενώ το καλοκαίρι με τη ζέστη συχνά, ίσως και κάθε μέρα. Το νερό να μην είναι παγωμένο. Εάν είναι στο χώμα τότε ποτίζουμε κάθε μέρα το καλοκαίρι. Το χειμώνα μία φορά το μήνα αν δεν έχει βρέξει και αν δεν κάνει κρύο. Οταν κάνει κρύο δεν ποτίζουμε. Ο συνδυασμός κρύο με νερό θα σαπίσει τις ρίζες!
Φως
Ο κοκοφοίνικας θέλει άπλετο ηλιακό φως. Το πρώτο καλοκαίρι όμως καλό θα ήταν να τον έχετε στη σκιά, ειδικά το μεσημέρι. Ο έντονος ήλιος της Ελλάδας μπορεί να κάψει τα φύλλα ενός νερού φυτού.
 Λίπανση
Το καλύτερο θα ήταν φυσικό κομπόστ, αλλά αν δεν γίνεται, τότε προτιμήστε λίπασμα με φώσφορο και κάλιο (και φυσικά άζωτο για την ανάπτυξη). Μπορείτε αντί για χημικό λίπασμα να χρησιμοποιείτε μικρές ποσότητες κοπριάς. Η λίπανση γίνεται μόνο από Απρίλιο μέχρι Οκτώβριο. Ποτέ δε λιπαίνουμε το χειμώνα. Η ποσότητα του λιπάσματος να μην είναι υπερβολική. Υπερβολικά χαμηλή λίπανση απλά θα καθυστερήσει την ανάπτυξη, αλλά δεν θα βλάψει το φυτό. Υπερβολικά υψηλή χρήση, θα οδηγήσει σε μεγάλα ποσοστά αζώτου στο έδαφος, το οποίο θα κάψει τις ρίζες. Επίσης (αν είναι δυνατό) να αποφευχθούν τα πολύ πετρώδη εδάφη. Ο κοκοφοίνικας έχει μάθει να μεγαλώνει στην άμμο ή σε μαλακό χώμα και έχει σχετικά ευαίσθητες ρίζες. Αν το έδαφος παραείναι σκληρό, υπάρχει δυσκολία στην ανάπτυξη ριζών.
Τέλος προσέχουμε στο χώμα του κοκοφοίνικα να μην προσθέσουμε χώμα εμπορίου που περιέχει τύρφη! Η τύρφη παγώνει εύκολα στις χαμηλές θερμοκρασίες και θα σκοτώσει τις ρίζες. Θαλασσινή άμμος με λίγο ντόπιο χώμα, λίγο περλίτη και μια χούφτα κοπριάς είναι ένα καλό μίγμα.
 Προμήθεια
Η προμήθεια γενικά δεν είναι εύκολη στην Ελλάδα. Προτείνουμε είτε από  φυτώρια σε Αθήνα/Κρήτη/Ρόδο ή αγορά ινδικών καρυδών από τα μεγάλα σούπερ μάρκετ της Ρόδου. Εάν υπάρχουν, διαλέξτε καρύδες εισαγόμενες από την Ινδία.
Προσοχή: Στην Ελλάδα πολλά φυτώρια συγχέουν τον κοκοφοίνικα με το Arecastrum romanzoffianum το οποίο φύεται σε όλη τη Μεσόγειο με μεγάλη ευκολία. Παρακαλείστε να προσέχετε ότι η ονομασία του φυτού είναι Cocos Nucifera όταν επικοινωνείτε με φυτώρια. Το βλαστάρι του πραγματικού κοκοφοίνικα βγαίνει από την καρύδα, η οποία και θα πρέπει να είναι εύκολα ορατή.

 

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The good thing is that at last locals in Kasos and Karpathos have started paying attention! Lets hope now some make it!!!

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4 hours ago, Victor G. said:

That should spike the locals' interest!

https://www.karpathiakanea.gr/cocos-nucifera-odigos-kaliergias/

Yep!! Already 15 emails from locals both from Kasos and Karpathos so far!

Let's hope at least one of them manages to grow cocos!!

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Below the updated Kasos climate stats until early 2022

1014039437_Screenshot2022-04-17at10_33_00AM.thumb.png.348b872118a17eb93b989ebcc13f2336.png

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4 minutes ago, Manos33 said:

Below the updated Kasos climate stats until early 2022

1014039437_Screenshot2022-04-17at10_33_00AM.thumb.png.348b872118a17eb93b989ebcc13f2336.png

I'm surprised that it even has some rain in July and August. Most of the Cyclades (especially the eastern) are completely rain free in those months

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Lindos as well is almost completely rain free some summer months.

Edited by Manos33
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4 minutes ago, Manos33 said:

Lindos as well is almost completely rain free some summer months.

But in July it has 3mm. That's 3mm too much!

But August is perfect

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1 minute ago, Victor G. said:

But in July it has 3mm. That's 3mm too much!

But August is perfect

3mm is nothing tbh. It evaporates immediately after the rain ends with the sweltering July heat in Lindos. 

August yes is completely rain free in Lindos

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7 minutes ago, Manos33 said:

3mm is nothing tbh. It evaporates immediately after the rain ends with the sweltering July heat in Lindos.

True, bit I hate even 1mm rain in the summer... or the sight of clouds

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@PhoenikakiasCould you help us out a little?

I found this in Rhodes and at a first look it looked like a coconut. The trunk formation (circles on it) and the leaves. But it couldn't be right?

IMG_20220420_160658.jpg

IMG_20220420_160701.jpg

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Is it in Rhodes city or in Lindos?

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1 hour ago, Manos33 said:

Is it in Rhodes city or in Lindos?

It's in Rhodes city (in the old town).

In front of the entrance of the palace of the grand master of the knights of Rhodes

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Right!! I have been there!

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I already posted a picture of that kentia a couple of years ago in the travels section. At that time or just only a few centimeters of visible trunk. It’s nice to see how much it grew in the meantime. 
however the leaves seem very short. Maybe it is due to the very poor soil. 

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I have a query. I wish to ask something to individuals living in areas with cool but non freezing winters similar to the Southern Mediterranean and California. In your experiences and opinions what is the number one killer during winter for coconut palms in those non freezing temperatures? Cool wind or having the soil too wet? What is your best advice when it comes to long cool winter's and watering during such season? Thank you in advance for answers

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Around 31C today in Lindos registering Greece's max today so far!

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RHODES TROPICAL PLANTS POST
( @ego@Manos33@Phoenikakias@Janni@Alicante I'm tagging you guys since you have displayed interest about plants. If not interested, just ignore the post!)

So after a week on Rhodes island, I have to say that I met the most tropical plants there. I don't think it's because of the locals' interest in tropicals though.
There is a big plant nursery on the main road Rhodes-Lindos, that sells all kinds of tropical plants (palms mostly) and I think that the people buy these like we buy flowers in Athens - almost every day.
It's a very touristic island, so I saw many hotels having palms in their gardens. I guess it's to make it look more "tropical" for the tourists.
At the end of the post, I will put a Dropbox link with photos.

Nevertheless, if someone knows and is interested in tropical plants, he'll have a great time there walking among them. Here are my observations:

Bananas - Bananas literally grow like weeds there. They are everywhere, to the point that, if I would live in Rhodes, I would never have to buy bananas again.
The older leaves have sustained visible damage, probably from the cold March. Some looked really terrible. But, the good news is, I did not find a single dead banana.
All of them, no matter how bad they looked, were alive and shooting new leaves.

Papayas - The saddest of all stories. I saw a lot of papayas on the island, mostly in peoples' gardens, which means they grow them on purpose, to eat them.
ALL of them looked terrible. I didn't see a single papaya plant with a green crown - all of them got badly damaged this winter.
However, some of them were already shooting small green leaves from the crown. Some others, had nothing on top. I don't know if all of them will make a recovery or if some died for good, but hope for the best. Especially one papaya in Rhodes town which had a huge trunk (seen in the pictured). You could hug it and your hands would barely meet on the other side, which indicated it has been there for years.

Plumeria - a plant that everybody has in their gardens. I saw many plumerias, everywhere on the island. In the town of Rhodes, I saw two trees with one leaf each. However, in Lindos and Pefkoi (both MUCH MUCH warmer locations that Rhodes town), they had nothing, absolutely no leaves. When we left today, I noticed some very very small leaves coming out (but they were still red and about 2 centimetres each).

Queen palms - also found everywhere on the island. All of them have a yellow crown, which means they suffered a lot through this winter and March. They aren't dead, because you could see the new (and completely green) fonds coming out in the centre. I was a bit surprised that they looked so bad - I always thought queens are hardy down to -3C or something.

Birds of Paradise - also many of them there. Some very tall (3-4 metres). But I guess that's not very breathtaking, since they aren't extremely cold sensitive.

Castor bean plant - that's not really a tropical I guess, but still it's frost sensitive and there it formed trees and large bushes. I love this plant and I want to grow it in Dikastika, I'm just worried you know.... about the deadliness. Found both the red and the green variety on the island.

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And some last remarks:
1) There could be more tropical plants on the island that I didn't know of and didn't photograph. I know for a fact that in the city centre, there were some HUGE Ficus Macrophylla with aerial roots hanging, but it struck me after I left so I didn't take a picture (sorry!)

2) This is more for you, Manos, I may have found a place that is warmer than Lindos! It's the Pefkoi village next to it.
Pefkoi is where our apartments were and every day we were passing from Lindos. Usually we stopped there for a walk and continued. Lindos was always a bit cooler that Pefkoi, because it was more affected by the air. Pefkoi village never was windy and in the last days, it was boiling from heat.
I know that this observation is based only on 6 days of staying there, but it might be true. Too bad we don't have a weather station there.

3) I did not find anyone to convice about the coconuts. Sorry guys, better luck next time!

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Finally, here's the DROPBOX LINK TO THE PHOTOS.

Make sure you click the comments section. I tried to identify as many as I could, but could use help with some others. I think anyone can comment on it (I don't know if it requires a Dropbox account), but if you like, feel free to comment on any of these!

Edited by Victor G.
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Did you pay a visit at Maurice‘s place? He has a house in Lardos, just a few kilometers from Pefki. 
when I was on Rhodes I, too, saw many papayas. Of course all looked happy.
 

I don’t think those plants you mentioned in your list can really be considered as rare or special. They are grown extensively all over the island. On the other hand you can see the rarest palms of the island all in Maurice‘s garden. 

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2 hours ago, Victor G. said:

2) This is more for you, Manos, I may have found a place that is warmer than Lindos! It's the Pefkoi village next to it.
Pefkoi is where our apartments were and every day we were passing from Lindos. Usually we stopped there for a walk and continued. Lindos was always a bit cooler that Pefkoi, because it was more affected by the air. Pefkoi village never was windy and in the last days, it was boiling from heat.
I know that this observation is based only on 6 days of staying there, but it might be true. Too bad we don't have a weather station there.

Just saw your photos and they look amazing! Thanks so much for all your effort! 

Regarding your comment on Pefkoi. I highly doubt that it is warmer than Lindos. It is because of this exposure to foehn winds that Lindos is so hot compared to the rest of the island. Trouble is that the days you visited the island only S winds were mostly prevalent which would not give the foehn effect in Lindos and this is why it left you with the impression Pefkoi is hotter when in fact this wind exposure of Lindos is absolutely crucial in making it the hotspot of Geographical Europe! Pity that N winds were not prevalent (well apart from one day) or else you would see Lindos baking!!!

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1 minute ago, Janni said:

Did you pay a visit at Maurice‘s place? He has a house in Lardos, just a few kilometers from Pefki. 
when I was on Rhodes I, too, saw many papayas. Of course all looked happy.
 

I don’t think those plants you mentioned in your list can really be considered as rare or special. They are grown extensively all over the island. On the other hand you can see the rarest palms of the island all in Maurice‘s garden. 

No, I didn't, who is Maurice anyway? :P
Is he a member too?

I know that these plants aren't extremely special, but they speak for the climate there. The fact that you can see these ficuses and Bismarckia (if it really is one) suggest that the island is 10a to 10b zone, which automatically opens a door to many other plant species, if somebody is interested.
More experienced climate enthusiasts probably knew the potential of Rhodes, but I didn't. Although I'm pretty sure that many of them can be grown in the coastal Attica too.

Also, I wanted to see if this winter was so bad for Rhodes as for other places in Greece. And judging by the looks of the plants, I believe it was.
I saw some tall papayas and plumerias which really looked burned. Didn't take a picture, cause you have to see it close-up to understand. But it could be that they survived for years and died this winter.

6 minutes ago, Manos33 said:

Regarding your comment on Pefkoi. I highly doubt that it is warmer than Lindos. It is because of this exposure to foehn winds that Lindos is so hot compared to the rest of the island. Trouble is that the days you visited the island only S winds were mostly prevalent which would not give the foehn effect in Lindos and this is why it left you with the impression Pefkoi is hotter when in fact this wind exposure of Lindos is absolutely crucial in making it the hotspot of Geographical Europe! Pity that N winds were not prevalent (well apart from one day) or else you would see Lindos baking!!!

Actually, we caught one day (when Lindos reached almost 31C) with those winds. Pefkoi was even hotter this day.

I know that I can't make the assumption that Pefkoi is hotter than Lindos based on 6 days experience. But in all of those 6 days, we were waking up in Pefkoi and it was burning. When we passed from Lindos, it still was hot, but with a refreshing breeze.

Anyways, maybe I just caught the 6 days of Pefkoi warmth and it was all a coincidence.

We need more good stations people! (I know it won't happen, but it would be a dream)

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27 minutes ago, Victor G. said:

Actually, we caught one day (when Lindos reached almost 31C) with those winds. Pefkoi was even hotter this day.

I know that I can't make the assumption that Pefkoi is hotter than Lindos based on 6 days experience. But in all of those 6 days, we were waking up in Pefkoi and it was burning. When we passed from Lindos, it still was hot, but with a refreshing breeze.

Anyways, maybe I just caught the 6 days of Pefkoi warmth and it was all a coincidence.

We need more good stations people! (I know it won't happen, but it would be a dream)

The orography for Pefkoi to have even hotter climate than Lindos is definitely there. I ll give you that. However our subjective sense of Ts is mostly unreliable so yeah we need all that SE tip of Rhodes close to Lindos to be full of stations. We might be even more surprised with the data that we will see. Who knows? Maybe that 23C mean annual T is not so far fetched after all. 

I have actually emailed NOA more than 3 times asking them to put more stations in the area around Lindos and I have engaged HNMS in that dialogue as well. Let's hope it pays off and they decide to put extra stations. We have a strong case as to why the wider Lindos areas needs to be further researched climatologically speaking. It is hands down the warmest area of Europe annually. 

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Very nice pics Vic; I especially liked that red banana specimen. I agree with Janni that I didn't see any surprises there; I was hoping for a Ravenala :D

previously known as ego

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3 minutes ago, ego said:

Very nice pics Vic; I especially liked that red banana specimen. I agree with Janni that I didn't see any surprises there; I was hoping for a Ravenala :D

Yeah I know, that's why I never mentioned "rare" palms or tropicals.

Still, it's stuff you don't see all over Greece. But the fact that they grow there is proof that they can be grown in other areas of Greece as well. The only things stopping us is the lack of interest and the difficulty to find them in local nurseries.

Since you mentioned the Ravenala (Madagascariensis): there is a big plant nursery on the road Lindos-Rhodes, with many tropical plants. On our way to the airport, I saw a huge Ravenala, in a top there. Unfortunately, we were on a rush and I couldn't stop to ask them if they leave those outside in the winter.

But since the area around Lindos must definitely be a 10b zone, I wouldn't be surprised if they grow there on the ground.

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2 hours ago, Victor G. said:

Yeah I know, that's why I never mentioned "rare" palms or tropicals.

Still, it's stuff you don't see all over Greece. But the fact that they grow there is proof that they can be grown in other areas of Greece as well. The only things stopping us is the lack of interest and the difficulty to find them in local nurseries.

Since you mentioned the Ravenala (Madagascariensis): there is a big plant nursery on the road Lindos-Rhodes, with many tropical plants. On our way to the airport, I saw a huge Ravenala, in a top there. Unfortunately, we were on a rush and I couldn't stop to ask them if they leave those outside in the winter.

But since the area around Lindos must definitely be a 10b zone, I wouldn't be surprised if they grow there on the ground.

Oh wow, I must visit!

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previously known as ego

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A foehn day in Lindos today with max T reaching 27.3C a bit earlier and Greece's highest T so far for the day.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Below the official HNMS average minimum temperatures in Kasos Airport for the period 1991-2020!

Extremely mild winters in Kasos as confirmed also by Greece's Met Office! By far Greece's mildest winter minimum temperatures.

1_copy_copy.png

 

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