Washingtonia Robustas on SSI

[Jay-Admin]

Here is a W. Robusta on Salt Spring Island, BC planted in 1993.



Here it is in 1998.



Photos courtesy of Banana Joe.

Regards,
Jay

[DesertZone]

Sweet

[banana joe]

Thanks Jay, I appreciate you posting the pics. I e-mail to you. That Washingtonia was actually featured in HPI years ago. I've taken Michael Ferguson to photograph it. Unfortunately when my friends sold that plce, the new owners had their gardener cut down that palm, and replace it with a small Trachy. I know there are a couple of other Washies in the ground here, but I haven't got a chance to see them yet. When I get time I'll see what kind of shape they are in. Cheers, Banana Joe

[DesertZone]

To bad they cut it down it looked very nice

[Okanagan desert-palms]

I wonder if the W.robusta has to be protected from the wet winter known to be their downfall in the wet west coast? Jay you said the palm pic was from 1993 is the palm still alive? I just started 50 was. filifera and was that easy compared to the others I`m still waiting for!

[DesertZone]

[quote="Okanagan desert-palms" I just started 50 was. filifera and was that easy compared to the others I`m still waiting for! [/quote]

How are the Was. filiferas doing Are they growing fast?

[banana joe]

There are huge mature W.robusta all over Brookings, Oregon. It is very wet there. Joe

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Aaron the 50 Was. filifera I started 49 are already on their 2nd strap leaf. I also have 10 Joshua trees they are just as fast growing. All the other palms I`ve started Takil, Trachy, Waggy have yet to germinate even after taking them off the warming mat ,and it has been 2 months How hardy are your Joshua trees?
John

[DesertZone]

That is awesome the filifera is so easy to start Maybe I will get some seeds if I go to Arizona this winter.

My joshua trees are very hardy, the dwarf form even more so. They have seen -14 f. without protection. One thing you might find with the joshua trees are some of the young ones may die the first winter, but most should be ok. A harsh winter will weed out the weak.

[DesertZone]

There are huge mature W.robusta all over Brookings, Oregon. It is very wet there. Joe

That is so cool. I think I even seen a pic of some W. filiferas from Brookings. Joe are you growing any of the two where you are?

[banana joe]

I have experimented with W.robusta and Filifera for years now, but have always been very disappointed in the results. They are a short term palm here. However a few years ago I had a couple of hundreds seeds collected for me in Northern Turkey. They came from very large old W.filifera. I planted some seedlings outdoors and they have survived two Winters now unprotected. I sure hope this Northern Turkey strain proves to be hardier. I also have many Filifera seedlings that I grew from seeds collected in colder parts of New Mexico. The seeds came from two different locations at high elevation from very old palms. I also have many W.filibusta that I grew. They are still small plants, but I will be putting all of them to the test. Filibusta is reported to be quite cold tolerant, and faster growing and more rain resistant than Filifera. W.filifera generally do not like cold wet Winters like we get here. Robusta can tolerate way more precip. in the Winter, but they are much less cold tolerant. I have also many Filifera plants that came from Joshua Tree Park in California. My friend collected the seeds for me. When he was camping there it was snowing and the temps. were below freezing. I have a bunch from Texas as well. Cheers, Joe

[DesertZone]

Hi Joe,
I hope you find a new strain of W. filifera that can take the wet and cold better. All the testing should produce some kind of result, good luck to you.