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March 11, 2008 : Spring has sprung
I took a few quick snapshots at the front entrance to the garden today. The flowering of the first magnolia, Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta, always seems to signal the start of spring for me. A few rhododendrons are already past their prime in the garden, but the Rhododendron mucronulatum (white-flowered selection) at the front entrance is greeting all visitors this week with its full glory (along with some nearby purple-flowered Rhododendron dauricum).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at March 11, 2008 4:16 PM
Comments
Posted by: john at May 28, 2008 2:52 PM
Hello John,
Not too many - I think maybe only Trachycarpus fortunei - certainly not as many as we could grow, I think, based on what other people are doing in the local area. There's a fair amount of local discussion on the Outdoor Tropicals section of the garden's forums.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at May 28, 2008 5:37 PM
John:
Trachycarpus takil (Himalayan Windmill Palm), Serenoa repens (Saw Palmetto), and Rhapidophyllum hystrix (Florida Needle Palm) are some others you could keep alive in coastal BC, through lavishing some extra TLC. Another handsome cold champion is Chamaerops humilis (Mediterranean Fan Palm). Please don't underestimate how damaging excess soil moisture can be to palms enduring the extreme cold stress of high latitude winters. Letting both plants and soil dry out a bit toward autumn is critical. Wrapping the meristem and trunk in anticipation of cold snaps is also immensely helpful
Maybe this all is old news to you, but I am sending this note anyway, just in case.
P.S. You might also try Cordyline australis (Dracaena-like in appearance) and some larger species of Bambusa and Phyllostachys.
Posted by: Duane Roelofs at August 13, 2008 9:03 PM
John:
I forgot to suggest Cycas revoluta from Japan. Not a true palm, it is, instead, related to conifers. Cycads are beautiful, palm-like, and moderately cold tolerant.
Posted by: Duane Roelofs at August 13, 2008 9:13 PM
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UBC Botanical Garden Blog is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department within the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at The University of British Columbia.
growing palms in bc is great,do you have many species in the garden or perhaps a section devoted to cold -hardy "tropicals"?... maybe post some pics?