Or, 'How To Cook A Pygmy'. By the man with the
electric garden. by Peter Tenenbaum, 17 Spaniards End, Hampstead,
London NW3 Chamaerops No. 06, published online 23-10-2002
The Pygmy Date Palm, Phoenix roebelenii, from Laos
and the hot steamy jungles of South East Asia looks like an unlikely
subject for outdoor cultivation in Britain, but don't be deterred
by what you read in the textbooks, this baby is a lot tougher than
her delicate appearance might suggest. Although rated Zone 10, she
is certainly worth trying in all but the coldest localities. Certainly
she is tender, not withstanding temperatures much below -4°C,
but if you are prepared to invest the necessary time and effort,
and more importantly the financial outlay in providing protection,
growing your own Roebelenii is not all that difficult.
My first experience with this highly prized palm
began in the spring of 1990 when I planted a four-foot specimen
topped with a fabulous head of leaves - absolutely stunning. An
unusually hot summer together with regular applications of horse
manure (a fitting meal for a princess), washed down with a few gallons
of vintage H 0, gave this beautiful palm a great start for what
lay ahead.
Come October it was time to think of protection.
This took the form of a really thick mulch, bandaging the trunk
generously with hessian and a thermostatically controlled heated
cable snaking its way around that. Finally two heavy gauge polythene
bags over the whole arrangement, securely tied top and bottom, these
can be rolled down like a stocking on mild days to give the plant
an essential airing, and pulled back up as soon as cold weather
threatened.
Phoenix roebelenii
