Canary Date - Devon Style
Can this be England? David Hutchinson reports
on the 'discovery 'of what must be one of the largest palms - of
any species - in England.
David Hutchinson, 12 Shannon Close, Willaston, Nantwich, Cheshire
Chamaerops No. 10, published online 23-09-2002
Readers comments
on this article:
Click here to read them or to add your own.

Palm enthusiasts everywhere can rest assured that
there is simply no other place in the U.K. like Torbay for palms.
Already previous write-ups have given this idea a fair amount of
support, and it was indeed exciting to learn from the October issue
of "Chamaerops" just how keen the Torbay Arts & Recreation
Department is on introducing and using palms generally, for many
of their outdoor plantings. This region is well on the way to becoming
the showpiece of the U.K. as far as exotica goes, and will undoubtedly
improve still more in the years to come. Additionally, the palms
to be seen there will encourage the public to become palm growers
in their own right, thus spreading the word.
I have visited Torbay regularly over the last 30
years and I thought I had seen all the palms there, but this year
I found out that this wasn't so. Early in March I visited my son-in-law
who had just taken over a new hotel overlooking Torbay Harbour,
('occupying what must be the finest marine position in the South
West, with panoramic views of Torre Abbey Beach and the whole of
Torbay') and perched 800ft up on the hillside. One day he was scanning
the town below with his binoculars from the balcony, and called
me over to look at something which he said was right up my street.
One look through the binoculars and in my excitement at what I saw,
I almost fell over the balcony rail. I could not believe my eyes
and shouted for my wife to come and have a look. She said, "Not
another palm".
No, I thought as I continued to gaze at it, it was
not just another palm, this was different and rare, with huge and
majestic palm fronds gently waving in the breeze. At first I thought
it was Jubaea chilensis, having seen the one at Torquay, however
the trunk was not the same. By this time I was desperate to track
down this specimen and to identify it. The big hunt was on the following
day, and after getting lost several times because of the elevations
and changes in level involved, I eventually pinpointed its position,
my wife and daughter suggesting that we go and have a chat with
its owner, and see if we could photograph it.
I am pleased to be able to say that the owners of
the property, Mr & Mrs Palmer (honestly) were very cooperative,
and extremely proud of their palm, which we now knew to be Phoenix
canariensis the Canary Island Date Palm. It was over 40 feet high,
and over 80 years old. Isn't that astonishing, considering the freak
and bitter weather we can get in the U. K., even in the south-west?
This tough nut has survived everything including the terrible winters
of the late 80's and the devastating hurricane of January 1991.
Kew are aware of the existence this wonderful specimen and one of
their experts phoned up after the bad storm last year to ask if
it was O.K.
This Phoenix should surely be in the Guinness Book
of Records, and E.P.S. members will be pleased to know that it has
a tree preservation order on it, thanks to Torbay Council. (Cheers
from all the palm nuts!). The person who planted it was a gentleman
who worked at nearby Cockington. How good of him to have had a go,
and what a wonderful memorial! I'm sure he would be amused, not
to say amazed, to see it in its present imposing state, and I hope
it encourages more people like him to try Phoenix canariensis in
their region. It's obviously a lot tougher than people give it credit
for.

Readers Comments:
(No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment to
this article!)
|
 |
 |
28-01-23 - 22:55GMT
|
 |
What's New? |
 |
New palm book |
Date: 24-05-2004 |

An Encyclopedia
of Cultivated Palms
by Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft. |
 |
New: Issue 48 |
Date: 24-05-2004 |
Chamaerops
48
has been published in the Members Area. |
 |
Archive complete! |
Date: 03-12-2002 |
All Chamaerops issues can now be found in the archive:
More than 350 articles are on-line! |
 |
Issues 13 to 16 |
Date: 28-08-2002 |
Chamaerops mags 13,
14,
15
and 16
have been added to the members area. More than 250 articles are now online! |
 |
42 as free pdf-file |
Date: 05-08-2002 |
Free
Download! Chamaerops No. 42 can be downloaded for free to intruduce the new layout and size to
our visitors |
 |
Issues 17 to 20 |
Date: 23-07-2002 |
Chamaerops mags 17,
18,
19
and 20
have been added to the members area. Now 218 articles online! |
 |
Book List |
Date: 28-05-2001 |
Take
a look at our brand new Book List edited by Carolyn Strudwick |
 |
New Book |
Date: 25-01-2001 |
'Palmen
in Mitteleuropa'
by Mario Stähler
This german book tells you all about how to cultivate your palms in Central Europe. more... |
 |
|
|
|
|