Search found 17246 matches

by Dave Brown
Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:32 am
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: Rotting palm seed
Replies: 14
Views: 2488

Rotting palm seed

Hi Mol, You haven't given very much information, but generally palm seed, as fat based, needs to be fresh. The older the seed the less viable they are. Just about all seed need moisture, air and the correct temperature range to germinate. I soak in water with cheshunt compound (copper bssed fungicid...
by Dave Brown
Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:59 am
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: zone 5
Replies: 3
Views: 1577

Zone 5

Hi Bobby, From your post I take it you are USDA Zone 5, which is -15 to -20F or -26 to -29C. I'm sorry, but we do not get those sort of temperatures in the UK, with maybe the exception of Scottish mountain tops. Most big leaves grow quickly so won't be very frost tolerant. Perhaps, others from the U...
by Dave Brown
Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:40 am
Forum: Weather and Climatology (public)
Topic: The Weather
Replies: 8
Views: 3482

Rainfall levels down so far

So here we are, and the weatherstation has been up and running for 2 weeks. So what have we learned about the Chalk weather. Well, the very hot weather has now definately gone, replaced by much cooler North to Northwesterly, breezes. It has rained, but only two occasions have been sufficient to reco...
by Dave Brown
Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:58 pm
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: Has global warming changed your gardening?
Replies: 4
Views: 1718

Global Warming Plants

Canna Indica started out flowering in late August in 1981 having been left in the ground over winter. Now, in 2006 the flowering season is from late june to the frosts in November, or sometimes December. In the first years the plants did not ripen any seed, but now they self seed (Indian shot bullet...
by Dave Brown
Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:58 am
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: Musella Lasiocarpa - Golden Lotus Banana - Watering and rot
Replies: 8
Views: 8283

Soil mix working well

:lol: I have used a mix consisting of 2 parts bark based compost, 1 part peat with added loam, and 1 part sharp sand. I water thoroughly, then allow the surface to dry out before rewatering. Much the same as for my Orange tree. They seem to like this and responded well. The roots are the best I have...
by Dave Brown
Fri Aug 04, 2006 9:09 am
Forum: Weather and Climatology (public)
Topic: The Weather
Replies: 8
Views: 3482

Rain guage now tested after the rain yesterday

8) The Rain guage has now been fully tested with real rain, and is not being tipped by the wind. We had doubts that is was working, as after 35 minutes of gentle rain we still had not recorded anything. Then it tipped recording 0.5mm. Having looked at other weather stations in the area, we were not ...
by Dave Brown
Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:16 pm
Forum: Weather and Climatology (public)
Topic: The Weather
Replies: 8
Views: 3482

The Weather

8) I have been monitoring the weather for over 40 years, keeping records from the newspapers, and then max min thermometers etc. This goes hand in hand with growing exotics, many of which were not supposed to be hardy in the UK. So you need to know what sort of temperatures you get, before you can a...
by Dave Brown
Mon Jul 17, 2006 11:58 pm
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: Musella Lasiocarpa - Golden Lotus Banana - Watering and rot
Replies: 8
Views: 8283

Thanks turtile, I looked at the Ironite web page, and it looks the equivelent of what we call Multitonic, with trace elements. The weather is upside down at the moment. We have had 18 months of below average rainfall in Southeast England, and the topography here at Chalk made it already one of the d...
by Dave Brown
Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:34 pm
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: Musella Lasiocarpa - Golden Lotus Banana - Watering and rot
Replies: 8
Views: 8283

Welcome aboard Turtile, and thanks for the advice from yourself and guest. I think part of the problem here, is everything is geared up to the Gardener who sticks a few bedding plants out, and has a couple of house plants. We only have one Garden Centre within 5 miles, and they only have 20 differen...
by Dave Brown
Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:08 am
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: Musella Lasiocarpa - Golden Lotus Banana - Watering and rot
Replies: 8
Views: 8283

Musella Lasiocarpa - Golden Lotus Banana - Watering and rot

Hi All, :roll: Am I the only one who has difficulty with Musella watering. I can grow very many things well, but can't get the soil/watering right for this. I either end up with soil that remains too damp and the roots rot, or it is obviously too dry, wilts and the leaf edges turn brown. I have just...
by Dave Brown
Sun Jul 09, 2006 11:13 pm
Forum: HTUK Community Forum (public)
Topic: Welcome to the Hardy Tropicals Forum
Replies: 10
Views: 5271

Welcome to the Hardy Tropicals Forum

:D Welcome to the Hardy Tropicals Forum :D Hi, I'm Dave Brown the grower of the hardy tropical looking palms and exotics, at Chalk in Kent, England. Latitude N51.26, Longitude E00.23 I had hoped to get the website ready earlier, before we started to advertise on eBay, but as I have a full time job i...