New palms

[Than]

My early Xmas present is here and I couldn't be happier. I got a tiny chambeyronia macrocarpa watermelon, a dypsis black petioles and a beccariop. alfredii. All kinda marginal here but not impossible.

All are tiny so it'll take a few years before I see them in their full glory. And they will probably stay in pots for a couple of years till they are ready to face my alkaline soil. Finding larger specimens in my country is very difficult unless you pay a fortune..

I guess I'll put them indoors at nights for now and full time soon. Temperatures are still in the 60s during the day so they are out in shade. 

 

[Jdash]

you can always amend the soil. the b. alfredii and chambeyronia should be just fine. i've planted them in alkaline soil with compost amendment and seem to be going well. the dypsis, they can be tricky . good luck!

[Than]

6 minutes ago, Jdash said:

you can always amend the soil. the b. alfredii and chambeyronia should be just fine. i've planted them in alkaline soil with compost amendment and seem to be going well. the dypsis, they can be tricky . good luck!

This is good to hear! I have already amended the soil and I will keep amending it for ever I guess, with mulch and sulfur. I provide chelated iron and it seems to work.

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, Than said:

This is good to hear! I have already amended the soil and I will keep amending it for ever I guess, with mulch and sulfur. I provide chelated iron and it seems to work.

What, no iron sulfate?

[Than]

1 hour ago, Phoenikakias said:

What, no iron sulfate?

I thought iron sulfate has limited effects when applied on alkaline soils while Fe-EDDHA works on alkaline soil too. Actually, that I have seen already. My chlorotic Ravenala looks much greener now after two applications of Fe-EDDHA.

Iron sulfate also only decreases the soil's pH minimally, no?

[Harry’s Palms]

That is about the size I brought home from a trip to Maui. I dug a small hole and stuck it in the ground. It grew steadily but slow in a solid 10a climate, no frost. Mine was supposed to be a Watermelon , the botanical garden where the seedling came from had rows of very large specimens . They were all Watermelon but the offspring palm did not carry that gene. It is still a beautiful palm and worth the time it takes to grow. Harry

[Than]

7 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

That is about the size I brought home from a trip to Maui. I dug a small hole and stuck it in the ground. It grew steadily but slow in a solid 10a climate, no frost. Mine was supposed to be a Watermelon , the botanical garden where the seedling came from had rows of very large specimens . They were all Watermelon but the offspring palm did not carry that gene. It is still a beautiful palm and worth the time it takes to grow. Harry

So I guess it produces red leaves instead? I wouldn't mind at all, both colours are equally stunning. Tbh I bought the watermelon variety because that was the only available one! 

Your climate is not too far from mine; minimum temperatures are actually almost identical! Your maximums though are higher and more importantly, your winters much drier. 

[Harry’s Palms]

Yes , it has the burgundy new leaf . Mine is now above the canopy it had so the red leaf doesn’t last long before turning dark green. 
  Our Winter lows are in the low 40’s only occasionally . In 28 years here the lowest I have seen is 38f only once or twice . I am above the city on a south facing hill so it is a bit of a micro climate. Due to the dry conditions , I water a lot most of the year. Harry

[happypalms]

Wow you are on Santa’s good list! Just as well you put rubbish bin out all year and did the dishes or you would have been on the naughty list and we all know what happens then! 

[Than]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Yes , it has the burgundy new leaf . Mine is now above the canopy it had so the red leaf doesn’t last long before turning dark green. 
  Our Winter lows are in the low 40’s only occasionally . In 28 years here the lowest I have seen is 38f only once or twice . I am above the city on a south facing hill so it is a bit of a micro climate. Due to the dry conditions , I water a lot most of the year. Harry

Oh ok, i take back what i said. Our climate is not the same. I have seen 30F in my garden already last winter and lows of 40F are very common. I don't know if chambeyronia will make it, we'll see.

How many years ago did you get that chambeyronia from Maui?

[Harry’s Palms]

I planted it about 25 years ago. It has its first spathe now. Harry

[Phoenikakias]

6 hours ago, Than said:

Oh ok, i take back what i said. Our climate is not the same. I have seen 30F in my garden already last winter and lows of 40F are very common. I don't know if chambeyronia will make it, we'll see.

How many years ago did you get that chambeyronia from Maui?

Cheater... I would describe my climate even more adverse than in reality, so that I would not be to blame for the flops and successes would seem as a greater achievement 😜

[Than]

4 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Cheater... I would describe my climate even more adverse than in reality, so that I would not be to blame for the flops and successes would seem as a greater achievement 😜

You insist to believe that my climate is that of Kalamata. It's unfortunate far from it. Even within my village, the locals call the point where my house is "Siberia" 🤣 

Anyway, short psalm hallelujah. Winter is ahead. I'll record my temperatures every day and night.

[gyuseppe]

1 hour ago, Than said:

You insist to believe that my climate is that of Kalamata. It's unfortunate far from it. Even within my village, the locals call the point where my house is "Siberia" 🤣 

Anyway, short psalm hallelujah. Winter is ahead. I'll record my temperatures every day and night.

I don't know you, but don't get your hopes up. On paper they said I could grow many species, but in reality I had many species die from the cold.

[Than]

7 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

I don't know you, but don't get your hopes up. On paper they said I could grow many species, but in reality I had many species die from the cold.

You are right Gyuseppe, I also expect many of my plants to die this winter, palms and other tropicals. This is the first winter in the new property so it will be a test. Many of my plants are at risk and some are almost certainly goners. We'll see.

If I were just 5 km more south, near the sea, things would be very different. People there grow Archont. Alexandrae, Plumeria and Moringa easily whereas I don't think they would survive in my little valley.

[Phoenikakias]

9 hours ago, Than said:

You insist to believe that my climate is that of Kalamata. It's unfortunate far from it. Even within my village, the locals call the point where my house is "Siberia" 🤣 

Anyway, short psalm hallelujah. Winter is ahead. I'll record my temperatures every day and night.

That's my boy, you got my point quickly!