Ticino 2021 Update

[Ryland]

I meant to post these photos last year and only now getting around to it.  Hopefully they will still be interesting.

I spent a couple days in Ticino in the south of Switzerland at the end of a holiday in the alps.  Photos from there have been posted here before so this may not be too original but I still found it exciting.  I especially like the Trachycarpus - despite being a very common palm in cooler climates it's astonishing how they prolific they are, to the point of becoming an invasive species common amongst the wooded mountainsides where they can grow very dense.  They also uniformly have must smaller crowns than the Trachycarpus here in Manchester.  I wonder if that's because they get a lot more sun.

The weather was mostly dreadful so unfortunately many of the photos look pretty bleak!  Also, despite all of these being right-side up for the upload, some of them are showing up upside-down.  If anyone knows I can fix that I will try to repost those.

There are some very nice examples of Butia, Brahea, and Jubaea as well.  The overall look and feel of the area is very nice.  Thanks to @Flow for providing some advice on where to find some interesting palms.

Locarno:

 

 

A little further down the lake (Lago Maggiore) is Brissago where I stayed:

I believe this one was @Flow's Butia x Jubaea?

There is a small Brahea armata and a Sabal underneath the larger palms here:

The only Syagrus I saw were in pots.

A very fine looking waterfront house.

An exceptionally elegant Butia - eriospatha I believe?

Two Buttes with quite different forms.

A Jubaea that could one day be enormous like the others in the area.

Chamaerops humilis 'vulcano'

 

Back in Locarno:

One of the few Parajubaeas I saw in the area:

A very nice blue Brahea clara.

Nearby, an enormous Brahea armata.

This, plus one other nearby Jubaea, are the tallest palms around and maybe the tallest in Switzerland.

Ascona.  Notice the large Jubaea next to the big yellow house.

Parkhotel Brenscino Brissago.  Approaching from below:

Livistona chinensis (?) and the big Parajubaea.

Trachycarpus volunteers...

Chamaedorea radicalis.

The big Jubaea from above - shame the photo is upside down.

A different Trachycarpus, maybe princeps?

The smaller Parajubaea - this one from @Flow I believe.

Finally good weather as I had to leave - back in Brissago:

Brahea edulis:

So many fronds on the big Brissago Brahea armata.

A repeat visit to the Parajubaea in Locarno:

 

 

[palmfriend]

Impressive pictures - thank you for posting!

I have been to Switzerland quite a few times but unfortunately BEFORE I went into palms - too bad! I hope to be back

there one day again - those Jubeas are just unbelievable....

 

Lars

 

[Flow]

Thanks for the pics! And yes, the Butia yatay x Jubaea as well as the smaller Parajubaea in the Brenscino garden used to be mine but I gave them away to a much better home. You see, north of the alps, where I live, they would need heavy protection most winters. I will enjoy my bog standard Trachies, Chamaerops, Sabal minor and Jubaea. I still have a potted Jubaea x Syagrus, though, and will try to find it a good spot when it becomes too large to move.

Parajubaeas are pretty much unknown in the area. The few that are there were planted by enthusiasts. The one in Muralto was only planted in 2020 or 21, so it will look much better in a few years time.

[Chester B]

Thanks for sharing.  Probably the most comprehensive group of photos.  I had to look up the exact location on the map.  It seems pretty far north still for the variety of palms.

[Ruben Gargaglione]

Que buenas fotos.  Alguien sabe q zona usda es Muralto?

[Stefanus]

  On 10/20/2022 at 9:10 PM, Ryland said:

n exceptionally elegant Butia - eriospatha I believe?

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I found this topic today, thanks for sharing these amazing photos. I’m currently in this area on holiday and took some seeds from the Butia above. I thought it could be a Yatay, but Eriospatha seems also very likely. 

[ChrisA]

  On 11/26/2022 at 2:07 AM, Ruben Gargaglione said:

Que buenas fotos.  Alguien sabe q zona usda es Muralto?

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Not sure about what zone Muralto is, but Lugano is 8b according to the site linked below. The record low was -20C in February of 1929 according to Wikipedia! Hope that doesn’t happen again or nearly all of these palms are toast!

https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-switzerland-plant-hardiness-zone-map-celsius.php#

 

 

[Kim]

Wait, wait, wait... this is not how I think of Switzerland! Where are the snow-covered peaks? The mountain towns along the rail lines with flower boxes under the windows? Palms? How is this possible? Especially those growing upside down! And many of these are much too tall to be attributed to climate change. What kind of special fertilizer are the Swiss using? 

😉 Tongue in cheek, just kidding, but wow, really, I was unaware so many species could thrive in Switzerland. I learn something new every other hour.  Thank you for sharing your photos!

[Tomas]

  On 8/29/2024 at 1:27 AM, Kim said:

Wait, wait, wait... this is not how I think of Switzerland! Where are the snow-covered peaks? The mountain towns along the rail lines with flower boxes under the windows? Palms? How is this possible? Especially those growing upside down! And many of these are much too tall to be attributed to climate change. What kind of special fertilizer are the Swiss using? 

😉 Tongue in cheek, just kidding, but wow, really, I was unaware so many species could thrive in Switzerland. I learn something new every other hour.  Thank you for sharing your photos!

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Just a quick look at the physical map and you see this is more Italy than Switzerland 😄 And your snowy peaks are there to protect it from the northern cold.

I remember the every time emotion when coming from Brenner and entering the Adige valley, das Land wo die Zitronen bluehen 🤣🤣🤣 Actualy there are no lemon trees there! But at the other part of the Alps the world changes