Hello New Gardening Obsessive Registered

By the way Banana Man, your garden looks fantastic. Quite an inspiration, if I could only get this b****y wind subdued!!

 

Honey Bee,
Perhaps a visit to St Michaels Mount is in order?

 

Cheers windy miller. This wind is unusually troublesome, think its a little earlier than in previous years, everything is so vulnerable and fleshy. I was in the garden today praying for the wind to calm thinking I have created a parody of my life in this space, no matter how much pruning, tidying, feeding, watering I do everything remains on the brink of chaos!

 

The wind is a constant problem here at the top of a valley from the sea, but in my semi planted new border everything still looks ok. The Cornish Palms, as ever, took everything nature had to offer and still look majestic with flower spikes not far off opening. Phormium and bamboos don't seem too bothered, but one of the lovely Heuchera Creme Brulees is looking a little battered, but it is still in its pot by the back door! Nature doesn't care that Ive just been to Trebah and spent too much on plants that have nowhere to go just yet :D :D

 

Cornwall must be a treat for growing all things tropical. Are your cornish palms Trachycarpus or is this what you call cordylines in cornwall? I know some refer to them as cabbage palms. I can't wait to see the trachycarpus do its thing, its great.

Mine is this far today.

 

My wagnerianus is at a similar stage, is yours a male or female banana man?
Mines a female but it never sets any seed as it dont get polenated.
Got a chamaerops humilis just showing a couple of flowers as well, only its second time.

 

Not sure as this is the first year its flowered for me. Iv'e got 2 others but they are not mature enough to flower yet. Hopefully probability is such that I will end up with a pair. One is quite temperamental so I think I have (only joking ladies). My chamaerops humilis flowered in its first year (2004) but hasn't since. The fruits on the chamaerops humilis were really interesting, like solid grapes.

I quite fancy a wagnerianus, that is the dwarf leaved one isn't it?

 

Hi all,
In answer, Banana Man, they're Cabbage Palms. The last people in this house planted them, so of course they're in a really stoopid place, but they're far too big to move so am building garden around them. Your Trachy looks great, how tall is it?

 

Yes its got smaller leaves, it was sold to me back in the eighties as fortunei, at the time I didn't know very much about them and couldn't work out why the leaves didn't look like most pictures. I eventually found out what it was and then bought a fotunei in cornwall, thats coming on but its not flowered yet.
My chamaerops was grown from seed collected in 1985, since then I have bought other seed and have some seedlings of var. cerifera, they should be silver coloured, but as yet still green

 

This is my "waggie", its not a good day for taking pics, raining again.

On the subject of your two trachys., do you know if seed will ripen in the UK, do we get a long enough summer.

 

Hi Windy, I like the cabbage palms too, I have 4. One is about 4 foot with 2.5 foot of trunk and is a sucker from a much larger one. When I was landscaping for a client I offered to remove the offending palm becasue it was planted in a really stoopid place and looked totally out of place as well as being about a foot from the front wall of the house. Only when I dug down did I realise that this was a regrowth from a much larger stump which had been cut earlier. I wouldn't be exagerating to say this trunk was about a foot accross. The thing must have been enormous. I eventually got the regrowth off with 1 root left on having had to hack it to bits to come appart. They might be called cabage palms but they aint soft! Like hardwood! Any way after flopping most of the summer it came through the winter and is doing very nicely with lots of new roots.

The trachy is about 5 feet with acsending leaves meaning you can walk under it without stooping which is quite an honour in my garden. This is last year but you can just see the height and the cabbage palm.




Pete,

Your waggie is fantastic. I will be round with my spade :D You would pay a lot of money for one like that. Much more resistent to wind with those smaller leaves. Notice you have a sneeky cabbage palm there too. I will let you know about seeds. I saw a great new variety of chamaerops called 'Vulcano'. Fantastic name!

[ 21. May 2006, 04:24 PM: Message edited by: Banana Man ]

 

Vulcano sounds good, I'll look out for that one.
Have grown cordylines for years, mostly from seed. Have you come across Indivisa, I'm tempted to have a go but not sure if it will be hardy.

 

Yes I have had an Indivisa for 2 winters now. Seems fine. Likes it moist but you have to watch it doesn't get to wet cause they tend to rot if not monitored. Its grown in a pot with just the weather for moisture during the winter, absolutely no protection other than it close proximity to the house.



Also here is a shot today of the cabbage palm I have that was hacked off a monster.(mighty dull and windy here in essex today).

 

Mighty dull and very wet !!!!!!

 

We have just had a cloud burst here with thunder.
I'm a bit confused about Indivisa as I saw one at Wakehurst Place and it was a very broad leaved gigantic plant, the leaves must have been 3ins across and about 6ft long at least.
But I have seen australis seed sold as indivisa, I even bought some a few years ago.
Thats a nice plant you have there, and I'm not being a pain, but are you sure its Indivisa