My Hardy palms and bananas

[ivonekitov]

Hi again! My name is Ivo, I'm from south-eastern part of Europe, Bulgaria. My place is in the most continental part of Balkans, with sometime cool winters(1 to 3 weeks) and usually very dry and hot summers Zone is 7a, based on a last 12-13 year winter minimums (approx -14C/7F), but once a few years with big variations, from -6C/21F(2007) to -23/-9F(2012), so in combination with hot, sunny and - in last decade- usually long summers, makes my place ideal as "frontline" or "edge" of this...palm experiments. Anyway, I'm still newbie in this, planting palms and some other exotics from 3-4 years only, greater part of them -from 1 or 2 years.

Here are some photos of the part of my palm collection in May:

Ensete Maurelii on May, 21st
http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5407028.jpg

ten days later
http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5408001.jpg

W. Filifera.third winter-veteran (active protection, this winter survived excellent:
http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5407032.jpg
Jubaea:

http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5407031.jpg

Autumn-planted Butia(survived, but as expected, not so well - reason: not time to establish till winter:

http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5407030.jpg

Laurus N.(no protection)

http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5407029.jpg


Olives(not veterans yet, planted in February-March this spring:



Brahea Armata(planted May)


Here are some more photos, if interested:
http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_wm/gallery/?df=766761


New photos - this weekend
This is my oldest Trachy (25-30 cm stem, 6 or 7-y old), survived with no protection last(-9F, -23 C), but snow covered(naturally, I didn't help him with that! , and this, much milder, 10F(-12 C) http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5405887.jpg, with particular damages.

edit:sorry, edited some mistakes and put too big photos in links, except few normal-sized.

[canadianplant]

That jubea is gorgeous!

[lucky1]

Great selection of palms, very nice specimens.
Surprised your Trachy had only that little bit of damage from -23C.

Ensete is beautiful.

Thanks for the photos!
Barb

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Great photos, Ivo! What cultivar of olive is that? Are there other people growing olives in your area? If so, do they protect them during the winter, and will you protect yours?

[ivonekitov]

Great photos, Ivo! What cultivar of olive is that? Are there other people growing olives in your area? If so, do they protect them during the winter, and will you protect yours?

They are 4 cultivars, still with "temporary" names, because they are new one: two of them are from our nursery owner Kiril Donov, selected by him, so I call them " Donov 1" and two. The biggest one on the photos. Two another one are still in pots - I decided to grow them a year that way, couse they're still too little(in April when I take them, they were 30 sm(~1 ft) tall. You can see one of them here in the brown pot:
They are from some French nursery, Donov said, located on 800 meters above sea level and not so close to the Mediterane or the ocean(which means not so mild winters).

They grow very well (this from last photo is already twice taller and more) and I plane to test him in open ground next year, but another 4 (Donov 1 and 2) already in OG will be tested this winter. With different protection, most of them - passive(no heating). Depends from winter - if we have another one February 2012(HOPE NO!! ) they surely will die (that part above snow cover), but if the last one - 2012/13 they surely will survive with no protection.
About another your question: In the southern part of the country many enthusiasts grow different cultivars of olives many years and even decades, some of them are bigger trees and they harvest from them olives for own use
But till last years most of that trees was situated on Black Sea cost or in non-inversion hill parts of the south of the country, 8a zone and in sheltered locations in the yards. So, my experiment is maybe one of the first in the most continental northern part of the Balkan. So, propose it will be interesting.
Another notice: cultivars I described above are the most tested and proved from that nurceryman - 3 the most hardy from tens of tested last 2 decades. They grow without any trouble and they survived even historically 60-year-most-hard last February(2012) with NO protection in the south of country. So, next winters they will try to make the next step in 7a zone and wi shall see how that will work. Thanks for attention and have a niece day! Ivo

[ivonekitov]

My Velutina blooming:

http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5409960.jpg

Think it is too little(3 leaves only on the blooming p-stem, 2 ft tall) and didn't believe will have friuts, but no matter, the flower is beautiful

And another one nice surprise for me, and the best proof the way to sprout Jubaea seeds is to FORGET about them for few weeks
So I taked a look in the beginning of the month(June) - still no results. 2 weeks ago i forgot air conditioning in the country-house(Rancho" ) ) on 26C/79F
When take a look last Sunday ... surprice! Almost a quarter from approx. 100 Jubaea seeds i put in Vermiculite on a bottom of 30-litter pot in March sprouted:

http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5410480.jpg

[Henoh_Croatia]

Hi Ivo, nice palms.
Do you have information about attempts of Spanish scientists to start massive production Olive in Petrich with «special cold-resistant brand, which endures severe low temperatures - down to minus 22 C». Is plantation still a live? Supposed cold hardy Olive cultivar is Arbequina (Arbequí, Arbequín). Also, experimental fields started in Gluhar village of the Municipality of Kardzhali, Ivaylovgrad, Benkovski area, Kumovgrad etc. I found Bulgarian article that the pilot project in Kardzhali has failed because temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees and olives frozen to the ground level. School of Agribusiness was got new financial support for second attempt.

http://paper.standartnews.com/en/articl ... rticle=887

http://www.vestnikataka.com/?module=dis ... ormat=html

Olive trees withstand -18 degrees Celsius (Bulgarian article). And successful growing Olive tree in central Bulgaria, city Karlovo.
http://www.24chasa.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=381199

[ivonekitov]

Do you have information about attempts of Spanish scientists to start massive production Olive in Petrich with «special cold-resistant brand, which endures severe low temperatures - down to minus 22 C»...

No, this is not the way. Maybe not all of them, but certainly a lot of, of those projects, was "fake' - they was just a way to "absorb", if directly said, to thieve money from some EU funds. Unfortunately that casts doubt to another one, who really wants to introduce this famous variety in coolest regions, but its true...
In Donov's forum some of members posted photos and gave information, that these "scientists" planted little olive trees in the end of....you can't gess! DECEMBER! I guess they hurried, because had to show planted field before the end of the year. Unfortunately the year (i'm talking for Kurjaly region in central South of country) was 2011 and February 2012 followed... Naturally, they all froze.
Another reason is, Arbequina( I quote Donov) is NOT enough hardy for our country, excepting some subregions in extreme SE( sea cost) and south(near Greece border).
So, I will have my own Olives. Question is with what kind of winter protection they will be. Surely at least half of winters they will not need it. I plane to plant another one 15 psc in my place, and I'll form it lower, maybe not more than 2-3 ft tall(only as experiment somethime up to 5 ft(150 cm), to be in possibility to protect IF winter condition needs. Forecasts are another part of my job, so a week before deep frost danger will know and will have time to react
Notice: These cultivars(Donov 1 to 3) MUST be enough hardy to -15, -16 C/3F or even a bit below that. We are talking about real, not "PR" hardiness : )
So, I.m realistic: maybe once at 2,3,5 or(hope! : ) ) 10 years they will need some winter support, but before clear experiment/trying can only supposition.

[ivonekitov]

Henoh,

I take a look at these articles - they are from 2006/7 : ))
Ehh...2006/7 winter, this is a great legend and hope will became more often in all North Hemisphere... )
So these samples from 2006, 2007 must be almost 8 yrs old
If interested, and if(and when) have enough time, look at this topic, Gtranslate is OK

[ivonekitov]

...
Surprised your Trachy had only that little bit of damage from -23C.
...

Sorry, I missed that! -23 was 2m air temperature - at that time Trachy was shorter than height of snow cover, so this child of severe 2012 February saved another child - of warm subtropics : )
http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5339229.jpg - Surely will be dead at -23 with no snow cover! /this one, with a PE-foil is not the trachy, but the Canarian date palm).
http://ivonekitov.glog.bg/_files/5341107.jpg - And two weeks later - left closer corner
Must to say that below snow cower and significantly smaller, 2 yrs ago the condition of that palm was better than last, most milder winter, but already too tall to be covered with snow
Last winter the palm was already taller , but frosts were -12C/10F only(approx -14/7F around the palm) and with no protection survived with some damages. Last week she had 4 new leaves and till November I hope would reach 11-12 like last year.

[lucky1]

at that time Trachy was shorter than height of snow cover

thanks for the explanation.

Barb

[ivonekitov]

my Cerifera in OG, planted a week ago/with the chicken Philip the Nice:)) and Laurel /:



And Velutina little bananas/about to 1'', 2.5-3 cm/

[TimMAz6]

Great photos/plants everyone!

those cold hardy olives are very interesting.

[hardyjim]

Enjoyed all your picture,esp the Cerifera and Armata


Nice of Phillip to get in on the action too.......
Looks like a good climate for trying some cactus

BTW

Are you growing any Bulgarian Trachys?

[ivonekitov]

.......
Looks like a good climate for trying some cactus

BTW

Are you growing any Bulgarian Trachys?

The second question - yes, I have 4 in OG, and 2 already killed, but...no, no by freeze but the dryness in summer 2 yrs ago. And that's the relation with your first question: in summers the ground became dry in few(3-4) days on upper 100's F heat... Only last summer I put automatic every-day watering (some kind of hand-made drip irrigation) and the results are excellent. The soil in this location is VERY sandy.
Promise to put some photos this week.
I have 5-6 another BG Trachys in pots, but they are going to prepare for next spring in OG(planted in deeper pot, to gain).
Notice: I'm not talking about that one above in this tread because when I bought it in autumn 2008 had not ANY IDEA of Trachys, another palms and its hardiness, so I'm not sure what origin it is. Although she survived 2 winters already, incl. last "infernal", though with some help from snow cover and this with particular damage only. So, who knows, maybe it is this form. The future will give the answer
Whether or not, I'll stop the experiments with it, at least until others(proved from that source, BG origin) will grow enough to form some "architectural" palm-effect
And maybe when they succeed to produce some seeds, some of that seeds will add another one 1 or 2 degrees hardiness... Hope) And hope will live to test that
P.S: Cacti - almost: Planted some Agave Americana near the solid(concrete-stone) fence(wall?). His parent-plant was beautiful 5ft plant in nearest village and few winters it owner protected him with some light PE-foil. Died last February(2012), and think this wall will give some help to protect him. Grows very fast in my soil and summer conditions.

[DesertZone]

My favorites are the olives and the giant chicken.

[ivonekitov]

Yea, I have a problem with a "marker" near the plants to show how tall they really are : )
That 2L Pepsi bottle was good idea, but someone will think it is advertising: no it isn't!))
So I decide to use Philip, but he became bigger from week to week and is not constant marker
So, maybe I'll need to find some fictile cat or duck for the role )

[hardyjim]

.......
Looks like a good climate for trying some cactus

BTW

Are you growing any Bulgarian Trachys?

The second question - yes, I have 4 in OG, and 2 already killed, but...no, no by freeze but the dryness in summer 2 yrs ago. And that's the relation with your first question: in summers the ground became dry in few(3-4) days on upper 100's F heat... Only last summer I put automatic every-day watering (some kind of hand-made drip irrigation) and the results are excellent. The soil in this location is VERY sandy.
Promise to put some photos this week.
I have 5-6 another BG Trachys in pots, but they are going to prepare for next spring in OG(planted in deeper pot, to gain).
Notice: I'm not talking about that one above in this tread because when I bought it in autumn 2008 had not ANY IDEA of Trachys, another palms and its hardiness, so I'm not sure what origin it is. Although she survived 2 winters already, incl. last "infernal", though with some help from snow cover and this with particular damage only. So, who knows, maybe it is this form. The future will give the answer
Whether or not, I'll stop the experiments with it, at least until others(proved from that source, BG origin) will grow enough to form some "architectural" palm-effect
And maybe when they succeed to produce some seeds, some of that seeds will add another one 1 or 2 degrees hardiness... Hope) And hope will live to test that
P.S: Cacti - almost: Planted some Agave Americana near the solid(concrete-stone) fence(wall?). His parent-plant was beautiful 5ft plant in nearest village and few winters it owner protected him with some light PE-foil. Died last February(2012), and think this wall will give some help to protect him. Grows very fast in my soil and summer conditions.

I have a Bulgarian Trachy...it has pulled the last few winters but is coming back real nice now.

I like the form of the Bulgarian Trachys and look forward to seeing this one grow up.




A.American...just not that hardy-interesting that one made it for a while there,
I used to see some about 2/3rds of the way down in Mississippi,they were over
6' tall and had to have seen some cold because the record low around that time
was 17F and they were still there-probably about it for A.Americana low temp-wise
in the east.

[ivonekitov]

I found more plants I have in OG, more interesting, and with impatience I'm expecting next spring to see them survived. 3 winters - still newbie. About Trachys. This form, BG, seems to give some hope to be "the edge" of expansion of its species in lower zones, 7a why not even 6, but the little plants really show big individual differences in their hardiness. So, unfortunately I must have few to gain chances to survive... That parent plant - 25 and more yrs old, in Plovdiv Historical Museum(I must check the article about it in Donov's forum) REALLY survived -20C/-4F in Feb.2012. That brings the conclusion, for me, already there's no challenge to grow that subsp. in southern lower and hilly part of our country(7b and on a border 7b/7a).
The next challenge is "clear" 7a with try to 6... I'm talking about no-protection growing, even good passive protection "inserts" that Trachy in 6. Contrariwise these -23C in the previous February probably would kill older plants if I had some of them, BUT(!) little ones, as sample in this tread would be survive, so if the frequency of these severe winters are less than 1 per 7-10 years, the species will establish, with some remarks, of course.
In my case, the previous winter in "deep" 6th zone was in the far 1950's. There is a hope.
Hope I'm not bothersome(annoying) with that long explanations

[ivonekitov]

September update:
Trachy:


Jubaea 1+ Ensete:

The same Ensete at the end of May:

[nate74]

that Ensete is gorgeous what are your plans for wintering it?

[ivonekitov]

that Ensete is gorgeous what are your plans for wintering it?

Would be nice, but probably - not. Because I can dig and winter it in a basement. The case is I have too many palms to protect actiive(heating) and this house, my grandparents'is build in 1950's is with...hm... weak electricity system - so in case of strong freeze they will need totally aprox. 1.5-2 kilowatts power supply. That is OK theoretically, but I'm not living there and it's not sure I'll react quickly enough. So, the plants what can be placed back in basement will be placed there: I'm sure Ensete will do it better than - of course, Palms In November-december I'll post photos and descriptions of winter protection. Too different winters we have - from (almost) Mediteranian to almost siberian . The second type is rare, but pROBLEM IS never cannot be sure what will be the next
Regards.

[lucky1]

oooh, nice Jubaea!
Looks very well grown.

Barb

[ivonekitov]

Hi all!

A recent report from my place:


Biggest of Trachys I own(approx 1 ft stem):


Olive tree(have them 4 in OG):


Butia(no protection, just snow):



And summer memories from 2012 with hope to come back soon as possible )

[DesertZone]

WOW, I hope they make it.

[Zabola]

Good job Ivo, that cock or chicken..


Greets dida

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Nice photos, Ivo! Have you heard of the olive cultivar "Vassilika"? It's supposed to be hardy to zone 7a or so, and is apparently from the Black Sea region.

[ivonekitov]

Good job Ivo, that cock or chicken..


Greets dida

Thanks! : ) It's a hen (was - now she is in a better world, but her kids are alive : ))
That Orinoco - too, I hope his rhizome will survive this relatively mild winter(here, in SE Europe, you know).

[ivonekitov]

Nice photos, Ivo! Have you heard of the olive cultivar "Vassilika"? It's supposed to be hardy to zone 7a or so, and is apparently from the Black Sea region.

No, sorry, I did not. But I'll ask the most experienced here about this cultivar.
That ones, on a photos upper, are result of 15 year-and more selection from Kiril Donov and with another 2 or 3 cultivars, which are expected to be the most hardy(incl. 7b - for sure). Of course, I'm sure there are another varieties, but so far i try in OG only this (Elite 1) and а unnamed french cultivar.
I am ready to plant another 3 - Kalamata(Kalamon), and another 2 Greek varieties, I forget their names )
But they will be in pots and semi-protected conditions in OG, south-southeastern of a penthouse(Google suggested - maybe "shed" is better word?) : There "quasi"-zone is, as sample 1.5 or even 2 zones higher. In a company of one Feihoa and 2 or 3 citruses - lemon, Washington Navel maybe and a Pomello(depends of the space there).
The idea is to have more cultivars to give possibility to cross-pollination. After all I'm not in Greece and maybe closest another Olive tree is 100 miles to south from my area, and the self-pollination is uncertain - course, aesthetic effect of these beautiful plants is first, but I plane to have my own olives(fruits) too!

[Zabola]

Yes it was a rather mild winter here also, except january which was very cold and windy too, more than 10-15 days -4c -8c and more non stop.

[ivonekitov]

Some of palms in OG in the beginning of the season:

Brahea Armata


Jubaea


My bigger one Trachy, 50 cm stem(a bit less than 2 ft), 3 winters in OG, no protection:


One of little ones Trachys, first winter, no protection:


Butia(Pindo), no protection, some dammages:


W. Robusta, 3 weeks active protection(Jan.25 do Feb. 15th), rest of the winter - passive prot.:


and the little Cerifera, no protection, but to the sothern wall of the house there:

[Zabola]

everything looks good and green.

[ivonekitov]

It's disputable about the Butia arrow/spare. Seems a bit of yellowish but...we shall see in couple of weeks...

[lucky1]

Incredible success!
But not surprising with only 3 weeks of winter.

Really impressed that Brahea (it's a beauty), Washy and Jubaea didn't mind wet snow in the spear.

Barb

[chadec]

Looking good, should see some good growth after having such a great winter.

[ivonekitov]

I thought 1 or two years was not here...sorry, they became 3
Some updates from my garden from this grow season:



Brugmanzia:


Washy, maybe Robusta. SURELY survived -11 C/12 F in 2014/15

Jubaea/i have 5 in OG, 3 in good and very good condition, 2 in not so good and few dozens of little 3-winter juvenile Jubaeas in OG.
Jubaea #3



# 4:


And this is off topic:

[/quote]

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Hi Ivon. Very nice photos. Good to see how well they have done over the last 3 years. Do you have photos of your winter protection over them and what you use for heating? Where did you get the Jubea`s from? They are very rare to find here and expensive!


John

[pitotes]

Nice marijuana plant next to ensete lol

[Batres]

Nice marijuana plant next to ensete lol

It's amazing how much the grow in just 3 years. Thanks for the upate pics.