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Crete, Greece 2014

Janni

By Janni
in TRAVEL LOGS

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

Posted
Posted

Hi dear palmtalk-fellows,

I know I haven´t been here for a while, but I have a simple and very good explanation: 5 months ago I became dad and since then everything changed in my life and I have a lot of things in my mind, except posting topics about palms in a forum...

However, for some reason, I still have palms in my mind and my potted ones are growing happily along, despite (or because of) the little time I have to take care about them... :hmm:

A few weeks ago we (my grlfriend, my daughter and I) went to a holiday trip to Crete, Greece. For those who don´t know much about Crete: Crete is one of the southernmost islands of Europe, the cradle of modern Europe, beautiful island and so on... and it has - in my opinion - most probably the best climate for palms and other tropical plants in Europe. The botanical park of Crete, in the western part of the island, approximately 10 km inland at about 200 m above sea level, is a very good proof that the island has a high potential for palm growers. In that park there are a lot of different tropical trees, but unfortunately very few palms. The park has a very good website, with all plants listed, some of them with pictures. Besides that park, I saw a few palm surprises here and there.

Enough the words, here com the pictures...

surprise in Rethymno Town

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a huge (for greek standars) Howea Forsteriana in Rethymno

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The crown of the big Archontophoenix

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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  • Author
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is this a Dypsis Decaryi with an unusual slender trunk??

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palm front of Rethymno Town. A lot of Phoenix Canariensis and a few theophrastii and Washis

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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another surprise in Rethymno...

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and in a suburb...

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one of the more common palms is Phoenix Roebellenii

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rare, but not tropical, Brahea Armata

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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Botanical Park:

Papaya (there were a lot of papayas planted in the park)

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coffea arabica

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huge musa x paradisiaca (those were really huge!!)

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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giant strelizia

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Mango (?)

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chamaeodorea ssps

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Passiflora

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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Dypsis Decaryi

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Archontophoenix (again, there were a couple of those planted in the park)

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Livistona Chinensis

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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dwarf papayas

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Plumeria (widely spread all over the island)

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Nice Queens...

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don´t know what...

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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there were lots of different citrus trees with giant fruits on them, although some trees were surprisingly small for those huge fruits. There were labels on most of the trees, but that would be too much to post here

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rhapis in the shade

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one of the sheffleras

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sugar cane

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Edited by Janni
Janni Collaborator

Janni

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I just forgot the name of that tree... it is used in the asian cuisine... somethingsomething-citrus-tree...

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those were HUGE!

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Buddha's hand

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there were Hibiscus in many different colors and shapes

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Janni Collaborator

Janni

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Last pictures of a hiking tour through the mountains...

shaved Trachycarpus Fortunei

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the most beautiful Phoenix Canariensis I saw on the whole island! This specimen was far away from any other Palm, free of hybridization, pests or other troubles and had a constant water supply from the adjacent field

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That´s enough for now. I hope you enjoyed it...

Edited by Janni
bubba Grand Master

bubba

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Janni, Your great shots of Crete remind me of your outstanding post a little while back on Rhodes, Greece. Truly intriguing and thank you for the post.

What you look for is what is looking

gilles06 Experienced

gilles06

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one of the best climate of europe!

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elevation 328 feet

distance from mediteranean sea 1,1 mile

lowest t° 2009/2010 : 27F

lowest t° 2008/2009 : 33F

lowest t° 2007/2008 : 32F

lowest t° 2006/2007 : 35F

lowest t° 2005/2006 : 27F

lowest t° 2004/2005 : 25F

Historical lowest t° 1985 : 18F

Phoenikakias Grand Master

Phoenikakias

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Maybe the unknown tree is a Harpephyllon?

Kostas Grand Master

Kostas

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Awesone Janni, thanks for sharing!!!! :) Must go see them from close!

Do you maybe know the name of the tree with the big leafs in the picture showing the slender trunk Dypsis?

Did you saw any Plumeria growing in heavily shaded conditions?

''To try,is to risk failure.......To not try,is to guarantee it''

limoncik Enthusiast

limoncik

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Nice plants!
Mango and papaya :yay:

  • 2 weeks later...
Janni Collaborator

Janni

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  • Author
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Hello everybody and thanks for your kind replies.

@phoenikakias: I don´t know if that unknown tree is a Harpephyllum. Firstly because I didn´t know that tree before you named it, so I cannot tell. And secondly the pictures I get from google do not convince me. Especially the branches do not match, although the leaves are similar. I really don´t know... so it could very well be one :winkie:

@Kosta: I think that tree you mean is a papaya. I didn´t pay much attention to that tree at first, because it looked very negelcted and not attractive (to put it gentle...) In fact the whole plot was negelcted, it almost looked like the palms were planted by accident there :mrlooney: As for the plumerias: they were everywhere! in full sun, under large ficus trees and in spots with apparently no direct sunlight. It seems as if they have only one variety of plumeria, which is a pity. The ones, which were blooming had the same color, it was white. I saw one with relatively round leaves, but it was not in bloom.

So long...

Phoenikakias Grand Master

Phoenikakias

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Harpephyllon is of the tree-kinds, one can prune to whichever preferable shape.

Alicehunter2000 Grand Master

Alicehunter2000

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Nice tour....thanks

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

Kostas Grand Master

Kostas

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Thank you very much Janni! :) Great to know Plumeria were fine in the shade as well!

The trees i mentioned are definitely not Papayas, their leaf shape is very different. Its mostly the fact that they are not any of the species i see around, the reason i am asking, they leave a lot to be desired in their current state! But the species characteristics, leaf shape,etc seem very nice and interesting!

Konstantinos,

Hmm, one could indeed be Harpephyllum caffrum! Do you grow this species or know any source for it? I like it! :)

''To try,is to risk failure.......To not try,is to guarantee it''

Julie Apprentice

Julie

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Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

Phoenikakias Grand Master

Phoenikakias

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Thank you very much Janni! :) Great to know Plumeria were fine in the shade as well!

The trees i mentioned are definitely not Papayas, their leaf shape is very different. Its mostly the fact that they are not any of the species i see around, the reason i am asking, they leave a lot to be desired in their current state! But the species characteristics, leaf shape,etc seem very nice and interesting!

Konstantinos,

Hmm, one could indeed be Harpephyllum caffrum! Do you grow this species or know any source for it? I like it! :)

Kostas I have three of them in the ground and all three give justice to their origin from Africa. THEY SIMPLY DO NOT MEAN TO DIE, though they have been fried to the ground by frost once and cut again to the ground by me forelast year. If you can unearth them (you need more than one for fruits, which birds really love them), they are yours!

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Kostas Grand Master

Kostas

Posted
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Oh, thank you very much for the offer! I know i will regret this with all the effort involved, but i would love to come and dig them! :)

''To try,is to risk failure.......To not try,is to guarantee it''

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