Letter from America
Tamar Myers' advice to those suffering from wind.
Tamar Myers, 6303 Hallwood Road, Verona, PA 15147, U.S.A.
Chamaerops No. 2, published online 23-11-2002
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I just got back from a trip to New Orleans. It s
a large city in the extreme south-central part of the United States,
and normally, it endures a sub-tropical climate. That is to say,
that summers in New Orleans can be steamy enough to make a duchess
sweat, whereas in Florida, she would merely perspire. Winters in
New Orleans are generally balmy, and in the average winter there
is a good chance of banana plants coming through unscathed.
Still, there is always the freak winter to contend
with, and on occasion this haven of tropical foliage does experience
severe freezes. I believe the record low is about -12¾C, cold enough
to keep any three-legged dogs away from lamp-posts.
Historically, New Orleans seems to have relished
its subtropical image and in the past many palms were used as street
and park plantings. Among these were Phoenix canariensis, Sabal
palmetto, Butia capitata and Chamaerops humilis. By the looks of
some of the remaining palms, some of these must have been planted
at the turn of the century.
I said, "remaining palms" because it is
obvious that a fair number of mature palms have been killed by recent
past cold winters. For some reason unfathomable to me (unless it
is hope), New Orleans residents have left the telltale dead trunks
in situ, and so it is quite easy to see what once was.
It is common to see an avenue of very tall and old
Phoenix canariensis, with perhaps every third one being nothing
more than a headless trunk. The same thing holds true for Sabal
palmetto.
Postcards of the city often depict its famous cathedral,
and invariably these show impressive clumps of arborescent Chamaerops
humilis. Today the clumps are still there, but without the mature-trunked
specimens.
Two things became clear as I perused the city's
many streets (actually, many things became clear, but given New
Orleans' lively reputation, I'm not about to reveal them in a horticultural
article): these are that palms grown from seed or small plants withstood
conditions better than mature specimens trucked in, and plants sited
out of the wind did best of all.
The first case involves mostly Sabal palmettos.
Volunteer plants, that is to say, wild ones started by bird-dropped
seed, were in excellent health. These palms are easy to pick out
they grow along fences and in odd places that make it evident that
they were not planted by man (or woman either for that matter).
In the second case, palms on the leeward side of tall buildings,
or tucked between evergreen trees, were usually very healthy.
This concurs with my recent observations at home.
Palms can, by and large, take a great deal of cold if they are out
of the wind. This is true for other plants as well. On the east
side of my house (our wind comes from the west) I am able to grow
plants that otherwise only grow 500 miles to the south! These plants
are sited right next to the house and get no wind movement at all.
The wisdom seems to be then that growers of marginally
hardy palms would do well to sacrifice all other considerations
as to siting - or else provide protection that will eliminate the
effects of wind.
Want to grow that Rhopalostylis sapida outdoors
in London? Well, do a lot of praying, but in addition pay a lot
of attention as to whence cometh your wind. Where there's no wind,
there might just be a way!
Till next time...
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