If you want to post pictures of your Windmill palm's

Windmill Palm guy · Post by **Windmill Palm guy** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 2:27 pm

Please post them here! I would like to see all the different pictures of everyone's windmill palms big or small flowering or not. If you have them just post them up!

Scott.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:38 pm

Scott

Here's mine I got last year.

Mark

Windmill Palm guy · Post by **Windmill Palm guy** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:57 pm

It's at the side of my house right now due to really bad wind!

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:10 am

A few from around the yard on one of the first overcast / rainy days in eons.
Very little growth this year with the dry conditions. Trachycarpus need regular watering
to grow well. When the rains start in mid October, growth should pick up considerably.

Cheers, Barrie.

Windmill Palm guy · Post by **Windmill Palm guy** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:16 pm

Barrie those palms look so nice!! I wish I could plant mine in the ground but it`s just to cold out here in southern ontario to do so.

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 7:04 pm

Windmill Guy! Trust me right now when I tell you this "your Palm will survive in the ground" We can all help you with protection methods. Look into the heat cables on bananas.org that I posted under hardy bananas. They will do you more then good next year. I will put these under everything that needs a spring boost next year!

Bill

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:45 pm

Ya ... there's people growing these in much colder areas than yours using winter protection. Fairly simple in many cases from what I gather. Check with others about what they've done in the past.
A hard winter followed by a dry and sometimes hot summer didn't allow for much growth this year on my palms. It was the worst year for growth I can recall. Irrigation is difficult on a half acre lot and expensive, not to mention against local bylaws during drought periods. We're still on stage 4 restrictions (total outdoor watering ban).

Cheers, Barrie.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:33 am

Hope you start getting some rain Barrie,this fall/winter/ spring should do the trick!

Here's a pic of my little T.fortunei

<a href="http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -09022.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm22 ... -09022.jpg" border="0" alt="T.fortunei"></a>

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:58 am

Nice one there Jim. It should be putting on some rapid growth once the trunk diameter max's out. After that, they want to go skyward.

Some areas got rain yesterday, all we got was some periodic drizzle and then sunshine all afternoon. A system is pushing in off the Pacific and is bringing rain tomorrow.

Cheers, Barrie.

ScottyON · Post by **ScottyON** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:56 pm

Bill's a bit of a palm peer pressure guy!!! He's the one who talked me into making that huge box in my backyard!!

HAHA Just kidding Bill!! You know your stuff!

ScottyON · Post by **ScottyON** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:58 pm

Come on Windmill Guy!! Everybody's doing it!!! haha...

I live in Kingston ON and am trying a Washie on the ground over the winter plus a needle palm and sable minor...

Windmill Palm guy · Post by **Windmill Palm guy** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:47 am

Haha... well we'll see, i'll do some reserch and I might give it a shot next summer. So Scott do you have one in the ground?

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:10 am

Scotts got a washy in the ground!!!

Bill

ronbruce · Post by **ronbruce** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:01 am

Here is one of my Trachies finally developing a fan leaf. These were from Joe on Saltsprings seed and are about three years old. I protect them with leaves raked into the bed in winter.

My hand is covering all strap leaves from numerous other seedlings. A few look like they may be fans soon too.... okay, next year. I've got another clump of these in the same bed as well.

Wonder if I should be covering them soon as we should be getting frosty here one of these days.

ScottyON · Post by **ScottyON** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:05 pm

Actually my Trachy is in a pot like yours. Not that I want it in one but have no room in the garden. I am expanding in the sping and it will go in for sure, with some others. In the ground I have two sables, a needle palm and as Bill mentioned a Washie.. I'm not that optomistic on the Washie surviving but giving it my all...

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:42 pm

I had a 4' Washingtonia robusta persist in an unheated winter enclosure for several years.
Current condition ... dead as a door nail.

Cheers, Barrie.

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:58 pm

Sorry to hear that Barrie, Scott's will do fine since it will be heated and he's been keeping it on the dry side coming into fall. Right Scott!

Bill

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:26 pm

No worries Bill ... I never expected it to be long term. These only seem to be reliable in the southern Oregon. The coastal regions are best but the hot interior zones (Medford etc) are great for the most part.

Cheers, Barrie.

Knnn · Post by **Knnn** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:03 am

Here's a couple Trachy's planted out last spring, not much to look at

100*F temps, lack of rain, and being munched on by grasshoppers has taken it's toll.

Steve

ScottyON · Post by **ScottyON** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:35 pm

Right Bill!!!

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:50 pm

Steve ... you might consider getting some of the competing plant material away from those palms. Water and eventual crowding are the two main reasons. Good start there

Cheers, Barrie.

Knnn · Post by **Knnn** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:53 pm

Barrie, Thanks for the advice, I've been a bit lax in my weeding duties

With the cooler weather they have started growing again, going to put up a rain shield & mulch them in for the winter.

Steve

hilashes · Post by **hilashes** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:57 am

Hi all! Here are 2 new Trachys I planted back in April. They're on the North side of my home in front of a south-facing retaining wall with almost a full day of sun (but now this time of year they only get brief periods). They've established quite nicely and put out a lot of growth despite our hot hot dry temperatures this summer.
I kept a record of their growth rate since they were planted. In June I recorded the first one had grown 4 inches in a month and a half. The newest spear from May grew 5 1/2" by June. At that point temperatures had been 33C (91.4 Fahrenheit) for a week and no rain for a month. Needless to say I spent much of my time out back giving them tons of water. Wonder how they would have looked, had we seen our typical rainy Vancouver weather!
(hope these turn out, I'm having trouble posting them!)

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lR ... directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-I ... directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/H4 ... directlink

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 4:01 pm

Awesome Heidi.
Good to see these are getting rooted down and settling in. "Rainy Vancouver" ? ... we're a shoe in for good summers here.

Cheers, Barrie.

hilashes · Post by **hilashes** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:05 pm

Thanks Barrie!

I guess I was thinking May - June 'monsoons'... yes we do have awesome summers! Hope we don't get a winter like last year though...YIKES!

Heidi

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:07 am

Looking really good and healthy Heidi, Did your yellow rings go away?

Bill

hilashes · Post by **hilashes** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:29 am

Thank you Bill! I did find one more older frond with a yellow ring but a bit more faded. I haven't found anymore on the newest spears so I'm hoping it's ok now. Thanks for asking!

Heidi

Barrie · Post by **Barrie** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 7:57 pm

hilashes wrote:Thanks Barrie!

I guess I was thinking May - June 'monsoons'... yes we do have awesome summers! Hope we don't get a winter like last year though...YIKES!

Heidi

Out of curiousity I check with EC (Environment Canada) for average precip levels for May and June.
87.6 mm (3.44") at the Departure Bay station.
94.8 mm (3.73") at the Nanaimo Airport.
Again, both May and June combined. (Can't see it being hugely different over your way - mainland BC)

Barring an extremely bad year, hardly a "monsoon" season.

I suppose it seems rainy once the full on summer season hits. Hey you want to see rain, wait til November.

Cheers, Barrie.

hilashes · Post by **hilashes** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:31 pm

Barring an extremely bad year, hardly a "monsoon" season.

Yes Barrie this was a less than average year for precipitation to say the least. I just remember my neighbors talking about the big 'monsoon' coming as we remember the past couple of years it being the two dreaded months of rain before summer. I also checked EC for my city and we definitely got way more than the areas you stated.
May-June 2009 = 179.2mm
2008 = 224.2mm
The year before that from April - June total was 324mm, so that's probably why I've heard it dubbed 'monsoon'.

Anyhoo ....until November, I'm really enjoying this warmer and drier weather. EC says the North West Coast is supposed to be warmer and wetter than average for this winter. Fingers crossed!

Heidi