Large palm gardens in Bermuda

[Palm Guy]

Thanks for the comments guys,

Jeff- Thanks I always wondered what those were. Their all over the place. I know we have alot of north american ducks around.

epicure3 - I've tried Cyrtostachys here. I think they could survive given the right spot. They would needd to be in the ground from an early age in full sun but with high protection inland. Although the limestone might be a problem. I'm on the north shore which takes the brunt of the winter gales that come from the north. I lost mine when I took them inside. I had one that I left outside as a tester during our winter and it survived along with a Licuala Mapu. I lost both of them this year due to me moving them inside (for fear of losing them this winter). They rapidly declined from lack of airflow/sunlight/damping off. Some of my Cyrtostachys seeds actually germinated outside in the summer.

I also tried V. Splendida and those did well. I grew them outside in full sun. My stupidity killed them. I forgot to place drainage holes in the pots. Soon as we had a 2-3 inch rainfall in one day they went downhill. Root rot. Temps lows hadn't even reached 65 F.

[brodklop]

Michael, nice photos of a great place.

I'm going for Wodyetia in #10 as the leaves don't seem to have white backs as in Normanbya. Maybe it does't like the soil.

As for the Livistonias in #26 they look like Rotundifolia. It looks a bit windy so ID is a little harder

[Palm Guy]

  brodklop said:

Michael, nice photos of a great place.

I'm going for Wodyetia in #10 as the leaves don't seem to have white backs as in Normanbya. Maybe it does't like the soil.

As for the Livistonias in #26 they look like Rotundifolia. It looks a bit windy so ID is a little harder

Hi Brod,

Thanks for that. I was leaning toward Wodyetia also but since it was so skinny I thought it may be a Normanbya. Could be the soil. Ph of about 7.5 in most places and low on Nitrogen, Potassium, Iron and Magnesium. Worse than South Florida soils as confirmed by experts.

That is the only Wodyetia on the island. Soon they will be all over the place God willing.

Yea it was a bit windy when I took the pics. Cold front moved in late yesterday.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

[bgl]

Michael,

Very impressive gardens! And if you can grow Cyrtostachys, that would possibly be the northernmost C. renda grown outside. Considering your unique location, with the Gulf Stream right there, probably a good possibility.

Bo-Göran

[Palm Guy]

Thanks Bo! Nothing compared to your garden of course and I mean that! Few people here do the natural 'rainforest' look that I love so much. However, it's slowly becoming more popular. I believe since we are an English colony the 'English garden' influence comes into play (lots of flowers orderly arranged and plenty of lawn). Bermudians do love their palms though!

As for the C. Renda: I had one seedling survive a winter outside on my porch... It germinated in late Summer of 07 but did not produce a leaf (just a spike). Survived a winter low of 50F/10C and one day in March with a high of only 59F/15C!. It pushed its leaf in summer 08 and I planted it in the ground outside. Then, because of a La nina year coming I changed my mind and potted it back up and placed it inside in early November 08. Died about a month ago indoors. I think these things prefer fresh air. I've had a few species die like that including my one and only D. Baronii that i moved inside during a Hurricane. Died literally about a week later. Must be a fungi indoors.

If they do survive here they won't look half as good as the ones in Hawaii. I'm sure the soil and climate of Hawaii is much better in most locations. I'm sticking to my Areca Vestiarias which have survived and grown faster. I'll try C. Renda again in the future.

Cheers and Happy New Year!