Re: Chamaerops humilis
Michael wrote
> Everything Dave and I wrote to Charels was on the mark except that
> I have never seen the blue-form of C. humilis sold as var. cerifera,
> though I've encountered the name. According to Encyclopoedia
> principia var. cerifera is also solitary and that would give it
> a distinct maintainance advantage.
All the seedlings that I've seen of this variety seem to tally with
that, but there are very few large plants in cultivation at this time
so it is impossible to say whether the progeny will remain as a
solitary stemmed form or develop side shoots and suckers later in
life. Personally I rather like the multi-stemmed Chamaerops since
they can form impressive hummocks in time. It is quite widely planted
here (Torquay UK) and often seeds itself about cropping up in paving
cracks as well as in grassy roadside verges. Here, Chamaerops
exhibits a variety of growth styles from being squat, spreading clumps
no more than 6 feet high but at least twice or even more than that
amount across, to quite elegant columns 12 feet high and about 8 feet
across. Leaf colour and size can also vary considerably, with some
being uniformly glossy, deep green with quite broad individual pinnae,
to being an almost scurvy grey green, appearing almost silver in
summer and with very narrow individual pinnae. I suspect these may be
little more than geographical variants with the lusher greener forms
being native to less arid areas.
> Further Jubaea chilensis is available much larger that C. humilis
> by buying a 24" or 36" box at Corona Palms---and its a much more
> exciting tree, rather than a medium shrub. I believe the common
> name is Jelly Palm. There are many gorgeous ones in So Cal but
> they are much rarer in the north.
The 'Jelly Palm' is an exceptionally hardy species and may well prove
to be the hardiest of all of the 'feather palms'. In northern areas
it can prove extraordinarily slow growing, but makes up for this by
its extreme longevity. A specimen in a neighbour's garden is a relic
from the last century when the whole area was part of a large estate
and contained within a single, enormous garden. It is at least 130
years old with a basal diameter of more than 4 feet and the
concrete-textured, grey trunk is about 30 feet high. This specimen is
the most massive Jubaea growing in northern Europe, being far bulkier
than the palm house specimen at Kew.
> I did however plant one as the centerpiece of a Danville garden
> 12 years ago from a 30" box. It was about 8' tall when it went
> in the ground by well watered, fed and cooked by the Contra Costa
> County sun it is now 14' tall with more than 10 trunk feet and a
> gorgeous canopy---so it ain't that slow with summer heat AND WATER.
The key point is summer heat and water. However it is proportionately
slow compared to other palms and species such as Syagurus
romanzoffianum, Roystonea oleracea etc are at least twice a fast in
their growth rate in comparable situations.
Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK
http://www.ilsham.demon.co.uk/gardenviews.html
