Long term survivor's.

[karl66]

Having time on my hand's today due to bad weather got me thinking?,In most parts of the uk ,coastal cornwall aside the only real bullet proof tropical plant's are trachycarpus fortunei/Waggy & certain bamboo!! as far as i'm concerned everything else has to be replaced on average every 6/8 YEARS as even chamerop's hummilis in various form's & all the butia, & other feather palm's nearly always bite the dust as recovery from damage is slow & the next bad winter see's them off!!. All large butia & Jub chillensis palm's i've seen in uk are very badly damaged trunk wise or have unhealthy crown's. Anything grown under glass is a different matter!. Fairly cheap exotic's can be replaced butb to spend years growing a particular palm then lose it . Once my halfhardy palm's snuff it there will be no replacements. karl.

[billdango]

Not true Karl66 as some of the exotics grown here in Southampton have come through every winter since 1963.

I will give a list below of some of these plants but you have to remember that exotic gardening is a fairly recent thing in this country and it will take many more years to get a better idea of what will come through a hard winter like 2010.

This list is only for Southampton and what I have seen in my garden and a few others to date.

T fortuni.
T wagnerianus.
C humilis.
R hystrix.
B capitata.
J chilensis.
C humilis "vulcano".
B armata.

With protection unless grown against a sunny wall.

P canariensis.
W robusta.


billdango

[Tom2006]

Why not just protect them?

[karl66]

Tom, most of the palm's mentioned are lost when they get to a mature size & not at the smaller pot size when they are easily protected, Bill i did over look hampshire as you do get some decent temp's in certain part's. Can anyone show me a mature brahea amarta in the uk?. karl.

[Tom2006]

With heat cables you could save them.

[dino]

Agree with a lot of what Kar'ls saying but how many people had even heard of Breahea Armata say 6 years ago let alone grown it? Now more people are growing it, there's more chance of one surviving.

[Dave Brown]

I've had a Brahea armata for 20 years until 2009 but it just didn't grow. Was slower than Sabal, and that is saying something. It comes from areas with 40C+ summers, so what hope do we have to grow it well.

[billdango]

I've had a Brahea armata for 20 years until 2009 but it just didn't grow. Was slower than Sabal, and that is saying something. It comes from areas with 40C+ summers, so what hope do we have to grow it well.

I did have a Brahea armata in my back garden which grew slowly from about 2 foot in hieght and spread to over a period of about 4 years to 4 feet tall and with a similer spread.

This palm was in an exposed part of the garden under a shady Eucalyptus tree but i think it did very well indeed.

I did give this palm some protection as I soon found out that this damp cold climate damaged the leaves during the winter months.

I only lost it because I tried to lift it and move it to the garden in St denys and it just keeled over.

I still have 2 unprotected plants by my side entrance wall and these are abut 3 feet tall with a similar spread.

The leaves go a bit spotty during our wet winters but it always recovers well during the summer months.

This palm is well worth a go on the south coast or in the center of our largest cities as I found out that my plants have taken -7c with no damage.

Otherwise just grow it in a large pot and put it undercover during the winter.

billdango

[Dave Brown]

I've had a Brahea armata for 20 years until 2009 but it just didn't grow. Was slower than Sabal, and that is saying something. It comes from areas with 40C+ summers, so what hope do we have to grow it well.

I did have a Brahea armata in my back garden which grew slowly from about 2 foot in hieght and spread to over a period of about 4 years to 4 feet tall and with a similer spread.

billdango

I've had 3 and none did well, none survived

[Yorkshire Kris]

My Brahea grows at least 3 leaves a year and usually around 5 so its not heat thats the issue.

[paulrm71]

I planted my brahea March last year, and it put out 4 new leaves. I had intended to build a proper rain shelter for it the same as my washie, but decided to do it on the cheap. Inevitably it only lasted a month before the gales trashed. It has been unprotected since December apart from some fleece wrapped round the growing point during the minus 3 plus nights. The central spear seems solid, but there is a while to go. I am quietly confident that it will pull through. Won't make the same mistake next year and will build a proper shelter.

[greendragon]

My Brahea grows at least 3 leaves a year and usually around 5 so its not heat thats the issue.

It would probably grow 20 leaves a year in it's native environment. Anyone who has put a Washingtonia or Brahea in a conservatory and seen the difference in growth rate will know that heat is extremely important.

[Yorkshire Kris]

My Brahea grows at least 3 leaves a year and usually around 5 so its not heat thats the issue.

It would probably grow 20 leaves a year in it's native environment. Anyone who has put a Washingtonia or Brahea in a conservatory and seen the difference in growth rate will know that heat is extremely important.

My point is that they grow pretty well in this climate not a million miles behind a Butia or Trachycarpus.