My Exotic Collection
by Tony Walker, 16 Dunstall Road, London SW20 0HR,
England
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Outside, bedded out, my less-than-ten-years-old Trachycarpus
fortunei grows excessively fast. Its trunk is now about 1m tall.
It is at the base of our front (SSE-facing) rockery, so may get
some water drain off, and I put a few gelatin granules amongst the
roots when planting it. The slightly older Trachycarpus wagerianus
is much slower, but it is in the middle of a sloping lawn that readily
dries out, and was not given gelatine granules. Slower still is
my Butia capitata, but it is at the top of the front rockery, which
can be very dry, though it does have gelatine granules. My Chamaerops
grows steadily, but not quickly. It is in a slightly damper patch
of grass than the Trachycarpus wagnerianus, on the back lawn. None
of the above receive weather protection. Over the years the only
trouble I've noted is frost damage to new growth on the Butia in
spring after a late frost.
Potted and indoors in winter, my Caryota 'Himalaya'
grows steadily but had a set back last winter when I left it outside.
It lost all its leaves in Nov/Dec 1999, when there were some frosts,
but the roots in the not-insulated pot were fine. Now, a year later,
the first of the new lot of leaves is about to unfold. A Phoenix
(from a date stone), just about hangs on, and it is very slow. Maybe
it needs more feeding, or more heat. The two 'parlour palms', Chamaedorea
elegans and Chamaedorea metallica, seem fine and grow steadily.
I'm afraid I always cut the flower buds off the former, mainly to
prevent a later mess, but also maybe to promote leaf growth.
I do not seem to manage to grow Cycads, despite germinating
Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi from seed and keeping it a year.
I managed to keep plants for up to four or five years, but then
they slowly fade away and die. While living, new leaves are produced,
though maybe still from seed reserves. They need something else
later on, and I don't know what. Is it chemical or physical? Am
I getting the compost wrong, the watering, or are they too cold?
I find them more difficult than palms, most cacti and succulents,
my terrestrial orchids, or anything else I grow. Yet in some non-specialist
garden centers one can find Cycads almost 'two a penny' - in old
money! It would be interesting to know people's respective abilities
to keep Cycads in the house in a sunny window or in the green house.
Even some hotels seem to have no problem, often having several in
the foyer for a long time. And they probably use tap water too!
All for now, more news as it breaks.

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28-01-23 - 23:42GMT
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What's New? |
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New palm book |
Date: 24-05-2004 |

An Encyclopedia
of Cultivated Palms
by Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft. |
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New: Issue 48 |
Date: 24-05-2004 |
Chamaerops
48
has been published in the Members Area. |
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Archive complete! |
Date: 03-12-2002 |
All Chamaerops issues can now be found in the archive:
More than 350 articles are on-line! |
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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! |
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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 |
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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! |
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Book List |
Date: 28-05-2001 |
Take
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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... |
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