Re: gardening in the heat

Dear Francisco,

Thank you for your reply, and it was useful info to find out that the interior portions of Spain can get that hot, I had no idea, although I do remember passing through Madrid on the way to Lisbon, and that it was quite a bit hotter than what I'm used to in Berkeley, California.  It may interest you to know that Ceratonia is not at all commonly used here in Riyadh, and that the Washingtonis robusta and filifera are both very common here, and neither one seems to suffer from burning foliage in the summer.  They do suffer severe stress, however, if they are not given sufficient irrigation in the hotter months.  I was a bit surprised to find that Roystonea regia palms do as well as they do here, because they will not tolerate the damp cool of the San Francisco Bay  Area, where if they get enough heat to grow well in the summer months, it is generally too cold in the winter, and they just don't grow with any enthusiasm in the more moderate locations which ! se! ! ! ldom freeze, yet also never accumulate any great amount of heat.  I'd be interested to know what you have the best successes with in your location,.

regards, David Feix 

 

 

francisco manuel cardama barrientos <fcardama@teleline.es> wrote:

david
the central plains of spain have a similar range of temperatures, especially the guadalquivir valley and the inner plains of guadix baza and murcia. also in the ebro valley although i believe that the maximum there is 49C. in the other places i have mentioned the maxumun is 51C.
i live in the northeast, near the sea and the local average maximun is 42 although most years the maximum is only about 36C.
 
in the hottest areas of spain the king is the date palm,phoenix dactilifera. washingtonias get burnt.
another tree that does very well is the carob tree, ceratonia siliqua.in fact, in spain it is believed to originate in the arabian peninsula and to have being brouht here by the phoenicians. it is used with great success as a  majestic specimen tree and also as clipped hedges. it can be used as a shrub in its early years and later if pollarded regularly. it is now available in spain as large old gnarled specimens rootballed since it tolerates transplanting.
another plant that tolerates the fiercest heat is the palmito, chamaerops humilis, growing in the most umpromising low lying , enclosed furnaces in the southeast of spain. i have seeing it growing wild just above marrakesh.
francisco

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