Exotic (plants!!) magazines

[Birmingham Chris]

Does anyone know if these exist? I've never found one, and never heard reference to one on here but that doesn't mean that there isn't some obscure publication somewhere that would be worth subscribing to.

If not, can someone start one please - there must be money in it if it's a gap in the market.......

[Jo A P]

I'll second that.
It would be nice if the existing magazines did more than the usual daffodils & roses. It's guaranteed every year there'll be an article on peonies, one on tulips & so on. I'm not knocking these plants, but there are so many to use in the garden & even a complete beginner surely wants to get on & gain experience.

[stephenprudence]

If it was to be started it would have to be a group thing, and plus plenty of money behind it! I suppose an online journally type thing is the way to go for that kind of thing!

[Dave Brown]

The problem is, even though a gap in the market, it is not a huge market, and would have to retail at a high price for anyone to make any money out of it. Printing cost are high. I'm sure JohnP or Adrian will say it is not worth the hastle. EPS had one but formatting for a publisher is much more difficult than online. Nice idea but not really practical.

[Nathan]

There was an exotic gardening magazine launched a few years ago (I bought the first copy) but it obviously didn't get many buyers as it disappeared...

[daftbanana]

I guess the fact is, exotic gardening is a small niche within a larger gardening hobby/interest. The most that we could probably hope for is an exotic gardening section within one of the established magazines (does that exist already?).

[Adrian]

There was one some time ago, I think it was called Pond and Exotics or something like that but as Dave says the market is far too small.
The book 'Exotics are Easy' was made up of some of the articles from this magazine.

For EPS members you can still buy some of the back issues of our 'Chamaerops' journal but the next one or the one after is likely to be the end of the road, its run since the very early '90s but has always been a small publication for members, of course its out and out palms

Im not fully sure as I havent looked in the shop for ages but they might well be available to non members.

[GARYnNAT]

The magazine was called "Greenhouse and Exotic Gardening" it ran for about 12 issues, i had them all till about a year ago when i got rid of them. As Ade said the book 'Exotics are Easy' is made up of articles from the magazine.

Gary

[John P]

The problem is, even though a gap in the market, it is not a huge market, and would have to retail at a high price for anyone to make any money out of it. Printing cost are high. I'm sure JohnP or Adrian will say it is not worth the hastle. EPS had one but formatting for a publisher is much more difficult than online. Nice idea but not really practical.

The Chamaerops magazine was published 4 times per year by the EPS from 1991. It is not just about palms and features other exotics. Its a glossy colour magazine that has been professionally printed and contains articles by experts and experienced growers. 29 editions have been published and Dave has even been a contributor. There is going to be one final hard copy publication to the 500 or so subscribers. It has become unviable to continue except as an electronic version. Printing costs, postage, the small subscriber base and the fact that only a few people do all the work (for free) means it is impossible to carry on with it. If it was not for 1 member Richard Booth the last few additions would not have happened. I am sure if we asked for new subscription to keep it going the cost would put most off, even though it has always been non profit making.

A number of issues can be seen electronically on line by registering with the EPS. (free but donations always welcome) There are still some older issues to add to the data-base. They are all on our old web-site but I am not sure anyone can now access them.

Over recent years Chamaerops has been down to 1 issue a year. Its very difficult to get contributions, expensive to produce and finding someone who has the time for doing unpaid work. The magazine was run for years by palm legend Martin Gibbons. As his business at the Palm Centre took off he did not have the time to keep up the production of issues. Toby Spanner in Germany another well known palm celebrity took over but after a few years his output faded.

As already stated the commercially produced UK magazine did not last long and I doubt if another one will ever start up. The future of the exoticist being able to access information is by signing up to forums such as this one.

John

[Nathan]

It is a shame that "Chamaerops" is ending John, I became a member of the EPS back in 1993 (& even contributed an early article) & bought most of the back issues printed before I joined... In this day & age many of the things that before we would have shared with other members in "Chamaerops", such as what palms etc.. we have growing in our gardens or local areas, we do on forums so there isn't the need to send in articles as most of us will have seen peoples pictures & growing tips online, still I will miss getting a "hard copy" & I treasure all my back issues!

[Las Palmas Norte]

Probably of little use in the UK but still a great publication is HPI (Hardy Palm International) produced quarterly by the Pacific Northwest Palm & Exotic Plant Society.
http://www.hardypalm.com/

Cheers, Barrie.

[John P]

Nathan I agree with you but what would you pay per year for it and how many others would subscribe. We hope to keep it going as an electronic version.

Barrie we always carry an advert in Chamaerops :-

HARDY PALM INTERNATIONAL is the journal of the Pacific Northwest Palm & Exotic Plant Society. It is an all-colour journal similar in style and content to Chamaerops, focussing mainly on efforts to grow palms and other exotic plants in British Columbia in Canada and Washington and Oregon in the USA, areas with climates very similar to Britain’s. We publish four times annually and annual subscriptions are $52 US or the Euro equivalent.
Visit us at http://www.hardypalm.com for more details.

I am not sure if the EPS receives any payment or has a reciprocal advert in Hardy Palms. With the down turn of the pound that is about £35 a year and I would be interested to know Barrie if Hardy Palm International magazine has suffered any of the problems I previously mentioned. How big is the circulation and does it send out to many subscribers in Europe. I presume I cannot see it on line like you can with Chamaerops.

John

[Las Palmas Norte]

John ... I believe the hard copy is the only option for HPI, no on line viewing.
I know at one point several years ago there was some concern about it's survival.
As of late none of that has reared it's ugly head. I've never seen any advertising for Chamaerops in HPI. I haven't laid eyes on Chamaerops in any form for about 10 years.

Cheers, Barrie.

[John P]

Thanks Barrie. If you try the link at the bottom of this post, sign up free to the EPS and then click on this link http://www.palmsociety.org.uk/chamaerops/ you will be able to read 20 issues electronically. We currently have them viewable back to 1999.

John

[GARYnNAT]

an issue on ebay today

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Exotic-Greenhouse ... 2a023005ce

GARY