Okanagan desert-palms: Bigger Jubs next spring

[Islander]

Hello John

I read news that Port Alberni hit temps above 40C so I wonder if you got 45 or 47C as max highs in July. My place hit 36C again (away from water) after a few years which did surprise me. I expect 32 or 33C max in summer. How are your palms & yuccas doing? A variety of yuccas (large ones too) are in the works for Victoria. Yucca alofoilia has grown quite a bit this year. It's not slow like Y. recurvifolia. Y. rostrata is slow so I'll wait for a tall specimen. I need cacti & yuccas because summers are so dry between Victoria and Nanaimo. Visitors wonder why Victoria is so dry while being by the sea.

I've been away for months sailing around the Pacific Rim. It gave me the chance to explore Australia and see old Jubaeas. As big as ones I saw in Chile. I'm in the works to have a Jub larger than 15 gal ordered to the island. All palms are ok after this winter. Brahea edulis and Trith. acanthocoma are nice. Jubs of course did well. Even the Jub that had been moved. A new palm that has done well is T. manipur. So another has been added. Trachycarpus nova seems hardy. Last Dec tested exotics that had not been tested in well over a decade. So the trip up-island showed me how T. fortunei can be a workhorse. T. wagnerianus is a favorite in my garden. Visitors favour that palm. It performs better here that T. fortunei with its rigid, deep green leaves in full exposure of winter weather. As you can imagine the garden is turning into something like Jeff's. Please stop by on your next visit to Victoria.

I noticed Callistemon citrinus in Australia. It reminded me of the specimen growing on Salt Sping Island.

Cheers

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Islander that is great news that there are some 15 gal larger Jub`s. I might consider buying a couple if the price is right. If your garden turns into anything resembling Jeff`s it is going to be a jungle of palms.Share some pics? We hit 42 c 105f earlier this summer. We are now down to 30c-35c It`s going to be summer for a while yet. T fortunei has done well here for me.


John

[BILL MA]

Wow 105 that is hot! Was there humidity? If there was what was the heat index?

Bill

[Islander]

Our temps are usually absolute because warm high pressure systems coming up from the US SW are very dry. Bad for small Trachys on years that have heat spells. Great for Jubs of course. I live out here because I like this cool zone 8 climate. Not many heatwaves or summer humidex but palms. Okanagan Desert Palms gets all kinds of summer heat.

Cheers

[Islander]

Note that 20 gal T. wagnerianus palms are in the works with larger (crated) Jubs. But Jubs are better for your summers. 15 gal Butia eriospatha & Jubs are here on the island with a selection of 5 gal wags. A wag would be great for Barb. I noticed that the nicest wags up-island were in shade. They produce these long petioles. I'll take garden pics in the fall and send them to you. Currently sorting through Pacific Rim palm pics. I'll check out Jeff's bigger Jub this Sunday. You will be amazed by the pics because bigger Jubs speed up. Tell me if you're interested in large yuccas.

I'm surprised that your dry summer heat has not nuked your Trachys. That heat would probably kill me but I did survive Africa. Lots of cooling off to do here on the coast. My plan is to create a palm garden that is densily populated by palms.

Enjoy the rest of summer.

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Bill the heat we have been experiencing has been since the start of June. We have very low humidity here. We are in the only desert in Canada. The Okanagan Valley B.C.We have a much different climate from the coastal British Columbia including Vancouver Victoria. Here are some previous pics from a recent trip to the south Okanagan.
http://okanaganpalms.multiply.com/photo ... gan_Desert.
Islander My Trachys are doing excellent in full sun and dealing with the heat. Ill post some pics soon.

John