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My garden in Greece turn into exotic !


dimitris

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Dimitris, I feel very, very happy with your progress :greenthumb: The self-constructed cold frame (it is self-constructed I suppose) was your best choice :winkie: I strongly recommend to keep windows open (I suppose you took care for an aeration inside) all year long regardless the weather at a certain moment...This practice may spare you from greater troubles, than the expected weak growth during winter. And if you feel worried about the most cold tender palms in your collection, you may use a heated pad (inside the cold frame), I suppose further that you also took care about energy supply inside...

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Hello Dimitris and decaohtoura.

Nice photos Dimitris,its obvious you put a lot of work,dedication,personal taste and love there.

I like it that the mosquitoes have competition,I mean the place crawls with colorful bromeliads too!

Edited by Astrophoenix
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Dimitris, I feel very, very happy with your progress :greenthumb: The self-constructed cold frame (it is self-constructed I suppose) was your best choice :winkie: I strongly recommend to keep windows open (I suppose you took care for an aeration inside) all year long regardless the weather at a certain moment...This practice may spare you from greater troubles, than the expected weak growth during winter. And if you feel worried about the most cold tender palms in your collection, you may use a heated pad (inside the cold frame), I suppose further that you also took care about energy supply inside...

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Dimitris, I feel very, very happy with your progress :greenthumb: The self-constructed cold frame (it is self-constructed I suppose) was your best choice :winkie: I strongly recommend to keep windows open (I suppose you took care for an aeration inside) all year long regardless the weather at a certain moment...This practice may spare you from greater troubles, than the expected weak growth during winter. And if you feel worried about the most cold tender palms in your collection, you may use a heated pad (inside the cold frame), I suppose further that you also took care about energy supply inside...

Thank you very much Kostantinos !

I wish the greenhouse was made by me , i am pretty sure that it would've been much better and more functional .

It was assigned to someone who's clearly had no idea of what and how to make it even though he claimed the opposite .

Anyway it is my fault , i should been present when he was building it !

I leave the door open all the morning but i am closing it in the evening to retain warmth for little time longer .

It needs some changes to be like i wanna be .

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Thank you very much Astrophoenix ,

the truth is i am trying really hard to keep this place cleen and tight , i don't have installed any irrigation systen so i have to water all the plants by hose , but that's a thing i really enjoy because that way i observe every little change or problem on my plants .

The main problems i face every single day are the mosquitoes which are too many , too aggressive and too hungry , and some kind of equisetum plant which is the only weed i can't control , no matter what i do it's coming up again and again with more vigor .

I love bromeliads and i have many of them , that's my sin and i am paying the price ! In blood thankfully because euros are hard to find these days !

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Hello Dimitris, your garden is absolutely a tropical garden of everyone's dreams. You are lucky because there in western Peloponnese you have better climate for tropical gardens, even more than the north coast of Crete, because of the rarity of the northern winds unlike what is happening usually in Heraklion for example. Keep continuing your nice work!! :36_14_15[1]:

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I can understand the amount of work you put in having the place clean,tidy,well cared for and as presentable as possible.I have a tiny garden,a few square meters and spend a lot of time each day having things clean and tidy,apart from watering and general plant care.

Now,regarding mosquitoes,we are in the same league,unfortunately.

This summer and it seems it will continue for a couple of months more,the situation with the mosquitoes was incredible and unbearable.Way too many,too hungry,too bold,omnipresent and so f@ing annoing.I hope next year will be better because these little f@#ers literally messed my "garden time" this year.I plan to aquire a lot of bromeliads from now on.Your bromeliads really enhance your garden which btw is great and will keep getting better of course.

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Thank you very much Fallacia , it might be dream for those living in lower zones than I , but isn't for those living in higher zones , those people can grow plants I can't even imagine !

I 'd love to grow Cyrtostahys renda among others palms and heliconia species in my garden , I am getting crazy when I read that in some places are invasive when I can't keep a single plant alive for more than five months .

I think the key for the tropical looking is the combination of different colors , shapes and sizes , and other things like rocks , pots and other decorative stuff .

Astrophoenix , bromeliads are the best companion plants for my palms and very easy to maintain ( neoregelias , aechmeas and billbergias ) but consider that the more you have the more nesting places for mosquitoes you create !

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Dimitris, how do ficus species grow in your city? here in the link in Reggio Calabria the main street is lined with them. I think Reggio is a zone 10b and at similar latitude as your city. https://www.google.com/maps/@38.111148,15.6453265,3a,88.1y,133.24h,98.44t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sLVKoNqrFK5jssX9uWg6Qlg!2e0?hl=en

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Hi empireo ,

We have few ficus species growing here , in public places ficus microcarpa is planted mostly .

In private gardens you can find ficus elastica , benjamina , maclellandii , lyrata and another one looking like elastica having smaller leaves .

All those speciess doing well here sometimes they might burn by frost but they recover quickly .

There is at least one ficus magnoliodes growing in Corfu , it was about 7 m tall and very wide , I haven't been there for many years but I think it should doubled its size now .

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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So we are say ten Greeks here,translating to one per million.swell.Why I wrote that?because the biggest ficuses I saw were huge ones in the Hania park,but some Cretan should give that info,not me ,living on the other side of Greece.

Your bromeliads were bought locally Dimitri?

Edited by Astrophoenix
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In Greece you can't find large variety just the regular stuff , aechmea fasciata , aechmea del mar , aechmea starlight , neoregelia Caroline the green one red or pink flushing and if you are lucky enough the variegated form .

I don't count Guzmania and vriesea which are the more common bromeliads found in every flower shop every time of the year , those are hard but not impossible to make them flower , you just need a bright place to put them and lot of patience .

It took for a Guzmania hybrid I have four years to flower , and keep in mind that new plants getting almost double the size of the mother plant , in nurseries make them flower much earlier than they would normally . Vriesea splendens is the best choice , its foliage is great looking with or without flower and the new flowers are just like the ones it had when you bought it in size and color ! And from tillandsias the one and only in Greece cyanea best for mounted plant .

I am buying plants mostly from European sellers and rarely from United States , it depends on what I want and how much I want to have it . I have to warn you that it's highly addictive and just like palms you have never enough and you can't never have them all !

I will send you a pm with the links .

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Some more photos of the front of yard ,

attachicon.gifrps20140921_224936.jpg

Palms planted in front yard , Washingtonia robusta , syagrus romanzoffiana , butia capitata , trachycarpus fortunei , chamaedorea elegans , beccariophoenix alfredii , Phoenix roebelinii , arenga engleri , archontophoenix alexandrae and ptychosperma elegans .

attachicon.gifrps20140921_224004.jpg

Tillandsias mounted on yucca elephantipes ,

attachicon.gifrps20140921_224113.jpg

Hyophorbe versafeltii in pot , zamia furfuracea , cycas revoluta and revoluta x debaoensis

attachicon.gifrps20140921_223841.jpg

view from above

attachicon.gifrps20140921_222629.jpg attachicon.gifrps20140921_224748.jpg

Dimitris, I adore your garden, it makes my heart smile. You've transformed the environment surrounding your house with really clever use of plants, big and small. Do you maintain it all yourself? It looks like every morning, yaya rises at dawn to sweep, dust and water.

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Thank you Jo , and yes I am maintaining the whole garden all myself . I need about two hours for watering the potted and ground planted plants and in summer I have to water them in daily basis .

My working schedule isn't standard , so it might be dawn or even midnight . But that's a thing I really enjoy so I don't mind loose two hours of rest .

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Dimitris, I can't say enough about how awesome it is!!! :)

The Ficus that looks like elastica with smaller leafs is either F. macrophylla or F. australis. I have seen both in Greece

''To try,is to risk failure.......To not try,is to guarantee it''

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Thank you both guys !

Kosta , I checked the ficus and it's probably australis leafs are green both sides .

Elia , just imagine how the place would be if all those heliconias I tried from time to time were alive and flowering , like heaven !

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Elia, as you see, Western Peloponese is playing some serious palm(and tropical plant) ball :)

''To try,is to risk failure.......To not try,is to guarantee it''

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Dimitris thank you very much for your response,both public and private.much appreciated really.I hope next year to have a few more palms but many more bromeliads and orchids.I hope my plan will become reality.too sleepy now,will let others do the talking.I can understand what you mean when you say..addictive.all those bromeliads were bought or some were offsets grown by you?

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Oh I forgot.

I amplaning to try a few eliconias next year too and reading what you said about them got me worried.I wonder why they did not prosper.I was hoping that keeping them happy would be relatively easy.back to sleep.

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Trouble with Heliconia is the high temperature threshold many species have for growth. For example,Heliconia rostrata grows above 25C according to some Greek growers I have asked. So they sit doing nothing most of the year or barely growing the few hours above those degrees. So the many months with little growth do them no good in our climate....rot is usually the easily predicted fate.

I have never tried them,just sharing what their growers say as I have always like H. rostrata and H. chartacea and try to get all the information I can on growing them. They are in my plans to try eventually but it's a long list :)

''To try,is to risk failure.......To not try,is to guarantee it''

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George , only 25 % more or less are plants that multiplied from the time I bought them . The majority of the plants I have including bromeliads are all imported from other countries , unfortunately I can't find the plants I am seeking in greek nurseries at least the ones I have visited ! I have many green neoregelias at this time but they are not all the same and they are not all green , they have lost their color because I didn't provide them the bright light they need to appear the bright colors and paterns they had when I bought them .

I was thinking the same about heliconias in the beginning , that they will be very easy to grow like cannas and bannanas and that they gonna spread so much that i have to aware where i am gonna plant them not to take over the place . Unfortunately that's not the case , I am failing over and over , I can keep the plants alive but the canes don't live or they don't grow the second year to bloom , they fade and die .

I don't want to discourage you from trying them , who knows maybe you will be the one who succeed ! I keep on trying !

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Kostas,thank you very much for your comments ,advise and observations.Greatly appreciated.

Dimitris thank you very much for your comments,advise and everything too.You are both so eager to offer your help.

As for heliconias,I got it,way more difficult than I imagined,will research the subject and see.

At the moment I am not eager to obtain them anymore.

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Extremely interesting garden and I can understand perfectly that due to the crowded look you have created (because of lack of space or deliberately?) it is very difficult to take individual pictures of each plant. But at least try also please to focus on each individual plant as much as possible, so that the rest of us who are interested not only in the general look of your garden (which is anyway marvelous) but also in the growth-progress of the palms will be able to draw also some conclusions about this last issue. For example I am not able to see in my pc the Lytocaryum or the Syagrus sancona or the Allagoptera ...

That's funny, I was thinking just the opposite.......while I appreciate the close up shots of individual plants.....Im really enjoying the broader landcape shots. I like the layering effect created and to see how you are blocking undesirable site lines to neighbors, the street and power lines. This yard is a great example of how to use tropical landscaping to provide outdoor privacy by creating "rooms". As those Washingtonia's and other faster growing species get taller in the next few years, it will further enhance the vertical aspect of this beautiful garden.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

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You should try Heliconia schiedeana. The most cold tolerant Heliconia.

I have already a Heliconia schiedeana planted in the ground one year now , i can't say that is thriving but at least is still alive and gives me hope that it might be the one that gonna make it .

post-6446-0-80312900-1412792858_thumb.jp

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If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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Trouble with Heliconia is the high temperature threshold many species have for growth. For example,Heliconia rostrata grows above 25C according to some Greek growers I have asked. So they sit doing nothing most of the year or barely growing the few hours above those degrees. So the many months with little growth do them no good in our climate....rot is usually the easily predicted fate.

I have never tried them,just sharing what their growers say as I have always like H. rostrata and H. chartacea and try to get all the information I can on growing them. They are in my plans to try eventually but it's a long list :)

It seems to be more complex Kostas. In Funchal they grow apparently with no issues (you seem them in parks etc) and there are not many months above 25 c there (though southwest coast is warmer).

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  • 8 months later...

I hadn't read the last comments, but i respond now that after 5 years of growth my 2 Helionia rostrata 'mini' have started to bloom. By now it is the most difficult Heliconia that i grow, because it flowers on last year's canes. The plants grew very well even indoors in the winter, placed in a south facing French door (with some hours of direct sun) and with a temperature minimum of 13C (but usually higher averages). Strangely, under these conditions the plants didn't stop growing in the winter! The room was an office, that was only partially heated, so during weekends the plants stayed at 15C (59F). Strong light and even direct sun for some hours is necessary, because otherwise the plants start to wither in such cool conditions. Another big problem for overwintering Heliconia rostrata 'mini' indoors, is spider mites. The species is very susceptible to them. I generally had no problem with spider mites until late winter, after 4-5 months of indoor growing (from mid November to mid April). That made me moving them out in mid April, and place them in a sunny spot. Growth remained unharmed, beautiful green leaves, but no blooms! After 3 winters with no blooms of mature plants, this spring i hesitated to moved them outdoors and left them in the office. Spider mites infection become severe, so i had to cut the heavily infected leaves. Before 3 weeks, i saw blooms for the first time! So, i understood that they didn't like moving outdoors too early, because cool morning temperatures destroyed the flowering shoots! In my opinion the problem with outdoor Heliconia growing in Greece is the variability of the winter. Winter temperatures can vary a lot from year to year. Siberia is quite close, so there can be very cool winters even in the mildest parts of Greece (even in the islands). Subtropical and tropical Heliconia species and hybrids won't tolerate prologned cool and near freezing temperatures. That is the reason that Heliconia rostrata is not deciduous here, but even the rhizomes die in cold winters. Frost may be rare in general in South Greece, but that doesn't mean that the winter is warm. It is usually a cool and prolonged winter.

Edited by eliasastro
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I am searching to find some examples of cold winters, even in the mildest parts of Greece (coastal parts of south Greece and the islands). For example, February 2003 was a cold one. I found the climatological data for Heraclion, Greece, which has an all time low 0°C/ 32F (frost almost unknown). Average February temperature in Heraclion is 12.2C/ 54F. February 2003 had an average temperature of 10C/50F. There were 11 days in the month that temperature didn't exceed 10C/50F. That would be pretty cold for most Heliconias. In more continental areas of the country (even in Athens), winter temperature variations are even larger.

As a conclusion, i would say that In a sheltered southerly position Heliconia rostrata can be tried at the mildest parts of Greece (especially in small islands like Leros) and may have a chance to bloom after a mild winter, but may also suffer in a cold winter.

Edited by eliasastro
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Amazing garden :greenthumb: :greenthumb: :greenthumb:

Sol Cooper

Hobart Tasmania

42 degrees South

Mild climate - mostly frost free

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Hello Dimitris, your garden is absolutely a tropical garden of everyone's dreams. You are lucky because there in western Peloponnese you have better climate for tropical gardens, even more than the north coast of Crete, because of the rarity of the northern winds unlike what is happening usually in Heraklion for example. Keep continuing your nice work!! :36_14_15[1]:

It is true that the most exposed islands of the Aegean do experience cool northerly winds and heavier cold spells, but as fas as average temperatures are concerned, there is no big difference. Even in the mildest parts of Peloponnese and the Ionian islands there can be cool winters that will disturb or even kill tropical Heliconias like H. rostrata. For example, January and February 2012 in Katakolo (where dimitris garden is) had an average temperature of 9.8C and 10.5C respectively, which is too cool for Heliconia rostrata to survive. Of course there are some cool hardy Heliconia species (as happens with Bromeliads and Palms), but true tropicals hate cool winters and near freezing temperatures.

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Thank you very much nomolos !

Elia , I am really excited you finally made it with your heliconias , you must be proud bragging about this !

Unfortunately last winter was a cold one and I lost some plants , ground planted heliconia schiedeana survived and produce new canes but there is not any activity by the old ones from which I was expecting to see some flowers this summer .

I was very optimistic about them since they were producing new leaves until late November and I was really sure that they gonna make it .

Same things with potted heliconia rostrata in an unheated room .

Finally I found some calathea crotalifera rhizomes this year , and I really hope they will easier to flower !

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.

Western Greece zone 9b

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  • 7 years later...

Hello, I see this thread because it included Greece and Katakolo in a search.

I am relocating to Katakolo GR from Seattle WA USA and will be planting palms and semitropical companion plants there in zone 10A, yay!

This problem of acquiring specimens, I wonder if this has changed? At Katakolo I do not see many palms and those I see are few well uncared for.

Cheer,

Eric Seattle WA USA.

 

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1 hour ago, E V said:

Hello, I see this thread because it included Greece and Katakolo in a search.

I am relocating to Katakolo GR from Seattle WA USA and will be planting palms and semitropical companion plants there in zone 10A, yay!

This problem of acquiring specimens, I wonder if this has changed? At Katakolo I do not see many palms and those I see are few well uncared for.

Cheer,

Eric Seattle WA USA.

 

In the EU you can order any palms from other countries in the EU so it's shouldn't be too hard to find rarer palm. I'm sure things such as syagrus romanzoffianana, the phoenix palms, Washingtonia and other common palms should be easy to find for sale in Greece. You should try a royal palm there.

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Thank you very much Foxpalms!

I will hope to make a list of interesting palms and companion plants to aquire but these will be so unfamiliar because only with the things here my existing in Seattle are all cold hardy. 

I appreciate your suggestions and would appreciate anything else you may be able to offer, maybe you have a list of plants/palms on a wish list?

I know that I want some grand tall interesting palms, a few thick trunk or otherwise interesting pinate shade palms that will create protected areas for interesting understory palms and companion plants.

My hope at this point is to get the key important tall and shade palms, trees (if any), shrubs in ground this year and acclimating to grow there. 

My next trip to Greece will likely be in early May and my stay about 7 weeks. The Red bubble is the area I speak of. One or both buildings I will demolish soon and plant out. And also there is much area in the front of these two buildings that can be planted a few things too. One important consideration is that the soil is sandy there and everything planted must be watered consistently. So I want to plant carefully and not too much that it become overly burdening.

Dropped pin
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vwcWuuMSuXv4h6tPA

Cheer

Screenshot_20230127-074834.png

Screenshot_20230127-074759.png

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2 hours ago, E V said:

Thank you very much Foxpalms!

I will hope to make a list of interesting palms and companion plants to aquire but these will be so unfamiliar because only with the things here my existing in Seattle are all cold hardy. 

I appreciate your suggestions and would appreciate anything else you may be able to offer, maybe you have a list of plants/palms on a wish list?

I know that I want some grand tall interesting palms, a few thick trunk or otherwise interesting pinate shade palms that will create protected areas for interesting understory palms and companion plants.

My hope at this point is to get the key important tall and shade palms, trees (if any), shrubs in ground this year and acclimating to grow there. 

My next trip to Greece will likely be in early May and my stay about 7 weeks. The Red bubble is the area I speak of. One or both buildings I will demolish soon and plant out. And also there is much area in the front of these two buildings that can be planted a few things too. One important consideration is that the soil is sandy there and everything planted must be watered consistently. So I want to plant carefully and not too much that it become overly burdening.

Dropped pin
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vwcWuuMSuXv4h6tPA

Cheer

Screenshot_20230127-074834.png

Screenshot_20230127-074759.png

You have quite a good microclimate being on a peninsula. I agree that you should plant the palms and trees you intend to use as canopy first. Since you have sandy soil it might be worth adding in loads of mulch and over the years you can add more and more to improve the soil. I would add royal palms as a large trunking stand out palm, queen palms also grow pretty fast and have a good sized canopy. You could add in phoenix canariensis and Washingtonia robusta and filifera but they are probably already very common in the area. I would go for phoenix dactylifera (the true date palm), phoenix theophrasti, phoenix rupicola, phoenix Sylvesteris, phoenix reclinata, phoenix roebelenii and phoenix loureiroi. Bismarckia would also made a nice stand out palm.Chrysalidocarpus decaryi, ambositrae, baronii, onilahensis should be fine there. Some of the arenga palms will probably do well there. For understory palms I'd use the chamedorea genus.Cryosophila warscewiczii, chambeyronia macrocarpa, chambeyronia oliviformis, Chambeyronia lepidota and Wallichia as some nice rarer palms. I'd also go with the whole archontophoenix genus, some big archontophoenix Alexandrae in full sun and under a light canopy archontophoenix cunninghamiana, myolensis, purperea, Maxima and tuckeri. When the canopy has really grown in you might be able to grow Rhopalostylis sapida and Rhopalostylis baueri in lots of shade. Livistona should do pretty well there too and sabals.Acoelorraphe wrigthii and  Allagoptera I think will be fine. Howea belmoreana and howea forsteriana need to be in the shade I'd also put those under denser pat's of the canopy. If you want a coconut look a like since Cocos nucifera won't grow there try Beccariophoenix alfredii or Jubaeopsis caffra. Since you have sandy soil I'd try and take advantage of that and have a large arid section with dessert plants such as aloes, cacti agaves, yuccas and arid shrubs. I would then have a Mediterranean area full of Mediterranean plants lots of flowers ect and maybe a few palms too. Finally for the largest section I'd have a full sun tropical biome area full of palms and exotics and then a shaded section at the back with the same things but can't handle full sun such as bromeliads, monstera deliciosa, colocasias, caladiums, chamedorea ect. Trees such as eucalyptus, jacaranda mimosifolia, Delonix regia and Araucaria heterophylla would do well there. The arid and Mediterranean sections would reduce watering so you can make sure the ones in the tropical style section get plenty of water.  Bougainvillea is also something I'd recommend growing there. Of course there's plenty more things you could do but those are just a few ideas. @Phoenikakiasprobably knows more about what palms and plants would do well in you're climate.

 

Edited by Foxpalms
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13 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

You have quite a good microclimate being on a peninsula. I agree that you should plant the palms and trees you intend to use as canopy first. Since you have sandy soil it might be worth adding in loads of mulch and over the years you can add more and more to improve the soil. I would add royal palms as a large trunking stand out palm, queen palms also grow pretty fast and have a good sized canopy. You could add in phoenix canariensis and Washingtonia robusta and filifera but they are probably already very common in the area. I would go for phoenix dactylifera (the true date palm), phoenix theophrasti, phoenix rupicola, phoenix Sylvesteris, phoenix reclinata, phoenix roebelenii and phoenix loureiroi. Bismarckia would also made a nice stand out palm.Chrysalidocarpus decaryi, ambositrae, baronii, onilahensis should be fine there. Some of the arenga palms will probably do well there. For understory palms I'd use the chamedorea genus.Cryosophila warscewiczii, chambeyronia macrocarpa, chambeyronia oliviformis, Chambeyronia lepidota and Wallichia as some nice rarer palms. I'd also go with the whole archontophoenix genus, some big archontophoenix Alexandrae in full sun and under a light canopy archontophoenix cunninghamiana, myolensis, purperea, Maxima and tuckeri. When the canopy has really grown in you might be able to grow Rhopalostylis sapida and Rhopalostylis baueri in lots of shade. Livistona should do pretty well there too and sabals.Acoelorraphe wrigthii and  Allagoptera I think will be fine. Howea belmoreana and howea forsteriana need to be in the shade I'd also put those under denser pat's of the canopy. If you want a coconut look a like since Cocos nucifera won't grow there try Beccariophoenix alfredii or Jubaeopsis caffra. Since you have sandy soil I'd try and take advantage of that and have a large arid section with dessert plants such as aloes, cacti agaves, yuccas and arid shrubs. I would then have a Mediterranean area full of Mediterranean plants lots of flowers ect and maybe a few palms too. Finally for the largest section I'd have a full sun tropical biome area full of palms and exotics and then a shaded section at the back with the same things but can't handle full sun such as bromeliads, monstera deliciosa, colocasias, caladiums, chamedorea ect. Trees such as eucalyptus, jacaranda mimosifolia, Delonix regia and Araucaria heterophylla would do well there. The arid and Mediterranean sections would reduce watering so you can make sure the ones in the tropical style section get plenty of water.  Bougainvillea is also something I'd recommend growing there. Of course there's plenty more things you could do but those are just a few ideas. @Phoenikakiasprobably knows more about what palms and plants would do well in you're climate.

 

You would be quite spot on, were there  not those darned imported pests. Truth is that the planned garden will be located in south western coastal mainland, which is blessed with a very subtropical climate, moister climate, less heat in summer, less cold in winter, relatively high max temps almost every day during winter and considerably less northern wind. An entirely different world from the eastern coast in same latitude. All this because the highest montane massive does not run across the country from east to the west but rather from north to south. Therefore I am bound to recommend only crownshafted palms, which are less susceptible to an atrack by rpw and Paysandisia,  plus some non crownshafted spp which have proven hardy to those pests, such as Arenga and Caryota, and plenty of (sub)tropical fruiting trees. Unless one desires to inhale almost year around pesticides, because biological treatment for extensive palm collections is outrageously expensive, difficult and during summer not entirely effective. 

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I really appreciate these reply posts suggestions and input. It will take me some time to digest all you shared. 

I hope I can source a few of the important tall and shade varieties as larger crated or barefoot but I haven't investigated what nurseries exist in the Peloponnesian area.

It would be interesting if I could bring several bare root Rhapidophyllum histrix pups from here, likely they would do well there.

Someone mentioned baby palms.eu as a source for mail order palms/seedlings who are in Spain. I enquired of them and they seems to feel shipping to me would not be a problem, and as an estimate a 30 kilo box holding several plants would cost about 150 Euros.

Hopefully I can find things closer to Katakolo and for now I'm just in the planning stage and one house and it's concrete fence walls removed before I can plant any specimens. Also, I really should have installed new fence walls on three sides leaving one end open for construction of a home that approval to build may take a year or more to have approved.

Anyway, it nice that palm and tropicals folks are nice there in Europe just as they are here. I really appreciate you folks posting with palm talk!

 

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