Greetings from Seattle!

New to PalmsNorth? Introduce yourself here.

Moderator: lucky1

Post Reply
RoboCaesar
Sprout
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 9:54 pm
Location: Seattle (Zone 8b)

Greetings from Seattle!

Post by RoboCaesar » Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:45 pm

Hi everyone! I'm from Seattle (Zone 8b, apparently), and I thought it was kind of risky growing palm trees out here until I read some of the posts here! Lots of Trachycarpus Fortunei palms are grown around here, but I haven't noticed any other kinds yet.

My collection is very small so far, but I'm new to this, so hopefully that will change.

Image

That picture shows the 9 Washingtonia Robusta seedlings I have so far that I got to germinate back in early June. That container in the back has 10 Adonidia Merrillii (Christmas Palm) seeds that I just planted today.

I've enjoyed reading about what you people have accomplished, and I look forward to contributing!



User avatar
hardyjim
Palm Grove
Posts: 4703
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:00 pm
Location: Fairfield Iowa 5b

Post by hardyjim » Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:16 am

Welcome Robo-looks like a good start. :D
<img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/ ... rfield.gif" alt="Click for Fairfield, Iowa Forecast" border="0" height="60" width="468" />

User avatar
Paul Ont
Large Palm
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:58 am
Location: zone 6a Downtown Toronto and zone 5a Kingston

Post by Paul Ont » Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:50 am

Welcome aboard! Lots of palms for your warm climate!

Edit- You should try to grow Phoenix and Bismarckia!

lucky1
Arctic Palm Plantation
Posts: 11325
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:31 pm
Location: Vernon BC, Zone 5a or 5b (close to 6A!)

Post by lucky1 » Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:14 pm

Welcome aboard Caesar :lol: :lol:

Glad you`re into germinating palms...a great hobby.
Even dates from the store can be started...presto Phoenix dactylifera of your own.
And, one day, dates (if you`re really really really young) :cry:

I`ve got some Christmas palm seedlings too...a little too dry here but they should like your summer with your area`s higher humidity.

Look forward to seeing when and where you plant them.

Barb

PS--I`d give my teeth for an 8b!
<img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/ ... anguage=EN" alt="Find more about Weather in Vernon, CA" width="160" />


If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.

RoboCaesar
Sprout
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 9:54 pm
Location: Seattle (Zone 8b)

Post by RoboCaesar » Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:40 pm

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!

Paul - Bismarckia looks very intriguing. I think I'd need some winter protection for it, but it would be awesome to be one of the few people in Seattle with something with such striking blue fans! Back in June, I actually did get some dates from the grocery store, which germinated very quickly. I don't have any leaves yet though.

Seattle may have mild winters, but there isn't much of a summer. Most of the year, the highs are in the 40s, 50s, or 60s with significant cloud cover, so that's probably the reason more types of palms aren't grown out here very often.

Barb - I hope to see some leaves soon from my germinated dates. I'll post some pics when that happens! Maybe I will see some dates someday! (I'm a recent college graduate and I live with my parents at the moment :D)

User avatar
TerdalFarm
Palm Grove
Posts: 2983
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:48 pm
Location: Manzanita, OR & Sarasota, FL
Contact:

Welcome from down the road a bit

Post by TerdalFarm » Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:38 pm

I'm on the Oregon coast this Summer and so am also looking at palms for mild winters (zone 9 here) but little summer heat.
Chamaerops humilis -- European Fan Palm -- should be on your list, too.

Bizzie should NOT be on your list. Hates the chill. I have a potted one in Tulsa that loves the heat: >100 F / 38 C is great for it.

My home is in Oklahoma, zone 7, but HOT. Sabal minor is the best there, of course.

I too have started Christmas Palms from seeds. They die young for me but I'll try again. My favorite to start from seed are, of course, Sabal minor. :D

User avatar
Paul Ont
Large Palm
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:58 am
Location: zone 6a Downtown Toronto and zone 5a Kingston

Post by Paul Ont » Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:40 am

Erik- BOOOO!

Perhaps a Brahea then? Or A particularly silver form of Butia? Isn't there also a silver Jubea???

User avatar
TerdalFarm
Palm Grove
Posts: 2983
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:48 pm
Location: Manzanita, OR & Sarasota, FL
Contact:

Post by TerdalFarm » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:17 am

For blue, he will want the blue med. fan palm.
Never heard of a silver Jubaea. That would be very cool.

User avatar
Paul Ont
Large Palm
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:58 am
Location: zone 6a Downtown Toronto and zone 5a Kingston

Post by Paul Ont » Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:29 am


User avatar
TerdalFarm
Palm Grove
Posts: 2983
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:48 pm
Location: Manzanita, OR & Sarasota, FL
Contact:

Post by TerdalFarm » Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:46 am

Very cool 8)
Big trunked Jubaea of any sort are out of my budget, alas, but thanks for sharing.

RoboCaesar
Sprout
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 9:54 pm
Location: Seattle (Zone 8b)

Post by RoboCaesar » Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:17 am

Chilean Wine Palms have been grown around here, but they can sometimes attract unwanted attention, unfortunately:

http://montlaker.com/2012/05/04/arboret ... vandalism/

I'll definitely have to try a European Fan Palm at some point, and perhaps some sort of Butia! That's pretty neat that there are bluish varieties of both.

lucky1
Arctic Palm Plantation
Posts: 11325
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:31 pm
Location: Vernon BC, Zone 5a or 5b (close to 6A!)

Post by lucky1 » Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:13 pm

Excerpt from robocaesar's link:
Vandals have destroyed part of the Arboretum’s new Gateway to Chile project, causing $43,000 worth of damage. Someone used a machete or axe to take down two monkey puzzle trees, three Gunnera tinctoria, and 19 large fronds from three Chilean wine palms.
How awful!

And wouldn't we all love to have caught the vandals in the act. :twisted:

Drumroll....ta da! My BLUE form Chilean Wine palm seedling.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/7473465434/" title="001 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8027/7473 ... 72af_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="001"></a>

I'll be 212 years old when it's in a 5 gallon pot. :roll:

Barb
<img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/ ... anguage=EN" alt="Find more about Weather in Vernon, CA" width="160" />


If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.

User avatar
Henoh_Croatia
Seedling
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:07 am
Location: Zagreb/Sesvete, Croatia, zone 7b
Contact:

Post by Henoh_Croatia » Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:17 pm

Welcome aboard!
<img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/ ... anguage=EN" alt="Find more about Weather in Sesvete, RH" width="160" />

RoboCaesar
Sprout
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 9:54 pm
Location: Seattle (Zone 8b)

Post by RoboCaesar » Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:33 pm

Wow! I look forward to seeing the progress on that Jubaea Chilensis seedling! That must have taken some patience to wait for that to germinate!

lucky1
Arctic Palm Plantation
Posts: 11325
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:31 pm
Location: Vernon BC, Zone 5a or 5b (close to 6A!)

Post by lucky1 » Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:08 pm

some patience to wait for that to germinate!
Yup...stared at it so long it germinated :lol:
4 months.

Its siblings will probably take another 12 months.
Barb
<img src="http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/ ... anguage=EN" alt="Find more about Weather in Vernon, CA" width="160" />


If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests