good news maybe for BC and area folk

[ronbruce]

The CNLA, lists five growers of Needle palm on the plant finder in BC.

I'm really hoping they are talking about Rhapidophyllum and not just Yucca filamentosa.

I've never noticed this on the site before. Great site by the way but mainly lists wholesale growers.

http://www.canadanursery.com/Page.asp?P ... tentID=769


John, you need to get your name on that site somehow.

[lucky1]

I think you're right that it'll be a yucca, rb.
Canadian nurseries are still calling Ponytails REAL PALMS!!!

We simply have to get a WHOLESALE contact!!

Barb

[ronbruce]

Yes, we do, Barb. After I posted that message I thought it must be Adam's Needle.... a yucca of course.

[BILL MA]

I wish we could trade palms for Cuban cigars over the boarder. You guys need to find a palm coyote for transport!

Bill

[BILL MA]

Ok guys I just found someone who can hopefully help you with large palms next year. I just sent him this email. Here's his blog he has some nice palms in Tsawwassen http://tsawwassen-plants.blogspot.com/ Hopefully he'll get back to me with some good sources.

"Hey Marc,
Thanks for the reply on the Magnolia, I quess I'll see how it turns out. Hey you have some amazing trachys, some friends of mine live north of you and I was wondering if you had a palm connection for larger palms in Canada? They are always mentioning that they can't get any good sized palms where they live. Any sources would surely be appriciated. Here's my email billo@shewmail.com

Thanks,
Bill"

[lucky1]

Cool, Bill!
Wonder if John's heard of this guy...
John had the Kelowna Flower Farm fellow bring in some bigger stuff two yrs ago.
I'll keep that link, thanks.

Barb

[BILL MA]

Here you go guys hope this helps you in some way. I hope Vancouver is not to far also, It's worth looking into there prices I guess. Here's what he wrote. I will write him a nice email thanking him, if you guys already know about them I also emailed another friend that I'm waiting on a reply from. That one might take a little more time.

Bill

"Hi Bill,

Thanks for the compliments on my modest garden.

Most nurseries in the Vancouver area sell trachycarpus fortunei so I am surprised your friend has trouble finding them.
I bought mine between 5 and 9 years years ago when they were quite small.

Your friend may have luck with the following:
- Maple Leaf Nursery (two locations: North Vancouver and West Vancouver)
- Cedar Rim Nursery in Langley
- Art's Green Acres in Richmond
- Harris Nursery in Delta (Ladner location only)
- Southlands Nursery in Vancouver

I know that Southlands is usually over-priced and sells to mostly wealthy people who live on Vancouver's west side.

I was recently at Art's Green Acres in Richmond and didn't see any large trachies but did notice that they have 12 to 14 feet tall Mediterranean Cypresses for $250. They are completely hardy in the milder areas.

Let me know if you need any more help.

Marc"

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Great info Ron and Bill. Ron you will not find anybody selling Needle palms for sale in commercial nurseries here on the coast of B.C. They need heat to grow properly during the growing season to survive the winter. They aren`t going to carry them on the coast for us here in the Okanagan. Most nurseries on the coast have never heard of a Needle palm.Bill thanks for your input and effort.I believe Mark is a member of Pacific Northwest palms and tropicals. He has some great palms he grows in Tsawwassen B.C. Since we are east of Vancouver he maybe was thinking we were being a little closer to the coast. We are 3 1/2 hours east of Van. If I hammer the gas from Kelowna to Vancouver. Barb I`ll see if Barry is bringing any more palms in this spring from the Kelowna flower/palm farm. He didn`t bring in anything this year. The only way I was able to obtain the Needle palms and Sabal minors was to order them from the Niagara area of Ontario .Broadway gardens now out of business.


John

[lucky1]

Bill, thanks so much for the great effort on our behalf.
It's really appreciated.

I'm not looking for another Trachy, just something more exotic.
(Brain is yelling go for another Licuala grandis...Bismarckia nobilis).

Too bad about Broadway Gardens going belly-up. I heard they had nice stuff.
I've had contact with a bunch of folks in Washington state, but there's always the border crap and phytosanitary cert.
I'm not going that route again...costs too much.

I'm not after a needle ( but that's just me).

Darn it, we'll find somebody...after we strike out asking John to do it,

Thanks again, Bill.
"Buddy" medal bestowed on you!
Barb

[ronbruce]

Thanks everyone.

I was on the coast, Vancouver, for the last few days for a seminar, and did get to a few places.

Southlands had some Trachies and a few Washingtonia robustas, Cedar Rim had Trachies and also Chamaerops and some 10 g Jubaea for $500, Art's Nursery in Surrey had a few Trachies....

I did buy a few marked down Trachies from a certain box store but they won't bring the so called Hardy Palms (minor and hystrix) across the border, yet. Of course it's too late to plant them but knowing me....

John is right that in our cooler northern coast Sabals and Rhapidophyllums will probably not be brought in much.

All the Trachies I saw were fortunei I believe though some had quite long petioles. I found one with quite the SFH look to it (is that the correct term for that creeping habit?) and it is now on my back patio.

I noticed most of the Chamaerops on English Bay had lost their major trunks and were shooting out and I saw at least one large Trachy (a good ten feet of trunk) was leafless so perhaps dead. I saw no Cordylines so wonder if they were all killed off or I was too entranced by the palms and what few yuccas I saw. Hmmm.

I wish I'd had my camera with me but left it where I was staying.... hits head with palm of hand...sigh.

[BILL MA]

Ron,
Good to see you got some larger trachys in your travels. How big are they? Do you have pictures?

Bill

[ronbruce]

Bill, no pictures yet.

I bought two one gallons and one so called three gallon but it looks more like a two gallon pot to me.

I gave one of the smaller gallons to a friend in Vancouver for his balcony.

The one gallon plant has much longer petioles than the three gallon and the three gallon is maybe just under two feet tall but it seems to have the nice beginnings of a trunk though.

[lucky1]

rb, congrats on your purchases; will look forward to pics (too bad about that camera thingy!)

Last winter was really brutal, I wondered how the planted Trachies on the coast would survive unprotected.
Sounds like some didn't.

I see prices haven't dropped

Barb