Palm Trees of Canada

[Hoodrat]

Originally Posted by subtropicalbc

Do you think Washingtonia Robustus (Mexican Fan Palm) is possible to grow in BC? Some mild sections are even in Zone 9b.
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive...diness-map.php

Not without protection such as bubble wrap and x-mas lights.

There have been numerous "hardy" seed strains of Washingtonia robusta floating about amongst those who specialize in cold hardy palms and subtropicals. One such strain was obtained from a specimen in Las Cruces, NM, that had supposedly recovered from a brief but harsh freeze that was -5 F. After extensive trials in many different gardens between Vancouver and Eugene, none ended up being long-term hardy in the maritime NW if left unprotected. Washingtonia is a heat loving genus that needs a generous amount of it to thrive, even the ones planted in cool summer areas on the N. California coast look ratty from the chilly Pacific breeze during the summer.

Stick with Trachycarpus if you want a hardy palm that's going to get tall with a trunk on it.

[Metro-One]

The only areas you can grow them (with some success) in BC is the Oak Bay area of Victoria and downtown Victoria, there is a rather large Mexican Fan Palm outside of Victoria city hall for example.

Record low temps in areas such as Oak Bay are only around -10 degrees C, and in fact some of these areas can go an entire winter some years without a freezing temperature (again, this is only a very small area within greater Victoria near the coastline).

Anyways, I was in Victoria last month and here are some very nice looking Windmill palms from Beacon Hill Park downtown:



And here is a smaller one in the Harbour



Pics are my own:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30634635@N03/page2/

[SpongeG]

here is a palm and a banana tree in north van - banana plants usually get wrapped in winter months


flickr

banana plant near false creek


here is a palm in winter

thetyee.cachefly.net

[Metro-One]

hehe, love the wet snowfall pics. You don't have to wrap banana's in the winter, people only do it if they want their banana to start from last years stock (instead of from the ground up again).

[subtropicalbc]

Haha ok thanks it'd be kind of funny seeing 50 foot palms in Victoria someday

[subtropicalbc]

So if you do live in Oak Bay how tall do you think it could grow?

[subtropicalbc]

Why do some of the palms lose their so called hair or are they just another kind

[mrnyc]

who knew a canadian palm thread would become a classic that can hold it's page view head high in the ballpark with the mystical and god-like walled city of kowloon thread?

[Llyod Banks]

Some of those pics remind me of California. Wow I've been pretty ignorant on my views of Canada's landscape. Blame it on American tv. LOL Great pics

[Metro-One]

haha, thanks guys! I have thousands of palm photos now gathered on my hard drive from the past few in years in and round Vancouver and Victoria, glad you enjoy it!

For Lloyd Banks, the south eastern portion of Vancouver Island, along with the Gulf Islands and small portions of the sunshine coast is the northern end of the West Coast Douglas Fir biogeoclimate zone, which by several definitions is technically Mediterranean (due to the mild winters and dry summer season). Here, is the northern end of such native species as Garry Oak and Arbutus. In fact the pocket area around Victoria is among the driest locations north of California on the west coast. So many exotics do very well around here.

For subtropicalbc, I have no idea why some of the windmill palms loose their hair along their trunks, but I have noticed this as well. It may have something to do with age??

[subtropicalbc]

Ok thanks Metro, I was just down in Huntsville, Alabama and i found their were no palms anywhere same with Mobile or Birmingham.

[giallo]

They probably aren't interested in growing them.
Mobile has milder and shorter winters than Vancouver, and can grow a whole host of tropical(ish) flora that Vancouver can not. Birmingham's winters are closer to Vancouver's in average temperature, but they are prone to way more warm days through out the winter, and again, B'ham has a far shorter winter than Vancouver.

[chris]

I heard some people were experimenting with Palms in Kelowna. How are the palms doing over there??? Are people still experimenting and how have they been doing?

[SpongeG]

the palm trees I have seen (only in pics) in Kelowna are all potted and wintered indoors - it gets too cold for them in winter, the ground freezes there, where as it doesn't in most Vancouver and Victoria areas

there are these ones in Kelowna but they are all fake


- can't imbed pics so see images here: http://collee-excavating.com/palms.html of other kelowna examples


while looking for some pics i found this is a palm tree in Idaho

[chris]

Is it possible to grow them in Osoyoos, then?

[subtropicalbc]

I would think.

[Metro-One]

The Oliver to Osoyoos stretch, along with a few pocket areas near Naramata and Peachland would likely be able to grow windmill palms permanently outside, but obviously would still require winter protection, unlike in Vancouver / Victoria where no winter protection is needed. (i have seen some palms wrapped in the winter here, but the vast majority are not and seem to do just as fine as the few that are). I think those that are wrapped are done so by over cautious gardeners.

[subtropicalbc]

Wait wouldn't Lytton be considered Koppen Csa if you use the -3 isotherm.

[subtropicalbc]

?????

[subtropicalbc]

What's the tallest palm in Canada?