JunglePlants

A glorious architectural feather palm the Chilean wine palm is becoming scarce in the wild because of excessive sap harvesting for wine. In Chile it becomes a massive tree with a huge trunk. In the UK however it makes a useful small palm that will take a reasonable amount of frost -5°C to -8°C. We have managed to source some more mature palms about 2ft tall, should you want to cut out about 7 to 10 years of growth from seed to obtain this size?

My favourite hardy palm from China that I have been growing for maybe 30 years. I have lost one before in a particularly cold and wet winter in Chesham but I think it was the wet rather than the cold that proved fatal. In Oxford we have experienced temperatures down to about minus 15C in the past which did not damage the plant in the picture. Once established it grows quickly and we are probably talking about planting one out in your Garden in its 3rd or 4th year from seed to give it a chance to succeed. A must for any Palm devotee it has a very hairy trunk with huge (and I mean huge up to 4 ft across) fan shaped leaves and grows well in most soils particularly slightly alkaline.  The photograph on the left was taken in our garden, illustrating a 20 years old palm flowering in May.  The one below taken in 2008 is the size of of our 10 litre plants.

A similar palm to Trachycarpus Princeps, it has the normal Trachycarpus form, size and hardiness but with larger more rounded leaves with up to 60 leaflets, together with a lovely white bloom to the reverse of the leaves on mature trees. We have a few 5 year old seedlings for sale.

The rare and only-recently-in-cultivation Kumaon Fan Palm is closely related to fortunei. Takil is a big tree, broadly similar in appearance to T. fortunei but larger in all its parts, and probably a good few degrees hardier, thus making it the hardiest in the genus. Sometimes the trunk fibres fall naturally, leaving a bare trunk. The most obvious differences from fortunei, apart from size, are the more numerous segments of the leaf up to 60. Rare to find a supply but we have picked up a few 3 & 5 litre plants.

To Grow -- Easy ■ Moderate ■ and Challenging ■

May be ok for a dry Conservatory ♣

Hardiness - To -5°C җ To -10°C җ җ Fully Hardy җ җ җ

Needs Shady Position ☻ Sunny Position ☻ Water Loving ♥