Tall Washingtonias

[gurugu]

These are the tallest ones I,ve seen on the north coast of Spain. I guess they are between 20/25 mts tall or maybe more.

These other ones are very tall too. If that Phoenix is 15 mts tall, then the washingtonias must be well over 20 mts.

I like this setting.

This one is pretty tall too.

These ones are about 25 years old. they are in a very good spot, so, in ten years time, they will be very tall. I think they are watered once in a while, but not well fed.

The tallest ones I,ve ever seen are these ones in Tenerife. They are supposed to be over 30 mts tall.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4887052,-16.3167999,3a,75y,61.81h,116.2t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sNOMvwcKQLsOzPULdgJxGOA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DNOMvwcKQLsOzPULdgJxGOA%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D107.838036%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

And these

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4814369,-16.4059942,3a,49y,136.53h,120.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNufJmxJz-m7wNFZ3wOw2SA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

What about those taaaall ones growing in California?

[Foxpalms]

@gurugu a robusta and a filifera. There are bigger ones but I didn't take any photos of them

[gurugu]

12 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

@gurugu a robusta and a filifera. There are bigger ones but I didn't take any photos of them

Huge!

Where in the U.K?

[Foxpalms]

2 hours ago, gurugu said:

Huge!

Where in the U.K?

That's in Tenerife the tallest ones in the UK mainland are probably about 40ft. Though they grow so fast in London another 10 years some will definitely be around 60ft.

[gurugu]

2 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

That's in Tenerife the tallest ones in the UK mainland are probably about 40ft. Though they grow so fast in London another 10 years some will definitely be around 60ft.

Anyway. Those in the U.K. will be as tall in 10/20 years´time.

These are W. Filiferas in the north of Spain.

This one is in Vigo.

This one in Santander

This one in Castro Urdiales.

And this one in Bilbao.

All of them are between 15/20 mts tall, and well over 100 years old. But I haven´t seen any of them setting seeds. They do flower, but no seeds. Robustas do profusely. I sowed a bunch last January, and they sprouted very easily, because they were fresh.

[Hortulanus]

In a European landscape they actually look bigger than in North America. Just because everything is more dense. Amazing!

[Foxpalms]

Whilst I wouldn't consider them that tall yet, here are some on the isle of wight. 

Edited February 9 by Foxpalms

[Axel Amsterdam]

Those look like like recent plantings. 

[Foxpalms]

38 minutes ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

Those look like like recent plantings. 

I think they are.

[UK_Palms]

4 hours ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

Those look like like recent plantings. 

I think the ones he posted were dug up and moved from nearby Shanklin when a property was knocked down around 2019. They were replanted at Robin Hill and look way better now and don’t have supports attached anymore. I will visit them this summer to get updated photos.

These are the photos I took in July 2021.

Here is a more recent photo that I saw posted recently. The stilts/supports are definitely gone now.

 

As I said, I will visit them this coming summer along with the big Washingtonia stand at Ventnor Botanic garden.

Edited February 9 by UK_Palms

[Little Tex]

Im sorry but some of these U.K washingtonia look really gnarly, I remember seeing one from my last trip to London that looked decent, I forget where it was though.

[Hortulanus]

27 minutes ago, Little Tex said:

Im sorry but some of these U.K washingtonia look really gnarly, I remember seeing one from my last trip to London that looked decent, I forget where it was though.

That's what I think but mostly the coastal ones. The ones in London and other more sheltered spots look better maybe because of more heat and less wind/salty wind. Coastal Washies like in Santa Monica, CA do not looks so nice as well.

[UK_Palms]

44 minutes ago, Little Tex said:

Im sorry but some of these U.K washingtonia look really gnarly, I remember seeing one from my last trip to London that looked decent, I forget where it was though.

Somebody posted a photo recently of the big Wimbledon one in southwest London. It’s still looking pretty good after the coldest January temperatures in 36 years and the worst winter in general since 2010. We’ve actually had two bad freezes this winter (one in early-mid December and another in mid-late January) and also the most -5C nights in west London since 1963. So it has been a pretty bad winter!

Wimbledon is also located outside of the main central urban heat island (UHI) as well. If this Washingtonia is still looking that green after everything this winter has thrown at us, it will probably be bulletproof there now. It looks like a hybrid Filibusta but it definitely has a lot of Filifera genetics in it. The trunk and crown look pretty Filifera-ish. Also notice the potted Cycas Revoluta which looks untouched as well.

[Little Tex]

41 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

Somebody posted a photo recently of the big Wimbledon one in southwest London. It’s still looking pretty good after the coldest January temperatures in 36 years and the worst winter in general since 2010. We’ve actually had two bad freezes this winter (one in early-mid December and another in mid-late January) and also the most -5C nights in west London since 1963. So it has been a pretty bad winter!

Wimbledon is also located outside of the main central urban heat island (UHI) as well. If this Washingtonia is still looking that green after everything this winter has thrown at us, it will probably be bulletproof there now. It looks like a hybrid Filibusta but it definitely has a lot of Filifera genetics in it. The trunk and crown look pretty Filifera-ish. Also notice the potted Cycas Revoluta which looks untouched as well.

That might be the one I saw

[Palmfarmer]

1 hour ago, Hortulanus said:

That's what I think but mostly the coastal ones. The ones in London and other more sheltered spots look better maybe because of more heat and less wind/salty wind. Coastal Washies like in Santa Monica, CA do not looks so nice as well.

Its the Same for many species even in warm climates. Seen the same thing in Mazatlan and in southern Spain as well. 

[Hortulanus]

1 hour ago, Palmfarmer said:

Its the Same for many species even in warm climates. Seen the same thing in Mazatlan and in southern Spain as well. 

Yes I also think that some zone pushing plants be it in Northern latitudes or in just plants in a different climate than their natural habitats where it's hotter, cooler, wetter etc.... are sometimes not looking good because of this. Sea fronts can really beat up plants with salt, wind and cold.

[Foxpalms]

3 hours ago, Little Tex said:

Im sorry but some of these U.K washingtonia look really gnarly, I remember seeing one from my last trip to London that looked decent, I forget where it was though.

The only ones that look like this, are these and the large one at Tresco. These were transplanted and this is an old photo and the largest one on Tresco has very shallow soil because beneath it is granite There's are lots of smaller ones on tresco that look better. 

[jgi27]

The majority of tall Washingtonias planted around LA and Beverly Hills are over 100 years old. Here is a cool article about the oldest/tallest Palm trees in LA:

https://losangelespast.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-oldest-living-thing-in-los-angeles.html

They're like weeds here - on the side of the freeways, on the side of the stairs, everywhere. I keep pulling seedlings out of my backyard because the birds drop them there and they grow pretty fast.

Edited February 10 by jgi27

[UK_Palms]

23 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

Its the Same for many species even in warm climates. Seen the same thing in Mazatlan and in southern Spain as well. 

The same also applies for Phoenix Canariensis too. The Isles of Scilly have the biggest ones in the UK by far at 100 foot tall, however the crowns are usually tatty and desiccated from all the wind & salt spray. The same goes for the Washingtonia too. The crowns on the London ones are much fuller and healthier, as are the ones along the southeast coast (Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Essex) where they get less wind, rain and storms to damage & desiccate the fronds.

It's hard to get an estimate on the Tresco Robusta, but having seen it in person last summer, I would say it is about 50 foot in height. It was supposedly planted quite small back in the 1970's, so it is about 50 years old. Maybe even 60 years old now. It is nowhere near as big as the colossal CIDP's that were planted back in the 1890's I believe. The big Norfolk Island Pines also dwarf that Robusta too. I have no idea when they were actually planted, but the biggest NIP's must be about 90 foot tall as well now.

 

Also I have resized that image of the Ventnor Washingtonia. I don't think anywhere above 45N comes close to beating the Washingtonia stand at Ventnor in terms of grandeur. There are about 25 specimens growing there, of which half are a good 30 foot or so tall now. They were planted very small in like 2007, so the growth rate is 2-3 foot a year easily.

 

[Palmfarmer]

On 2/10/2023 at 2:45 PM, UK_Palms said:

The same also applies for Phoenix Canariensis too. The Isles of Scilly have the biggest ones in the UK by far at 100 foot tall, however the crowns are usually tatty and desiccated from all the wind & salt spray. The same goes for the Washingtonia too. The crowns on the London ones are much fuller and healthier, as are the ones along the southeast coast (Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Essex) where they get less wind, rain and storms to damage & desiccate the fronds.

It's hard to get an estimate on the Tresco Robusta, but having seen it in person last summer, I would say it is about 50 foot in height. It was supposedly planted quite small back in the 1970's, so it is about 50 years old. Maybe even 60 years old now. It is nowhere near as big as the colossal CIDP's that were planted back in the 1890's I believe. The big Norfolk Island Pines also dwarf that Robusta too. I have no idea when they were actually planted, but the biggest NIP's must be about 90 foot tall as well now.

 

Also I have resized that image of the Ventnor Washingtonia. I don't think anywhere above 45N comes close to beating the Washingtonia stand at Ventnor in terms of grandeur. There are about 25 specimens growing there, of which half are a good 30 foot or so tall now. They were planted very small in like 2007, so the growth rate is 2-3 foot a year easily.

 

Wow, would mistake that place for a Mediterranean location if I did not know. Would be interesting to try some more rare palms there as well. Kentias, Majesties, Bismarcks and more would be cool. 

[Foxpalms]

9 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

Wow, would mistake that place for a Mediterranean location if I did not know. Would be interesting to try some more rare palms there as well. Kentias, Majesties, Bismarcks and more would be cool. 

Lots of Rhopalostylis, archontophoenix and howea forsteriana there too. A Bismarckia probably wouldn't have enough summer heat there.

[gurugu]

14 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

Lots of Rhopalostylis, archontophoenix and howea forsteriana there too. A Bismarckia probably wouldn't have enough summer heat there.

Not enough summer heat here either, but mine are doing OK after 10 years in the ground. 

It is pretty hard and likes water. 

No problem at Tresco. 

[Foxpalms]

1 minute ago, gurugu said:

Not enough summer heat here either, but mine are doing OK after 10 years in the ground. 

It is pretty hard and likes water. 

No problem at Tresco. 

I grew one from seed last year and left it outside in a pot all year near the house, and it's growing and doing well. It's even stated pushing out a new frond over winter. The only issue at Tresco is would it be able to grow fronds faster than it looses them.

[gurugu]

1 minute ago, Foxpalms said:

I grew one from seed last year and left it outside in a pot all year near the house, and it's growing and doing well. It's even stated pushing out a new frond over winter. The only issue at Tresco is would it be able to grow fronds faster than it looses them.

At first, mine only set 1 or 2 new leaves a year. Last year it set 4 leaves and fifth is on the way, opening right now. Fully opened in a short time. 

Once they get stablished, they grow much faster. 

[gurugu]

All of mine were grown from seed. The one I bought wąs big but it died the first winter. No trust anymore. 

[Foxpalms]

5 minutes ago, gurugu said:

All of mine were grown from seed. The one I bought wąs big but it died the first winter. No trust anymore. 

That's why I'm growing mine from seeds so they are much hardier when planted.

[Alex High]

On 2/10/2023 at 2:05 PM, jgi27 said:

The majority of tall Washingtonias planted around LA and Beverly Hills are over 100 years old. Here is a cool article about the oldest/tallest Palm trees in LA:

https://losangelespast.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-oldest-living-thing-in-los-angeles.html

They're like weeds here - on the side of the freeways, on the side of the stairs, everywhere. I keep pulling seedlings out of my backyard because the birds drop them there and they grow pretty fast.

I made a video on my YouTube channel, Palm Planet, of these palms last year. They are so tall and skinny, easily 120+ feet. Supposedly the oldest Washingtonia robusta in the city, planted around 1870. Here are 2 postcards I have framed of them on my wall from 1906 and 1908. And they're still growing strong today! I highly recommend a visit if you're ever in Los Angeles, they're facing W. Adams Blvd right off the the 110 Freeway.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.027446,-118.2744059,3a,60y,66.47h,106.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZV6r2T2tuYylr2XojUDM6g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[PaPalmTree]

Cool 😎 

[Alex High]

2 hours ago, PaPalmTree said:

Cool 😎 

Thanks, such impressive palms!