A very tall Trachycarpus

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simon
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A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by simon »

I spotted this palm a couple of weeks ago while out walking in my local area, so today I took my camera. It is probably the tallest one I have seen. How old do you think it is?

There is also another in the back garden which can be seen in pic 3.

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Las Palmas Norte
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Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by Las Palmas Norte »

Well it is tall, but you'll discover taller ones as time goes by. I'd figure it to be 25 to 30 years old give or take. The tallest ones I've seen in person where in Tacoma, Washington and stood in excess of 40'. The one pictured seems to have been neglected and needs a good grooming and some fertilizer this coming spring.

Cheers, Barrie.
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Dave Brown
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Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by Dave Brown »

Yes it has been rather neglected, but Barrie, my Trunky Trachycarpus is 37 years old and is shorter than that. It looks like it has suffered drought in 2005/6. I'd say 50 years ish. :lol:

I think Kentgardener put a pic on UKO of a palm in Gillingham area which looked about 40 feet tall. There is also a very tall one in the park at Hastings. :wink:

37 year old
020507 Trunky Tracky 002.jpg
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lucienc

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by lucienc »

Tallest I've ever seen was at Burncoose Nurseries in Cornwall.
Tall Trachy.jpg
DavidF

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by DavidF »

Is it only me who thinks that Trachys look better when small - medium?

I think their beauty is in their leaves - and you can't see them 40 foot above your head!
MarkD

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by MarkD »

Yeah they look better whilst still smaller and sheltered as the really tall ones has leaves ripped to shreds by the wind.

Unless you see the really tall Trachies inside the Milton Keynes shopping centre, being indoors the leaves look pristine. It's days are numbered though as it's about to reach the roof soon :cry:
SteveW

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by SteveW »

Theres an old farmhouse just around the corner from my Mums horse yard in Cliffe thats got loads of big trachys in the grounds.
Look as though they've been there for a good number of years.
DSC00066-1.JPG
DSC00067-1.JPG
DSC00069-1.JPG
The last pic has a couple of very tall trachys in the distance that I couldn't zoom in on,but they are there honest.
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John P
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Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by John P »

Dave any excuse to post a picture of mine.

John


Image
Alexander

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by Alexander »

I have seen very tall old Trachys in France, Spain and Italy. Much taller then on the pictures.

Alexander
Don

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by Don »

DavidF wrote:Is it only me who thinks that Trachys look better when small - medium?
No that's a me too and I think it also applies to a lot of other palms, particularly Butia. I suppose you could say the same about tree ferns and things like Arucaria Arucana. Our good old Horse chestnut looks amazing as a one year old whip and you can fool a lot of people into thinking it is something extremely tropical, but as a mature tree it's a different story.
I suppose the trick is to plant things in trios of different heights.
Adrian

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by Adrian »

The tallest Ive seen is in Hilliers car park in Winchester opposite the hospital, I think its been there forever.
SteveW

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by SteveW »

Theres some real monsters at Heligan from what I remember.
Which were planted by the Victorians,theres some massive dicksonias too.
I see one almost everyday on the A25 into Redhill,which is planted in the grounds of an old house just before you get to the start of the traffic into the town centre
I'll see if I can get a pic of it next week,might be a bit blurred if the traffics moving though :lol:
mixiepalms

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by mixiepalms »

this is me and a Trachycarpus in the grounds of bosahan in cornwall.

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and the strangest looking Trachycarpus i have seen

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i have posted these before lol but a god excuse for reposting them. Bosahan is without doubt the most unspoilt garden in cornwall.

and finally my poor excuses for trachies, mind you they were tiny 5 yrs ago.

Image


mixie
darran

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by darran »

I have a client who has a very large specimen Trachycarpus in her garden, its planted down by a creek which leads to the Thames and is surrounded by large willows which provide a really nice contrast in leaf shape. I think the willows also provides the palm with protection from the wind as the leaves stay in good condition.

She has no idea of its age as it was planted before she moved in 10 years ago! It gets regularly flooded every time the Thames floods, showing that they are quite a resilient palm.

I have pictures which I would post but they are on my partners laptop which is in the Azores at the moment!!!! I would guess its at least 40ft in height, but its difficult to tell!

Whilst I was in Shanghai I saw many Trachycarpus's planted out and I was very surprised at how closely they were planted..but visually it looked great.The creation of glades of trachys draws the attention to the trunks and their vertical, arcitectural lines, much in the way glades of silver birch are used here in the UK.
John Jearrard

Re: A very tall Trachycarpus

Post by John Jearrard »

This group looked pretty good in Sheffield Park in 1980!
Trachycarpus fortunei 1980 Sheffield Park 43-30.jpg
And this one was in Ellen Willmotts garden, Warley Place (Brentwood), which was abandoned when she died (I think in about 1930?).
Trachycarpus fortunei 130682 Warley Place 82-48.jpg
There's some good ones about!
Pity the pictures are so crappy! Sorry.
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