End of season update from Cheshire, England.

[cheshirepalms]

I normally try and make a video at the end of summer to show the garden in its peak. We had a horrendous last half of August this year after what was a great summer. It was very cool, wet and windy. My daytime mean high was 20.8c, low 12.1c with the average mean just 16.1c. Things have picked up and its drier and warmer this week around 23c day and 11-15c night. So I have made a video of the front and back gardens, which will be the last until next year. I've planted a Washingtonia too, hope you enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdojaRfax7A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGzxsPYw7Ks

[Kim]

I can imagine it must be quite a challenge keeping your plants going from year to year. Any plans to relocate to match your climate to your taste in plants?

[cheshirepalms]

I can imagine it must be quite a challenge keeping your plants going from year to year. Any plans to relocate to match your climate to your taste in plants?

My retirement plans (dreams) are to move to the Mediterranean, probably Majorca, ( definitely Spanish territory ) but its a long way away at the moment! So I have to push my boundaries in sunny England

[Exotic Life]

Are that the summer averages or from August? I am not in Europe this year's summer but in Australia, however I understand from family that August was pretty wet in Holland as well. Need to check my averages when I come home... They told me this summer had days from 36 degrees but also 18 degrees.

[_Keith]

Great videos. .And not your typical English Cottage Garden for sure. I can tell you are a meticulous gardener, too. Thanks for sharing and good luck on making it further south when the time comes.

[cheshirepalms]

Are that the summer averages or from August? I am not in Europe this year's summer but in Australia, however I understand from family that August was pretty wet in Holland as well. Need to check my averages when I come home... They told me this summer had days from 36 degrees but also 18 degrees.

Those averages are just for August. The weather has really improved into September, dry and warm, no rainfall at all so far. The outlook for the next 7 days is similar.

[cheshirepalms]

Great videos. .And not your typical English Cottage Garden for sure. I can tell you are a meticulous gardener, too. Thanks for sharing and good luck on making it further south when the time comes.

Thank you, it is a challenge, but one I relish.

[Exotic Life]

Are that the summer averages or from August? I am not in Europe this year's summer but in Australia, however I understand from family that August was pretty wet in Holland as well. Need to check my averages when I come home... They told me this summer had days from 36 degrees but also 18 degrees.

Those averages are just for August. The weather has really improved into September, dry and warm, no rainfall at all so far. The outlook for the next 7 days is similar.

Yes it does. Back home 22-23 degrees all week, later on proberly up to 25 degrees. Some nice after summer weather, enjoy the garden so long it will be possible.

[DoomsDave]

keep the pictures

coming

yes

[SailorBold]

Wow! Nice job... I always get a shock when I see gardens with a lot of green in them...Your climate is just about perfect for Trachycarpus I would think..and those Phoenix are looking like they are putting on some growth. I really like the succulents area and the banana too.... Do you get a lot of wind? The leaves are not tattered at all. They look great!

I dig it.

Edited September 11, 2014 by SailorBold

[cheshirepalms]

Wow! Nice job... I always get a shock when I see gardens with a lot of green in them...Your climate is just about perfect for Trachycarpus I would think..and those Phoenix are looking like they are putting on some growth. I really like the succulents area and the banana too.... Do you get a lot of wind? The leaves are not tattered at all. They look great!

I dig it.

Thank you for the comments! We do get windy winters some years, like last winter when we were getting depressions every 2-3 days with 40-70mph winds, but the basjoo was wrapped so had no problems. It was almost pristine until mid August then it got a bit shredded. It is protected by the fence and only the top growth above 6-7 foot is affected.

[cheshirepalms]

keep the pictures

coming

yes

I will try and update this thread if there's something worth taking.

[Bismark]

Being a Mancunian myself it makes me laugh when I see your name, "Cheshire Palms" brilliant! I wish you every success in whatever you plant and grow, I will watch with interest. Great to see somebody from the North West of Gods Country on PT.

Cheers

[cheshirepalms]

Being a Mancunian myself it makes me laugh when I see your name, "Cheshire Palms" brilliant! I wish you every success in whatever you plant and grow, I will watch with interest. Great to see somebody from the North West of Gods Country on PT.

Cheers

I'm from County Durham originally but now in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. My goal is to grow a decent size Canary Island date palm in Cheshire. But I've planted reliable Traccies also to justify the name if the weather takes the more tender palms. Trying my best to fly the flag for northwest England now!

[Kostas]

Doing great there John! I am sure it will only get more amazing in the coming years!

[Mike in Nelson]

A great result for a challenging part of the world. Good luck with the red Cordy, I hope it does better than they do here.

[gob1]

I am now on my way home after a week in Majorca. What a beautiful place, and if you have to go back to the "home"country only a short flight.

There might be a couple of challenges around water supply and alkaline soil, and yes I was thinking about this whilst I was there!

[cheshirepalms]

I am now on my way home after a week in Majorca. What a beautiful place, and if you have to go back to the "home"country only a short flight.

There might be a couple of challenges around water supply and alkaline soil, and yes I was thinking about this whilst I was there!

Thinking about the challenges of gardening in Majorca or moving there yourself? Which resort did you stay in?

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Those trachys look real nice, they look so much healthier than ours. Washies and canary date palms are heart breakers in your part of the world. Have you considered the different forms of trachycarpus fortunei and Mediterranean fan palms that could provide a lot of different forms for your garden? Butia are also a much better bet for you than those canary date palms.

[cheshirepalms]

Those trachys look real nice, they look so much healthier than ours. Washies and canary date palms are heart breakers in your part of the world. Have you considered the different forms of trachycarpus fortunei and Mediterranean fan palms that could provide a lot of different forms for your garden? Butia are also a much better bet for you than those canary date palms.

I do have a Chamaerops Humilis, next to the newly planted washie. To be honest I don't think I'll be planting any more palms for a while, just going to see how the one's I have get on first. I have considered Butias and Jubeas, but both are very expensive to buy over here!

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Those trachys look real nice, they look so much healthier than ours. Washies and canary date palms are heart breakers in your part of the world. Have you considered the different forms of trachycarpus fortunei and Mediterranean fan palms that could provide a lot of different forms for your garden? Butia are also a much better bet for you than those canary date palms.

I do have a Chamaerops Humilis, next to the newly planted washie. To be honest I don't think I'll be planting any more palms for a while, just going to see how the one's I have get on first. I have considered Butias and Jubeas, but both are very expensive to buy over here!

I think you missed my point. I'll try to re-phrase. There are only three palm species that are quite reliable in your climate: trachycarpus fortunei, chamaerops humilis and butia odorata. Fortunately, those three species come in such a broad numbers of variations that just with those three species alone you can create a fabulous and diverse looking garden. Most people don't realize this and they think that for example if they have one chamaerops humilis, that's it for that species.

The washies and canary date palms are not viable long term for you, all I was saying is that you're better off focusing on those three species listed above and creating a diverse look by finding the right variants of these.

[gob1]

We stayed at the hotel cala santanyi - fantastic beach with several spots to dive into the ocean from the (low) cliffs. Weather was dry and about 33°C every day.

I live in Melbourne - no one lives here for the weather and occasionally I like to dream....

[Dave-Vero]

The plants remind me of books from Timber Press of Portland, Oregon, on growing "tropical" or at least mediterranean gardens in their cool dry-summer climate.

I'm in a winter-dry climate near Melbourne, Florida where, oddly enough, Spanish olive varieties will grow decently, citrus is being eliminated by disease, Japanese persimmons are on the way in, along with new varieties of peaches that will bear fruit in a mango climate. Chamaerops grows reasonably well, and my Trachycarpus is healthy, though they have a reputation for not living very long.

[cheshirepalms]

Those trachys look real nice, they look so much healthier than ours. Washies and canary date palms are heart breakers in your part of the world. Have you considered the different forms of trachycarpus fortunei and Mediterranean fan palms that could provide a lot of different forms for your garden? Butia are also a much better bet for you than those canary date palms.

I do have a Chamaerops Humilis, next to the newly planted washie. To be honest I don't think I'll be planting any more palms for a while, just going to see how the one's I have get on first. I have considered Butias and Jubeas, but both are very expensive to buy over here!

I think you missed my point. I'll try to re-phrase. There are only three palm species that are quite reliable in your climate: trachycarpus fortunei, chamaerops humilis and butia odorata. Fortunately, those three species come in such a broad numbers of variations that just with those three species alone you can create a fabulous and diverse looking garden. Most people don't realize this and they think that for example if they have one chamaerops humilis, that's it for that species.

The washies and canary date palms are not viable long term for you, all I was saying is that you're better off focusing on those three species listed above and creating a diverse look by finding the right variants of these.

I get what your saying and I still won't be planting any more palms, unless I lose any. The washie, yes I admit it is a short term project although I still hold out hope for my CIDPs. There are some decent size examples just 15 miles away, I will try my best to get them through. Here they are as my inspiration.

[cheshirepalms]

We stayed at the hotel cala santanyi - fantastic beach with several spots to dive into the ocean from the (low) cliffs. Weather was dry and about 33°C every day.

I live in Melbourne - no one lives here for the weather and occasionally I like to dream....

I stayed in Cala D'or, its really close to where you were, feeling like a need a holiday just thinking about it!

[cheshirepalms]

The plants remind me of books from Timber Press of Portland, Oregon, on growing "tropical" or at least mediterranean gardens in their cool dry-summer climate.

I'm in a winter-dry climate near Melbourne, Florida where, oddly enough, Spanish olive varieties will grow decently, citrus is being eliminated by disease, Japanese persimmons are on the way in, along with new varieties of peaches that will bear fruit in a mango climate. Chamaerops grows reasonably well, and my Trachycarpus is healthy, though they have a reputation for not living very long.

Do you know the names of these books, I'd be interested to look them up.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Those trachys look real nice, they look so much healthier than ours. Washies and canary date palms are heart breakers in your part of the world. Have you considered the different forms of trachycarpus fortunei and Mediterranean fan palms that could provide a lot of different forms for your garden? Butia are also a much better bet for you than those canary date palms.

I do have a Chamaerops Humilis, next to the newly planted washie. To be honest I don't think I'll be planting any more palms for a while, just going to see how the one's I have get on first. I have considered Butias and Jubeas, but both are very expensive to buy over here!

I think you missed my point. I'll try to re-phrase. There are only three palm species that are quite reliable in your climate: trachycarpus fortunei, chamaerops humilis and butia odorata. Fortunately, those three species come in such a broad numbers of variations that just with those three species alone you can create a fabulous and diverse looking garden. Most people don't realize this and they think that for example if they have one chamaerops humilis, that's it for that species.

The washies and canary date palms are not viable long term for you, all I was saying is that you're better off focusing on those three species listed above and creating a diverse look by finding the right variants of these.

I get what your saying and I still won't be planting any more palms, unless I lose any. The washie, yes I admit it is a short term project although I still hold out hope for my CIDPs. There are some decent size examples just 15 miles away, I will try my best to get them through. Here they are as my inspiration.

Holy cow, ha ha, better keep those CDIPs you have, I think I will shut up now.

[JT in Japan]

It would be really interesting to see how you bed those palms down for the winter. You say you wrap some? How about some pics of your prep, the how and the when...?

Lovely garden!

JT

[cheshirepalms]

It would be really interesting to see how you bed those palms down for the winter. You say you wrap some? How about some pics of your prep, the how and the when...?

Lovely garden!

JT

I only protect one of my canary island date palms and my chamaerops humilis. Everything else take its chances or is in pot and then either moved to the greenhouse or pulled up against the south facing side of the house. The only other exception is my musa basjoo, but thats another story and not a palm lol. If the temperature is expected to drop below around -2c I cover the palms with 2 or 3 pieces of fleece, draped and pegged over some garden canes, perhaps a small piece over the crown and around the base and soil on colder nights. The fleece is then pegged to the ground with some gaps at the bottom for airflow. This will be removed the next day if temperatures rise above 4c the next day (this is usually the case) to allow more air flow and repeated each night for as long as the frosty weather lasts. In winter 2012/13 we had a few days of snow so plastic sheets were used instead of fleece. This is what it looks like, the canes stay win the ground all winter for ease of assembly. I'm struggling to post a picture as its not allowing it from its current extension, not had this issue before.

[cheshirepalms]

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=54894&mode=view

Hopefully this works!

Edited September 19, 2014 by cheshirepalms

[JT in Japan]

It would be really interesting to see how you bed those palms down for the winter. You say you wrap some? How about some pics of your prep, the how and the when...?

Lovely garden!

JT

I only protect one of my canary island date palms and my chamaerops humilis. Everything else take its chances or is in pot and then either moved to the greenhouse or pulled up against the south facing side of the house. The only other exception is my musa basjoo, but thats another story and not a palm lol. If the temperature is expected to drop below around -2c I cover the palms with 2 or 3 pieces of fleece, draped and pegged over some garden canes, perhaps a small piece over the crown and around the base and soil on colder nights. The fleece is then pegged to the ground with some gaps at the bottom for airflow. This will be removed the next day if temperatures rise above 4c the next day (this is usually the case) to allow more air flow and repeated each night for as long as the frosty weather lasts. In winter 2012/13 we had a few days of snow so plastic sheets were used instead of fleece. This is what it looks like, the canes stay win the ground all winter for ease of assembly. I'm struggling to post a picture as its not allowing it from its current extension, not had this issue before.

Good idea keeping the structure in place all winter. You've inspired a weekend chore for me come late November.

Cheers,

Jt

[jeevesjank]

Beautiful garden! How cold hardy do banana's get? I'd never imagine they got that north.

[cheshirepalms]

Beautiful garden! How cold hardy do banana's get? I'd never imagine they got that north.

Musa Basjoo is root hardy to -10c, the snag is they start from scratch the next season. I protect mine by removing the leaves, caging the trunk and filling with straw. Then cover the top with something waterproof. This way I keep the height of the trunk for the next spring.

[Explorer]

They even have some Musa basjoo in Norway! At 59.03 latitude North!

Its in a garden at the northern point of an island. The name of the place is Flor & Fjaere.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=59.051029,5.824792&spn=0.009071,0.02547&t=h&z=16

Well we in Europe have the most northerly growing palms and bananas anywhere in the World!

Where in other parts of the World you may only find frozen boreal forest on that latitude here still a few exotics can grow!

Alexander

Edited September 23, 2014 by Explorer

[cheshirepalms]

They even have some Musa basjoo in Norway! At 59.03 latitude North!

Its in a garden at the northern point of an island. The name of the place is Flor & Fjaere.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=59.051029,5.824792&spn=0.009071,0.02547&t=h&z=16

Well we in Europe have the most northerly growing palms and bananas anywhere in the World!

Where in other parts of the World you may only find frozen boreal forest on that latitude here still a few exotics can grow!

Alexander

Places in the Western Islands of Scotland like the outer Hebrides have Cordylines and other exotics at the same sort of latitude too.

[cheshirepalms]

Here is an update for the garden in video form and my first ever video in winter. I have used commentary this time so I hope I don't sound too stupid. We have had a pretty mild winter up until boxing day and then a cold snap with snow and overnight frosts for 4 nights, unfortunately this happened when I was away and was unable to protect my plants. Hope you like the videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWbgqC0Cir8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWbgqC0Cir8

[Josh-O]

nice video!!

[wimmie]

Nice garden, John. But try to keep the pace of the camaramovement a little bit slower and you will end up with a much better video! A slow hand will do the trick.

Wim.

[Dave-Vero]

I'm late getting back. Timber's principal book is Palms Won't Grow Here. They also have an Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants for Temperate Climates

Canary date palms survive serious freezes, but brief dry ones, in Florida, as far north as Jacksonville, at least. I recall seeing a big Canary in the town square at Arcata, California, and here they are. Google Street View. Don't ever recall seeing any in Oregon, although people there have grown our rather tough Sabal minor, which normally lacks an above-ground trunk.

Since I was looking up Arcata, also checked Ellesmere. An industrial facility being built that takes advantage of the Shropshire Union Canal? My gosh, we have hardly any commercial traffic on our Intracoastal Waterway, despite high bridges.

By the way, a lot of prickly pears (Optuntia) are quite hardy. Our common eastern Opuntia humifusa ranges to Massachusetts, and a small one gets into Alberta.

[cheshirepalms]

I'm late getting back. Timber's principal book is Palms Won't Grow Here. They also have an Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants for Temperate Climates

Canary date palms survive serious freezes, but brief dry ones, in Florida, as far north as Jacksonville, at least. I recall seeing a big Canary in the town square at Arcata, California, and here they are. Google Street View. Don't ever recall seeing any in Oregon, although people there have grown our rather tough Sabal minor, which normally lacks an above-ground trunk.

Since I was looking up Arcata, also checked Ellesmere. An industrial facility being built that takes advantage of the Shropshire Union Canal? My gosh, we have hardly any commercial traffic on our Intracoastal Waterway, despite high bridges.

By the way, a lot of prickly pears (Optuntia) are quite hardy. Our common eastern Opuntia humifusa ranges to Massachusetts, and a small one gets into Alberta.

The Manchester ship canal provides more industrial links to the sea nowadays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellesmere_Port