Royal palms in Portugal

[bubba]

One last item:

[petiole10]

17 hours ago, Pargomad said:

 

If we compare Spain with Portugal, we can see a huge difference regarding ornamental gardening: Spain uses a lot of exotic (mainly subtropical and even tropical) trees for parks, avenues. Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) are definitely royalty there, but CDP are also used. The latter is way more vulnerable to the red palm weevil than the former. The Spaniards feel more concerned and connected to palms. You can find dozens palms in just one tiny street. 

In contrast, Portuguese people used to cultivate CDP in abundance in contrast with date palms, which were/are not so used as an ornamental. For one adult date palm you would find 30 mature CDP,  which is quite the opposite of Spain. Furthermore, the Portuguese people don’t use palms as ornamentals as much as their neighbors. They tend to grow shadow trees and they don’t care about where they come from. They can grow subtropical and tropical trees along with Mediterranean and even Temperate trees that you would find in cities like London or Brussels (especially in Lisbon). In fact, you can find avenues of Poplars or London Plane trees right next to the beach whereas other Mediterranean countries would select palm trees. Moreover, a significant part of the population hates palm trees and sees them as just as some strange aberration. The rest just doesn’t show any interest and simply doesn’t care, they feel more attached to olive trees and pine trees than palms. In fact, in the last few years, there’s been a new “movement” that consists in using only local trees (or what they consider as local) as ornamentals: olive trees are planted everywhere (even on Madeira island), oak trees, deciduous trees and pinus are the new palms here. So Lisbon (and the rest of the country) every year is losing its palms and getting a more and more “temperate” look just like Lyon or Paris. 

Typical urban Spanish avenue in Valencia with date palms and Mediterranean/subtropical trees.

 

 

 

Lisbon, same climate, same latitude, but with mostly temperate trees that can grow in Switzerland:

 

 

There’s also a financial component in this situation: palms have become too expensive to maintain. When the red weevil palm started to wipe out every CDP, a lot of the private owners didn’t do anything as the treatment was too expensive than losing the tree. In public spaces, they only really started to take measures in 2014 when the plague was already uncontrollable. Parks, botanical gardens, avenues and yards lost their CDP and date palms in a matter of months. The authorities stopped renewing the population and subsequently started planting deciduous and cheaper trees instead. Sometimes, when there was an infected palm in a group, they would remove every palm trees in the area even if they weren't sick.

Lisbon: Some of the CDP were infected so they decided to remove every palm trees, even the magnificent date palms that weren't infected. 

For instance, Cascais (a very touristy city next to Lisbon) has a list of species that are protected by the city and palm trees were part of it until 2014. So they were forced to take care of them and keep them alive. Nevertheless, when they figured it would be too expensive for them (being a touristy city it had a lot of palm trees) they just removed them from the list so they wouldn’t be compelled to do anything. Nevertheless, nature is trying to fight back as a lot of juvenile and subspontaneous CDP try to survive around the city, just like their progenitors did before the plague. 

Subspontaneous CDP near Lisbon, they were the first victims when the rpw arrived in the region. 

 

Juvenile CDP sprouting and growing in abandoned land or bushes, not far from their dead relatives. 

 

 

In conclusion, the beetle isn't the only guilty party here...  We can definitely blame the Portuguese authorities for what happened to the palm trees and for their poor landscape management. 

 

 

 

I live an hour inland from Lisbon and a few important points need to be made in respect of comments in this post & elsewhere in the thread about the distribution of palms and the varieties commonly grown.

1) Lisbon, as beautiful as it is, is not representative of the whole country - taking in areas with notable differences in terrain, local microclimates and contrasts between the much more maritime conditions of the Atlantic coast and the continental landlocked influences the further one heads inland and towards the Spanish border.

With this mind, the climate of Lisbon has significant differences to inland and especially central and northern parts of Portugal. Heat moderated (in relative terms) in summer and cold temperatures (especially at night) moderated during winter. Also wetter than further inland. This means that more tender species will thrive much better in Lisbon & around many western & southern coastal localities that even in my own locality which is at the same latitude as Lisbon. A kind of halfway house between the coastal and central/northern interior parts of the country. I immediately tried (for example)  Foxtails in my own garden when I moved here, and they have declined quite quickly & very disappointingly - totally intolerant of the cold winter nights that happen from time to time (several degrees lower than found in Lisbon) on still, clear winter nights) and not coping with the intense dry heat of summer (despite vigorous irrigation). Frost is not at all that significant at all in my location, but combined with the diurnal extremes found in both winter and summer is enough to preclude palms like Foxtails & Royals.  

Further inland in central and northern Portugal they are a complete no-no - and would never survive  the dry heat and the dry desiccating sub zero nights  sometimes as low as -10C- including some others like Livistona etc on a list given in this thread,

2) Washingtonia are much more resistant to the weevil. it is not true that only temperate Northern European species are being planted alone from other palms to replace the decimated CIDPS.  Washingtonia are extensively planted in the urban towns on in my locality and can be found growing wild and thriving in semi urban/rural farmland. Increasing  numbers that will ultimately match the CIDP's. I have two giant skydusters in my own garden which must be up to 40 to 50 yrs old.  Local gardens have Queen palms, Butia, Chamaerops etc - but again tender palms like Royals and Howea etc are focussed in the coastal more temperate regions, including Lisbon, and are not typical of the country as a whole.

Inland northern most parts, especially in the mountains have very small, if any, concentrations of any palms - even including cold hardy varieties. The harsh climate, with snow,frost in winter and with fire risks during the inferno summers along with areas of open mountain terrain that are sparsely populated are not conducive for palm & exotics to grow and be tended long term.

So I think care about making generalisations about a country that is quite different from its coast > to inland and from south to north is needed. A "Mediterranean climate" is a wide envelope when it incorporates subtle maritime influences that can widen the species that can be grown in places like Lisbon and, even more so, the warmest maritime places within the Algarve in the south.

[petiole10]

17 hours ago, ChristianStAug said:

I was surprised to see very large ficus elastica and also jacaranda in Porto last May.  Orange bird of paradise and some species of protea also flourished in home gardens. This to me signals a virtually frost-free climate where surely they should be trying more Archontonphoenix and royals. It’s not terribly hot in summer depending the distance from the Atlantic (which has warmest winter minimums), but more royals would be fun to try if the locals find the sweet-spots with warmest summers/winter combination. 

Orange bird of paradise are extensive in southern & coastal Portugal. Porto benefits in respect of its close to coastal location. I have some lovely specimens in my own garden. As for Archontophoenix I have some juvenile species planted out which are protected during any cold nights in winter. They are succeeding and responding nicely - where Foxtails are failing. I planted up to six Foxtails  - two years later one has already been pulled out of the ground, four others have defoliated and one is sulking and refusing to open the same new spear leaf it had when it was purchased.  I won't be replacing them. and trying again.

I am an hour from the coast, but even that is enough to make me not consider Royals - based on the experience with the Foxtails. Archontophoenic in my experience are less tender sensitive. Equally KO seem to be doing well🙂

Edited May 1, 2023 by petiole10

[Pargomad]

4 hours ago, petiole10 said:

I live an hour inland from Lisbon and a few important points need to be made in respect of comments in this post & elsewhere in the thread about the distribution of palms and the varieties commonly grown.

1) Lisbon, as beautiful as it is, is not representative of the whole country - taking in areas with notable differences in terrain, local microclimates and contrasts between the much more maritime conditions of the Atlantic coast and the continental landlocked influences the further one heads inland and towards the Spanish border.

With this mind, the climate of Lisbon has significant differences to inland and especially central and northern parts of Portugal. Heat moderated (in relative terms) in summer and cold temperatures (especially at night) moderated during winter. Also wetter than further inland. This means that more tender species will thrive much better in Lisbon & around many western & southern coastal localities that even in my own locality which is at the same latitude as Lisbon. A kind of halfway house between the coastal and central/northern interior parts of the country. I immediately tried (for example)  Foxtails in my own garden when I moved here, and they have declined quite quickly & very disappointingly - totally intolerant of the cold winter nights that happen from time to time (several degrees lower than found in Lisbon) on still, clear winter nights) and not coping with the intense dry heat of summer (despite vigorous irrigation). Frost is not at all that significant at all in my location, but combined with the diurnal extremes found in both winter and summer is enough to preclude palms like Foxtails & Royals.  

Further inland in central and northern Portugal they are a complete no-no - and would never survive  the dry heat and the dry desiccating sub zero nights  sometimes as low as -10C- including some others like Livistona etc on a list given in this thread,

2) Washingtonia are much more resistant to the weevil. it is not true that only temperate Northern European species are being planted alone from other palms to replace the decimated CIDPS.  Washingtonia are extensively planted in the urban towns on in my locality and can be found growing wild and thriving in semi urban/rural farmland. Increasing  numbers that will ultimately match the CIDP's. I have two giant skydusters in my own garden which must be up to 40 to 50 yrs old.  Local gardens have Queen palms, Butia, Chamaerops etc - but again tender palms like Royals and Howea etc are focussed in the coastal more temperate regions, including Lisbon, and are not typical of the country as a whole.

Inland northern most parts, especially in the mountains have very small, if any, concentrations of any palms - even including cold hardy varieties. The harsh climate, with snow,frost in winter and with fire risks during the inferno summers along with areas of open mountain terrain that are sparsely populated are not conducive for palm & exotics to grow and be tended long term.

So I think care about making generalisations about a country that is quite different from its coast > to inland and from south to north is needed. A "Mediterranean climate" is a wide envelope when it incorporates subtle maritime influences that can widen the species that can be grown in places like Lisbon and, even more so, the warmest maritime places within the Algarve in the south.

Despite having a Mediterranean macroclimate, Portugal shows a lot of diversity in temperatures, humidity and landscapes within its borders. You can go from semiarid places in the South to oceanic and humid landscapes in the Northwest. These differences do have an impact on the ornamental gardening of each region. You can't grow CDP in Northern inland regions as it gets very cold in Winter. In Southern inland regions, constant irrigation would be necessary in Summer as it gets almost no rain in that time of the year. 

Trewartha climate classification of Portugal (more accurate than Köppen Geiger):  

 

Here's another map that shows the plant hardiness zones. As you can see, the coastline is better suited for more tropical or "tender" palms, especially around Lisbon and the Algarve whereas Northern and central inland  regions are a no no for palm trees. 

Lisbon is indeed a special case in Portugal regarding ornamental gardening. As I told you before, they tend to plant more and more temperate deciduous trees nowadays. To prove that: there  is a significant contrast between the city and the bordering municipalities. For instance, in Lisbon, they love to plant silver linden (tilia tomentosa), deciduous oak trees (quercus robur and quercus faginae), black poplars (populus nigra), London plane tree (platanus x hispanica), etc, along with Mediterranean local trees (olive tree, pine trees, etc) and more subtropical specimens (araucarias, jacarandas, tipuanas tipu, casuarina, washingtonia robusta, etc.). But when you cross the administrative borders and go to Oeiras or Loures, the landscape changes drastically. In Sacavém, for example, the most common plants and trees are mainly from subtropical climates. There you can see a lot of casuarinas, jacarandas, ficus trees (microcarpa, elastica, macrophylla, etc.), date palms, Mexican fan palms, araucarias, etc. You are more likely to see Mediterranean or subtropical trees there than temperate trees, unlike in Lisbon. 

Olivais, Lisbon: 

Chelas, Lisbon 

Sacavém, just a few km away:

Oeiras, near Lisbon

Of course there are exceptions, there are neighborhoods in Lisbon that are more "palmy" than others, especially those that were created between the 80's and the 00's I'd say. Nowadays, the tendency looks more like this: 

So public ornamental gardening depends a lot on the municipality's choices and capacities. In regions, where palm trees can grow, there are some cities that do chose to plant and maintain them and others that simply don't. Either way, palm trees (and subtropical trees) are definitely not used as much as in Spain.

Regarding private gardens, here the reality can be very disparate and it depends a lot on the owner's preferences and knowledge. I have seen in Lisbon (and surroundings) people succesfully grow papaya, mangoes, sugar cane, avocadoes, archontophoenix, dypsis lutescens, roystonea regia, howea, etc. And I also have seen private gardens with firs and other Northern coniferous trees. 

Here you can see four houses in the same street in Lisbon: 

And yes, in Lisbon they tend to substitute dead CDP with more temperate trees. Here are some examples:

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Pargomad

[petiole10]

There is a bigger effort happening in municipalities outside Lisbon to replace CIDP infested palms with Washingtonia was really a main point being made in my post as they clearly show some resistance based on the number of old trees that have not succumbed in the way that CIDP have done to the weevil..

Each municipality takes its own decisions and this means there can be quite some diversity from one to another. Especially in the bigger towns inland away from the coast. My own municipality in Almeirim is very geared towards palms and other typical exotics with rows and rows of fairly young Washingtonia being planted on urban routes both into the town and in the town itself. Joining the existing tall skydusters already standing out on the skyline.. Local industrial estates also have these palms planted where there have clearly been CIDP's previously

I think this is a very encouraging trend - the appetite of Portuguese authorities to keep the classic Mediterranean palmy ambience is still very much in evidence - despite some previous inhibitions due to the weevil.

It makes a lot of sense to plant Washingtomia in the public areas. They are incredibly cheap and easy to germinate and with seeds from parent trees that sprout up seedlings like weeds. I have two tall skydusters in my own property which are probably over 40 yrs old (in addition to numerous smaller specimens) which scatter seeds everywhere with seedings sprouting up in all kinds of restricted spaces. They could literally be sold for a few cents per seedling on the street!

[petiole10]

Just a small number of the palms in the collection at my place:: 

[iko.]

I have been told other neighbouring countries, France and Portugal, didn't take that many measures against the weevil and only follow the EU guidelines that started being enforced in May 2007 and amended again in 2010. As I said -I have been told- so I don't want to start a competition on what EU country has done better... actually, looks like the weevil arrived through Spain.

However, I know regions and town halls in Spain took the weevil very seriously and have additional orders in the law because of the cultural and economical importance of Phoenix canariensis (the most affected) and dactylifera. It's easy to see plants being treated and checked regularly. Sometimes, an adhesive is stuck in the trunk to inform the plant was treated and when. 

Most of the dead Phoenix canariensis in Spain, and apparently also in Portugal for what @petiole10 said, are being replaced by Washingtonia. They're cheap and grow fast. In the long run, they end up being expensive to Spanish councils because they're trimmed annually. Phoenix are not trimmed that often. In my opinion, Washingtonia looks good but are a bit weedy, and will never replace the firework effect or majesty of Phoenix canariensis.

Returning a bit to the main topic of this thread, I remember some tall Archontophoenix planted by the sea on the way to Cascais. I'm not sure if they're still there but definitely, more types of palms could be grown in Portugal's coastline. And I agree with @Pargomadthat in Lisbon cold climate trees are planted as if the city was going through an ice age. 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by iko.

[bubba]

Interesting reading on climate classifications:

https://eartharxiv.org/repository/object/5279/download/10393/

[petiole10]

One of the main issues with the Portuguese coastline, at least the Atlantic coastline rather than the south facing popular Algarve coastline, is how anomalously windy it is all year around  This does place some restrictions on what can be planted., and why some species deemed suitable are not so commonly found. "Maritime unrest" weather warnings are quite frequent, even during fine sunny weather conditions with strong Northerly sea breeze winds in the summer blowing around the proximity of the Azores high pressure belt which extends eastwards  across the vast expanses of water to the exposed coastline. On the other hand in winter, low pressure zones can bring very strong onshore winds from time to time which can create a lot of frond damage to susceptible species and leave them with a very weather beaten look.

This, quite a difference to other parts of the Iberian continent - well away from the influences of the Atlantic ocean.  Lisbon's metropolis offers some shelter in that respect - irrespective of what is actually planted.

Here in Almeirim, an hour away inland, on hot summer days it is very common for the coastal sea breeze to penetrate as far east as my locality and from barely a leaf stirring on some of the hottest afternoons, a very gusty breeze can suddenly spring up and this has the effect of moderating the greatest heat which gets pushed further and further inland towards the Spanish border. 

Always fascinating learning about your micro climate which in turn helps dictate choices.

One of the benefits of CIDP are that they tolerate windy conditions very well . Washingtonia get a bit ragged with time in windy conditions with such large expansive fronds.

Edited May 2, 2023 by petiole10

[petiole10]

21 hours ago, Pargomad said:

Here's another map that shows the plant hardiness zones. As you can see, the coastline is better suited for more tropical or "tender" palms, especially around Lisbon and the Algarve whereas Northern and central inland  regions are a no no for palm trees. 

Just having a look more closely at that map. Away from the coast, rather questionable distributions of the zone 9 regions. The zone close to the Portuguese border with Spain in the eastern Alentejo looks to have been given too high a grading based on the commonality of cold nights & frosts in winter and on the other hand my own region looks to have given too low a rating based on the split between the oceanic and continental influences. According to that map the growing zone potential is not much higher than the region of coastal southern UK which I left almost 2 yrs back - and that is almost certainly not the case!

I know these maps are broad brush but I think better not to to take the boundaries at face value at all.

Edited May 2, 2023 by petiole10

[Pargomad]

5 hours ago, bubba said:

Interesting reading on climate classifications:

https://eartharxiv.org/repository/object/5279/download/10393/

Very interesting indeed! 

3 hours ago, petiole10 said:

Just having a look more closely at that map. Away from the coast, rather questionable distributions of the zone 9 regions. The zone close to the Portuguese border with Spain in the eastern Alentejo looks to have been given too high a grading based on the commonality of cold nights & frosts in winter and on the other hand my own region looks to have given too low a rating based on the split between the oceanic and continental influences. According to that map the growing zone potential is not much higher than the region of coastal southern UK which I left almost 2 yrs back - and that is almost certainly not the case!

I know these maps are broad brush but I think better not to to take the boundaries at face value at all.

I also wasn't expecting this distribution in the Algarve, especially in the eastern region. 

[Pargomad]

They actually used temperature values from the 1971-2000 period to create this map, so it is kind of obsolete now. The 10a and b zones are definitely wider nowadays. Here's the link for those who understand Portuguese: https://www.repository.utl.pt/bitstream/10400.5/4069/2/Dissertação_texto.pdf

Let's go back to the main topic, which is about tropical palms growing in Portugal. I only showed you a list of palm species I personally saw here in Lisbon, but of course, the list is far from complete as there are other tropical species growing in warmer regions like the Algarve or Madeira island (the latter being known for its most septentrional coconut trees).

The Algarve is probably the most palmy region of the country. Being a very touristy destination, palm trees are used in abundance to create this "tropical" vibe to attract tourists from Central and Northern Europe. So, not only they have an ornamental motive, but they also have a more economical purpose. 

From what I personally observed the few times I went there, the most common species are no different from the ones used in Lisbon or in the rest of the country. Phoenix Canariensis was the most popular of them all, until it got exterminated by the red palm weevil. (Actually, it first arrived in Portugal through the Algarve in 2007). Mexican, Californian, European fan palms (the only one indigenous to the region), date palms, and Syagrus are the most common palm trees in the region. The Algarve is also the region where date palms are very common, just like Southern/Eastern Spain and other Mediterranean regions. Date palms were for sure frequently used during the Moorish occupation of the region and the inhabitants haven't stopped planting them since then.   

However, at some occasions, you can observe more tropical species, although less common, growing in some hotels or private gardenslike roystonea regia, archontophoenix alexandrae, dypsis lutescens, dypsis decaryi, bismarckia nobilis, adonidia merrillii, etc. 

Adonidia merrillii in the middle of young Mexican and European fan palms: 

Dypsis decaryi with more common palm trees (phoenix dactylifera, washingtonia robusta, syagrus romanzoffiana) :

Woodyetia Bifurcata and Dypsis lutescens 

Roystonea regia 

Palm trees in the Algarve are always associated with hotels, golf resorts, vacation homes and beaches. Everywhere the tourists (usually from Central and Northern Europe) go, palm trees are cultivated to give them the exotic vibe they search for every Summer. Coastal cities, towns and fishing villages use mainly exotic trees to ornament parks and streets: araucaria, tipuana tipu, jacaranda, ficus, casuarina. Avocadoes and mangoes are also cultivated in the region and I even saw delonix regia or Ravenala madagascariensis growing in private gardens. In Europe, it might be one of the best places to grow tropical trees. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by Pargomad

[petiole10]

This brings the weeil threat right to the doorstep. CIDP directly on the opposite side of the street from me:

2019

 

April 2023

[Alex High]

1 hour ago, petiole10 said:

This brings the weeil threat right to the doorstep. CIDP directly on the opposite side of the street from me:

2019

 

April 2023

Tragic! I guess weevil-resistant species will replace the magnificent CIDP, but this is really devastating to see. Thanks for all the posts sharing the amazing palms that grow there!

[Than]

2 hours ago, petiole10 said:

This brings the weeil threat right to the doorstep. CIDP directly on the opposite side of the street from me:

2019

 

April 2023

Such a beautiful dactyliphera

[ruskinPalms]

On 5/1/2023 at 2:09 PM, Pargomad said:

Despite having a Mediterranean macroclimate, Portugal shows a lot of diversity in temperatures, humidity and landscapes within its borders. You can go from semiarid places in the South to oceanic and humid landscapes in the Northwest. These differences do have an impact on the ornamental gardening of each region. You can't grow CDP in Northern inland regions as it gets very cold in Winter. In Southern inland regions, constant irrigation would be necessary in Summer as it gets almost no rain in that time of the year. 

Trewartha climate classification of Portugal (more accurate than Köppen Geiger):  

 

Here's another map that shows the plant hardiness zones. As you can see, the coastline is better suited for more tropical or "tender" palms, especially around Lisbon and the Algarve whereas Northern and central inland  regions are a no no for palm trees. 

Lisbon is indeed a special case in Portugal regarding ornamental gardening. As I told you before, they tend to plant more and more temperate deciduous trees nowadays. To prove that: there  is a significant contrast between the city and the bordering municipalities. For instance, in Lisbon, they love to plant silver linden (tilia tomentosa), deciduous oak trees (quercus robur and quercus faginae), black poplars (populus nigra), London plane tree (platanus x hispanica), etc, along with Mediterranean local trees (olive tree, pine trees, etc) and more subtropical specimens (araucarias, jacarandas, tipuanas tipu, casuarina, washingtonia robusta, etc.). But when you cross the administrative borders and go to Oeiras or Loures, the landscape changes drastically. In Sacavém, for example, the most common plants and trees are mainly from subtropical climates. There you can see a lot of casuarinas, jacarandas, ficus trees (microcarpa, elastica, macrophylla, etc.), date palms, Mexican fan palms, araucarias, etc. You are more likely to see Mediterranean or subtropical trees there than temperate trees, unlike in Lisbon. 

Olivais, Lisbon: 

Chelas, Lisbon 

Sacavém, just a few km away:

Oeiras, near Lisbon

Of course there are exceptions, there are neighborhoods in Lisbon that are more "palmy" than others, especially those that were created between the 80's and the 00's I'd say. Nowadays, the tendency looks more like this: 

So public ornamental gardening depends a lot on the municipality's choices and capacities. In regions, where palm trees can grow, there are some cities that do chose to plant and maintain them and others that simply don't. Either way, palm trees (and subtropical trees) are definitely not used as much as in Spain.

Regarding private gardens, here the reality can be very disparate and it depends a lot on the owner's preferences and knowledge. I have seen in Lisbon (and surroundings) people succesfully grow papaya, mangoes, sugar cane, avocadoes, archontophoenix, dypsis lutescens, roystonea regia, howea, etc. And I also have seen private gardens with firs and other Northern coniferous trees. 

Here you can see four houses in the same street in Lisbon: 

And yes, in Lisbon they tend to substitute dead CDP with more temperate trees. Here are some examples:

 

 

The second map is a great map and reminds me of how us palm talkers here in Florida are always trying to make the ultimate map. I love how the zones are broken into 4 parts, and looking at this map it seems palms should be growing all over the place in Portugal, even if only the usual cold/prolonged cool hardy suspects. Obviously near the coast the growing conditions are better temperature wise anyway. Interesting to hear foxtails sulk there and obviously royals can make it. So…don’t try any coconuts or Adonidia if your foxtails bite the big one after a few winters lol. 

[ruskinPalms]

That being said, Roystonea is Caribbean through and through. Adapted to high winds, intermittent drought, possible frosts and freezes in Florida and even Cuba so it is a tough, adaptable palm genus. No surprise it is doing well in Mediterranean climates around the world.

[Pargomad]

8 hours ago, petiole10 said:

This brings the weeil threat right to the doorstep. CIDP directly on the opposite side of the street from me:

2019

 

What a shame, such a beautiful date palm...  

Yesterday, I talked about Portugal southernmost region and its most common palm species. Today, I want to comment on the diversity of palm trees of Madeira. The archipelago includes four islands and groups of islands, of which only two are inhabited and, therefore, populated with palm trees: the main island, Madeira, and its little sister: Porto Santo. 

Let's start with Porto Santo today, a little island located north of Madeira, known as the Golden island for its sandy beach and arid landscapes. In fact, the island has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) with low precipitation values and mild temperatures all year round. Date palms (phoenix dactylifera)were the first cultivated palm trees on the island, probably introduced to the island with the first settlements since Porto Santo was in close contact with North Africa, more specifically with former Portuguese possessions in Morocco, from where the first plants might have come. Date palms were the most common palm trees on the island until the early 20th century. In fact, In 1894, date palms were categorized as subspontaneous on the island. 

Later in the 20th century, Canary Island date palms started to become very popular as an ornamental plant and supplanted the date palms as the most common species on the island. After that, palm trees lost their first agricultural purpose and became mostly ornamental. The Canary Island date palms' fruits aren't comestible, but its leaves are still used today in making hats, baskets or purses.

People would plant them everywhere, there wasn't a square, a street or even a house that wouldn't have at least one CIDP. Porto Santo is perhaps the only place in Portugal where people have developped a special bond with palm trees. It became so common and omnipresent on the island that locals still think it is indigenous. As you can guess, it also became subspontaneous and started colonizing abandoned agricultural lands, riverbanks or geographical crevices.

(Sorry for the quality, google street view isn't available there yet)

 A few years ago, the red palm weevil arrived on the island but didn't wreak havoc among the palms there. Actually, only a few CIDP were removed and that's because in 2012, during a political gathering/party, a tall and sick CIDP fell on the crowd and killed two people. The authorities, fearing reprisals, removed all the CIDP in that square (even though they were healthy). A few years have passed ant the locals, very discontented with the authorities' decision, pressured them to replant palm trees to substitute the ones missing. Here's a video where you can see how the little square looked like before the incident and now: 

Today, CIDP still proliferate along with date palms and more recent palm trees, also very common in the continent, such as washingtonia robusta, washingtonia filifera, chamaerops humilis and syagrus romanzoffiana. Palm trees are particularly abundant in hotels and resorts, just like the Algarve.

Despite its numerous presence, there isn't a big diversity on the island as 90% of the palms there are phoenix or washingtonia species. Nonetheless, a few more tropical exemplars grow in some private gardens such as roystonea regia, archontophoenix cunninghamiana and alexandrae, bismarckia nobilis, dypsis lutescens, etc. But the most famous tropical palms of Porto Santo are definitely the three coconut trees growing by the beach. They are the most septentrional coconut trees of the world, which attests the mildness of the climate. 

Porto Santo has always cultivated palm trees and today, its presence still leaves a huge mark on the island's landscape and people. 
 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Pargomad

[bubba]

Amazing expose on Porto Santo! What a beautiful beautiful spot! I am particularly intrigued by the Adonidia merrillii shown growing in the Algarve. That is code for the ability to grow Cocos nucifera. I have never seen a Manillian palm grown in the beneficent Mediterranean climate of California.

[Alex High]

1 hour ago, Pargomad said:

What a shame, such a beautiful date palm...  

Yesterday, I talked about Portugal southernmost region and its most common palm species. Today, I want to comment on the diversity of palm trees of Madeira. The archipelago includes four islands and groups of islands, of which only two are inhabited and, therefore, populated with palm trees: the main island, Madeira, and its little sister: Porto Santo. 

Let's start with Porto Santo today, a little island located north of Madeira, known as the Golden island for its sandy beach and arid landscapes. In fact, the island has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) with low precipitation values and mild temperatures all year round. Date palms (phoenix dactylifera)were the first cultivated palm trees on the island, probably introduced to the island with the first settlements since Porto Santo was in close contact with North Africa, more specifically with former Portuguese possessions in Morocco, from where the first plants might have come. Date palms were the most common palm trees on the island until the early 20th century. In fact, In 1894, date palms were categorized as subspontaneous on the island. 

Later in the 20th century, Canary Island date palms started to become very popular as an ornamental plant and supplanted the date palms as the most common species on the island. After that, palm trees lost their first agricultural purpose and became mostly ornamental. The Canary Island date palms' fruits aren't comestible, but its leaves are still used today in making hats, baskets or purses.

People would plant them everywhere, there wasn't a square, a street or even a house that wouldn't have at least one CIDP. Porto Santo is perhaps the only place in Portugal where people have developped a special bond with palm trees. It became so common and omnipresent on the island that locals still think it is indigenous. As you can guess, it also became subspontaneous and started colonizing abandoned agricultural lands, riverbanks or geographical crevices.

(Sorry for the quality, google street view isn't available there yet)

 A few years ago, the red palm weevil arrived on the island but didn't wreak havoc among the palms there. Actually, only a few CIDP were removed and that's because in 2012, during a political gathering/party, a tall and sick CIDP fell on the crowd and killed two people. The authorities, fearing reprisals, removed all the CIDP in that square (even though they were healthy). A few years have passed ant the locals, very discontented with the authorities' decision, pressured them to replant palm trees to substitute the ones missing. Here's a video where you can see how the little square looked like before the incident and now: 

Today, CIDP still proliferate along with date palms and more recent palm trees, also very common in the continent, such as washingtonia robusta, washingtonia filifera, chamaerops humilis and syagrus romanzoffiana. Palm trees are particularly abundant in hotels and resorts, just like the Algarve.

Despite its numerous presence, there isn't a big diversity on the island as 90% of the palms there are phoenix or washingtonia species. Nonetheless, a few more tropical exemplars grow in some private gardens such as roystonea regia, archontophoenix cunninghamiana and alexandrae, bismarckia nobilis, dypsis lutescens, etc. But the most famous tropical palms of Porto Santo are definitely the three coconut trees growing by the beach. They are the most septentrional coconut trees of the world, which attests the mildness of the climate. 

Porto Santo has always cultivated palm trees and today, its presence still leaves a huge mark on the island's landscape and people. 
 

Amazing, thank you so much for sharing this! Why is it that the red palm weevil has not killed the CIDP in droves in Madeira like it has in mainland Portugal? Is there a natural predator or has there been a big effort to eradicate the weevil and protect the palms?

22 minutes ago, bubba said:

Amazing expose on Porto Santo! What a beautiful beautiful spot! I am particularly intrigued by the Adonidia merrillii shown growing in the Algarve. That is code for the ability to grow Cocos nucifera. I have never seen a Manillian palm grown in the beneficent Mediterranean climate of California.

I agree, I was shocked to see the picture of the Adonidia, I find it hard to believe they could grow there considering they really struggle in SoCal which is warmer in the winter, that is definitely coconut territory if Adonidia is growable.

[petiole10]

18 hours ago, Alex High said:

Tragic! I guess weevil-resistant species will replace the magnificent CIDP, but this is really devastating to see. Thanks for all the posts sharing the amazing palms that grow there!

There are still CIDP being sold in main stores, but the numbers of them are,slowly, diminishing as Washingtonia takes over. People are cottoning on slowly that investing money& space in them is, alas,  a diminished return.

I have imidacloprid to hand and my palms are treated with this every month or two - most especially in the summer . Also have used a mixed solution of water & cayenne pepper as this is thought to destroy the weevil through stunning its nervous system. If my cats catch any flying weevils and manage to bring them to the ground, they are then fed to my peafowl...!

[bubba]

Legitimate question after viewing Adonidia merrillii. Can Cocos nucifera grow on the most protected area of the Algarve?

[Pargomad]

8 hours ago, Alex High said:

Amazing, thank you so much for sharing this! Why is it that the red palm weevil has not killed the CIDP in droves in Madeira like it has in mainland Portugal? Is there a natural predator or has there been a big effort to eradicate the weevil and protect the palms?

The situation in Madeira is actually the opposite of what happened in Porto Santo. I think it's easier to control an plague outbreak in a small and isolated territory such as an island. Porto Santo is really tiny and very accessible everywhere. And again, people there feel really attached to their palms, so they certainly took measures right away to avoid the same kind of outcome we had in the continent or even on Madeira island. 

8 hours ago, Alex High said:

I agree, I was shocked to see the picture of the Adonidia, I find it hard to believe they could grow there considering they really struggle in SoCal which is warmer in the winter, that is definitely coconut territory if Adonidia is growable.

I wasn't expecting this either. I just bumped into this photo while I was surfing on the internet and I chose to show it here. These two look like they were recently transplanted there, so we need to see if they survive in their new environnment. I think some people in the Andalusian coast grow them, so they would survive in the Algarve too since the two regions share a pretty similar climate. But I'm just speculating here...

Let's travel now to Madeira island, the Portuguese region the most similar or closest to a tropical destination. 

In contrast to its southern neighbors, the Canary islands, there are no endemic or indigenous palm trees on the archipelago. Just like southern Portugal and Porto Santo, date palms were the first cultivated palm trees. There are references of its existence on the main island dating back to the 16th century and there are also paintings and engravings of the island with date palms on them.

Just like in Porto Santo, Canary Island date palms became popular in the early 20th century, although, the first plants arrived back in the 16th century since the island had close contacts with the Canary Islands. For instance, the first slaves were taken to Madeira from these islands to work on sugar cane plantations. In addition, a lot of Madeirans emigrated there, especially to Tenerife and La Palma.

Around the same period, other palm trees were grown on the island such as washingtonia robusta, washingtonia filifera, trachycarpus fortuneii, livistona chinensis, archontophoenix cunninghamiana, syagurs romanzoffiana and even roystonea borinquena. Nevertheless, palm trees weren't grown as much as in Porto Santo. Unlike in the neighboring island, palm trees were mainly grown in botanical gardens, hotels, rich properties or in urban areas and were almost inexistent out of these contexts. Madeira was becoming popular for its flowers and its "eternal Spring" so they started to showcase exotic flowers and flowering trees instead. 

 

Today, palm trees are omnipresent in lower elevations not far from the coast, especially near and in hotels and botanical gardens. Furthermore, just like in other Portuguese regions, CIDP became very popular and even became naturalized and subspontaneous since the island's climate is almost identical to their homeland. 

CIDP were the most common palm trees until 2010. After that, the red palm weevil has wiped out the CIDP population in just a few years, just like what happened in Lisbon. The only place today where you can you see numerous CIDP is the eastern and drier part of the island (kind of looks like Porto Santo), and that's because a some of the palm trees growing there are actually hybrids, more resistant to the weevil. You can see them grow mostly along roads. 

 

Nowadays, palm trees are very common on the island, especially around tourist accomodations like hotels, resorts, beaches and swimming pools. Urban and touristy areas like Lido, in Funchal, show the biggest variety of species with mostly tropical palms growing in luxurious gardens and around swimming pools.

Private gardens around the island at lower elevations are also ornamented with palm trees, except maybe rural properties where fruiting trees are favored. Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, howea forsteriana, dypsis lutescens, syagrus romanzoffiana, livistona chinensis and washingtonia robusta are the most cultivated palms in private gardens, especially the first species, almost omnipresent in every yard.

The closer you get to Funchal and the touristy area, the more likely it is for you to see other tropical species like roystonea borinquena, chambeyronia macrocarpa, hyophorbe verschaffeltii and even cocos nucifera. But this doesn't mean there are no tropical palm trees outside Funchal. Luckily for us, there are some aficionados on the island who grow rare or uncommon palm trees like coconut trees. 

Madeira has different micro-climates that allow a significantly large amount of trees from all around the world to grow. One of these micro-climates is located in lower elevations by the sea in the southern coast and it stands between Csa and As (according to Köppen climate classification) with average low temperatures in Winter near 18C. That is why today we can see mature coconut trees grow and fruit on the island. They can succesfully grow at 200 m. above sea level in the southern coast. At lower altitudes and coastal areas, Madeira island belongs to the zone 12a, perfect for tropical plants. 

Unfortunately, local authorities seem to suffer from the same "illness" that makes gardeners in Lisbon plant temperate tree species as if they were going through an ice age. Poplars, London plane trees, olive trees and other deciduous trees are planted side by side with tropical species at lower elevations, which gives a weird athmosphere that swings between the Alentejo and the Caribbean. Like Lisbon, sometimes, they don't seem to acknowledge the climate they live in and they don't benefit from it. Once again, if we look at Spain, more specifically La Palma or Tenerife' northern coast (both islands share the same climate with Madeira's southern coast), we can see that they're not afraid of ornament their parks and streets like Cuba or Miami with a numerous population of coconut trees growing on beaches whereas Madeira would use date palms, or worse, London planes. 

Coconut trees growing on a beach in Tenerife:

Machico beach in Madeira: 

 

 

[Alex High]

2 hours ago, Pargomad said:

The situation in Madeira is actually the opposite of what happened in Porto Santo. I think it's easier to control an plague outbreak in a small and isolated territory such as an island. Porto Santo is really tiny and very accessible everywhere. And again, people there feel really attached to their palms, so they certainly took measures right away to avoid the same kind of outcome we had in the continent or even on Madeira island. 

I wasn't expecting this either. I just bumped into this photo while I was surfing on the internet and I chose to show it here. These two look like they were recently transplanted there, so we need to see if they survive in their new environnment. I think some people in the Andalusian coast grow them, so they would survive in the Algarve too since the two regions share a pretty similar climate. But I'm just speculating here...

Let's travel now to Madeira island, the Portuguese region the most similar or closest to a tropical destination. 

In contrast to its southern neighbors, the Canary islands, there are no endemic or indigenous palm trees on the archipelago. Just like southern Portugal and Porto Santo, date palms were the first cultivated palm trees. There are references of its existence on the main island dating back to the 16th century and there are also paintings and engravings of the island with date palms on them.

Just like in Porto Santo, Canary Island date palms became popular in the early 20th century, although, the first plants arrived back in the 16th century since the island had close contacts with the Canary Islands. For instance, the first slaves were taken to Madeira from these islands to work on sugar cane plantations. In addition, a lot of Madeirans emigrated there, especially to Tenerife and La Palma.

Around the same period, other palm trees were grown on the island such as washingtonia robusta, washingtonia filifera, trachycarpus fortuneii, livistona chinensis, archontophoenix cunninghamiana, syagurs romanzoffiana and even roystonea borinquena. Nevertheless, palm trees weren't grown as much as in Porto Santo. Unlike in the neighboring island, palm trees were mainly grown in botanical gardens, hotels, rich properties or in urban areas and were almost inexistent out of these contexts. Madeira was becoming popular for its flowers and its "eternal Spring" so they started to showcase exotic flowers and flowering trees instead. 

 

Today, palm trees are omnipresent in lower elevations not far from the coast, especially near and in hotels and botanical gardens. Furthermore, just like in other Portuguese regions, CIDP became very popular and even became naturalized and subspontaneous since the island's climate is almost identical to their homeland. 

CIDP were the most common palm trees until 2010. After that, the red palm weevil has wiped out the CIDP population in just a few years, just like what happened in Lisbon. The only place today where you can you see numerous CIDP is the eastern and drier part of the island (kind of looks like Porto Santo), and that's because a some of the palm trees growing there are actually hybrids, more resistant to the weevil. You can see them grow mostly along roads. 

 

Nowadays, palm trees are very common on the island, especially around tourist accomodations like hotels, resorts, beaches and swimming pools. Urban and touristy areas like Lido, in Funchal, show the biggest variety of species with mostly tropical palms growing in luxurious gardens and around swimming pools.

Private gardens around the island at lower elevations are also ornamented with palm trees, except maybe rural properties where fruiting trees are favored. Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, howea forsteriana, dypsis lutescens, syagrus romanzoffiana, livistona chinensis and washingtonia robusta are the most cultivated palms in private gardens, especially the first species, almost omnipresent in every yard.

The closer you get to Funchal and the touristy area, the more likely it is for you to see other tropical species like roystonea borinquena, chambeyronia macrocarpa, hyophorbe verschaffeltii and even cocos nucifera. But this doesn't mean there are no tropical palm trees outside Funchal. Luckily for us, there are some aficionados on the island who grow rare or uncommon palm trees like coconut trees. 

Madeira has different micro-climates that allow a significantly large amount of trees from all around the world to grow. One of these micro-climates is located in lower elevations by the sea in the southern coast and it stands between Csa and As (according to Köppen climate classification) with average low temperatures in Winter near 18C. That is why today we can see mature coconut trees grow and fruit on the island. They can succesfully grow at 200 m. above sea level in the southern coast. At lower altitudes and coastal areas, Madeira island belongs to the zone 12a, perfect for tropical plants. 

Unfortunately, local authorities seem to suffer from the same "illness" that makes gardeners in Lisbon plant temperate tree species as if they were going through an ice age. Poplars, London plane trees, olive trees and other deciduous trees are planted side by side with tropical species at lower elevations, which gives a weird athmosphere that swings between the Alentejo and the Caribbean. Like Lisbon, sometimes, they don't seem to acknowledge the climate they live in and they don't benefit from it. Once again, if we look at Spain, more specifically La Palma or Tenerife' northern coast (both islands share the same climate with Madeira's southern coast), we can see that they're not afraid of ornament their parks and streets like Cuba or Miami with a numerous population of coconut trees growing on beaches whereas Madeira would use date palms, or worse, London planes. 

Coconut trees growing on a beach in Tenerife:

Machico beach in Madeira: 

 

 

Incredible how many tropical palms grow there, thanks for sharing this! So sad that the weevil has decimated the CIDP there, I heard it also was found in the Canary Islands, hopefully they have had more luck containing it. Thank you very much for all the great information and photos!

[Little Tex]

5 hours ago, Pargomad said:

The situation in Madeira is actually the opposite of what happened in Porto Santo. I think it's easier to control an plague outbreak in a small and isolated territory such as an island. Porto Santo is really tiny and very accessible everywhere. And again, people there feel really attached to their palms, so they certainly took measures right away to avoid the same kind of outcome we had in the continent or even on Madeira island. 

I wasn't expecting this either. I just bumped into this photo while I was surfing on the internet and I chose to show it here. These two look like they were recently transplanted there, so we need to see if they survive in their new environnment. I think some people in the Andalusian coast grow them, so they would survive in the Algarve too since the two regions share a pretty similar climate. But I'm just speculating here...

Let's travel now to Madeira island, the Portuguese region the most similar or closest to a tropical destination. 

In contrast to its southern neighbors, the Canary islands, there are no endemic or indigenous palm trees on the archipelago. Just like southern Portugal and Porto Santo, date palms were the first cultivated palm trees. There are references of its existence on the main island dating back to the 16th century and there are also paintings and engravings of the island with date palms on them.

Just like in Porto Santo, Canary Island date palms became popular in the early 20th century, although, the first plants arrived back in the 16th century since the island had close contacts with the Canary Islands. For instance, the first slaves were taken to Madeira from these islands to work on sugar cane plantations. In addition, a lot of Madeirans emigrated there, especially to Tenerife and La Palma.

Around the same period, other palm trees were grown on the island such as washingtonia robusta, washingtonia filifera, trachycarpus fortuneii, livistona chinensis, archontophoenix cunninghamiana, syagurs romanzoffiana and even roystonea borinquena. Nevertheless, palm trees weren't grown as much as in Porto Santo. Unlike in the neighboring island, palm trees were mainly grown in botanical gardens, hotels, rich properties or in urban areas and were almost inexistent out of these contexts. Madeira was becoming popular for its flowers and its "eternal Spring" so they started to showcase exotic flowers and flowering trees instead. 

 

Today, palm trees are omnipresent in lower elevations not far from the coast, especially near and in hotels and botanical gardens. Furthermore, just like in other Portuguese regions, CIDP became very popular and even became naturalized and subspontaneous since the island's climate is almost identical to their homeland. 

CIDP were the most common palm trees until 2010. After that, the red palm weevil has wiped out the CIDP population in just a few years, just like what happened in Lisbon. The only place today where you can you see numerous CIDP is the eastern and drier part of the island (kind of looks like Porto Santo), and that's because a some of the palm trees growing there are actually hybrids, more resistant to the weevil. You can see them grow mostly along roads. 

 

Nowadays, palm trees are very common on the island, especially around tourist accomodations like hotels, resorts, beaches and swimming pools. Urban and touristy areas like Lido, in Funchal, show the biggest variety of species with mostly tropical palms growing in luxurious gardens and around swimming pools.

Private gardens around the island at lower elevations are also ornamented with palm trees, except maybe rural properties where fruiting trees are favored. Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, howea forsteriana, dypsis lutescens, syagrus romanzoffiana, livistona chinensis and washingtonia robusta are the most cultivated palms in private gardens, especially the first species, almost omnipresent in every yard.

The closer you get to Funchal and the touristy area, the more likely it is for you to see other tropical species like roystonea borinquena, chambeyronia macrocarpa, hyophorbe verschaffeltii and even cocos nucifera. But this doesn't mean there are no tropical palm trees outside Funchal. Luckily for us, there are some aficionados on the island who grow rare or uncommon palm trees like coconut trees. 

Madeira has different micro-climates that allow a significantly large amount of trees from all around the world to grow. One of these micro-climates is located in lower elevations by the sea in the southern coast and it stands between Csa and As (according to Köppen climate classification) with average low temperatures in Winter near 18C. That is why today we can see mature coconut trees grow and fruit on the island. They can succesfully grow at 200 m. above sea level in the southern coast. At lower altitudes and coastal areas, Madeira island belongs to the zone 12a, perfect for tropical plants. 

Unfortunately, local authorities seem to suffer from the same "illness" that makes gardeners in Lisbon plant temperate tree species as if they were going through an ice age. Poplars, London plane trees, olive trees and other deciduous trees are planted side by side with tropical species at lower elevations, which gives a weird athmosphere that swings between the Alentejo and the Caribbean. Like Lisbon, sometimes, they don't seem to acknowledge the climate they live in and they don't benefit from it. Once again, if we look at Spain, more specifically La Palma or Tenerife' northern coast (both islands share the same climate with Madeira's southern coast), we can see that they're not afraid of ornament their parks and streets like Cuba or Miami with a numerous population of coconut trees growing on beaches whereas Madeira would use date palms, or worse, London planes. 

Coconut trees growing on a beach in Tenerife:

Machico beach in Madeira: 

 

 

I cant tell you how badly I want to hire a voice actor and editor and make this into a video essay, maybe the IPS should make a youtube or something

[petiole10]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:05 PM, Pargomad said:

Moreover, a significant part of the population hates palm trees and sees them as just as some strange aberration. The rest just doesn’t show any interest and simply doesn’t care, they feel more attached to olive trees and pine trees than palms.

Had missed this previously. I can accept that there has been something of a muted response in Portugal to combatting the weevil and the replacement of palms decimated by the weevil, but it is simply not true what you say that people find then an aberration and hate them,

.They very much care.  Just about every Portuguese native I have spoken to mourns the loss of date palms and has a love of the trees in general. It has much more to do with slowness in dealing with the problem compared to neighbouring Spain and people have felt somewhat inhibited and discouraged from planting them due to the lack of lead & initiative from authorities.

This is definitely changing, much as I suggested previously. Palms are slowly but surely making a return from the perimeter of towns and cities inwardly. Led principally, at the moment, by Washingtonia.  I live here and can see it happening in real time. for myself.

[Phoenikakias]

On 4/25/2023 at 10:11 AM, Than said:

So unfair that they don't survive in Athens.. except for one single specimen near the sea.

 

On 4/26/2023 at 10:09 AM, Phoenikakias said:

It has spent all winter totally unprotected.

 

On 4/27/2023 at 11:17 PM, Than said:

How about the minima in your area and in central Athens? How do they compare? 

This year's winter was quite mild. Do you reckon it will survive a harsher winter too? 

My Roystonea only has 1 leaf still so it will take some time before I have a chance to test it outdoors during a winter...

 

On 4/27/2023 at 11:39 PM, Phoenikakias said:

Average minimum is higher in my Athenian hood. Whether the ATM is lower in Athens, is not a matter of immediate concern. We have had a freaky cold spell during 2004, the odds are against a reoccurence so soon.

It is not the same situation an outplanted royal and one still growing in a pot. I would be very restraint exposing its root zone to winter air temp.

Same plant after 2 years

@Than do you still insist? Most inhibiting factor is so far rather water price combined with the slopy landscape.

[Than]

I mixed up Roystonea with Wodyetia...

[Phoenikakias]

3 hours ago, Than said:

I mixed up Roystonea with Wodyetia...

Foxtails are far trickier regarding soil consistency, pH, salt accumulation and watering frequency. 

[gyuseppe]

21 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

 

 

 

Same plant after 2 years

@Than do you still insist? Most inhibiting factor is so far rather water price combined with the slopy landscape.

Luckily the price of water here is low, and this summer I watered the plants every day, and you could see they were growing visibly.

[Phoenikakias]

2 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

Luckily the price of water here is low, and this summer I watered the plants every day, and you could see they were growing visibly.

With some decent precipitation (3 mm) in the past two weeks new leaf finally expands, despite that temperature max is around 25 C.