Phoenix reclinata - good progress

[quaman58]

This is one that I got as a 25 gallon box push pushing 20 years ago. I’ve always guessed that it was relatively “pure”, as it maintained fairly narrow trunks. My friend got one from the same grower that was clearly crossed with canariensis,  and just turned out to be a monster. It obviously wants to suck her a lot, but I do my best to keep it whacked down to a half a dozen stems. It’s topping out it 6 to 7 m and puts out just a ton of growth pretty much year-round. Although I’m not sure I’d put in another one, as this one went in pretty early in my palm journey, but they are lovely palms. Except the spines, could do without those.

 

[quaman58]

Sorry for the AutoCorrect errors there… I need to pay more attention

[Hu Palmeras]

Thank you so much, my friend, for sharing your beautiful Phoenix Reclinata. I hope it always looks as beautiful as the photo you show us.

[Hu Palmeras]

25 minutes ago, quaman58 said:

Perdón por los errores de autocorrección... Necesito prestar más atención.

This is my friend's Phoenix reclinata. He wanted to give me a sapling from the mother palm, but I didn't accept it. I'll probably ask for it sometime soon.

[Phoenikakias]

6 hours ago, UK_Palms said:

You have less than 7 inches of rain annually near Athens!? Surely not. 🤔

There are places here in England that have only had about 7 inches of rain so far in 2025, although that is likely to go up quite a bit in the subsequent month ahead. It has also been a very dry year here this year. But having 7 inches a year is just madness.

Los Angeles is very dry and they still average 14-15 inches a year. I know Athens is the driest capital city in Europe, but it isn’t that dry. It gets about 430mm / 17 inches annually I thought?

You bet! I am not referring to the capital but the coastal southern suburbs beyond Varkiza. Capital is surrounded by mountains, which keep clouds hanging over the city for longer time. Those aforementioned suburbs are on the backside of the mountains in a very windward location. Clouds are easily pushed away to Peloponnese by the wind. PIne and cypress trees die one after the other, especially those growing closely to each other. Suffice to say in past spring the solar powered sensor of my weather station shut down because of the dust stuck on the panel.

[Phoenikakias]

16 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

You bet! I am not referring to the capital but the coastal southern suburbs beyond Varkiza. Capital is surrounded by mountains, which keep clouds hanging over the city for longer time. Those aforementioned suburbs are on the backside of the mountains in a very windward location. Clouds are easily pushed away to Peloponnese by the wind. PIne and cypress trees die one after the other, especially those growing closely to each other. Suffice to say in past spring the solar powered sensor of my weather station shut down because of the dust stuck on the panel.

Downpours are expected downtown in Athens today and this is an actual cap from my security cam in my garden.

[gyuseppe]

 

 the trunks of my reclinata are very thin, maybe it's a pure reclinata?

[Hu Palmeras]

Very nice trunk, my friend. Congratulations.

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, gyuseppe said:

 

 the trunks of my reclinata are very thin, maybe it's a pure reclinata?

Show us the acanthophylls!

[Hu Palmeras]

The acantófilas Guiuseppe!!!

[JohnAndSancho]

On 9/25/2025 at 8:39 AM, SeanK said:

€100 to person who gives it a hug.

Am I allowed to put on like 8 hoodies first? 

[Phoenikakias]

On 9/27/2025 at 1:51 AM, UK_Palms said:

You have less than 7 inches of rain annually near Athens!? Surely not. 🤔

There are places here in England that have only had about 7 inches of rain so far in 2025, although that is likely to go up quite a bit in the subsequent month ahead. It has also been a very dry year here this year. But having 7 inches a year is just madness.

Los Angeles is very dry and they still average 14-15 inches a year. I know Athens is the driest capital city in Europe, but it isn’t that dry. It gets about 430mm / 17 inches annually I thought?

Very instructive example today. 12 km, about 8 miles, inland it was cloudy and drizzling, while at same time it was sunny by the sea. Pictures follow my car's route from inland to the sea front (behind the hills).  Two last pictures show  weather situation in my garden.

Total precipitation since past early spring

[Phoenikakias]

@Mazat this is the same potted reclinata nearing the end of growing season.  Have you observed the penetrating roots?

[Mazat]

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

@Mazat this is the same potted reclinata nearing the end of growing season.  Have you observed the penetrating roots?

I thought it was something on the right side, very faint, and didn't know if it was a tiny twig from another plant/tree lying there. 
You have to look very closely and zoom in. It's really thriving.
 

[Mazat]

5 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Very instructive example today. 12 km, about 8 miles, inland it was cloudy and drizzling, while at same time it was sunny by the sea. Pictures follow my car's route from inland to the sea front (behind the hills).  Two last pictures show  weather situation in my garden.

Total precipitation since past early spring

A completely different situation/weather in your garden. It's very special and the weather can be completely different within a few hundred meters. That's very exciting. It was probably warmer in your garden than it was in your car at the same time. So it's not necessarily the case that a rain front will reach your garden, it might just brush past with a few raindrops, while elsewhere it's pouring down several millimeters.

If it happens frequently, then I would have to say or think, or rather, it can probably be proven with data, that it is warmer on a monthly average and annual average in your garden—microclimate—than in some parts of the surrounding area where it rains more near you.
I find these comparisons extremely interesting and have a friend who has been comparing her location in Quinten SG at Lake Walen, away from the village, with another location in the village itself for years. Both stations are well ventilated and windy, but she gets more rain throughout the year than in the village, which is only a 7-minute walk away at a leisurely pace. The conclusion is that her annual average air temperature has been around 0.7-1.0 degrees Celsius lower over the last 15 years.The whole village is about as warm as southern Ticino, Switzerland and still much warmer than where we live.

Yes, the location is very good, but it is very expensive to live there and the houses are always passed down within the family or sold at very high prices. A small house with 3 rooms without land can easily cost CHF/USD 800,000-1 million.

[Mazat]

18 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

@Mazat this is the same potted reclinata nearing the end of growing season.  Have you observed the penetrating roots?

By the way, I just asked Sabine if she could see anything in the smaller picture.
She immediately said she thought she could see small roots. So I asked her, “What do you think it is?”
No, it was her intuition and a slight recognition of the root.
Okay, 1:0 for Sabine. What can a man do against female intuition.... 🤔😄

[Hu Palmeras]

Very Cool my Friend Mazat