I think there must be a bit of Dactylifera or Theophrasti in there somewhere (or both). Other established local Canariensis in Paignton and Torquay still have glossy green coloured leaves. The spikes seem to be particularly vicious. When I bought and tried to get it in the car one went deep into the...

Good Idea, I'll give it a go. I'll just have to watch out for the Canary Island Police Department in case they want their plants back!

I'm quite happy with a CIPD! Actually hoping it wasn't a Dactylifera, as I believe that although rated the same they need a hotter dryer climate than we generally have. I guess there is quite a bit of variation within the Phoenix genus. I recently bought 1000 Dactylifera seeds because they were so c...

Hi Everyone, I bought this palm earlier in the year, sold as a Phoenix Canariensis (for £50 which I thought was pretty good). The more I look at it it's very different from my other Phoenix Canariensis and others I see around. It has generally stiffer leaves with more tightly packed spiky bits and a...

Yes very old! It's Oldway mansion in Paignton. The house was built around 1870 for the family that owned Singer Sewing Machines. The tropical grotto gardens installed about the same time by famous French landscape architect Achille Duchene. So could they in theory be 143 year old palms? Probably not...

Hi, Recently spotted some very old Trachycarpus in a local park. A few of them look a bit different, with much less fibre on the trunks and a smaller crown of leaves. Is it just because they are old? or are they a different form of Trachycarpus or hybrid? I very much doubt they would have been strip...

Hi Dave, Ok I'll give it a go. Anyone know what variety the Tresco Nikaus are? I would assume Chatham Island (Oceana) would be the best match for the Tresco climate, but they were just labelled as plain Rhopalostylis sapida. They have maybe over 50 in the Abbey Gardens dotted all over the place, and...

Following on from my sucess with Nikau seeds from RPS (I've got about 30 seedlings so far of the Great Barrier Island form), I've just recently been lucky enough to harvest just a few fresh nikau seeds from a mature nikau in Tresco. I placed them in water to soak to aid the flesh removal and once ag...

Hi, Thanks for the pictures Dave. I have seen the Tresco ones a while ago but it's interesting to see what can happen to one in a normal UK climate. So did it have successful winters outside unprotected before the 2009 set back? Greville - I've just noticed that I ordered Barrier Island seeds as wel...

Hi,

Thanks for the advise on roots drying out, I'll watch out for that.

Dave, do you have any photos of your Nikau, interesting to see how healthy they look in the UK? I would love a mature Nikau, I've never seen one for sale in the UK.

Tim

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Hi Everyone, Just had some seeds delivered from RPS. Nikau (chatham Island), Butia Eriospatha, Jubaea chilensis, Syagrus Coronata amongst others. I put some Nikau seeds in water for 4 days, changing twice a day and one appears to be sprouting already! At first I thought it was a spec of perlite foun...