New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Sparrow

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by Sparrow »

Also, took some pics of the old (& some new-ish) palms in the garden at work. Not sure exactly how old they are. Thought you all might like to see them:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ciQztmGT9LEk9kwCA
chainsaw kid
Posts: 252
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:00 pm
Location: ll39 1bjArthog

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by chainsaw kid »

Hi Sparrow, may I ask a question if you walk round Winchester, do you see any Washies about? If not I would suggest you plant them out now, then you can kill them off as soon as possible and plant something that will grow in your area. Now I know what you are thinking isn't he a little ray of sunshine icon_sunny but I do like to think I'm a realist. Sorry to sound so negative as you can tell I'm not a lover of Washies, I cant grow them! By the way a warm welcome to HTUK. icon_thumright
Don't Just sit there, plant something!

The Kid.
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tatter
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: smethwick west mids

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by tatter »

Bananas not that expensive to buy and much quicker results
Jim
I'm older than yesterday but younger than tomorrow
Sparrow

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by Sparrow »

chainsaw kid wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 6:29 pm Hi Sparrow, may I ask a question if you walk round Winchester, do you see any Washies about? If not I would suggest you plant them out now, then you can kill them off as soon as possible and plant something that will grow in your area. Now I know what you are thinking isn't he a little ray of sunshine icon_sunny but I do like to think I'm a realist. Sorry to sound so negative as you can tell I'm not a lover of Washies, I cant grow them! By the way a warm welcome to HTUK. icon_thumright
Walking around Winchester I don't really see any palms at all. (A
Well, apart from those big old ones around the pond at work. And they must have been planted nearly 80-100 years ago.) Should that mean none of them will grow here?

Basically, I look at it this way: I won't know whether they can grow here or not until I try, will I? I'll be sure to keep you posted and let you all know how my experiment goes! There's some great information here on the forum (really great resource, so many thanks for all of the efforts to get it back up and running!) which is incredibly helpful.
tatter wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 6:34 pm Bananas not that expensive to buy and much quicker results
I do love the look of bananas. There are already 4 (and many pups just starting to unfurl) in the garden already. I also figured I'd try my hand at raising some from seed! They're soaking now and will get put into seed trays this weekend. More bananas will be good!
chainsaw kid
Posts: 252
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:00 pm
Location: ll39 1bjArthog

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by chainsaw kid »

Hi Sparrow, what are your normal winter lows were you live and what were they this year? once we know that we can give you some suggestion on the best plants/palms to grow. Until we know that we are just guessing. icon_thumright
Don't Just sit there, plant something!

The Kid.
Sparrow

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by Sparrow »

chainsaw kid wrote: Sat Jun 30, 2018 6:17 am Hi Sparrow, what are your normal winter lows were you live and what were they this year?
I don't have much of my own historical data. Only just got a few more min/max thermometers to try to map out microclimates, so all I have is this year's data from one (completely unsheltered) spot in the garden:
(even through the really cold snap at the end of Feb/beginning of March, recorded max low was -7!! which is the lowest I've seen it here I think!)
A site I've found useful for historical data is:

http://www.winchesterweather.org.uk/historic_data.html

(Though this demonstrates the difference there can be between just north Winchester and south Winchester.)
chainsaw kid
Posts: 252
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:00 pm
Location: ll39 1bjArthog

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by chainsaw kid »

Personally, I reckon -8 is pushing t for washies, I would stick to Trackies, Chammies and Jubs.
Don't Just sit there, plant something!

The Kid.
Chez2
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Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2018 5:09 pm
Location: Rotherham / Sheffield

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by Chez2 »

Wow you have come a long way, well done!
Blairs

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by Blairs »

chainsaw kid wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:32 pm Personally, I reckon -8 is pushing t for washies, I would stick to Trackies, Chammies and Jubs.
I would say -4c. Without protection the fronds go brown at 0c and smallish ones die at -3c or prolonged near frozen temps.

Unless you can really protect it like Dave does with lights or heating cables and really cover it all winter they are no good for lost of us.
Sparrow

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by Sparrow »

chainsaw kid wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:32 pm Personally, I reckon -8 is pushing t for washies, I would stick to Trackies, Chammies and Jubs.
Yes, unprotected, yes, I realise that. That said, last winter was the lowest absolute temp since I moved here in 2000. So, unless we get a string of colder winters like that, I won't normally have to deal with temps that low.
Chez2 wrote: Sun Jul 08, 2018 9:08 am Wow you have come a long way, well done!
Thank you! I am definitely still learning - but I'm loving how the garden feels and am keen to re-do other areas beyond the first little section I've got now!
Blairs wrote: Sun Jul 08, 2018 1:08 pm
chainsaw kid wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:32 pm Personally, I reckon -8 is pushing t for washies, I would stick to Trackies, Chammies and Jubs.
I would say -4c. Without protection the fronds go brown at 0c and smallish ones die at -3c or prolonged near frozen temps.

Unless you can really protect it like Dave does with lights or heating cables and really cover it all winter they are no good for lost of us.
I took the advice given earlier and now have more Trachycarpus to add. I was also tempted by a Brahea armata and a Mule Palm that should arrive this week.

As for the Washingtonia, of the eight that were in the two pots, six little (1-2in diameter) ones are potted up separately and will be kept inside over winter. The remaining two (2-3in diameter) are planted out in a bed next to the garage. I added grit, sand and gravel before planting, so drainage should be excellent. I happy to give them winter protection until either they're too big to be able to do that, or they perish. A learning experience for me. (Rather a steep learning curve, I'm sure, but I learn best by doing in any case.
Sparrow

New to tropicals, renovating my garden

Post by Sparrow »

PS. Sorry for the late replies... I was away visiting family in Florida and I'm only just now getting time to catch up on non-work, non-garden activities.

More updates and more pics soon!
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